Sorry about the scarcity of posts - it’s been a busy fall…)

I enjoyed the election process. Lots of spirited discussion about issues and strategies, friendly disagreements, others of the not-so-friendly persuasion… Several of the Aces voted for Barack Obama and one of us even volunteered a whole bunch of hours towards his campaign. Now that it’s over, we’re all interested to see where he leads us.

(BUT!! We’re of course hoping that the Aces get the gig and are invited to play at the inauguration ball in DC. )

Look Out Michael Keaton - and step aside. The new Batman has arrived.

(Thanks to Jay Manifold for the Obama=Batman inspiration…)

+++ leo 037 +++

We couldn’t get loud enough for Dick last Saturday night.

Yep, Dick kept telling us to crank it. He must have liked what he heard, or at least liked the energy of the crowd at Blayney’s - despite the news that a serious street crime occurred the night before. That’s never good news. But Kansas City’s Westport has hosted blues and rock bands for so many years that no street punks are going to get in the way of the good music and fine friendships.

Jay MowBray was in rare form: he even *dared** to sing one or more songs up in his highest registers - with amazing results. Terry Swope soared and swooped his Strat into great walls of sheer sonic superiority, while Leo Johns added his own branded beds of Hammond/Leslies, pianos, and synthesizers. Newcomer Rich Wood on bass (welcome, Rich! ) used a few scribbled notes, but more than made up for that in the rumbling thunder of his playing. Scot Eldridge kept his reputation intact - he always has been, and always will be, the Atomic Clock.

WELL… Leo has had it for now with jewelry - and specifically, with the Kretchmer jewelry company who made the tension mount ring my wife Nancy has worn on her left hand since 1996. It *used to have* a nearly-flawless diamond approaching a carat - - but after 2 separate repairs costing well into 4 figures and several guarantees from the company that “no ring has ever lost a stone due to a manufacturing defect…”

…my wife’s diamond is gone. Now, Nancy is pretty active (that’s what I love about her; she hits a golf ball 200+; she has a wicked outside jump shot; she throws a natural Frisbee air bounce; etc.) but she’s for the most part a housewife. But here’s what’s happened to it:

• 5 years ago the diamond in this beautiful ring went crooked while she was making a bed - and it was eventually repaired at no cost after some negotiating.
• 2 years ago we were bitterly disappointed when the diamond disappeared while she was doing laundry. After some elaborate time/effort spent searching, I found the diamond in the washing machine. It had popped out and into the open lid. (Amazing!! Think about it - a washing machine is almost entirely made of small holes.) We waited 6 months while we negotiated a repair price - and then paid Kretchmer $1200 to remount the stone. Ironic of course - if the stone had disappeared down one of those hundreds of washer holes, insurance (loss and theft) would have kicked in. But as it was, it was a repair, not a replacement - and therefore not covered. Although it was unnerving to worry about whether the doiamond could again disappear, we eventually relaxed, until…
• …This week, I looked down at Nancy’s hand and gasped. The stone was gone again! That day, she’d been to a class at JCCC, she’d mowed the grass, she’d picked up the kids from school - but somehow the diamond I’d bought from a broker and paid the Big Bucks to have mounted in the world-famous Kretchmer Tension Mount was now lost in some bag of grass or on the sidewalk of the kids’ school.

SO… what’s next? We’re not sure. The insurance deductable is substantial, and we have other $$ responsibilities to attend to. If you have a Krechmer ring, be careful. We loved that ring, and several people we know bought similar rings after seeing Nancy’s. But… we can’t recommend the Kretchmer Tension Mount. Sorry.

+++ leo 037 +++

Here we go, KC.

The Aces are back in Westport!! On Saturday, September 20, the KC Aces invade the infamous Blayney’s for another night of smokin’ (but smoke-free) classic rock and blues. If you haven’t been there yet, Blayney’s is a leetle bit of a dark basement dungeon - like a setting from some sinister madman’s sad frozen tableau dreamed when he fell asleep reading Poe’s “The Cask Of Amontillado” (read the Wiki entry). We’ll be there to liven up the night and probably to ring in the next day. We dare you to join us.

The following weekend, the Aces join an all-star list of bands for Birdstock, a fundraiser for the Burroughs/KC chapter of the Audubon Society. We’ll be raising money for an excellent cause: preserving the migratory paths of North American birds. FYI, it’s a cause dear to some of our hearts: Terry’s a twitcher (hard-core bird observer - ask him about his recent trip to Nicaragua) and Leo did his undergrad and some graduate work in biology and genetics. (Trivia challenge: ask him to classify any North American bird down to its order.). The music’s all day - 2 to midnight - and admission is only $10.

