DAVE K

Road Dog's

2008-07-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

The Road Dog's tearing it up at an event to help homeless Viet Nam Vetrans.
Dave K drums/vocals, Terry Pagett guitar/vocals and Steady Freddy Lawson bass/vocals

Terry and Fred locking up!

I apologize to the friends that have been reading my blog all this time. I want to keep it up to date but it always seems to be last on my list.

I have been swamped since i stoped touring with Smokin Joe Kubek. I miss the road life but i am clear it was time for me to be home for a while. I have been pushing my local band, Road Dog's pretty hard. We are sounding great and have a bunch of gigs lined up. I want to invite you to come see us.

Road Dog Dates as of July 18, 2008

August 08
1 Patricks II 5:00-8:30
2 Clairemont Days 10:30 -11:30
16 Baily’s 8:00-12:00
21 Patricks II 9:00-1:30

September 08
Sept 15 Patricks II 9:00-1:30

October
4 Belly Up Tavern (Tommy Castro) (not confirmed)
17& 18 Baileys’ 8:00-12:00 .
31 Arcadia Blues Club (Halloween)

November
15 Bailey’s 8:00-12:00

December
5 Arcadia Blues Club
Check out www.myspace.com/roaddogsblues for an up to date schedule.
There are phone numbers and addresses there also.
Please keep in touch... I miss ya'll!

Beaumont TX

2008-07-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

Ruby and I decided to drive to Dallas to pick up my drum gear. WE saw that our buddy Doyle Bramhall was playing in Beaumont TX for July 4th. We decided to make our way down there also. We have been together for 25 years. We figured if we are still talking after 7 days in a truck this relationship will probably stick. our first day took us throught California, Arizona (122 degrees in Gila Bend)and New Mexico. The next day all the way to Ft Worth. The third day we stopped in Dallas, visited our pal Sherman, went to AA, picked up my drums and then drove to Austin. Doyle and Barbara were there preparing for the July 4th show.

more later

The Starbucks tour 08

2008-07-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

Ruby and I drove to Texas over the 4th of July weekend to pick up my drums. Here is a photo essay of our trip... Well the Starbucks portion anyway. We realize coffee is a drug and readily admit we are addicted. Have they started SA meetings yet. We used intuition, GPS and the web to find these "Bucks" along the way in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. We don't include the "Bucks" in the Hotels as they do not carry the full line. Don't get me wrong, they do count.....

Tired of this yet?????????? Try a nice Grande Latte.

The End

2008-06-22T21:11:00.001-07:00

I wanted to let my friends know that my time drumming with Smokin Joe Kubek Band has come to an end.

A year and a half ago i was given this opportunity through a few miraculous events. I dropped what i was doing and hit the road. My time was well spent. I am a much better drummer/person.

We found a great drummer to take my place. Her name is Ms Morgan and she lives in Dallas. wwwmyspace.com/txdrummergirl I wish her and the band all the best.

I will miss the road and all the great music. i will miss the band and all the great fans. It was the greatest year and a half in my life. I hope i get the chance to make music with them again some day. Thanks to all the fans that made me feel welcome along the way. Fell free to keep in touch.

I am excited about spending more time at home with my beloved Ruby. I am diligently working at my construction company as we struggle in the harsh economy. I am working hard with my local band "Road Dogs". we have 9 gigs booked in the coming months and i am working on keeping us hopping.

35 states, 6 countrys and 150 gigs or so......

I learned a ton in my time with SJK. Most importantly I truly learned a lot about myself.

Thanks to everyone that helped me live a dream. This was a privilege that i was so freely given.

Peace.

Dave K

www.davekdrums.com

The Upstage, Port Townsend, WA May ?, 2008

2008-06-02T09:20:00.001-07:00

Jazzbones, Tacoma WA, May?, 2008

2008-06-02T09:04:00.000-07:00

Before the gig we visited the Wormoth Guitar factory just outside of Tacoma. www.warmoth.com/ It is a very cool family owned business with some amazing guitars for sale.

Jenna and Antoinette. Thanks for coming (2 nights in a row) and hanging with us after the show.

This is a great club in a "young" area of Tacoma with lots of nightlife. Last time we played here Joe had was not with us and we did it as a trio...Interesting but fun. It felt great to be there with him and we tore it up. Even the Sushi Chef was dancing. Stage and sound was great. This was the second to last gig after 7 weeks on the road and 14,000 miles of traveling. Not sure how i felt at the time. Probably sad it was almost over and thrilled that i would be home soon in my beloved Ruby's arms.

Highway 99 Club Seatle WA

2008-06-02T08:13:00.001-07:00

This club is right on the water in the downtown area. The only bummer was a large flight of stairs down to it. We get pretty tired on the road and carrying our gear up and down stairs is a huge BUMMER. Right next to the club is Pikes Place Market, the birthplace of Starbuck's coffee of which we are huge fans. We got loaded in early and went back to the hotel to relax a while. I had taken a long walk for exercise that morning so i was especially sore. We showed up and launched around 9:00 i think. Parking a van and trailer in a downtown area is no walk in the park either. Our show went well. There were SJK fans that can from as far as 2 hours away. I met Antoinette (celebrated her birthday with us) who said she would come the next gig in Tacoma...and did. Thank so much. We came 2000 but that another story. The show was fun except for some sound system struggles. People were dancing right away and dug what we did. We are book back there on August, 24th 2008. We took the elevator on the way out since we could park on the street at 2:30 AM.....

Fun gig and i believe the food was good but i can't remember what we had.

Seattle, WA Jimi's Grave Site

2008-05-15T17:41:00.000-07:00

Jimi Hendrix's new memorial built in around 2002.His Dad Al built it with money from Jimi's estate.

We visited the Jimi Hendrix grave site today before we loaded in. It was moving to visit there.
I am puzzled why the guitar is facing the wrong way.

Seattle seems like a very cool city, except the weather.

