Park Band and wonderous noises

 WHY QUINCY DOESN'T have a permanent bandstand in a city park is beyond comprehension. We have such an amazing array of musicians, artists and performers. Yet we have no outside space for them.You could call the gazebo in Washington Park a concert venue, and it works for Blues In The District and other events, but it's really not performer friendly. Then there's the amazing stage by the bank near 7th and Maine, but that's private space.

The Quincy Park District does have a portable stage, but it's showing wear and tear. It's time we build something permanent, not just for us, but for everybody in the years to come.

In the summer, the Quincy Park Band plays Sunday night shows in Madison Park on the portable stage. The band and the Quincy Park District are working together to fund and build a new performance space. 

At each Sunday night concert this summer, a local "celebrity" emcees the event. Each person has a bucket and donations are accepted for the bandshell. Maybe they couldn't find anybody else and I'm no celebrity, but for some reason Jeff Schuecking called me last month and asked me to do one.

"You can tell jokes and make fun of anybody you want," Jeff said.

"Where do I sign?" I said. 

Last night was my turn. The rain drove us to the Kroc Center's beautiful auditorium, and the band was in excellent form under the direction of John Hume. Yes, I made fun of Jeff (he was a great neighbor at Fifth and Maine for years and I love the guy). Yes, I had a proud father moment telling everybody how Dr. Emily Hart is a product of the Quincy public school's awesome music program. Yes, I mispronounced names and song titles and even jumped in early when a song wasn't done. Three movements? In one song? That's two more than I'm used to!

What I loved most was standing on the stage and literally feeling the floor reverberate with the music. The songs were short and magnificently played. Much love to John and the band - they are phenomenal!

 I saw familiar faces putting donations in the bucket with my name on it. The idea is that the person with the most money raised gets to direct the Quincy Park Band at a later concert.

I have no chance matching community stalwarts like Mayor Linda Moore, Chuck Scholz and Mark McDowell. But that's OK. It's a great idea. You can even go online and donate if you want.

Best Sunday night in Quincy in a long time!

 

FSG and orange toenails

 A FEW WEEKS ago I was in North Carolina for a family wedding. We were staying in a big Air BnB farmhouse outside of Raleigh. I was walking barefoot when my sister, Charys, and sister in law, Stephanie (AKA Aunt Scary), noticed my toes.

"Ugh!" said Charys. "How can you stand them like that?"

Like what?

"They aren't as bad as your brother's feet," Aunt Scary said. "He says it's from years of wearing hockey skates that were too small."

They were right. The toenails were all different lengths and the nails on my pinky toe were overgrown. The toes themselves all slope in one direction - to the right on the right foot, to the left on the left foot. My big toes had sock gunk in them. Sock Gunk would be a great name for a band.

 And my big toes look like ET.

 "What you need," Aunt Scary said, "is a pedicure."

A pedicure? Isn't that where they buff out your feet and paint the nails with a glittery substance?

"Actually, it feels amazing," Charys said. "They clean your toes and then they massage your feet and the bottom of your legs."

OK. Now we were talking. Anything with the word "massage" has me interested.

"It feels sooooooo good!" Aunt Scary said.

 When I got back to Quincy, I asked some of the Lab Brats about it. They said it was required stress relief. But there was conflicting information about where to go and how to go about it.

I looked up "pedicures for men" online. This was not a good idea. Both me and my computer got a virus. That got shut down right away.

Finally, I did the one thing I should always do when it pertains to self-care and thinking outside the box. I called Allison McElroy of The Whatevers. We'd been on a recent gig clothing shopping adventure. She knows all about this stuff.

"Actually, I'm overdue for a pedicure," she said. "I'll make an appointment."

 Overdue For A Pedicure sounds like a great song title. Suddenly it was Saturday morning and I found myself at Jen's Nails out by Kohls. I got strange looks from the staff and the two women who were getting feets worked on. But when Allison walked in and they checked the appointment book, the workers started smiling and giggling.

"I like it!" one said.

"Feels so good," another said. Feels so good will be used a lot from now on. Let's just call it FSG.

Step one - pick your nail color. What? "I mean, we are here. You might as well get them done," Allison said. "Oh look. They have orange!"

Step two- sit in a massage chair. Yup. A freaking massage chair. FSG.

Step three - feet in warm water. The worker started scrubbing and cleaning the nails. Oi. FSG.

The other steps started blurring into each other. The worker took a cheese grater to the bottom of my feet. I am not making this up. A CHEESE GRATER. The worker had an evil grin on her face. I was prepared to be tortured.

Instead .... you guessed it. FSG.

Then she put soap on my ankles and bottom of the my legs and rubbed it all in and I about passed out.

"Are you OK?" Allison asked. "Oh look! That orange looks PERF on you!" 

Yup. My nails were being painted orange. In honor of being Dutch, you know? The massage chair, the rubbing of the feet, the nails changing color - it was all so surreal.

By this time there were quite a few other customers getting feets done. There were more strange looks and hidden smiles. My brain was overloaded by FSG. I didn't care.

We moved to put our feets under a light to dry them. The worker said. "You will come back, right?"

That night we played at an awesome block party and I proudly showed off my buffed feets and glowing toenails. HUGE reactions. Next time Allison and I play I'm putting out a tip jar with a photo on it of my nails. 

So go ahead and revoke the man card and all that silly stuff. FSG, baby. Don't knock it if you don't try it. You might really like it. 

And you might go back. Like I'm going to do.

 

The beach and how to celebrate

 

THIS IS ANOTHER post for family. It's about a sacred place and how to remember. 

No funeral for me when I go, please. Have a party and tell stories and let the rivers of beer flow, if it floats your boat. Scatter my ashes into Lake Michigan. Or the sandtrap at No. 17 at Westview Golf Course, since I'm in there a lot anyway.

