DateLine-4.1.2007
Boise Area River Festival spokesman Mobray Davidson the 3rd tells Boisee that the “Fest was a family event. An event to important to lose.”

In an attempt to please out of town musicians and food vendors. The new event will be moved to the first day of April beginning in 2008. “Because so many of our out of town businesses have more important fairs and the like during the spring and summer we are moving the new River Festival.” Said Davidson

Due to the weather, in early April the Boise Area River Festival will be held “along the river” in the Taco Bell Arena. “Hey, we may even try to get a hot air balloon up in there.” Davidson is quoted as saying.

We at Boisee.com salute the new Boise Area River Festival. What could be more important than bringing back this classic. An event where out of town businesses and musicians feed and entertain tourists. April 1st 2008 will be a special time in Boise land.

Took the long way home from Dawson’s last weekend. Stanley to Galena down to Sun Valley and back through Mountain Home. The Sawtooths are stunning in the spring. Here’s a pic!

A big thanks to Dave and his staff at Dawson Taylor. This showing of my work has been the most successful ever. Only a couple of more days left to see it. Stop by and take a look. Again thanks to all who came by. I’ll keep you posted on what else is happening.

Hot off of his extremly well recieved Blind Pig Release. Boise Blue’s Boy John Nemeth will be at the Lux-Tue., April 3, 9 p.m. $12.50.
I personally can’t wait to here John’s new stuff live. Wonder if he will have his new band with him? Anyone out in webland have more deats?
Thanks Rick O for the heads up.
DRD

Remember that old arcade game “Whack-a-Mole”? The downtown bar/resturant scene is getting a lot like that old game Looks like Tapas Estrella has been wacked with a big brown mallot. Bummer, where will we get to play bingo?

A beautiful Celtic lass sent me this.

> ‘Twas the pig fair in September
> A day I quite well remember
> For I was walking up and down in drunken pride
> When my knees began to flutter
> And I sank down in the gutter
> And a pig came up and lay down by my side
> As I lay there in the gutter
> Thinking thoughts I could not utter
> I thought I heard a passing lady say:
> “You can tell the man who boozes
> By the company that he chooses!”
> And with that the pig got up and walked away.

Sometimes only one or two people get this Boisee thing. This Monday it may not even be two!

The new Chandler’s bar in the remodeled motel 43 is reported to be looking for a “name” bartender. In the more metropolitan cities. Hotshot bartenders are treated like hotshot chefs.

Only a handful of bartenders qualify. If you are looking for the best, start with the Martini Mix-Off winners.
Yes, there is more to this story, but like the Shakers post below, only time will tell.

Expect more soon.

I can’t seem to make a 9 lives joke, but here is some great from Kat’s House of Blues manager Cyndie Lee(or Nancy this time). . .

The new owners took over on the 19th of March and they are trying to keep what I started going. They have kept the band bookings so far and the groups are actually gettin paid for their efforts. Hopefully folks will go on down and support the music so all our wonderfull musicians can KEEP gettin” paid.
and from Nancy McIntosh(Actually Cyndie). . .
Hey all,
Here’s the scoop on Kat’s House of Blues.
The new owner (Joey Ramsey) seems to be a pretty decent guy who wants to KEEP the blues format and will PAY the bands he books. No more workin for tips !!!!!!
Richard Soliz will still be holding the pro jams on Thursdays.
Streetwise is booked in there for April 13 /14. I dont know what the rest of the week-ends hold next month but you can call Kat”s to inquire.
Joey says if there is a snag with the owner of the building he has another one lined out to buy and will move the blues there.

SO, we still have a blues venue, Thankfully. Peace

I’ll start with. . . “CENSORED!”

I can’t seem to make a 9 lives joke, but here is some great from Kat’s House of Blues manager Cyndie Lee. . .

The new owners took over on the 19th of March and they are trying to keep what I started going. They have kept the band bookings so far and the groups are actually gettin paid for their efforts. Hopefully folks will go on down and support the music so all our wonderfull musicians can KEEP gettin” paid.

Lot’s of moving and shaking going on down town.

File this 1st one under. “it’s a rumor, but it’s still true.”
The Real Estate crowd is holding their cards to their chest, but expect some movement on the old Shakers locations with a mid-May opening date. A certain “pair” of downtown bar/restaurant owners will be taking over the old Shakers venue. We see a high end restaurant, great food and Purple(or is it egg plant) walls.

The Boogie Woogie spot has also been looked over a time or two.

Boisee has had a long discussion over gas prices and the media. (see 10 cents) Here is a prediction. Although no media outlet discussed prices going from almost $3.00 a gallon back to $2.00 recently. There will be a rash of stories with headlines like “Gas to reach $3.00—beyond.”
This is the best example of the “bad news sells papers” ever. Just once it would be nice to see a headline like. “Gas prices crashing Soon to hit record lows. The poor and the car manufactures are rejoicing.

All work and no play makes this Monday a dull folly!