Some bands you’ll see are:

KC Aces - 7:00 PM
Terry Swope and Friends - 3:00 PM
Garrett Nordstrom Situation (with Scot Eldridge!) - 8:00 PM
4 Fried Chickens and a Coke - 5:00 PM
Trampled Under Foot - 6:00 PM
Jimmy Nickelsen - 2:00 PM
Levee Town - 9:00 PM
The Allied Saints - 10:00 PM

It’s all for a good cause! Be there on Saturday - Sept 27th!!!!

+++ leo 037 +++

It was a hot summer in KC! Telling you what - KC hadn’t seen a hotter day for a show than the summer of 1980 when it was over 100 in KC for 17 straight days. (Talk about Global Warming. That was before SUVs!!) (By the way, the ‘80 heat wave is on the Top-Ten list of natural disasters in our country’s history - excludes war of course .)

Yes, it was hotter’n a well digger’s you know what. The Aces appeared with 3 top bands: organist Everette DeVan, smooth jazzers (and my old stage buddy) Max Groove, and Hot Box, rock’n'blues hi-energy artists. The Aces rocked out first as the Sound Check guinea pigs, then opened the show with an hour of blues. It was dripping hot. The PA sounded great - and there were maybe a couple of thousand fans clapping for the Aces.

To prove we were there, here’s the Program, here’s the Backstage Food Pass, and here’s some Gallery pics of that shirt-drippin’ hot event.

Here’s the Aces playing Unchain My Heart blues - recorded live on stage at Manhattan’s on Friday, 4/2/08. It’s a little low-tech - Janie Godfrey and a handheld camera. Enjoy! (if the link breaks - sometimes MotionBox goes down - try this link…

+++ leo 037 +++

The Aces will welcome guest bassist Rich Wood to the Blayney’s stage on Friday night, July 11. Rich played countless nights with JayMo and Scot in the Hypnotics, an award winning blues band who’ll be playing their last gig (a private party) this weekend. Rich, Scot and Jaymo bring chops and talent to the Aces table.

Blayney’s is a legendaryKansas City hangout. It’s downstairs in a cold stone dungeon, and looks just like you’d expect a ancient blues club to be (except the new KC No Smoking ordinance is now in effect…hmmm that’ll be different). You’ll hear the stone cold authentic blues and soul and classic rock - Eric Clapton and Simon and Stevie Ray Vaughn and maybe even Santana and the Doors - that you expect from the Aces. If you’ve never been to Blayney’s, now’s the time. Be sure to ask around for Dick.

The Leslie may not fit on the stage - or down the stairs. I’ll have to bring the Motion Sound.

+++ leo 037 +++

My brother Ted in Dallas, Texas, sends this cell phone snap from Bruce Springsteen’s tour.

I’ve never seen The Boss live, but I’ve heard his shows are exhausting: much longer than typical tour shows, carefully staged, cutting edge production quality standards. I’ve always respected Springsteen and his songwriting talents - the last coffee table book I bought was “Songs” (from the Half Price Store) in which Bruce compiles his lyrics and tell a bit about how many of them came to be. Fascinating stuff.

Even more fascinating are Bruce’s shows. I’ve seen video from them and heard live audio (here’s The River from YouTube ), and I’m saying that he plays it like a church service: there are traditional gospel elements, energetic and emotional ebbs and flows, and sections that are remarkably like preaching. And the man and the band play three hours straight wthout a break. (Do you think the Aces or bands in clubs should do that?)

Brother Ted told me, “Springsteen’s always been too mainstream for me to be a fan. I never liked him. But when someone gave me the ticket, I went - - and was completely surprised at how engaging, entertaining, and real the show was. I’m a convert. He’s great.”

There you go. Maybe there’s a song by the E Street Band the Aces should cover.

+++ leo 037 +++

The faithful fans were out in force to hear the Aces earlier this month at Manhattan’s in south KC.

Unfortunately, a schedule rearrangement eliminated the Sat. night gig, and we had to be content with Friday only. Manhattan’s also double-booked some bands. That leaves the Aces out of the planned show in early June. But, we’re working on the Promo Pack which features a growing collection of printable pages and audio and video material.

Growing a new act is not easy. It takes time and money to build a reputation. The Aces are far along the curve, and the shows we intend to book by Fall 2008 will establish the band as a force to be reckoned with. Fans and club owners understand that we’re not the average run-of-the-mill classic rock act - - and can afford to be choosy about where and when we play out.

+++ leo 037 +++

It’s a warm spring night - - and there’s no better way to spend it than rocking with the Aces on a Friday night at Manhattan’s in south KC. You’ll of course hear classic sounds and the music you love - made famous by Eric Clapton and Duane Allman and Van Morrison and James Taylor and Bill Withers and Wilson Pickett and YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT THE ACES WILL PLAY NEXT!

Note that we’d originally planned to play Saturday night as well - but skipping Saturday works out better for everybody’s schedule. Hope that change isn’t an inconvenience!

Anyway, here’s what you’ll hear:

See you Friday night!!

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