I made the trek north this weekend to meet up with old friends and celebrate the life of Peter Hart, my uncle. He lived for 20-plus years on Lake Michigan between Saugatuck and Holland. It was the scene of countless adventures, sun-soaked days and family gatherings. We scattered my mother's ashes here, and my brother's ashes too. Peter moved four years ago to Holland - his big house on top of the wooded dune was a beautiful place, but it was big and my Aunt Helen especially wanted something with less maintenance.

 Peter died Dec. 26, 2024, in his Holland home. He didn't want a funeral. He wanted his children and grandchildren to gather at the beach and scatter his ashes. Before he died he contacted the current owner to get it arranged. He just wanted a "beach day."

And that's what we got Sunday.

It was warm and windy, exactly like a thousand other sun-soaked summer beach days when he lived there. His son Roland and his wife, Amy, were there with children Elly, Drew and Josh. Peter's daughter Natalie and partner Richard were there with Natalie's son Will and daughter Hannah. Helen of course came down those 100 steps to the beach with no issues - she looks great and was so gracious.

We laughed and remembered. Roland and I played a few songs - Imagine by John Lennon, Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2, Blackbird by the Beatles and Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. Hannah and her amazing voice gave the songs life - Peter loved to hear her sing them during our many jam sessions on the porch and by the fire pit.

Natalie read a prayer by Rev. Richard Rhem, edited for the occasion by Helen. Then we scattered ashes, each going to a place in solitude. 

That was it. We trundled back up the stairs and gathered at Roland and Amy's Zeeland home for burgers. Simple, to the point, poignant and appropriate. Uncle Peter led a fascinating life and was not a simple man, but the way we remembered him was, and it worked.

We all have different ideas about the end. Some seek tradition and order to put us in the ground.

Nope. Not me. I want to it to be just like we did for Uncle Peter. No funeral, not even a grave site.

Scatter 'em and have a party!

 

 

 

Street punks and bridge closures

 GOOD STORY HERE about a recent street racing gathering shut down by local law enforcement. I've had two recent encounters with this street racing crew and they weren't pleasant.

The first was several months ago at a West Quincy gas station as I was filling up the Blessing vehicle. Five or six hot-rodded sports cars pulled in, engines revving, music blasting and occupants cursing. They kept gunning engines, even by the pumps, and they started yelling at people as they walked by.

One guy stared at me. I stared back. He pointed and said something, so I just smiled, got my receipt and went on my way. Hey - gotta get those Hannibal labs to the main lab at 11th. And the one thing these birdbrains don't like is being ignored. 

 A few weeks later I was on Broadway between 24th and 18th. This was before Broadway was torn up to replace the aging sewer systems. It's a mess between 24th and 12th right now so I avoid it. I can't remember why I was on Broadway that night, but I was probably running late.

Three soup-ups blasted by in the left lane. They were weaving in and out, cutting people off. One guy looked at me after he cut me off near 20th and I had to jam on the brakes. He was laughing. It's all a big game to these punks. You won't be laughing when you plow into somebody and your lack of insurance forces you into bankruptcy, pal. And lands you in the place that employs me.

They weren't laughing Saturday night when a bunch of tickets got issued. Too bad so sad, soup-ups.

Also, the bridge. Or, lack of a bridge. The Hannibal bridge over the Mississippi is closed for the rest of this month, and traffic has at least doubled on U.S. 61. What people don't realize is when they come back into Quincy you don't have to get in the left lane at Fourth and turn toward Broadway. That's the official detour but it's a mess. Go straight up Maine (which has twice as much traffic now), or zip up to York or State to head east. You can even go north at Second and take Oak east.

I actually take Chestnut all the way to Colombus Road and then to 48th when going from the main hospital to the 48th and Maine facility. It's faster than Broadway, way faster.

Last night there was a crash by the bridge about half an hour after I crossed it. Ugh. What a mess. Kudos to our emergency response teams. I go to Hannibal twice a day and right now there's one way across the river and one way back into Quincy.

If something happens, there's nothing to do but wait it out. 

Be safe out there, peeps. Watch out for dumbass soup-ups, don't run the yellows, use your blinkers and don't speed. Or go ahead. On U.S. 61 right now, I see at least three vehicles pulled over per trip. They know you are coming. Tempt the fates and see what happens.

How much is that ticket for squealing tires anyway?

 

 

Family time, and times of our lives

 THIS PAST WEEKEND the crazy Hart clan descended on Raleigh, N.C. for the wedding of my sister's son Matt and his beautiful bride, Meghan.

 By my bad memory, it was the first time in about 15 years all the Hart cousins were together. It. Was. Glorious!

Dr. Emily Hart!

Most of us stayed in a big Air BnB Farmhouse in Hillsborough, not far from the wedding site and about half an hour from the Raleigh-Durham airport. Gotta thank Steve for driving us all over the place, even though he's directionally-challenged like our mother. "Embrace the U turn!" became the weekend theme. It's a good thing we realize how hard it is to turn left instead of right. I give him credit for getting his kids at midnight and my daughter, Emily, at 1 a.m. Saturday after her flight got delayed.

Doug Sanderson, Matt's father, presided at Saturday's ceremony. It was phenomenal, beside a pond on a gently sloping lawn on a sprawling horse farm. The ceremony was short and powerful, like the prior two Hart cousin weddings. Take note, future brides and grooms! You don't have to have a big church and 90 minutes of blah blah blah to get married. If it floats your boat, so be it. Doug was magnificent and somehow held it together until the very end.