This 1/4" phone plug appeared on our running board for 3-4 weeks. it has been riding there ever since. we plan on leaving it there and then someday selling it on e-bay..... any offers.....

Mac's Place Eugene OR

2008-05-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

Mt Shasta on our way up. Very cool scenery through northern California and southern OR.

This was a cool little gig but on by the Rainy Day Blues Society. Good sound ,good crowd and good food... Off to Seattle with a stop at Guitar Center Portland... Snare drum needs help and Joe is getting a few thinks.

Mike Nesmith's Video Ranch, Sand City CA

2008-05-13T16:56:00.000-07:00

www.videoranch.com

Me and Mike Nesmith (Monkees) at his "Video Ranch". I wore my "Freak Out" shirt because Mike was good friends with the late great Frank Zappa. Freak Out was the name of Zappa's first album. Mike told me a great story about FZ being on The Monkees TV show.

Joe, Bnois and Paul on the Video Ranch stage with its green screen.

Wow what a day. This afternoon we played in front of 7000 people at San Jose State and then we drove to Sand City near Monterey to play in front of 4 people in the studio. The show was broadcast worldwide on the net and on 5 stations owned by KPIG from Redding to San Luis Obisbo and all the way to Reno. This will take some explaining. Mike Nesmith has been a pioneer in music, movies and video since leaving the late 60's mega group and TV show "The Monkee's". Mike is working on a new technology he invented and is using it on his new site http://www.videoranch.com/. Video Ranch broadcasts concerts live from their studio. Patrons can log on and see the concert in Mike's new 3D type image and hear it in higher than CD quality. Here's where it gets interesting. When you log on you can choose an animated body for yourself and place yourself in the audience. What you see on your monitor is the live musicians and yourself and other concert goers along with a "Virtual Venue". You can manipulate your animated body around the venue and what you see changes as you move around. You can also make your body dance and carry on. In front of the stage where we played is a drop down projection screen where we could see the "audience" moving and dancing around. While you watch there is a live chat taking place which we can see on the bottom of the screen. It takes a few minutes to adjust to playing to this audience on the screen. Mike was behind the camera egging us on the whole time.We took 2 breaks for the radio to ID themselves and run some commercials. While we did the host asked us questions typed in from the audience. Interactive indeed. There where SJK fans from, among other places, Czech Republic, UK, Asia and all over the USA. My sister Janet was logged on and I could see her dancing around right up front, just like she does at Los Lobos shows. At the end of our show many in the audience turned into Pink Flamigo's which we were told is the Video Ranch equivalent of a standing ovation.

This was a very cool experience to be involved in. In the future (now) you will be able to see your favorite bands, live, without leaving your home. If you have a big TV and a great sound system hooked to your TV you will have something very special. This will never take the place of a real "Live" show but if SJK is not playing in The Czech Republic this week it is a great next best for fans living there. They also have a local band and run old classic movies. Check them out with their free trial period. See the wide range of artists they will be performing there soon.

The view of the stage from the control panel.

After the show we had a chance to chat with Mike. This guy has a million cool story's. He was there and lived the dream playing sold out stadiums and hanging with the stars. Mike, his wife Veronica and their staff treated us very nicely including stuffing us full of great food and insisting we take some cookies along with us. Very nice people.

Check out their site and tell them Dave K from SJK Band sent ya!
www.videoranch.com

Metro Fountain Blues Festival, San Jose State, CA

2008-05-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

Backstage with my buddy Jimmie B from Austin. Jimmie is Sonny Landreth's tour manager. We met years ago when i helped Doyle Bramhall on tour. We have kept in touch and I ran into him in New Orleans at Jazz Fest when we were both there helping Doyle again. Great to see you Jimmie. I hope to see him again when Sonny plays at Anthology in San Diego at the end of the month.

Our Green room was in this very cool old house adjacent to the stage on the campus grounds.

This is my view of the 7000 some odd people that were jammed into the central court of the San Jose campus.

This was the 3rd time SJK Band has played at this festival and my first time. We were treated like royalty the entire time. We were greeted in the parking lot by volunteers to help us with our gear and escort us to the green room. The room was stocked with fresh fruit, wonderful cheese and other goodies. Joe and Bnois did a radio interview while I got ready. We had Back line for this event so i only had to use my pedal, snare and cymbals. The show went great and the crowd really seemed to did it. I could not see very far back but it appeared they were grooving. It seemed to go way to fast and then it was over. I really dig doing these huge shows. I watched Sonny Landreth before we left. We saw Koko Taylor getting out of a limo as we left. Robert Cray played after Koko. We could not catch them cause we had to drive strait to Montery to perform on the radio and Internet at Mike Nesmith's Video Ranch Studio.

THe Crossroads Club, Fresno CA

2008-05-13T12:54:00.001-07:00

The Dave K fans came out.......
Not easy to get into my office sometimes.

This gig was put on by the Central Valley Blues Society I believe. If not they were there in force. I spoke with Steve who I had met on the Blues Cruse in October 06. This was a fun gig but the sound was a little hard for us to hear. We made the best of it and had fun. The place was packed, peole danced all night and we had some pretty good Pizza.

Biscits & Blues and The Palms Playhouse

2008-05-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

This is a fan/photographer who's name escapes me. I met him at a show we did with Tommy Castro in Sacramento last year. Note the homemade Bnois Tee shirt. If you see this please send me your contact info again.

This is Johna and his mom. We had a great chat about music. He plays guitar and is doing a report for school on the blues. He told me he likes all genres of music. He really dug our show. i love seeing young people at our shows. They are our hope for the future of the blues. Yeah!

We always have fun at Biscuits & Blues in downtown San Francisco. This was no exception. There was a mix of the faithful SJK fans and tourists. There was a table full of Japanese business men in suits right in the front row. I think they just got off the plane. They did not know what to make of us. At one point one was nodding off. Joe did his best to wake him up with no luck. We decided he was narcoleptic if he could sleep in front of Joe's amp. They did buy a bunch of our new CD's when they left......My friends Kurt & Sue from the Blues Cruise were there also, thanks guys. The chicken was really good.

