Mauler Mayhem

Now THAT was a music-filled weekend of mayhem. And a new puppy. And family.

Saturday night we went to the Maulers final performance. The Maulers are hard to describe. They are not a fake band. They are more like an air tribute band. Randy Phillips had a party at his Coatsburg house for The Maulers "final" performance.

It. Was. Epic.

First of all, he had Trent Vogel running sound, always a good thing. Then he invited live bands to play, including me and Brien Murphy. Brien used to work at The Whig but we haven't played together in a decade. So we had a brief practice Saturday afternoon and decided to have my nephew Riley, visiting from Phoenix, play the cajon with us.

What fun. Even if I forgot most of the words. Playing with Brien was a blast once again, and we invited legendary Mauler Sam Middendorf to bang out a couple of songs with us.

Burt Shackleton of The Cheeseburgers got his old band, Johnny 7, back together for a set. It was a night of music and laughing and more laughing and just .... fun.

We had the show in Randy's huge shed, since the rain was on the way. Sure enough, it started pouring as the Maulers were playing. That cut down on the pyro but not the sound level or energy.

This is supposedly the final show ever for the Maulers. Sure. Whatever.

See you next year!

BTW, Sheryl brought home Angus on Sunday, giving me about 15 minutes notice of his arrival. Turns out he is a great puppy!

Be Bopping Again!

HOPE YOU ARE ready for a great weekend - Blues In The District, MidSummer Arts Faire, The Maulers farewell show and all kinds of chaos at Fifth and Maine. Let's go!

One of my former guitar students, Anne Navolio, came into the store Thursday and dropped off the world's greatest T-shirt. Her father, Bob, used to own Bob's Be-Bop Records at Eighth and Maine. It was the hippest and coolest store in town, and there are still lots of great stories floating around about it.

WGEM's Brian Inman was going through some old stuff recently and found a logo, and Bob then had the shirts made.

I'm about to cry.

I miss Anne a lot, she was and will always be one of my favorite students. She's off to college now and to see the big wide world - and hopefully she has a Bob's Bebop Records shirt to remind her of her father's glorious past!

Visit from family

MY BROTHER STEVE, who lives in Phoenix, is coming to Quincy this weekend with his son, Riley. They are catching us on a really busy weekend - MidSummer Arts Faire, the Maulers last-ever (please) gig, and the usual insanity of a music store in the thick of things.

Steve and Riley are self-reliant and have a rental car, so I'm sure they will find stuff to do on their own. We'll probably take in a Gems game and run the dogs a time or two, and sit in the Calftown backyard by the fire.

My two sisters and father live far away, and the Michigan Harts are about seven hours north, so it's hard to get together with family. It's a special time, but aside from scrubbing the house to an inch of its death and mowing my weeds last night, we really aren't doing anything out of the ordinary to get ready.

One thing about living in Quincy - I like showing it off. It's a cool place to bomb around and see things. And Riley will probably spend hours roaming the upper floors of Second String Music, getting acquainted with the ghosts upstairs.

Hopefully they have fun in the Q-Town!

Don't worry, Mr. Burglar - you'll be caught

THERE'S BEEN AN upsurge in reported burglaries in Quincy. Click here for the latest Whig story. When I was the crime and courts reporter, I did tons of these stories, and they usually followed familiar themes.

The latest area to get hit was up by Wavering Park. The residents out there are not used to dealing with stuff like this, because there are reports of many people leaving their wallets and valuables in their cars overnight. The dirtball burglars (redundant, I know) are smashing windows and getting a little more daring.

It happens in every part of town, but in years past, it was always the "nicer" areas of town that got hit by the more organized burglars. Dirtballs aren't dumb - they know where to find the loot.

I'm going to take some guesses here - I think the dirtballs are young, bored, stoned and drunk most of the time, and just generally have had a tough time in life. Lest you think I'm blaming society, I'm not. These idiots have choices, and if they choose to do this, well ... there's only one more thing to say.

You. Will. Get. Caught.

You are already bragging. You've already said the wrong thing to the wrong person. Sooner than later,  it all comes around.

Don't say you weren't told or didn't know, dirtballs.

Playing With Percussion

PAUL WOOD AND I are playing Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the final summer Concert In The Plaza near Seventh and Maine. I hope you can hang out, eat a great lunch from the Butcher Block or Maine Course, and hear some music.

Paul plays percussion with the Quincy band Seven Days Fuller, and I think SDF is the best group in town. He's bringing a big drum with him called a dejembe. We practiced yesterday and it was so much fun.

Solo shows mean you have to provide your own rhythm. I have to adjust a bit because Paul's percussion will drive and accent the song, and I can do more "cool" stuff like picking instead of just strumming.

He had some great advice yesterday. We are doing a bunch of originals, and he said, "Don't change them. I'm your wing man and I'll figure it out."

There will be some special guests jumping up to play with us, and hopefully it won't be 90 and 90, temp and humidity.

Travis Brown of The District says the Thursday concerts have been so successful, he's planning another series in the fall.

Thanks Travis - this is a great idea and another reason why downtown Quincy is the place to be!

Not missing the old job

HAPPY FRIDAY! IT'S another busy weekend in the Q-Town with tons of stuff going on, click here for a guide to local music and more.

I got asked this morning if I miss my old job. Nearly two years after jumping without a parachute, the answer is an unequivocal NO. I miss the people I worked for and with, and every now and then I'll see one of Don O'Brien's YCMIU (You Can't Make It Up) stories, and I'll have a flashback or two.

But I'm living the dream at Fifth and Maine. I sleep in late, goof around in a music store called Second String Music, give guitar lessons to great students and go home with sore fingers and a full soul.

What more could you ask for?