It was also nice to see Opa Hart, who lives nearby, be with his kids and grandchildren for the first time in .... ages. Steve and I had lunch with him Friday at his favorite Mexican place. Aside from losing his teeth, he's getting around pretty well for an 87 year old.

The wedding reception was also outside under a big tent. The DJ was incredible and of course the Hart cousins and most of their parents never left the dance floor. Even the old man here had to jump in a little later - how can you not move when hearing Abba's Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie!????? Cousins Brooke, Natalie, Riley and Joshua were the catalysts, with Emily right beside them. I was in awe watching them hoot and holler.

Life and circumstance dictate where you live. The four Hart siblings scattered like the wind from the 1980s in Grand Rapids, Mich. None of us looked back. We are all content with what we do and where we are. Steve and Stephanie settled in Phoenix, Charys and David in Denver, Kathy and Doug in Louisville, then North Carolina. We were never particularly close, but two things galvanized us - the death of our brother, Greg, in 2002, and the sudden passing of our mother, Virginia, in 2005.

The first Hart Sibling Summit was 20 years ago this Labor Day Weekend in Phoenix. The next year I brought Emily, and there were several following Labor Day gatherings where Emily (Big Cousin) had a field day with all her Little Cousins.

We vowed to try and do it every year, but the whole kids growing up and going to college and getting jobs thing got in the way. That's just an excuse. But it's real.

Steve's son Riley married Sophie in October 2023. Charys' son Josh married Maddie last August. Matt and Meghan hitched it up, and in two weeks Steve's daughter, Dr. Natalie Hart, marries Ryan in Flagstaff, AZ. I'll be at a very different family gathering that weekend and hate to miss it.

It's easy to take family for granted. The dynamic is much different when you live closer. There is regret from distance. But it makes getting together so much fun. And, after 48 hours, you go home and sleep for almost 10 hours, like I did last night.

I treasure family time, however brief and infrequent it is. Let's do it again! After we all get some sleep, of course.

From left, Hart siblings Charys, Stephen, Kathy and some dork.

 

 

Eye of the live music tiger!

 AT THE END of last year I thought about slowing down and cutting back on playing out. I love playing and I love the people I play with - but dealing with the next day was getting harder and harder.

So I quit drinking, and it's made a massive difference. It wasn't like I drank a lot, but getting older means not bouncing back as well. Two or three beers and I was groggy and tired and then couldn't sleep and I felt like crap the next day.

Now I have more energy, I feel better, I have so much fun playing shows and the next day I'm tired but I don't feel like I've been dragged through mud, even from just a few beverages.

This year has already been crazy and the summer is heating up. Except for a family wedding in North Carolina May 31 and a trip to Michigan two weeks later, almost every weekend has something on the schedule. 

And I still love it.

Saturday night at Quincy Brewing Company, Allison McElroy and I had the best time. A bunch of the Lab Brats showed up, Allison's family was there in force as usual and familiar faces in the packed beer garden were beautiful things to behold. And, of course, Moby the Irish Wolfhound, with her humans Jenny and Herman.

Travis and Liz Hoffman were there with their young daughter and her friend. The two little girls danced and bopped around all night and appeared to be having the time of their lives. Towards  the end they asked if we could play "Eye of the Tiger."

We've never played it, but Allison of course says "I know it!" And off we went. And ... it wasn't bad!

 Allison might be young but she's got an old soul. And that's a huge compliment. Our set list is mostly followed but we veer off into uncharted territory all the time and it never fazes her.

Next up is another adventure in Marceline Saturday night at Down On The Corner with Prospect Road. We have an amazing singer (Alicia McCarl) and a couple of miscreants who love to play, and give their all no matter how big the gig or how big (or small) the crowd.

 As always, support live music and let's rock!

Saturday, May 24: Prospect Road 2.0, Down On The Corner, Marceline, Ill, 7 p.m.

Saturday, June 7: Whatevers, Private Party, Quincy

Sunday, June 8: Whatevers, Ridge View Winery, Camp Point Ill., 2-5 p.m.

Saturday June 28, Prospect Road, Sportsmen's, Mount Sterling Ill., 8 p.m. 

Sunday, July 6: Prospect Road, Private Party, Quincy

Jersey Boys, Quincy Community Theater: July 10-13, 17-20

Saturday July 28: Prospect Road, 19th Hole, Augusta Ill, 2 p.m.

Saturday Aug. 9:  Travis Hoffman and Rodney Hart, Quincy Brewing Company, 7-9 p.m.

Saturday Aug. 16, Whatevers, Pour Haus, Quincy, 7 p.m.

Saturday Aug 30: Prospect Road 2.0, Private Party, Quincy

Saturday, Sept. 6: The Whatevers (full band), Adams County Bicentennial party, Adams County Fairgrounds, more details TBA

Saturday Sept. 13: The Whatevers (Allison and Rodney),  Quincy Brewing Company, 7-9 p.m.

Saturday Sept. 27: The Whatevers, Private Party, Quincy 

Saturday Oct. 4: Prospect Road, Pour Haus, Quincy, 7 p.m.

Sunday Oct. 19: Whatevers, Ridgeview Winery, Camp Point Ill., 2-5 p.m.

Sunday Dec. 14: Travis and Rodney, Ridgeview Winery, Camp Point Ill., 2-5 p.m.

 

 

 

Neighborhood noise - music to my ears

 LAST SATURDAY I spent most of the afternoon puttering in the yard. It was still a bit chilly but reasonable. I got some yardwork done and started a fire with all the sticks and limbs downed over the winter.

A few houses down the alley live Jim and Donna. They have grandkids. They were over for Easter Saturday and I think there was an Easter egg hunt. There was lots of giggling and bellowing and excitement. At one point, little brother said, "I don't know HOW to battle!" 