The Palms Playhouse, Winters CA.

One very happy fan at the Palms Playhouse. She insisted we all sign her jeans.. HUH

Another happy fan at Palms with some interesting glasses. Thanks for coming.

This Venue is a 130 year old building in a historic old town. The owner was great to us and the sound system was good. SJK fans kept calling for songs. We did a few I have never done before. The place was full and we were please especially for a weeknight.

This town has no hotels and no fast food. I believe they are very proud of that. I really liked this area north of San Fran. near Vallejo.

Last Day Saloon, Santa Rosa

2008-05-09T10:37:00.001-07:00

Anthology, San Diego CA

2008-05-08T17:25:00.000-07:00

My ever supportive sister Janet and Chads childhood friend, Frankie.
My local band, Road Dog's was the opening act. Terry P on the left and Rick S on the right. Below is Road Dog's bass player Fred L(steady Freddy) after the show.See that smile... Love it. I miss my Dogs when i am out with SJK.

Fred L and Bnois King
My daughter Dalen and her friend Angel. Dalen is so excited every time she sees us play. I love that about her.

I have been looking forward to playing in San Diego since the gig was booked. I had about 50 of my friends and family in this very classy club. I ton of my AA buddies showed and stayed all night. Thanks so much to all of them. Dianna and Bill W brought a big crowd also. I can not thank everyone but you know who you are. The Road Dogs women where there, Kelly, Nadja, and Elaine. The Blues Lovers United San Diego (BLUSD) was a big help promoting the show and have allways been supportive. Steve Burns wrote an article about me for their newsletter and mentioned the show. Joan Hunt was there taking pictures as always. See her Flicker acount at http://www.flickr.com/photos/laughingrhino/sets/72157604913368949/.....The Road Dogs portion of the show went excellent. The crowd was very warm and made of feel at home. We did have a chance to run through our set right after sound check. It was sort of weird playing in front of Joe and Bnois i must say. Then the Smokin Joe Traveling Blues Extravaganza featuring Bnois King. It was a blast to share the music i have been making around the world with MY peeps. It was over all too soon. Thanks again to all the people that have facilitated my doing this part of my life. Again it was great to sleep in my own bed and wake up next to my wife. I got up early and went to my regular Sunday morning AA meeting. I was really tired but it was awesome to connect with my home group. After the meeting i went to visit my mom and dad with Ruby, Alan and Kim. Ruby and i went to Outback for dinner and we all went in the Jacuzzi later in the evening. I got up, packed and left with the band the next morning... I missed being at home. 2 days at home was not enough. 10,000 miles in 4 weeks is a bit much, even for me.

Cozy's, Sherman Oaks CA

2008-05-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Bnois and Smokin Joe fighting it out with their guitars

My step son Chad G and my daughter Dalen in the house.
My international buddy Alan D and his girlfriend Kim came from Colorado to see us play. We met on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise and have stayed in touch for years.

It was great to be back at Cozy's. I was very excited cause i was going to see my wife and kids for the first time in 4 weeks. I have traveled 9,600 miles in 4 weeks and it was great to see them. My sister Janet came up from San Diego and spent a day with our friends from Woodland Hills, then Janet 1, Ralph, Janet2, and their kids Lucas and Daniel came to see us also. They all look great and i got to meet Lucas girlfriend who's name escapes me. I felt like the show went well. There is no substitute for "Road Chops". Every night seems to get better and better. We all drove back to San Diego in Alan's rented van and i go into MY OWN BED at 4:15AM. I woke up with my wife by my side....YES!

Bolder Station Casino, Las Vegas NV

2008-05-08T16:14:00.000-07:00

Marquee inside the Bolder Station Casino In Las Vegas.
Me on stage signing an autograph on Blood Brothers after the show.

Our head of security, Scottie. He co-wrote 2 of the songs on Blood Brothers
My set list, pocket watch and my picture of Ruby. Her picture gets displayed on every gig.

Well we drove from Dallas to Las Vegas in 2 long days. We had a water pump go out on the morning of day 2. We limped to Bills Radiator in Gallup NM. Nice guys and they managed to get us back on the road by 6:30 PM. I drove us to Las Vegas over the Hoover Dam and arrived at 2:00AM. I slept good. The next day we loaded in to the Casino and had a great dinner in the Buffet. Joe's friend Scottie and his mom Terry met us at the club (they live there) and helped us out a bunch. I have never played in Las Vegas and it was exciting for me. The stage was big and well equipped with great sound guys to help. The room was large and filled up fast. Bolder Station has a national blues act every Thursday night for free. I had a great time and met some cool people. I feel funny sometimes when i meet people that have been following the band for years and tell me about the other drummers. I feel lie a newcomer (i am). We went to Burger King inside the casino after the show and had lots of laughs. I did loose $15 in the casino... Surprise, huh? The next morning i enjoyed the comped buffet again and we hit the road for LA.

Fiesta Heritatage Blues, San Antonio TX

2008-05-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

Smokin Joes office. Joint Juice, 800mg Advil, slide bar and guitar.

I got to San Antonio in time for a little rest. Our show was the next night. It felt great to sleep, sleep, sleep. Our show was at the same Venue we played at for the NA convention. This show had back line so set up was a breeze. The rest of the band drove down from Dallas. The show went well except for when I started the wrong song. Oh my God I was mortified. The Blues Society treated us well and the folks dug what we did. We got done at 8:00 PM and drove back to Dallas that night.

Doyle Bramhall.....New Orleans,

2008-04-28T22:59:00.000-07:00

Me and Tab Benoit backstage at Jazz Fest

Lola, the wonder dog showin her stuff New Orleans style...
Jimmie B, guitar tech to the stars....

Me and Robert Randolf at a Doyle Show
Jason Burns and Nick Curan from Doyle's Band eating mud bugs.