The management of Bardenay/Taqueria Calle Verde, have informed their staff that they will close Calle Verde. Many of the employees will find shifts next door.

Is location haunted? Let’s see, former tenants include, The Reading Room, Saffron, PIE, Bottega something and most recently the very hip Ten.

How about a smokey Blues bar that doesn’t charge an extra 6% on debit cards next!

Lori B! sent this. . .
Musicains know you’re too old to gig when:

 1. It becomes more important to find a place on stage for your box
fan than your amp.
 2. You refuse to play out of tune
 3. Your gig clothes make you look like George Burns out for a round
of golf.
 4. Your fans have left by 10:30 pm.
 5. All you want from groupies is a foot massage.
 6. Your after show party is at the International House of Pancakes.
 7. You love taking the elevator because you can sing along to most of

your playlist.
 8. You hire band members for their values instead of their talent.
 9. Instead of a fifth member your band wants to spring for a roadie.
10. You lost the directions to the gig.
11. You need your  glasses to see the amp settings.
12. You’ve thrown out your back jumping off the stage.
13. The waitress is your daughter/grandaughter.
14. You stop the set because your pain killers fell behind the
speakers.
15. Most of your crowd just sways in their seats.
16. You find your drink tokens from last month’s gig in your guitar
case.
17. You no longer use a tip jar.
18. You refuse to play without earplugs.
19. You ask the club owner if you can start at 7:00 instead of 9:00.
20. You check the TV schedule before booking a gig.
21. Your gig stool has a back.
22. You related to at least one member in the band.
23. You don’t let any one sit in.
24. You need a nap before the gig.
25. After the third set you bug the club owner to let you quit early.
26. During the breaks you now go to the van to lay down.
27. You prefer a music stand with a light.
28. You don’t recover until Tuesday afternoon.
29. You can’t operate  without a set list.
30. You have a contract.
31. You hope the host’s speech lasts forever…..

Mike Snodgrass added:

You buy amps considering their weight not their tone or cool factor.
You feel guilty looking at the hot chicks at the bar because they’re younger than your daughter.
You can remember 7 different club names of the same location …
You have a hazy memory of the days when you could work 10 gigs in 7days *and* could physically do it.

This weeks Photo Friday Contest challenge is Heat
Photo Friday. It is # 17—Thanks.

Nancy McIntosh has informed us that Kat’s House of Blues in Nampa will change hands and no longer have live music. The new owners are to take over April 1st. Catch Cyndie Lee and Streetwise one more time this weekend.

This is a bummer, hopefully the new owners will reconsider and keep the Blues alive in Nampa.

In a bizarre turn of events. I have been officially banned from Tom Grainey’s Sporting Pub.!!!

In an earlier post and update -Graineys-$5.50 x 5=29.15-Update/Comments- I spoke of my surprise at at bill of 29.13 for 5 $5.50 scotches. After questioning the management and the staff. I tipped the bar and paid my bill. It was a minor thing and besides posting it that was the end of the story.

Not quite. After a long day at the end of a long week, I figured Graineys would have dropped their “stupid tax” and I could get a drink. After all ol’ Toms is about the last place to see real music downtown. Wasn’t even thinking about the mix-up of last week.

Since the music wasn’t happening, I only had a drink. When I went to pay the little light bulb went off. Better check the bill. Yep, it read $5.83. When I complained the manager snatched my recept and then handed it back to me. Saying it was taken care of???

The big surprise came when a bouncer came up and asked me to leave. Worked in enough bars to not argue. At this point I was still not that pissed. However when the bar staff made it a point to publicly humiliate me and let all of the patrons know I was being removed it became personal.

So, Boisee readers, any of you like to go and see if I am the only one getting charged extra? Let me know. At this point I still don’t want to make a big deal out of this, or cause the bar any grief. Just want an apology and have this fraudulent, deceitful practice stopped.

I did contest the charges through my bank. Don’t see any reason to pay an extra 6% for a drink because I am using a debit card. Especially without notice.

Let me add a quick review of both posts.

If you buy a drink at Grainey’s and pay with your card (not cash) you will be charged an extra 6%. It is not listed on your reciept as a extra fee or as the accountants call it a “line item.” Just the total appears. No where in the bar is there a sign telling the public of the addtional charge. You will not be told by your bartender of the extra 6%! If you question this charge you may be publicly embarrassed and thrown to the street.

Althought this may be the most random of my blog posts. It should be noted that the session musicians behind this cartoon are amazing. Can you imagine how much fun they must of had. Especially the drummer!

Greetings BBS Members and Friends: Jam Session Today(Sunday-March 11th!) Terrapin Station, Boise. 3 to 7 pm.

Also, it saddens Boisee to say that the talented and troubled Paul Delay has passed. The northwest bluesman was a frequent player in Boise. He headlined a great BBS Blues Picnic just a few years ago and will be missed.

This weeks Photo Friday Contest challenge is Addiction

There are very few things as beautiful as the national anthem sung in harmony. Local group the Fabulous Chancelors do a very classy version of the anthem with 6 part harmonies.