"That's okay. We will teach you," said older sister, barely able to contain her laughter.

On the other side of the street, in the alley, three young boys were shooting hoops. They were out there all afternoon. Dribble dribble dribble SWOOSH. Or, dribble dribble dribble CLUNK and "you missed!"

When I stuck my head out in the early evening, they were still shooting.

All of these sounds are music to my ears. We live in a world of iPods and video games and you don't see kids running around just playing. It should happen more often.

Seems to me on Rue Mercier, Riverside Drive and Rosewood the Hart kids were always outside. I was smacking a hockey puck on a frozen driveway, pitching against the back of the garage wall or on a hunt for golf balls at the nearby golf course. I walked down railroad tracks and disappeared into woods and creeks and into off the trail hiding places. All you needed was imagination. The setting was always there.

More sounds of kids playing and laughing, please. It makes everything better.

 

 

Updated gig schedule

A lot of shows added since a month or so ago ....  There are some new Ridge View Winery in Camp Point dates added to this list, and a few others. As always, double check with the venue on the start times, but this should be accurate.

Date/Band/Venue

Saturday April 26: Travis Hoffman and Rodney Hart, Quincy Brewing Company, 7-9 p.m.

Saturday, May 3: Travis and Rodney, Dogwood Parade party at Lorenzo Bull House, Noon.

Saturday May 3: Prospect Road 2.0, Shorteez, Clayton Ill., 7:30 p.m.

Saturday May 10: Second Stringers, Mayfest, Quincy, 1 p.m.

Saturday May 17: The Whatevers (Allison and Rodney), Quincy Brewing Company, 7-9 p.m.

Saturday, May 24: Prospect Road 2.0, Down On The Corner, Marceline, Ill, 7 p.m.

Saturday, June 7: Whatevers, Private Party, Quincy

Sunday, June 8: Whatevers, Ridge View Winery, Camp Point Ill., 2-5 p.m.

Saturday June 28, Prospect Road, Sportsmen's, Mount Sterling Ill., 8 p.m.

Sunday, July 6: Travis and Rodney, Ridgeview Winery, Camp Point Ill., 2-5 p.m.

Jersey Boys, Quincy Community Theater: July 10-13, 17-20

Saturday July 28: Prospect Road, 19th Hole, Augusta Ill, 2 p.m.

Saturday Aug. 9:  Travis Hoffman and Rodney Hart, Quincy Brewing Company, 7-9 p.m.

Saturday Aug. 16, Whatevers, Pour Haus, Quincy, 7 p.m.

Saturday Aug 30: Prospect Road 2.0, Private Party, Quincy

Saturday, Sept. 6: The Whatevers (full band), Adams County Bicentennial party, Adams County Fairgrounds, more details TBA

Saturday Sept. 13: The Whatevers (Allison and Rodney),  Quincy Brewing Company, 7-9 p.m.

Saturday Sept. 27: The Whatevers, Private Party, Quincy 

Saturday Oct. 4: Prospect Road, Pour Haus, Quincy, 7 p.m.

Sunday Oct. 19: Whatevers, Ridgeview Winery, Camp Point Ill., 2-5 p.m.

Sunday Dec. 14: Travis and Rodney, Ridgeview Winery, Camp Point Ill., 2-5 p.m.

 

Clothes shopping made fun - really

  

What a fab find!

RECENTLY I SAW a post from a local band suggesting it was a good idea to "dress sharp" when playing local gigs.

HAHAHAHAHAH,

Since I can't look sharp, I don't worry about it. Most of my "gig" wardrobe is older than the Lab Brats at Blessing. Combined. And don't ask me to tuck in that shirt with bananas on it.

That's where it started, with the bananas shirt. Who knows where I got it. A week ago Alicia McCarl of Prospect Road said she loved the bananas shirt. So it got me thinking ... maybe I need to update the gig wardrobe.

Who am I kidding? I get chastised on a daily basis for wearing "blue on blue" and donning white socks with black sneakers. That's a bad thing? 

So I decided to update the gig wardrobe, whatever that means. I enlisted the fashionista of girl singers, the lovely Allison McElroy of The Whatevers, to help. "Yes! I love to thrift!" she said.

Thrift?

"We gotta check out the thrift stores," she said. 

"Agreed," I said. "I did not know 'thrift' is a verb."

So, Saturday afternoon, we embarked on a thrifting adventure. I hate shopping for clothes but Allison made it fun. She is very into the fashion thing and she often lets me know what she is wearing before we play a Whatevers gig.

"I'm wearing this and NO you can't wear that," is usually what she says.

Turns out the thrift stores didn't have much. I found a hat that says "Weight Watchers" on it, which makes no sense for me to have, so I got it. And a shirt with palm trees. But that's all we found

"I think we need to go to Kohl's," Allison said, referring to a local clothing store.

"Good idea," I said. "Let's hurry before the tariffs hit so I can still afford it."

Nope. Not gonna happen, girl singer.

This was a great idea. Kohls had tons of cheap shirts perfect for gigs. Allison even found one for herself with a slogan about Old Fashions on it. She loves Old Fashions. 

I found one with a ridiculous cat mosiac theme, another with Garfield the cat, a Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon shirt and a horrendously gaudy dress shirt with something leafy or with birds on leaves on it. Score!

 "That one with the cats is you," Allison said. "Coco will love it too."

We ended up laughing our way through Kohls the whole time and it was a blast. Afterwords we met up with Allison's husband, Ryan, and had ourselves a fine cigar at Lux Stogie. Yup. The girl singer is getting into cigars. I'm still pinching myself.

So now I'm set for a few gig debut "outfits" and very excited. Wait. What the heck is wrong with me? Did I just actually say that?