Me and Buckwheat Zydaco backstage at Jazz fest
Me and Papa Moli at a Doyle show

Dr John and Doyle Bramhall at a Doyle show at Chicky Wa Wa's.
Yup that's me eating Crawdads after CC Adcock (behind me) taught me how.

How does a working musician spend his time off?? Well i choose to go to Jazz Fest and be part of the crew for my friend, drummer, singer, songwriter Doyle Bramhall. I was involved in 4 shows with them in 2 days. I acted as Doyle's drum tech and helped move the other equipment around. Doyle was doing these shows with his friend, co-produce and swamp guru, CC Adcock, guitar and vocals. Also in the band was Doyle's step son Chris Hunter on drums (yep 2 drummers), Jason Burns on upright bass and Nick Curan on guitar. Doyle's wife Barbara Logan was with us also and it was great to spend time with them both. Chris and I were roommates and it was great to get to know him. Doyle taught him to drum at age 9. He is a great drummer and a fun guy.The shows were very well attended by young and old. The first show was at Chicky Wa Wa's club on Canal. After rehearsal we snuck off to perform at a private party nearby. It was held in a backyard and was an authentic New Orleans Crawfish boil. I have never had much love for mud bugs but i do now that i know how to deal with them. I ate a shitload. The party was a blast and the folks loved the music. Then we ran back to the club for the show. Popa Mali was the opening act and he did an awesome job of warming them up. The club was packed well beyond capacity i am sure. Among the revelers was New Orleans fixture Dr John and pedal steel wizard Robert Randolf. I met a bunch of interesting people.

The next day (with not much sleep) we loaded into the Jazz Fest Blues Tent. We had 20 minutes to set up and launch. The stage managers were nervous but we had plenty of crew and pulled it off. The tent was full and they really responded to Doyle's music. Nearby on the wall of the tent there was a huge poster of Stevie Ray Vaughan. I pointed it out to Doyle and he laughed and said he"s everywhere. I dug being there and helping Doyle. It was cool to watch Barbara watch Doyle. After that performance Doyle had an interview on the othere side of the fairgrounds. Doyle and CC did an acoustic performance where Doyle playeddrums on a cardboard box. We had a nice dinner at the hotel, quick nap and off to The D.B.A. Club in the French Quarter. Load in, set up, sound check and off they go at midnight. Another packed house and another killer show. The show ended at 3:00 AM, load out and in bed at 4:30. At least i bet the sunrise. I got up and caught a plane to San Antonio to do a show with Smokin Joe. Nice vacation huh? I had a blast!

Cedarberg Cultural Center, WI

2008-04-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

Me and Cassie
The Cultural Center

This gig was an unexpected pleasure. Cedarberg is sort of a rural area and when i saw the name of the venue i wondered what culture we would bring. That's what i get for being judgemental. When i walked in it seemed more like a museum with a stage There was a bunch of cool art displayed that was done by local kids. We set up and the place started filling and filling. By the time we started it was full. The people dug us right off the bat. That energizes us and we pick it up a few more notches. What a great gig to take on down the road with us. It was the topic of discussion in the van as we started our 2 day drive back to Dallas. Thanks Cedarberg for helping to make the drive better. At the show was Cassie and her family. I first met her in Minnesota and have seen them at several shows up in that neck of the woods. I believe Cassie is 13 and a big SJK fan. I think she has grown a foot since the last time i saw her. Also at the show was Alligator Records owner Bruce Iglauer and his wife. It was cool to meet her and see Bruce again.

Buddy Guy's Legends Club, Chicago, IL

2008-04-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

Dave K (me) on the stage at Legends

Buddy sign in the backstage area upstairs.
Eric Clapton painting on the wall.....

What a blast to have the opportunity to play here. To think of all the people that have played on this stage. Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Rick Skinker and the list goes on forever. Our show started at 10:30 which is pretty late. There was an act before us called The Other Band Of Gypsy's. Yep, Hendrix cover band, Star Spangled Banner and all. We used the house equiptment which saves a little time. I got a great exersize and nap session at the hotyel. I slice of Chicago pizza and i was ready to go. Bruce I, owner of alligator Records was there with some of his staff and 2 reporters from Germany. We got a tour of the record company earlier in the day as they are based in Chicago.........More later

Brandon Casey's Bradley IL

2008-04-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

This gig was put together by a group called The Friends Of The Blues. The claim they are not a Blues Society so they have no elections, dues or meetings. They just put on blues shows. The event was held at a big club/restaurant about an hour south of Chicago. We loaded in earlier in the day and went to the hotel. I went to the fitness room and walked on the treadmill while listening to Led Zeppelin. Then I got a great nap. Playing night after night is what I prefer but it does get tiring. When we showed up to do the gig the parking lot was full and the bar was filling up fast. Once we started I knew it was going to be good. The crowd was clapping after Joe’s first solo. A very hip crowd indeed. The sound system worked great and the band had a great evening. This gig started early so the audience and us could get into bed early. They fed us after the gig. I had some blackened salmon and it was killer. Back to the hotel for some sleep. Evidently at 4:30 AM a huge earthquake shook the entire area and was felt as far away as Chicago. None of us felt it. We all slept through it. My wife and father heard about it in San Diego and both called to check on me. The owner of the club, Scott, insisted we come back for breakfast so we did before we headed to Buddy Guy’s club in Chicago. I very fun gig. 3 great weeknight gigs in a row.

Slippery Noodle and Skips Lounge, Indiana

2008-04-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

My wife Ruby at Skip's. I have her picture taped near my drums at every gig. I miss her so.
One of our fans at Skip's

Big Dave at Skips

Little Dave at Skips

Our odyssey continues. The drive to Indiana is long and uneventful except for a little snow in PN. we stopped for Starbucks as we do most days. Bnois did most of the driving. When he gets in the "zone" he can drive forever. He actually holds the record for the longest continuous drive at 13+ hours. The fist gig of 5 in a row is at The Slippery Noodle in Indianapolis. This is a legendary club with the distinction of being the oldest in town (1850). They own a house nearby that the bands stay in. It was cool because i had by own room for a change. This gig was on a Tuesday night so my expectations were not high. So much for expectations. The ground floor was full and there were people in the Balcony. When we showed up to play they were showing a Tommy Castro DVD on a large screen over the stage. Lots of faithful SJK fans were in attendance. I ad a great time at this show. We were given club tee shirts after the show.

