Colombia Blues Fest, Arlington VA

Well that was a blast. I just got back from the gig. This was a street fair with lots of food and vendors. The weather was perfect and the crowd was very receptive. The equipment they had for us was great also. I really like playing outdoors. There was a 12 year old kid watching my every move. I mouthed the word drummer and he nodded. He watched me the whole time. It was fun to watch him watch me. Some of the folks that were at Hanover were there too. Tomorrow we are off to Texas. 2 weeks off then 2 months on. I am looking forward to the gigs coming up. I am feeling more compfortable with the music every show. I feel like i can stretch out and try new things now. More will be revealed....

Smithstonian

My life long friend Dan E and his brother, David came down from Long Island to hang with me for a day. Dan and i have been friends for 47 years. We grew up a few house's apart in Oceanside New York. Dan's cousin is the PR guy for the Smithstonian Aerospace museum at Dulles Airport. We went to the museum and had a chance to tour the entire place. We went to an IMAX movie about fighter pilots. One highlight was trying to land the Space Shuttle in a simulator. Dan's brother David and I are are both pilots. How hard could this be? It is just a big airplane, huh. Well both of us did not do so well. Dan, not a pilot, did prettygood before he crashed it. I did get it on the ground the second time but ran out of runway and crashed into the trees. All in all i had a blast. It is really cool to hook up with friends while traveling with Smokin Joe. I got to go to an AA meeting last night and we are heading out today for our Arlington VA gig.

Later..... Dave K

Kclinger Tavern, Hanover PA

I did not have high expectations for this gig being a week night and being told it was an intimate venue. Joe and the band had played here plenty before. All the touring acts play there also.

We got to load in earlier in the day after a short drive from Carlisle PA. Intimate it is. There is a spot for the band in the main room next to a fireplace. We got set up and checked our sound. We went back to the hotel after a quick trip to the store. We are constantly buying water. It seems we all drink lots of water instead of soda and juice. I grabbed a few other things and then went to the Ice Cream shop next to the hotel. I had been craving ice cream for a few days. It was hot also (95) so it seemed like perfect idea. Wow, this was quite possibly the best soft serve i have ever had. Rita's was the name of the shop and i guess it is a chain. Ahhh, the simple things in life. Speaking of that, a nap after ice cream... perfect! The only problem was the weather was changing fast and a huge thunder storm wit tornado sightings was coming our way. I managed to go to sleep only to wake to the storm over head. We did not get to experience any funnel clouds (good) but we did get hail and rain. We had an early start so we arrived at the club at 7:30 for an 8:00PM start. The parking lot was full and so was the bar. This turned out to be an excellent gig. The people were certainly into what we were doing and many SJK fans had made the pilgrimage. The crowd was totally into it. I had a blast. At the break i went outside to get some air. My drummer friend, Mike N. walked up (photo above). I met Mike on the Blues Cruise in 05. Him and i kept bumping into each other at the pro/am jams. We kept in touch after via e-mail Mike lives in PA and is the drummer for regional act, Nate Myers and the Aces. www.natemyers.com/bios.htm Check them out if you get a chance. It was great to see him and he was very complimentary. Mike told me some of his "Blues" friends were at the Billtown Blues fest and dig it a lot. Some fans helped us load out after we ate. All in all this was a great gig. The next day we drove to the Washington DC area in preparation for our next gig.

I am truly the luckiest man alive.

Billstown Blues Festival

Wow what a blast. We rolled on to the fairgrounds around 7:30 to see the area packed with BLUES HEADS. We found our way to the stage and got settled in. They had a great green room set up under the stage with food and refreshments. Sleepy La Beef was rocking it up as we waited to go on. They had a great Pearl drum kit for me whit a guy to help me set it up. We launched and it was killer. We were the final act for the day and this crowd was pumped. They were pushed up against the stage fence and cheering from the get go. This was a very energizing experience for me. This gig will carry me for a while. This is the biggest crowd i have played with SJK Band (2000-3000) and i look forward to more of it. We ran through some of the older material and did a few of the new ones. The sound was great and the crowd eat it up... every drop. Bnois was working them into a frenzy including playing with his teeth. Paul was jumping around and smiling. Joe.... ON FIRE. I love this band and tonight we were a tight unit and it felt great. We did our encore and then...done. Joe and Bnois went to sign autographs at the merch table. Paul and i loaded the gear than went down to the green room. We chatted with the promoters and enjoyed some really fresh fruit. Some thing we don't much of on the road.Back to the room and here i am... typing to who? Are you out there?

Good night all.

.

on the road to happy destiny

Hey there blog mates. This girl asked us to sign her shirt.... OK Anything for the fans. This a rare shot also because the normally stoic Paul Jenkins is sporting a big smile ( that might not be all).

The gig at JM Randalls in Williamsburg VA went well.This was the second time I played there. The management are very nice to us and there are plenty of locals that show. I met a couple that came from Richmond an hour away. I had chatted with them last time and it was cool to see them again.There was an opening act so we started late there for got into bed late... Oh Well.

Love to come back anytime.

News Flash/Random Thoughts

NEWS FLASH: Well it is official The Smokin Joe Kubek band is now signed with Alligator Records. After a few successful years with Blind Pig Records Joe negotiated a new deal with Legendary record dude Bruce Igilar, founder of Alligator. We have a time slot booked in Dallas in September to record our first album with them. The album is set to come out around the first of the year.