Ugh. Allison ... you are a bad, bad influence on me. Or a fashionable one, at least.

 

Redo

 SO THE BLOG domain expired a few weeks ago. Not good timing, with all kinds of things going on.

It's been reset.

- First of all, congrats Linda Moore on becoming the first woman mayor in Quincy. She is all fired up and ready to get to work. 

- The Jeff Vankanegan celebration at the Dock Sunday was a roaring success. It was just like falling off a bike playing again with Cheeseburgers John Hodge, Burt Shackleton, Brad Fletcher and Kirk Gribbler. Little Sister was amazing and thank you Eric McKay for the music and putting things together with Rollo Sound. Jeff was and is loved and missed.

- The spring and summer is getting booked up. Saturday is a big night at The Club Tavern with Prospect Road. I'll update the gig calendar in a few days. Let's rock!

- Congrats to Dr. Emily Hart's Florida Gators, the NCAA men's basketball champs. Emily says the campus has been going crazy and I bet there are some groggy students this morning. Undoubtedly the reason the Gators won was because they hired Dr. Hart as a professor. She's planning on teaching again next year, so Florida will likely repeat.

- Hopefully I'll be a little better in doing this blog regularly. Among the adventures coming up are a family wedding, the 10-year men's health medical update (ugh) and how to be nice to difficult people who are idiots. That last one will write itself. Stay tuned!

 

The mayor and public safety

WE ARE EIGHT days away.

I'm all in for Linda Moore. I'm all out and against the current mayor, especially when it comes to public safety.

It started when Bernie Vahlkamp was selected chief of the Quincy Fire Department. This was at the beginning of the current mayor's term. The current mayor didn't like Vahlkamp getting the job, and wasn't afraid to say so in public.

The current mayor wanted somebody else. The three-person Police and Fire Commission uses an exhaustive and comprehensive system to hire chiefs. The commission did its job. Suddenly, the mayor was angry. Lo and behold, two of the commissioners were fired (one illegally), despite many years of good service. Kerry Anders and Steve Meckes deserved better.

The current mayor wanted to get rid of the other commissioner, Barry Cheyne. But Barry screwed up. He was named the citizen of the year by the Quincy Service Club, a prestigious honor. Our mayor had no choice. He kept Barry on the commission. Thankfully the three people have sailed along and have simply done their jobs - congrats, Steve Salrin, on becoming the new fire chief. It was well deserved and the commission got it right.

Then there's the whole police chief debacle. I gotta be careful here and it's no secret Adam Yates is one of my best friends. But that whole thing was a sham and disgusting and I'm amazed there wasn't more blowback, especially after the mayor decided a Springfield attorney conduct an "investigation" into the police chief hiring process. Maybe there was blowback after needlessly spending a lot of money. Maybe there were other issues like the police union contract and the city health insurance not working. Maybe City Council should have had enough and given the mayor a vote of no confidence.

Wait. That DID happen. I almost forgot, sorry.

Hey mayor - just because you hear something coming from around the corner at the barbershop doesn't mean it's true.

Our mayor rigged the system so he could get his guy in as police chief. Thankfully this man turned the job down. I would love to get some honest answers why.

All we know is Adam Yates eventually did get the title of Chief. The mayor himself says Adam has done the job well. Sometimes the good guys do win and things work out.

A good mayor works things out with department heads and works with city council. No doubt that will get a hair easier now with two new faces on City Council. A good mayor encourages debate and discussion on Monday nights, but a good mayor works hard at getting people onboard and moving forward with what's best for the city.

That will happen if Linda Moore is elected mayor in eight days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Crank it up!

 EVERY YEAR IT seems there's an idea about slowing down, not playing so much.

PFFFFFFFFFFTTTTT.

Here it is, the spring and summer into fall schedule. It will get changed and updated. The highlight is Jersey Boys at the Quincy Community Theatre in July. Monica Scholz is assembling another killer band and I'm already ready!

All times are also scheduled to change - check with the venue before you head out to make sure. 

Date/Band/Venue

Saturday March 29: Prospect Road 2.0, Down On the Corner, Marceline, Ill., 8 p.m.

Sunday April 6: The Cheeseburgers, Jeff Vankanegan celebration of life, The Dock, Quincy, Noon-5 p.m. OG Burgers play approximately 3 ish.

Saturday April 12: Prospect Road 2.0, The Club Tavern, Quincy, 8 p.m.

Saturday April 26: Travis Hoffman and Rodney Hart, Quincy Brewing Company, 6-9 p.m.

Saturday May 3: Prospect Road 2.0, Shorteez, Clayton Ill., 7:30 p.m.

Saturday May 10: Second Stringers, Mayfest, Quincy, 1 p.m.

Saturday May 17: The Whatevers (Allison and Rodney), Quincy Brewing Company, 6 p.m.

Saturday June 28, Prospect Road, Sportsmen's, Mount Sterling Ill., 8 p.m.

Jersey Boys, Quincy Community Theater: July 10-13, 17-20

Saturday July 28: Prospect Road, 19th Hole, Augusta Ill, 2 p.m.

Saturday Aug. 9:  Travis Hoffman and Rodney Hart, Quincy Brewing Company, 6 p.m.

Saturday Aug 30: Prospect Road 2.0, Private Party, Quincy

Saturday Sept. 13: The Whatevers (Allison and Rodney),  Quincy Brewing Company, 6 p.m.

Saturday Sept. 27: The Whatevers, Private Party, Quincy

 

 

Barrie the bird and never getting lost

 I HAVE A habit of making wrong turns and getting lost. It's inherited from my late mother, God bless her. My internal GPS has wires plugged into wrong circuits. 

I'm trying to get better at not getting lost, thanks to a simple yet thoughtful gift from a Lab Brat. And it's already helping me with road rage. Win win!