Skips Lounge is further north on Angola IN. I had played there once before...in the freezing cold. We loaded in earlier in the day and went to the hotel for a nap. When we got back once again the fans did not let us down even on a Wednesday night. This venue has a large balcony area also. I forget people are up there when i am playing and then i see them up there. This place has musical instruments on every inch of the walls. it has been happening place since 1970. The show was great. SJK fan, Big Dave, sat in with us on guitar for 2 songs. He looked nervous but played great. the owner treated us wonderfully and i talked to a bunch of folks some of which i had met last time. BTW the Coney Dogs are unbelievable. Worth the drive i assure you.

Hillsborough NC & Greenbely MD

2008-04-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

My friend Rose A. came to see us in MD. She lives about an hour away. It was great to see her and catch up a little. We grew up together and used to see each other move before i moved to California. I miss you Rose! BTW.....I was not drinking, just playing!

Meet Tina T. She works at our booking agency. She lives in NC and came to our gig.

This is the great and mighty Bill Wax. He is the main DJ at XM satellite radio, Blues Channel 74. Bill spins our records all the time and is very supportive. It was great of him to come to our gig.

I was honored to meet him and his lovely wife.

Dave K or Unibomber???? I have been walking as much as i can. This was my walking outfit Indiana for the near freezing weather.

This is the aftermath of the dryer not drying all the way.

Hillsboro NC, Blue Bayou Club. This was the second time i played there. My friend Gabi could not come this time but i managed to have fun anyway AHhahahah. Great crowd, great club, great management. They served us some killer food after also. I met a guy,Tom, that grew up in Baldwin right next to the town i grew up in, Oceanside NY. He is a drummer and sober also.

Every one of these show has its own feel and i have a gratitude for the opportunity i have been give. I did get to 2 AA meetings in the time off before the gig. I needed that.

The next morning i drove us to Greenbelt MD. On our schedule this gig showed as at an American Legion Club. I did not now what to expect. WOW.. This was a killer gig. I believe it was set up by the Blues Society and it was a fundraiser. It had a huge room and a wonderful sound system. The people seemed to dig it. We had people dancing all night. My friend Rose came with her friend Margaret. It was incredible to see her. The last time i saw her was in the desert outside of San Diego 4years ago. Rose and Margret danced all night. I appreciated them coming. It is great to see friends while on the road.

I had a chance to use my web cam to "visit" with my wife Ruby last night. It was wonderful to "see" her. I really miss my family. Life on the road is hard but fun. Missing my family is the hardest part....

Tallahasee and Jacksonville Beach

2008-04-10T19:09:00.000-07:00

Dirlie from Jacksonville. Our friend from the Blues Cruise. Her and Ray took me out for coffee.
Jacksonville Beach festival site

Zoot Suit digs Blood Brothers... a bunch.
Doing our thing in Jacksonville Beach Festival

After Boca Raton on Friday night we drove up to Tallahassee and did our gig at the Bradfordville Blues Club. Gary and Kim, the owners are the sweetest people and made us feel right at home. Our show went well. One of the songs on Blood Brothers, Out On A Limb, got modified during sound check last time we were there. It got recorded that way (trivia). It was fun to me back there. (No photos..sorry)

The next day we drove to Jacksonville beach for the "Springing In The Blues Festival". We went to the hotel and got cleaned up. Dirlie and Ray picked me up and we went to Starbucks for a cup of coffee. It was nice to catch up and get to know them better. We met them on the January 08 Legendary Rythm and Blues Cruise. Dirlie was at every show I did, in the front row with that great, infectious smile. Thanks Dirlie.

We rolled to the gig and found our way to the stage. Bruce Iglauer was there as the 3 day festival was a tribute to him and most of the acts where on his label, Alligator Records. He told us they gave him the key to the city. The stage was a huge permanent concrete structure adjacent to the beach. It had been raining on and off during the 3 days of the fest. We were scheduled to go on last on the last day. We drove thru poring rain on the way from Tallahassee so we were concerned the fans would hang in the rain. They did and the rain held off till we were on our last song. I know i say this a bunch but we kicked some serious ass. The crowd ate it up. We did most of the songs off the new album. It was a little intimidating for me to play with the owner of the label and co producer sitting front row center. I did not let it rattle me and i did fine. The drum kit they provided was fine and i used my cymbals and snare. WE hung around for a while after so Joe and Bnois could sign some CD's and then we chatted with Bruce for a while.All in all a great day...and in bed early for a change.

The next day we drove to Gastonia NC to lounge around for a few days. I caught up on some sleep, did my laundry and made it to 2 AA meetings. Our gig tomorrow is a few hours away at Hillsbourogh NC at the Blue Bayou Club.

Gonna be a busy 5 weeks... just like i like it.

Dave K

Back on the Road

2008-04-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

Road repair of a pulley. The part arrived in 15 minutes and the repair took 10. They charged $42parts and labor. What planet you ask???? Alabama of course. Starbucks next to the garage also....... Yea, that's what I'm talkin about.

This was one of my travel outfits..What do you think? Haircut by Sharri.

This is me and Anika the lovely Bar Maid after the gig at The Back Room in Boca Raton.

The album is doing great. It debuted at #4 on the Billboard charts. I have heard it on the radio 5 times. What a thrill. Many of my friends have bought the album and i have gotten great comments from everyone.