NEWS FLASH 2: SJK Band is going to Italy in July. We will be doing 8 festival dates in 10 or so days. These guys have performed all over the world in the past including Italy many times. I have not. I am really looking forward to this and have been asking the guys a million questions. I am sure they are tired of it. My wife, Ruby, and my daughter, Dalen are going to meet us over there and come to a few shows. They will be sightseeing most of the time and then dropping in on us when they can. I am thrilled to have this opportunity



In the photo above apears my good friend Rick S. In the photo he is reading the newspaper my family and I publish. Rick is the one that encouraged me to start going to the blues jams a while back that led to me working with SJK. We are in a band together in San Diego called Road Dogs. Rick is also a consultant and has been helping me with my construction company. Thanks Rick! The second photo is of my drum cases at 2:00AM. I just liked the way they looked. Art?

Random Thoughts: I have been getting a cool response from friends and family to this blog. I am gratified by that. I have never done anything like this blog and am actually finding it fun. My initial thought was that i would type in each night i was on the road about the days events. That has not happened and that's OK. I have found i am not always in the mood when i return to the hotel. I thought i would do it in the van sometimes and i have but it is really hard to type in a moving van. At the end of last trip i was very sick and when i got home i did not feel like posting. Now i am up to date and it feels good. I will do my best and not let this blog become a thing that i must do every time. I need to keep it fun.

Tonight we play at JM Randals in Williamsburg VA. This is the second time i have played here. We are all loaded in and we play at 10:00 tonight. I will be cleaning up soon and heading out. I really like this life on the road. There are so many new stimulating things. I also love to be at home and i miss my wife every second i am gone. My parents had to put their cat down today and it was hard for me not to be there for them. Ruby took care of everything for us. She is the greatest. Bnois and i have had many great talks out here and one we had a few times was about missing the road at home and missing home on the road.......
More will be revealed.
Dave K Drums

The Back Room, Boca Raton FL May 26,2007

I have spent a lot of time in South Florida in my other lives. It was cool to back down there. I have a life long friend Brian that lives in Jupiter. We

talked ahead of time and Brian agreed to come to the show and bring some folks with him. Among the folks he brought was his wife Deb and his nephew Glen who I had never met before. His dad, Wayne (deceased) was a great guy and i miss him. It was very cool to meet his offspring and share a few stories with him. Glen is a singer and guitarist so it was great to get his input on our show. Brian is always "live" and tonight was no exception. Here he is posing on the drum kit with cigar in puss. I really appreciate my friends coming out to see us when we roll into their town. It means a lot to me and breaks up the experience a little. The drive down was interesting as the seasonal bugs were in full bloom through the Orlando area. we had the windshield completely full with bugs and had to stop a few times to clean it. the front of the van looked fuzzy with all the bugs smashed there. The Back Room Club has a great vibe with vintage pin up girl photos all over. The owner has been using Joe"s band for years and evidently this is the 4th club of his SJK Band has played in. We got set up and went back to the hotel. I am developing a routine and feel pretty comfortable before the shows. It is great to clean up and relax before we rock out. The club was packed as we rolled in. I got to spend a few minutes with Brian's party before we played. Once we launched the magic was there. I love the music we do and i know it well. It is always a thrill to watch the people enjoy it. Joe's guitar playing is on fire everynight and I have the best seat in the house. During the break I socialized with my friends and set up the mini disc recorder. The second set went well and the club owner sat in with us on the last song. He did great and I got the sense he had done this before. After the gig i said goodbye to my friends and packed up. We were served some great food and chatted with the owner. It seems so weird eating at 2:00 AM but I can always eat and it is a nice break before we load the trailer and head to the hotel. I can rarely go to sleep right after the show. Most of us can't and it is a common topic for discussion the next morning, The energy from making music is still with you long after the show is over. I have tried a few things to bring me down afterwards including reading. I had a really bad cold at this gig and I actually ran out of energy as we rolled up to the hotel. I plopped on the bed and passed out instantly fully clothed. There are no sick days in this business. The show must go on.

Bradfordville Blues Club, Tallahasee FL

Now I have played in a real "Juke Joint". Bradfordville Blues Club, Tallahassee FL is on a dirt road out in the woods. The band had played there before but i did not know what to expect. Wow! I think this is a house converted to a music club. The building is set in the trees with the moss/fern stuff hanging down. The fires in GA were raging and the sky was dark and the air thick with smoke. The owner (Gary) was waiting for us and helped us load in. They offered us drinks right away as we got set up(southern hospitality). The inside is very cool with a bar off to one side and the stage set in the opposite corner. The table tops are all painted with portraits of all the blues greats. This place has some serious mojo. Everyone on the circuit has played there. There was a sign hanging from the ceiling I had never seen in a bar before. It said "Second hand smoking section".
We came back around 9:00 to do our show and the place had a totally different feel. It was cool in the daytime and very cool at night. Outside there where lights pointed into the trees with the moss and cars and people everywhere. People seemed to know the band before we even got in the door. This is very gratifying even though i don't know anyone. People seem open to me being there and have lots of questions. We did our two sets with the second set being the 13 new songs. We are still tweaking them in preparation for the new album. We were received very well and left them screaming for more. During our break there were activitys outside. The normal bon fire and fish fry were not held because of the fire threat. The ownership again helped us load out and sent us off with some club tee shirts. I am sure we will be back here someday and i totally look forward to it. I understand they host a blues festival on an adjacency piece of property each year. I urge you to check out this club if you are ever in this area. This is probably the closest to a real live juke joint you will ever come to.