Last Saturday I went to St. Louis with a couple of other Lab Brats and I turned east instead of west to get back on the highway. Then I turned off on the wrong exit near Troy. We ended up going around a brand new roundabout and careened back down the exit to the highway - it was amazing and you gotta look at the bright side of the directionally-challenged thing.

Monday, my friend Jennifer Henthorn, who works at the main 11th Street lab at Blessing, gave me a bird made out of paper. It's called origami, the Japanese art of folding a single piece of paper into an object. This thing is way cool and I've put it on the front dashboard of my work vehicle. There's no way I'll ever get lost and the bird, named Barrie, will guide me and keep me from losing my marbles when dealing with the usual crazies on the road.

Barrie is amazing. Jennifer shrugged it off by saying "I've made them since fourth grade and this is the only thing I know how to make." It's the simple things and gestures that count and this one is huge.

He is named Barrie in honor of the city north of Toronto where Canadian relatives live. They need to know we aren't all ignorant bullies.

Barrie just seems to be a calming influence. Yesterday I got cut off by a pickup truck on U.S. 61 near Palmyra. Normally I scream and curse and get bent. But with Barrie leading the way, I kept the cursing volume low and got over it quickly. See? I'm trying harder to be a light, and Barrie is helping.

With a new bridge by Mo. 6 being built and roads closing left and right in Quincy, I'm gonna need  patience. Now there are signs indicating construction on I-172 near the Hannibal exit, so Barrie will help me find the best way and deal with single highway lanes and semi-trucks changing lanes at will.

Thanks you Jenny! Barrie is a welcome addition to lab courier adventures and will help me keep it between the lines. Even when getting cut off.

All in for Linda

 I HATE POLITICS. Many politicians are blowhards who make promises they can't keep. I vote every election because it's a right and it's important. But I don't jump up and down when it comes to the way we govern ourselves and how we choose our representatives.

Except now.

I'm all in for Linda Moore, who is running for mayor. She isn't running as a Republican or Democrat - refreshing! The election is in less than a month. She's going up against an incumbent who is well-financed but has more issues with his own party than just Linda.

You know the old saying - "If you can't say something nice about somebody, don't say anything at all." So I'm not saying another word about the current mayor. You are welcome.

Don't underestimate Linda. She is tireless and has a lot of support. Can she win? I'd call her the underdog right now in a town that tends to vote 70 percent Republican.

This is my opinion. And only mine. And it's probably wrong, because I'm no good at political stuff and predicting things.

But ...

There is a Lab Brat at Blessing who is young, married, lives in her own house and has started a family. I asked her if she is voting in the mayoral election. She said, "I don't think it matters. It's already been decided."

Actually, SHE is the one who will decide it, her and not that many more just like her. It's all about getting the vote out. I am not afraid of telling people, especially young people, to get registered and to vote, because it matters. I don't tell them who to vote for. That's their decision and their right.

So I'm all in for Linda Moore. And I'm making a plea to you if you live in Quincy but are not registered to vote and don't plan on voting April 1.

Just. Vote. You might be surprised what a difference it makes.

 

Arizona, golf and … hockey?

 ON THE WAY to lovely Phoenix and stuck in the St. Louis airport on a two-hour flight delay, it seems there is only one thing as important as the annual Arizona Golf Bender - the 4 Nations game Thursday night between Canada and the USA.

This is a rematch of last Saturday’s game and it will be just as intense. But here’s the issue - who to root for?

My brother Steve lives in Chandler and hosts the Bender. My cousin Roland from Michigan will there. Steve and I have dual citizenship and I think Roland does too. We are all into it.

The game has additional meaning since the US President is a knucklehead and has stirred up the normally polite Canadians. I think we need to make Wisconsin a Canadian province and put tariffs on hockey pucks imported from Quebec. While we are at it maybe we can trade the guy who is President to Moose Jaw for a draft pick. A very low draft pick.

Anyway I’ve always cheered for both countries. I was born in the States but grew up in Canada and have a Canadian father. I have no desire to move back but you never know - maybe ICE will investigate to two illegal alien cats living in my garage and get me in trouble. 

I can still remember the Summit Series of 1972 when Canada played the Soviets in an epic 8-game series. We were still living in London, Ontario in 1980 during the Miracle On Ice and it was stirring to watch. It’s tough when the US plays Canada because there are allegiances to both. Canadian fans are booing the Star Spangled Banner (an awful song) and US fans are gloating about beating the Canadians at their national pastime. 

In the end, I’m leaning toward the Leaf because I like being a heal. The three Hosers in Chandler will be doing a lot of hooting and hollering Thursday night regardless, and the 4 Nations has been great for the game in general. If you’ve never watched hockey before … this would be a good one to start with!

May the best team win. Also, rooting during a hockey game when it’s 70 and sunny is NOT overrated.

Rubber bands, computer cables and happy cats

You pull it. I'll chase it!

 

 CATS HAVE IT figured out. Less is more, unless you are talking about sleep.

Coco spends her long winter days asleep in any number of places. If I leave a sweatshirt on the floor it becomes her mattress. Or she'll crawl onto the east-facing window ledge in the morning and warm up with the sun.

She is usually awake and going crazy when I get home from work. She likes the attention and loves to play. So we've acquired an impressive amount of cat toys. Most are stuffed birds, balls and things tied to a stick. There's a flopping fish which actually has a rechargeable battery - I somehow found a cable to charge it up and it's flopping again.

Coco is a playful cat but unless you put catnip on her toy, she is one and done. So I picked up a bunch of old and moldy cat toys recently and tossed them. Coco didn't mind. "It's kind of like after the Lions finish the season. You just throw it away and forget about it," she said.