In my time off had 2 great local gigs. First was with Alan Iglesias and Crossfire. Alan does a great SRV tribute. I rehearsed with him before and the gig went well. I love Stevie's music and was honored to share it with Alan's fans. The other was with my local band Road Dogs. We did a show up in the mountains. It went very well and it was fun to spend time practising and playing with Terry, Fred and Rick. Road Dogs will be opening for Smokin Joe when we play in San Diego.

I am back on the road with the band. I will be gone for 7 weeks. This is the longest time out with them. We have dates all over the country. I am looking forward to it but it will be hard being away from my family and other job for so long. We have 1 date in San Diego and a day off after so i will be able to see my family for a day. I arrived in Dallas Tuesday the 1st and drove for 2 days to south Florida. Tonight we play in Boca Raton then 2 more dates in Florida. Next is North Carolina and Maryland. From there we go to Indiana and Illinois. Up to Wisconsin and back to Dallas. I have a few days off then and i will head over to New Orleans to be part of Doyle Bramhall's road crew for 3 shows at Jazzfest. I meet the band in San Antonio for 1 date. Then we head to Las Vegas, LA, San Diego, and the bay area. Next up to Oregon and Washington state for 5 dates. Sounds like we might do a few in store appearances to pimp the album.

I hope you will come see us if we get near you!

Tommy Castro Show, Solana Beach CA

2008-03-16T12:54:00.001-07:00

Me playing with Tommy Castro in my back yard in October 06. Backstage with Tommy and the new SJK "Blood Brothers" album.

I have been enjoying a few weeks off here in San Diego. Our new album debuted at #4 on the Billboard charts. I could not be more excited. I heard myself of the radio for the firs time on Friday. That has been a lifelong dream as a musician. I guess i have arrived in that regard. Ruby and i had the chance to go see one of our favorite acts and friend Tommy Castro at the belly Up Tavern on Friday. We had bought tickets long in advance and brought a Butch of friends with us. I love sharing live music with friends especially people that don't go out much.

I know it is good for you. I love when people tell me they forgot how much fun it was. Tommy was nice enough to save us some seats just on the side edge of the stage(my favorite spot). We had dinner with Dyana and Bill W in the attached restaurant and in we went. Our daughter Dalen came with. I love that she loves this music. My sister Janet came as did Megan and Art.

Bill Magee was the opening and they tore it up. Shout out to Mike the guitarist. He was holding it down all night. Tommy came out to do his thing and got right to it. He has the cold that is going around the planet but managed to sing and play his heart out. The band was tight as hell as usual. The new bass player Scott is fully integrated now and it is great to see his energy. Chris the drummer is a constant source of motivation to me. He is the nicest guy too. We got to hang a little in St Criox recently and he helped me come to grips with some of the challanges of life on the road. He has been a road dogs for most of his life.

CD Release and party in Texas

2008-03-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

Borders Books, 3/4/08. I had the new experiance of walking into a record store and buying a CD that I drummed on. My daughter Dalen and I went and she bought a copy. I am looking forward to hearing it on the radio.

Dallas/Ft Worth CD release Party March 7-8-2008

My stepson Chad, Dallas friend Lori and me.

We had 2 CD release partys in Dallas and Ft Worth. My wife Ruby, Stepson Chad and daughter Dalen came in from San Diego for the show. The first was at Pearl in Dallas. I picked them up at DFW then we ate in Deep Ellum and went right to the show. The place was packed and we had a blast. Chad and Dalen drank and danced. Ruby doesn't drink so there was no dancing for her. It was fun to play with them there. The next day we went to Dealy Plaza to see where JFK got shot. Above is Dalen on the Grassy Knowl. We took a quick nap and off to the Ft Worth show at J&J's. Again it was packed and we all had a blast. My new best friend Sherman came also with his bandmate David. I met Sherman at a jam in Dalls and we have been hangin around together while i am there. We have a ton in common. After the gig we went to What-A-Burger around 2:00 AM. after we ate we decided this lifestyle was unhealthy. HAHA. We agreed to all try to loose 10 LBS in 2 months. We call it the What-A-Burger Diet. I am so grateful for this experiance i am having and such a cool family that facilitates it. Thanks

Blood Brother's released next week.

2008-02-24T18:58:00.000-08:00

SJK overdubbing acoustic guitar in the studio.

The album cover art.

Bruce Iglauer and myself at the console during the Blood Brothers sessions.

Blood Brothers, the new album from The Smokin Joe Kubek Band featuring Bnois King will be released Tuesday March 4th. This is our first album on Alligator Records. I suggested the title "Used Pizza" but it did not stick. The album can be pre-purchased at www.alligator.com/. I am very excited as this is the first real album i have ever drummed on. The album was produced by SJK and co-produced by Bruce Iglauer, Alligator Records owner.I dug working with Bruce and it was cool to get to know this Blues Icon (photo above at console). It was recorded at Audio Dallas by Paul Osborn. Paul is a drummer and he helped me feel comfortable and he knew how to get the sounds we wanted on the drums. I am looking forward to hearing it played on the radio. A friend Nadja called me yesterday to tell me she was listening to it on the radio. I was surprised because i was told it would not be played till the release date. This is another dream come true for me. I need some new dreams....fast. We will have a CD release party in Dallas on March 7th and in Ft Worth on March 8th. We will have a busy April and may touring to support the album. Check our site for a date near you. Big thanks to Joe and Bnois for including me in this project. We will see you all at the Blues foundation Awards and the Grammies..... Hey, new dreams already.