Ross Miller writes. . . Friday, March 16. Once again we have the honor of singing our National Anthem for the Idaho Stampede at the Quest Arena (formerly The Bank of America Center), 233 South Capitol Blvd. Boise, Idaho. The game begins at 7:00 PM just after The Chancellors sing our National Anthem in six-part harmony. Since it’s a Friday night the arena is bound to be packed for a great basketball game. Be certain to arrive a bit early. We’ll see you there.

What a great reason to check out a game.

This is a time lapse of a professional photo session on director Martin Scorsese. You geeks might want to “pause” a couple of times and look at the work envolved, amazing.

Wish I had all this equipment.

Been told that I need to post more “pretty pictures” Hope this qualifies.
Took this in Horseshoe Bend on Monday. Looks great on the new canvas.

An update to an on-the-wall-in-a-memphis-bar/

A good friend will help you move.
Your best friend will help you move the body!

May of had to much time and not enought to drink this weekend.

“The worse thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they are sober.” –William Butler Yeats

“My uncle was the town drunk—and we lived in Chicago.” –George Gobel

“Beware of the man who does not drink.” –Proverb

“You can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.” - Frank Zappa.

It’s never quite the same when you’re sober, is it?~ Al Bundy

“And you, madam, are ugly. But I shall be sober in the morning.” - Winston Churchill, replying to Bessie Braddock who told him he was drunk.

“24 hours a day, 24 beers in a case . . . coincidence, I think not.”

“Booze is the answer. I don’t remember the question.”

“Don’t drink and drive, you might hit a bump and spill your drink.” - Bumper sticker

“And God said, ‘Let there be vodka !’
And He saw that it was good.
Then God said, ‘Let there be light !’
And then He said, ‘Whoa - too much light’.”

“Drink and drive. We need the business.” - Bumper sticker seen on a tow truck.”

“A bartender is just a pharmacist with a limited inventory” - Bumper sticker.

“There is nothing for a case of nerves like a case of beer.” –Joan Goldstein

“’twas a woman who drove me to drink, and I never had the courtesy to thank her for it.” - W. C. Fields.

“My grandmother is over eighty and still doesn’t need glasses. Drinks right out of the bottle.” –Henny Youngman

“A productive drunk is the bane of moralists.” –Unknown

“Bourbon.” –Tallulah Bankhead’s last words

“God looks after fools, drunkards and the United States.” –Anonymous

“Draft beer, not people!” –Sixties peace slogan

“I drink to make other people interesting.” –George Jean Nathan

“Somebody left the cork out of my lunch.” –W.C. Fields

“Why don’t we get drunk and screw?” –Jimmy Buffett

“I feel sorry for people who don’t drink when they wake up in the morning. That’s as good as they’re going to feel all day.” –Frank Sinatra

“I’d rather have a free bottle in front of me than a prefrontal lobotomy.” –Tom Waits

“Beer is not a good cocktail-party drink, especially in a home where you don’t know where the bathroom is.” –Billy Carter

“Something has been said for sobriety but very little.” –John Berryman

“Sometimes too much to drink is barely enough.” –Mark Twain

“An alcoholic is someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you do.” –Dylan Thomas

“You’re not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.” –Dean Martin

“Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”
—Dean Wormer, Animal House, 1978

“Didn’t you ever get really shitfaced and maybe make a complete fool of yourself and still have an excellent time?”
—Gib, The Sure Thing, 1985

“Here’s 50 bucks, take this in case I get drunk and call you a bitch later.”
—Ricky, Made, 2001

Earlier this year Boisee in Private Idaho noted that long time KBSU radio good guy is facing cancer. Being the fighter he is Victor is carrying on in style.

Victor’s Private Idaho(KBSU (90.3 FM; Saturdays 10 AM - 2 PM) Radio Show has become an oasis of good radio. As all media becomes more homogenized and less interesting. Private Idaho stands out.

Thanks to his blog
Vic’s Cafe he has found a new way to inspire us. Thank you Victor.

Also thanks to Idahoradionewsfor bringing this to our attention.

Melissa “Click” Larson summed up the Mike Zito performance at Graineys Monday…
What a kick ass show!

Kick Ass indeed. Most guitarist tend to find one style and lean on it. If the audience is lucky the guy on stage can almost imitate BB King’s mellow picking, and of course there area many SRV wanna bes.

The crowd Monday night was blessed with a guitarist who could do both. Not just BB and Vaughn, but Albert King, and Elmore James too. Zito has the chops to play rock like Van Hallen, or Satriani, however his talent shines on the Blues. With a unique hard edged voice, Mr. Zito roars and rip at his lyrics like a band saw. His version of “The Thrill is Gone” will stick with me for a long time. Let’s get Zito back soon.

Late in the night Mike brought rising star Nathan Jay Moody onto the stage. Nathan held his own and soon fingers flew and controlled mayhem insued. Monday night was one my favorite blues shows ever!

My mom use to say. ” if you don’t like the weather around here-wait 15 minutes.” So true of late.