The other night Coco was charging around the house with the zoomies. Then she jumped five feet in the air and batted at something. It took a second until I realized it was a rubber band. Yes. A STUPID rubber band. All these toys and this is what riles you up?

"Rubber bands are the best," Coco said. "You can pull them and smack them and try to break them but they just seem to bounce back. And they make funny noises if you pull them the right way."

That's been cat toy No. 1 lately, until she finally snapped it too hard and it broke. Coco was disconsolate. But, lo and behold, the computer cable I used to charge up the flopping fish was laying on the ground, and Coco attacked it with a vengeance. 

Now it's every morning. "You hold it up and I'll bat it and try to eat it," Coco says. 

Every. Morning.

Here's the moral of the story. You can have all the toys you want, the latest and greatest gear, the desensitizing video games, the stuff that makes Amazon and the world go around.

Or you can be happy with a rubber band and a computer cable that looks like a string.

As usual, Coco is the one making sense and teaching life lessons. It's her world. We are just the ones holding the computer cables so she can bat at them.

 

All trivia and no Lions

  COCO IS STILL very upset about the Lions losing Saturday night. She's also ticked off I didn't watch the game with her.

Coco, of course, thinks she's a Lion. And she's only become interested in the Lions since they started winning a few years ago. She's a bandwagon fan, like most of the Chiefs fans around here, but Coco doesn't sugarcoat it. "Look, I've only been alive a few years. I'm not bitter and old like you," she says.

A month or so ago I got invited to be on a music trivia team by Justin Sievert. It was the same time as the Lions playoff game. Oh well ... I left the game on for Coco and headed out.

Fellow Prospect Road member Alicia McCarl was also on our team. I learned a few things Saturday night - don't argue with Alicia about the name of the stupid Belinda Carlisle song, for starters. Also I actually knew the words to a Queen song but learned them wrong. And yes, I did know that Vixen sang "Edge of a Broken Heart" which is both gratifying and terrifying at the same time.

Anyway, Emily texted me from sunny Florida and let me know the Lions played badly and blew it. So my blood pressure stayed a lot lower by going to a music trivia contest instead of watching the game. Even Coco eventually agreed I was better off. She was depressed all day yesterday and is still in a funk. As usual something else made her finally boil over.

"What? You bought a heated cat bed for the garage alley cats? You ... you .... TRAITOR," she meowed.

Emily was born in Michigan and lived for many years in upstate New York, so she's also a Bills fan. A long time ago she said, "Dad, at tailgate parties these crazy Bills fans jump off of campers and into tables like wrestling!" That was enough to hook me and now I'm a Bills fan too.

Even Coco was glad the Bills won yesterday. We are both wondering if they will get flagged for breathing on the Chiefs quarterback this Sunday. "That KC quarterback flops like a fish," Coco said. She's right. All the time.

So we'll probably watch Sunday, and Coco will either feel better about it or really get ticked off. Cold January days and nights are tough enough to get through and I want Coco to be happy.

C'mon Bills! Beat the floppers. And make life a little easier around here for Coco. And me.

 

  

Tips for dancing with a local star

 The 15th Dancing With The Local Stars event is Feb. 7 at the Ambiance in Quincy. It's modeled after the TV show and is highly entertaining. Why would I know?

Well. I was in the first one, 14 years ago. My partner was Julie Venvertloh. We did a disco routine and our instructor was from Vancil Performing Arts. I met the late Frank Haxel for the first time at the Vancil studios when I wandered into the wrong building - there's something poetic about that - and he told me to go across the street, but not when there was traffic.

I can remember walking up and down a snowy 9th Street to attend practices, and how I felt like a massive klutz. This was the very first DWTLS event, and Cornerstone hit gold right away. It took place at the Holiday Inn on East Broadway and was sold out. It was also right before we opened Second String Music, so there was a lot going on.

Happy days, indeed.

The Mighty One, Adam Yates, is competing this year. He's dancing with Sam McKelvie, who is amazing. It's a bucket list item for me to attend one of her Zumba classes, but I'm afraid everybody else would be laughing too hard, or horrified, and I'd disrupt the class.

Strange how Adam and Sam haven't reached out to ask for advice or tips from an OG. Actually, it's not strange. I can't dance. But geesh, did Julie and I have fun.

Sheryl managed to find a gaudy disco outfit. I found the wig and sunglasses the other day while decluttering a junk room.I'm making an effort to toss stuff, but I don't have to heart to get rid of the disco outfit - yet.

Julie was sensational. I did not forget half the routine, I improvised half the routine. I believe there was a lot of beer involved. Chris Kelley was a judge and gave us high marks, but the other judges may have had too much beer and weren't as kind.

I was a judge the next year, to the best of my recollection, and that was fun as well. A couple of years later Kathleen Birsic and Kris Kutcher won it, and the next day they paraded around downtown with the trophy while making, uh, pit stops. They came into Second String Music very proud and very happy, with predictably hysterical results.

Sam and Adam have their work cut out for them this year. I've seen The Mighty One bust a move a time or two, and he has obvious rhythm skills being a drummer and all. But there are some formidable teams and some Quincy Community Theater veterans dancing, and they'll be good.

I look forward to being entertained! If Sam and Adam win, maybe we'll parade around town the next day too! Not.

 

Bands battling - good and bad

 HERE IS AN interesting event May 31 in Quincy - a battle of the bands, put on by Quincy Raceways.

Intriguing. There hasn't been a "battle of the bands" around here for a long time. When Second String Music started up we were involved in several of them, and while it was great to see local talent on the stage, the experiences weren't always the best for us.

For one thing you have to have judges, and judges are biased, no matter how experienced and fair they might seem. You would hope judges give each act a chance and decide how good they are by performance. 