1st Intternational Costa Rica Blues Festival

2008-02-13T08:58:00.000-08:00

That's right... Blues in Costa Rica. We just got back and had the honor of headlining their first Blues Festival. The citizens "Ticos" of this counrty are really friendly and i met a slew of Americans that live there. We were taken care of VERY well by the promoters, Moe (above on TV with Joe & Bnois) and Darin (above, always in black with his "daughter" Twiggy). Our security staff was headed up by Roy (tough guy with beer above) and his able bodied motorcycle club. Our TV host was a hoot!!! (above with headband). The opening bands way exceeded my expectations, many musicians being in there teens. One standout Blues Teen was Jose Ramirez, whos band rocked and we had the honor of having him sit in with us (above with Bnois looking on). His family was there and there were all very nice. Moe's band was one of the hifghlights and Moe sat in with us also. I met a dude from Austin that was on the bill with us. His name is Robbie Clark and he lives down there. He called me up to sit in with him on 2 songs and we had a blast (above with me and his bass player). Our set was a blast. The crowd was ready and we gave it to them. The energy was incredible and the language was no barrier. Blues is blues and they tottaly got it. The security had to keep them off the stage. It was a great age mix of spectaters also. The venue was very cool with a great view down to the city lights below. It is a Cuban Club with a great party area and a pool. The bands were on 2 stages, one insude and the main stage outside. They fed us some very interesting Cuban food for lunch. The hotel we stayed at was right in the heart of the city of San Jose. This is a huge city with nearly 2 million people living in this "Central Valley". That is almost 2/3 of the people in the nation living there. It is certainly bustling. Prostitution and gambling is legal theer and there was very nice brothel right next to our hotel. I did get some pricing info but did not go sample the product. There are some interesting non specific gender ones on the street corners also. The people are very willing to help and are very friendly. I took a great tour and met some very cool people including Monica from Bogata and Lisa and Laura from the US. We saw a coffee plantation, an active volcano, a private park with animals and waterfalls and we took a boat ride through the rain forest. We saw a bunch of animals along the way. I can not wait to go back.

The Legendary Rhytm and Blues Cruise

2008-01-30T08:56:00.001-08:00

WOW... Where do i start? Roger Naber is a genius? I have been on the cruise as a fan 4 times and this was my first time as an artist. Both are great. Those that have been keeping up know i met Smokin Joe as a result of the October 08, Pacific Coast LRBC, shortly after becoming his drummer. To return to the cruise as an artist is a dream come true (a common theme around here). My wife, Ruby and I have made friends all over the country from the cruises and this time convinced 2 couples from San Diego to come along, Bill and Dyana and Kieth and Bonnie and they had a blast. First i need to tell you that there is a large group of recovering addicts/alcoholics that stick together and have meetings daily. As a recovering addict i can't tell you how helpful this is when you are amongst 1800 party animals (one person was trying to pour it down my neck..haha see photo above). I have been clean and sober for over 21 years and intend on staying that way. Thanks too all my homies that helped on this trip (and for coming to our shows night after night). The ship sailed from Ft Lauderdale and went to Puerto Rico, St Croix, and St Kitts. In case the 70 shows on the ship were not enough there was a blues festival on St Croix. Smokin Joe went and sat in with Coco Montoya. Coco then called Tommy Castro, Ronnie Baker Brooks and Shameka Coleland up. What a thrill for all in attendance. Shout out to Tim and Jennifer from KC and our favorite third wheel Alan D from Colorado. We performed 4 times and i jammed at the all night pro jam almost every night. I think playing on the pool deck for the first time was my favorite. The show in the Vista lounge was different as Joe invited Jimmy Thackery, Tommy Castro and Deanna Bogart to play with us. It was very special. I had a great time having Ruby at all our shows. She is so supportive and i love her so. I also marched in the Mardi Gras parade dressed as Elvis playing my snare. I placed in the top 5 in the Mardi Gras competition. The food was insane and never ending.

I can not wait to be invited back. Thanks to everyone!

The Back Room, Boca Raton

2008-01-30T08:44:00.000-08:00

The Back Room is a happening little club. The energy is always intense. The crowd danced and throbbed all night. Thanks! Above are a few of our younger fans. I don't remember their names but it was great to talk to them after. They were with their dad who i have seen here before. Thanks for coming. The staff is always great to us here including the pizza party after the show. Gotta love pizza at 2:00AM. This was sort of a send off for the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise. Many cruises were in attendance including Ilene the cocktail waitress. Thanks also to my childhood buddy Brian A who picked me up and brought a herd of friends and got me a ride to the hotel in Lauderdale to meet my wife. Thanks man. Hope to be back soon.

New Years Eve.......Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise

2008-01-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

I am in Dallas right now and we leave for Florida tomorrow morning. We did a show here

on New Years Eve and then i went home to san diego for week. The new Years Eve show was at a club called Pearl. I had a great time the bar was packed and the crowd was really into it. New Years Eve is really the best party night of the year isn't it. I met some new fans Joel and Gigi from Arlington and plenty of the faithful Dallas fans. I felt like the band was on fire and it was a gas to be on stage again. I caught a flight back to Cali early the next morning. I had a great day with my wife Ruby. We have one show in Boca Raton this week and the we get on the blues cruise. I have been looking forward to this for a while. Getting paid to play music in the Caribbean in the winter.... ah huh. Someone has to do it. Check out http://www.bluescruise.com/ for details. It was because of the cruises Ruby and i went on that o got this great job with Smokin Joe. Talk to you soon.....

Year End...recap

2007-12-29T09:57:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to all my friends and family. Above is a photo we used to send to all our K-Co Construction Company clients. Left to right is my daughter Dalen, my stepson Chad, me, my wife Ruby and my sister Janet. First let me say i do not like the way i look in an elf had and neither did Chad. Second i want to thank these people because they have been impacted the most with me being gone drumming for Smokin' Joe for the last year. They all have been supportive and i love them dearly for that.

This year working with Joe has been nothing like i imagined and an incredible journey. I did not understand how much work is involved getting to and from the gigs, loading in and out. Naturally i only focused on the "glamorous" part the performing. I am used to it ALL now and am totally OK with it. I actually like the long drives and dig looking out the window at our fabulous country going by. I have found that the high of performing carrys me through the work of traveling. The weird thing is i miss being home when i am on the road and i miss the road when i am home. I am truly living in two different worlds and they both are great. I realized all the jobs i have had in my life have highs and lows.

