John Hendow

Friday 8/13 The Dudley Manlove Quartet performed at the Tulalip Casino, augmented by our horn section “the Plan 9 horns”. This is always an interesting venue for the band. Like many other tribal casinos the Tulalip allows smoking. Since Washington enacted the ban on smoking on bars, I really haven’t been exposed to nearly as much smoke as in previous years. It’s something that has made playing (or just being) in a bar more pleasant. Another interesting thing about this show is the absolute rule of no alcohol while working. The band members are considered employees of the casino which means we’re governed by the same in-house rules as all other employees: no gambling, no drinking. It’s not a big deal to us, but it’s an interesting perspective on how bands are experiencing the increased enforcement of in-house rules at venues.
The band played a great show and had fun. Our audience was the usual combination of friends and random strangers who wandered in from the casino floor. A few friends from high school came to hear the band, including a very accomplished  keyboard player by the name of Chris Joss. Back in high school (nearly 30 years ago!), Chris was unquestionably the most talented and well-known musician in the school. Lately he’s been exploring all kinds of interesting music and continues to play professionally. Always fun to catch up with friends, especially with such a good musician!
I put my amp slightly differently from its usual placement on this stage. They have an excellent monitor system at the Casino and the house sound operator always puts some guitar in my mix. It means I’m not dependent on my amp for hearing myself on stage, and I get a faithful un-eq’d version of my sound from the monitor. This is unusual and I definitely appreciate it. So the Twin sat toward the back of the stage just providing a nice source of audio for SM57 feeding the FOH mix.

Saturday 8/14 The Dudley Manlove Quartet performed at the Tractor Tavern in Ballard. This is a great music bar and has a long history of terrific bands who have played there. Again, the Plan 9 horns joined us for the evening. The stage isn’t nearly as expansive as the Casino, but we managed to fit eight people up there without trouble. This was probably the hottest bar gig we’ve played all year. Early in the day we saw a forecast for 90+ degree temperatures, and the band voted to abandon our usual stage suits in favor of short-sleeved shirts. The temperature in the bar must have been at least 100 degrees! We played an extended version of our set list, which featured the horn section.
I had my amp at the back of the stage, tilted up with a what stage production personnel would call a “technical spacer”; actually it was just a roll of duct tape wedged under the front of the amp. This small adjustment made it possible to hear myself pretty well despite the auditory chaos of all those people, horns and the warm wet air in the room. There is one significant advantage to playing summer bar gigs when the air is so hot and full of moisture: it makes guitar amps sound great! I’ve never figured out what specific physical effect is happening, but it’s probably the additional work the amp is having to do when exciting denser air. Much easier to get controlled feedback, and the overall sound seems even. When this show was over my guitar was a mess! I used some rubbing alcohol to clean up the strings and wiped down the neck and body with non-wax polish. It wasn’t perfect, but decent enough to be used for the Sunday gig.

Sunday 8/15 the 1 Uppers performed at a private event over on Bainbridge Island. With 90 degree temperatures in the forecast the merciful approach might have been to go without our suits, but fashion overcame our desire for comfort. We played outdoors on the deck of a house, to the delight of children, dogs, and adults. Definitely a fun event with a beautiful view and yummy food. The black stratocaster was suitably “seasoned” after two days of sweaty gigs, so my strings had a country-blues approved tone. I also opted for a smaller footprint on this gig by bringing the M9 as my only effects system, and by using the Hot Rod Deluxe for my amp. The M9 has a very good sound that lest my guitar’s tone shine. I use a pretty simple signal chain in the 1 Uppers so this is a great, easy to manage setup. Our set was the usual assortment of country favorites and originals, somewhat shaped by committee. We had a few guitar showdowns, with everyone getting in on the fun during “Luxury Liner”. Jon Hyde and Kris Geren laid down a bunch of wicked solos at this show. Once again I went home determined to come up with better licks for this band. Always a pleasure to get together with these gentlemen.

Tuesday 8/16 the Preons performed on the roof of the Bell Street Conference Center in downtown Seattle. This event was part of a social media gathering, and we were invited to play a set of music. This marked the first Preons show in a while, and it was good to be performing for an audience again. Fortunately we were facing west, so while the audience was watching the band, we were looking at a stunning sunset. This show was a little challenging since we didn’t have any vocal monitors. It meant that we had to simply do our best to sing in tune without being able to hear anything. Definitely not ideal, but we managed. For rehearsals I use a different bass amp; it’s been a few months since I fired up the Ashdown half stack and I was immediately reminded of why I like this amp. It’s big and bold, and produces an authoritative fundamental bass tone.

So, after four gigs in just five days (with three bands!) I’m pretty satisfied with my musical life. I’m blessed to be working with such talented musicians, and it’s always a pleasure to get together for a live show. On to the next!