1 stage, 30 people, 40 years -- part 3

Another incredible outcome of the show was the reunion of the entire group of guys collectively known as "The 80's band."  This was the band that Dave was a part of. And in someways, I think he considers these guys his real "Asleep at the Wheel." The guys in this band were Tim Alexander on piano, Larry Franklin on fiddle, John Ely on steel, Michael Francis on sax, Jon Mitchell on bass and Dave on drums.

Dave joined Asleep at the Wheel in 1986 when he was 25 years old. At the time, the band was in a bit of a slump. They hadn't put out a record in a while, things were kind of slow in the big-time department.  And then they recorded "10."  And suddenly the band was back on top again. "House of Blues Lights" was a certifiable hit in some markets.  The record also had "Way Down Texas Way" and "Boogie Back to Texas." 

This was exciting stuff for a young Dave Sanger, who basically walked into the time of his life.  Remember the show in Portland I told you about on the last trip?  The one where the band was greeted by a mighty roar when we walked onstage, and where the crowd inspired us with their enthusiasm and dancing skills? As we were walking offstage that night Dave told me, "That's how it used to be all the time." And by used to be, he meant back in the 80's, with the 80's band.

To see these guys all in one place was to see a group of happy men, and to hear them all together was to hear the most rock and roll version of the Wheel that I've ever encountered.  I mean, they blew me away. I was Gone Solid Gone.

The show itself went exceptionally well, in my opinion.  Like all good events preceded by intense anticipation, it flew right by me.  Within an hour and a half they had gone through the many stages of Asleep at the Wheel.  There had been steel guitar extravaganzas and huge fiddle parties. And then the current band plus three horn players and a guest bass player was up on stage backing up Willie Nelson. As if the night hadn't been cool enough. It was a thrill added to a night of thrills.

By the end of Friday, November 5th I was as tired as I've ever been. It had been a week of rehearsals and more rehearsals...In fact, I haven't rehearsed so much since the early days of "A Ride with Bob."  My feet were killing me. My back ached.  I was done.  Dave and I made a valiant attempt to attend the after-party but left after 10 minutes when we realized we were literally too pooped to party. But we were happy. And we knew that we had just been a part of something incredible.  (My friend Jeremy Tepper says my blog posts are always along the lines of "I'm so effing tired, but it's all worth it!." This one's for you Jeremy!).

1 stage, 30 people, 40 years -- part 2

And then there were all the other musicians. We had most of the original band members, from the original incarnation of the Wheel -- Lucky Oceans, Leroy Preston who along with Ray formed the core of what would become Asleep at the Wheel.

The boys onstage during rehearsal

I wondered how these guys had hooked up. Lucky and Ray grew up together and I always assumed Leroy had also been their childhood friend. But I was wrong. It turns out that Leroy was college roommates with Jerry, Ray's brother-in-law.  Ray and Lucky came down to visit Ray's sister Sandy (Jerry's wife) at college and they met Leroy and started playing music together. And then they decided to take a semester off college and start a band under the guise of "work study" (each of their respective schools allowed them to do this. The 60's man!).  

They left, and never looked back.

I got that story from Leroy.  It was one of hundreds of stories I heard over that week of rehearsals.  And incredible side effect of gathering so many current and former band members together.

Along with bass player Gene Dobkin, Floyd Domino on piano and Chris O'Connel on vocals, almost all of the original band was assembled in one place.  These were the folks that lived together in the band house in Oakland.  Who formed what would become the ethic and sound of the band.

It's hard for me to imagine -- especially now that Dave and Lisel and I live such a parallel  but somewhat separate existence from the band -- what it must of been like for these original members, who were all really kids at the time, to be starting out in Oakland. All living in the same house, bunking together in rooms, playing as many gigs as they could and digging on as much music as they could get their hands on.

I heard stories about how some of the guys who shared a room adopted pirate law -- whatever money was found on the floor became property of the finder. And they would scrounge enough money to go buy a donut at the 24 hour coffee shop down the street -- because you got a free cup of coffee with that donut. They'd hang out and watch the eccentrics do their thing.

And even though I heard the stories, it wasn't until I saw Lucky Oceans dance during "Bump Bounce Boogie" that I understood how much fun those early days were.

Now, I'd heard tell that back in the day "Bump Bounce Boogie"  got wild, with Lucky and Ray dancing with wild abandon, climbing speakers and generally going crazy on the stage. And I thought "Sure, that must have been cool." But it wasn't I saw Lucky actually get up from the steel and start to shake it...no that's no good as a description. He did more than shake it.  He let loose with reckless abandon!  He danced like he had springs in his shoes and love in his heart.  He made me smile wider than I knew I could smile.

And it was then that I understood what those early days must have been like. Nothing was a forgone conclusion. There was no knowing what would happen next. Hence the reckless abandon, the giving over to the fun of it all.

1 stage, 30 people, 40 years -- part 1

Last week I was incommunicado largely due to Asleep at the Wheel's big 40th anniversary show.  Which was incredible and amazing and inspiring and exhausting, all at the same time.

For me, it was a week filled with nervous/excited energy. I mean, I'm seven years younger than the band. I joined the Wheel just a little over 5 years ago, which makes me one of the new, new kids.  And the musicians who came before me...what can I say? I was a little intimidated!  The female vocalists alone were enough to get my knees knockin'.  Chris O'Connell and Maryann Price are singers who I listen to and try my hardest to just approximate. Because me? I'm a good singer. But Chris and Maryann. They're great singers.

Maryann Price, Leon Rausch and Chris O'connell

I've talked about this before, but I can get a little fan girlish around people I admire. I'm a gusher, which can be totally embarrassing, so in order to combat the gushage I sometimes go the opposite way and just. stop. talking. Which makes me seem less like a fangirl and more like and uptight stick-in-the-mud.

So there was that, how would I act? And then, oh yeah, I was going to sing with them. Which was just nervous making for me.  Would I hold my own? Would they totally laugh at me?  I had no idea.

Luckily for me both Chris and Maryann were delightful both personally and musically. I felt immediately comfortable with them.  Like most fret inducing situations, the anticipation was way worse than the reality.  Though, I'll admit, the nerves didn't completely go away until the show was over.  Singing next to those ladies, listening to Chris during "Nothing Takes the Place of You," and watching Maryann rock "I'm an Old Cowhand," I realized I still have a long way to go as a singer.