And there's a telling statement in the Quincy Raceways promotion for people attending - "bring your best dance moves." Hmmm. Makes sense, because they want people to be entertained.

Right now there are not that many bands period, let alone younger bands, in the Quincy area. Twenty-five years ago when The Funions were around there were amazing younger bands like Fielder, SuperImposed, PreDawn Hour and many more. Now? I'm getting into trouble because I know there are younger bands out there, so my apologies are issued in advance.

This should be about bands, not people who play to tracks. There are performers out there who do this and are very good at it and that’s fine - but this for bands. There is something real about actual live performance. 

There is a thriving area metal scene and some seriously talented bands. They do what they do very well. But most local venues aren't going to pony up for that kind of scene. They. Just. Aren't. That's why you see great shows at places like The State Room, where five or six bands play on the bill. Those bands do it for the love of playing and I have a lot of respect for them.

Friends like Brad Fletcher and Ian Carlstrom are involved in such projects and they are incredible. They should be playing sold-out arena shows, not sharing the bill with five other bands in a cramped basement venue. Then again, bands like Continued Without A Finding love playing in cramped basement venues. Or Iceland at a death metal festival. It's who they are. Rock on!

Somewhere I hope there are younger people who want to play who are motivated by the Quincy Raceways event. Dreams, belief in what you do and the passion for playing are beautiful things. If it takes a battle of the bands and a $5,000 first place prize to stoke the fire, so be it. Do it!

Combat the cold by thinking Goony

Indian Mounds Park this morning.

 

  THERE IS SOMETHING lucid and searing about a cold and pristine winter morning. We just got back from an Indian Mounds Park walk - the dogs love careening through the snow and it's not bad if you keep moving.

But ... the snow and the cold can get you down. Do what I do if you want to combat the winter blues - think about a Lake Michigan beach and Goony Races!

 

Roland Hart, my cousin, sent the above photo from about 10 years ago. I think Sheryl may have taken it. Roland’s father, the late Peter Hart, is my uncle. Peter and Helen Hart lived on a wooded dune above Lake Michigan, and we spent countless sun-drenched days on his beach between Saugatuck and Holland.

You can see Peter's grandchildren and others lined up, ready do the Goony Race. I invented it, more than 20 years ago. Peter is just to the right, egging us all on. We all lined up and charged as fast as we could into the waves of Lake Michigan, acting as silly and "goony" as possible. At the end, the silliest person won. It was always me.

Uncle Peter could be a serious man who tackled serious issues, like world peace and conflict resolution. But he also delighted in the absurd and he took great joy in ... joy. So the Goony Race was right up his alley.

I'm feeling the warmth of the sun from this golden day a decade ago. It's probably on a Labor Day weekend. It looks to be early afternoon. The grandkids had been begging for a Goony Race for a while. When you are on the beach and listening to the waves and having good family conversation, you took your time before unleashing Goony.

Of course, the cold beverages ("rivers of beer" as Peter called them) didn't hurt either. And by late August or early September, Lake Michigan was warm enough to swim in and cool enough to take the sting out of the summer sun.

You can see Peter laughing as we all head to the water. He didn't go in, of course. It was his way of pranking us. But I also think we wanted to see all the silliness and sheer childish joy unfolding in front of him. Who can blame him?

I'm already feeling warmer while starting out the window at the winter landscape.

The snow will melt and the air will get warmer and soon I'll be making plans to go to that beach to help spread Peter's ashes. Maybe I'll be a little Goony when I do it.

Think warmer Goony thoughts and we will get through these cold winter days. In other words ... Just. Keep. Going.

Resolutions ... whatever

 NEW YEAR, NEW plans. Blah blah blah. I think New Year's resolutions are like Silly Putty - fun to play around with and stretch, but no practical application.

But ... I'm gonna try a few things. Why not? If you fail, you fail. Just. Keep. Going.

1. DRY JANUARY: Just got done with two awesome band gigs, at The Club Tavern on New Year's Eve and Jan. 1 afternoon show at Shorteez in Clayton. I had very little to drink NYE, and nothing to drink yesterday. I feel surprisingly good this morning. Hmmmm .... might be something to this whole not drinking thing. So, January is no booze month. We'll see how long it lasts.

2 LESS IS MORE: Santa brought me a Strymon Iridium pedal for Christmas. Actually, he made me pay for it and he charged me shipping, but that's another story. This thing is amazing, just a small box that replaces your amplifier. On stage, it means way less volume because you plug it right into the PA. I used it the past two gigs and it made a huge difference. How nice it is to not have your ears ringing for days! The moral of the story is that less is more. Musicians tend to get obsessed with gear. If you play in a band, nobody cares what kind of guitar or amp you have, they just want to hear good music.  I am a very average guitar players but the Iridium is helping me play better. So the less ends up being way more!

3. MORE, NOT LESS: I gotta do more of these blogs. I go long stretches where I'm struggling for ideas and unmotivated. That has to stop. The number of blog hits doesn't matter. I'm not great at it, but writing is therapeutic and rapidly becoming a lost art.

4. UNCLUTTER: I have a really nice Fender Blues Junior IV I don't use. I'm selling it. PM on Facebook if you want. I'm going to try and go upstairs into the junk room and slowly but surely get rid of stuff. 

5. EMBRACE IT: We have snow coming this weekend. Everybody around here is panicking already. Why? It's fun to play in and it's better than icy rain. When stuff comes up, you can bitch and moan, or face it and deal with it, even own it.

6. READ MORE BOOKS: Stop going down stupid social media rabbit holes less. And don't read the comments from the Web Warriors. Nuff said.

So there it is. 2025 - Just Keep Going. Here's to a better year.