connoisseur series500

Damn... ← Got burned by Moose in the past with a payment of purple shirt buttons.

I'm glad you got a chance to meet some Detroit jazz fans as opposed to Detroit Pistons fans. ← Good one, Joe. Different crowd for sure.

Great comments, Rachel. I guess I didn't recognize the kismet about us seated together. I thought it was all prearranged or something. I guess I had a lot on my mind.

Damn, hope most of those tracks are preservable. We'll miss out on the first three owing to distortion? I'm trying to remember the tunes. I think one of them was "Welcome to the Big O" or something like that. And one of them morphed into a Jobim samba, if my memory serves.

Three sets of 8 readouts all registering different input levels with some getting dangerously close to clippin' because of the loud drummer (kiddin'), kept me a bit distracted. I did leave my post a few times to check the room levels. I still haven't heard from Jim on how it all worked out. The first few tunes probably have some digital distortion and may not be usable, but I believe <crosses fingers> we got some good stuff. ← occasionally Paul, your friends are very nice people.. You guys really helped make the night happen.. I felt bad too that I didn't get a chance to say hello to Alison or Rachel.. I was sitting most of the breaks with the 3 German guys, one of which was the guy who occasionally stood near the organ, watching and admiring Jim's impressive ability to, and with all 4 limbs, operate, articulate, and cook so hard on that complex Hammond apparatus. That guy by the way, is very interested in getting our music heard in Deutschland and believes he may know some people who could maybe hook up some gigs & festivals.. So he has both Cds & a presskit and is on his way to Germany as I speak. After spending a few years here working for a Detroit based company, he is returning to his hometown of Dortmund, where the beer is really kiick ass! .. ← Those three German guys were great too. I count them as part of the gream Baker's ambience. I spoke a bit with Jurgen and with Elmo. Michael's seat was diagonal to mine and not conducive to conversation owing to the loud drumming... We had a great table all around: the three Germans, the five of our group, Rachel and Allison, and Howard and Gwen. Great, great memory.

Thanks Joe! I can tell you that we heard you fine this time. Last time at Baker's, it seemed your amp was not turned up loud enough, but we heard you digging real good (even with Randy's loud drumming.) ← When the the groove starts poppin' & hoppin' I get into the passion of the music and the moment and build the intensity.. The best shows I have ever attended have had dynamics, with drummers that can effectively play from PP (double pianissimo)- FFF (triple forte) .. The use of dynamics I think is what makes music interesting. Thanks again for coming Paul. Your presence and enthusiasm is always an inspiration. ← Yeah, after I read that first post about "Randy's loud drumming," I was wondering what Randy's response would be. Nothing pisses a drummer off more than saying he's too loud. ← I do sometimes play loud though.... Loud and proud ← ...I get the feeling Organissimo has a very balanced sound between the 3 of them on stage. The core of what they're all about seems to be interaction. But, many times....we who are in bands have to field the same allegations...."such and such (insert band member/instrument here)" is TOO LOUD. Many times that's a P.A./Soundman problem. Or the person complaining is sitting right next to said instrument. That said, some band members (usually bass players from my experience) ARE too loud. ← To clear this matter up...I didn't say that Randy's drumming was "too loud." I said it was loud, but I didn't make any qualitative judgment of that. He sure sounded fine to me last night. Randy propels the group, and that's the way it should be, as far as I'm concerned. Don't read too much into these things, Soulstream. I honestly cannot think of a single negative from last night's performance. Everything and everybody were clicking. Nuff said!

To a good guy. Happy Birthday Greg. Sorry you didn't make Baker's but we'll catch up again.

As the bandmembers start waking up, we'll hopefully hear their thoughts on last night...

Oops, Noj already picked 28 points. We'll go 30 then. That's the disadvantage in waiting before posting.

Sure am! Sorry, but I didn't have access to my computer all weekend as other family members were online. Here we go: DALLAS CHICAGO (Upset of the week) CLEVELAND CINCINNATI JACKSONVILLE MIAMI CAROLINA TENNESEE NY GIANTS SAN DIEGO DENVER TAMPA BAY NEW ENGLAND PITTSBURGH (28 POINTS)

We met Howard and Gwen for the first time last night at our table. We discovered it was Gwen's birthday, so I bullhorned that fact around as loudly as possible! Those two typify the type of people you get at Baker's. They were really enthusiastic, friendly, warm, and full of fun. What else do you need?

Thanks Joe! I can tell you that we heard you fine this time. Last time at Baker's, it seemed your amp was not turned up loud enough, but we heard you digging real good (even with Randy's loud drumming.)

Happy Birthday, Chris!

Wow! What a show! I've seen these guys at least five times (lost count!) and this was by far the best experience. They were cookin' all night; and the Baker's crowd was awesome. Towards the last set, this guy stands up over Jim as he's playing, just studying the hand movements in apparent amazement. He stood there transfixed throughout an entire tune. It was funny! I know you guys will end up cutting a lot of the stuff to fit it into the live cd, but there should be an unedited version as well. All of that music needs to be preserved! Man, we had a great time! There were five of us, and we met Rachel and Allison who sat at our table. I also met Jim's sister. For the record, GregN did buy me a beer! (I graciously passed it on to one of my friends) but, nevertheless, he did follow through... We talked for a bit but didn't have much time. That George Benson tune is really sweet. What was the title on that again? The band also played a new tune by Joe called "Crosscountry." Very pretty. "Pumpkin Pie" remained a big favorite at our table, and I noticed Allison swinging to that one too! Randy has a special rapport with the Baker's audience, I think. They all loved him. Joe played a mean guitar last night and kept up with the other two dynamos. What a show! Everybody came out of there buzzing. Thanks for the wonderful evening, and I want to buy the complete unedited performance on cd! Paul

I'm coming up with four guys this evening.

Ss1...there were 14 games played last week, not 15!! You've got a mix of the two.

I was 7-7. There were 14 games played.

I'm cool with counting it. We don't bet spreads here though. It's the winner of the games.

Wives of Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Vishvanathan Anand (3rd highest rated player in the world.) I should call this the "chess babes thread."

Rustam Kasimdzhanov (25th highest rated player in the world from Uzbekistan) and his wife, Firuza. He recently tied for 6th/7th in the World championlships.

Thank you, Sandy.

All yours, Mark. peepal address is: pdmagin@accesstoledo.com $20 for the lot.

btw, great photos, Mark. I only just got to this thread.

I am stuck here in Michigan with a couple of sick kids. But you are being put on the guest list, my friend. Fellas are stuck in traffic about 4 miles from the gig, but they should be there by the 7:30 load in time. g ← My previous post was made before reading this. Sorry to hear about your sick kids. I was, of course, only joking. Hope your kids are feeling better.

Sheldon... I love you man!! You are going to get a bigman hug from me when we meet. ← ← o.k. I'll buy ya a beer (no comments from the peanut gallery). ← Dont listen to these sweet words, Mark. He likely won't even show.