It has been an honor and a privilege to work with this great band and i hope to never forget that. I don't think i can say that any of the gigs stunk at all. They were all great in their own way. Some of the high lights were... My first gig with them in Santa Monica, City Collage in San Diego,Knuckleheads in Kansas City, North American Blues fest in Rockland Maine, Thunderbay Blues feat in Canada, King Biscit Fest in Helena Arkansas, The NA convention in San Antonio, JJ's in Dallas. I could go on forever. Lets not forget 9 dates in 10 day all over Italy. I will never, ever forget the rush of the show we did in Palermo Sicily... WOW. I also had the privilege to work on the new songs and ultimately record the new album. That had been on my dream list for years. The ne album comes out in March and i am looking forward to hearing it on the radio and touring behind it.

I am also looking forward to playing on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise this January. Ruby and i will have a blast i am sure. I will get to hook up with all the friends we have met in the 4 other cruises we have gone on. I have met people all over the country this year that will be on the cruise also. It will be a thrill to be returning to the cruise as an artist this time.

I an off to Dallas for new years Eve then back to San Diego for a week then off to Florida and the Caribean. I know it a rough job but someone has to do it. Keep in touch, huh.

I want to also thank my wife Ruby for her never ending support of my musical dreams. You are the greatest and I am THE LUCKIEST MAN ALIVE.

Dave K

Hungry Tiger

2007-12-07T07:31:00.000-08:00

Hungry Tiger in Manchester CT is great little club. There were SJK fans in the house. I spoke with a woman named Barbara who loves SJK ad will be going on her first Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise this January. the snow on the way down from Maine was incredibly beautiful. The show at the time out Pub in Rockland ME was snowed out but the owner shifted it to the next day and it went very well. Thanks to all the fans that braved the snow to come see us. That is the dancingest club we play at. Thanks again to Sandy and Ted for hosting us at her house in MA, and the Beef Stew was perfect. All our shows in the Northwest were really fun. The crowd at Chan's in Woonsocket RI was incredible. It was Joe's birthday and i had a BLAST. We managed to miss all the ice storms on the way back to Dallas. We took a little different route that paid off. It will be nice to get home to San Diego after all this ice and snow.

North East Tour 12-07

2007-12-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

BRRRRRRRRRRRR, Snow wind and rain. I am in Rockland MA. Above is a photo of the van in front of a pile of snow plowed in a Wal Mart parking lot. Our show at the Time Out pub is postponed until tomorrow. The storm is so bad that everything is closed. We are holed up at a nice hotel across the street. The tour so far had us in Angola IN at Skips. This place has major MOJO and i had fun playing there. The next show was at Chans in Woonsocket RI. It was SJK's Birthday. The band was on fire and the house was packed with fans. I spoke with a fan named Steve who is learning to play the drums. He wife Shelly was great also. They stayed for both shows. This was one of my favorite shows in a while. Next was Marlboro MA at Dante's. My childhood friend Joe C and his girlfriend Kelly came. It is great to see friends as i travel around. Another friend from Long Island Ross and Ann came also. Dante's is fun and the food is great. We stayed at Joe and Phylis's friends Sandy and Ted in Fitchburg MA. They are so sweet to put us up and feed us every time we come around. I meet so many great people out here on the road. I miss my home, especially since San Diego is 70and Maine is 30. Actually it is cool to see some snow as long as i don't have to shovel it

West coast tour 10-07

2007-12-03T09:18:00.000-08:00

Last month we had the pleasure of touring the West Coast. The list of shows went like this.
Rhythm Room in Phoenix AZ, Cozy's in Sherman Oaks CA, Biscuits and Blues in San Francisco CA, Arcadia Blues Club in Arcadia CA, The Horseman's Club in Sacramento CA, Upstage Club in Port Townsend WA, Jazzbones in Tacoma WA. It was fun for me to play in Phoenix as my friend Steve & Stefinie Dawson cam to see us with thier friends. Steve is a great guy and him and i have always had the same taste in music. In California my wife Ruby and daughter, Dalen came to two shows. At the Cozy's show My friend Ralph A and his family and my sister Janet and her husband Jerry came to see us. I find it harder to play in front of family and friends than in front of thousands of strangers. All the shows were well attended and i had a blast. In Sacramento we did a show with Tommy Castro band. Ruby came to see us and a friend from the Blues Cruise Hiedi Green came. It is always great to see Tommy and his show was a blast. I got to meet Majic Dick from the J. Giels band. I have been a fan since 1972. He remembered the venue in Long Island i used to see them in. Above is a picture of him and i. Alos a photo of my wonderful daughter Dalen with Bnoius and phyllis at the ABC show. I love you Dalen. Also above is a rare photo of SJK playing the Hammond Organ at ABC. I am pictured at the Rythm Room holding my laminated photo of my with that i carry everywhere.

memphis

2007-11-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

It was cool to play in Memphis I have driven through many times but never spent time there. I went to Beal Street at night. Not very impressed. To commercial. the best band i saw was a street band. I did enjoy visiting/touring Sun Studios. Wow, that place has mojo. To think of all the artists and songs that were made there.

home at last..King Biscit

2007-11-06T11:54:00.000-08:00

Well it was great to get home. I had been away from home for 5 weeks. That is the longest i have been since i started with Joe. I love my wife and family and friends very much. This is a tough part of this job. I miss my wonderful house, my dog and cat also. When i am home i try to cram all i can into the time i have. My wife is so supportive and i love her so. WE did a lot in that time including recording our new album on Alligator Records.

But............The road calls and i head back out. We played at the Arkansas Heritage Festival in Helana Arkansas. This event used to be called the King Biscuit Festival and is the longest running, free blues fest. Helena is just about Ground Zero for the Blues. Just across the river in Clarksdale MS is where legend has it Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads. Helena has been home to the blues since day one. Out set was around 4 in the afternoon and the crowd was large. Biscuit is sortof like a industry must go. I got to see and talk to loads of industry people before and after we played. Out set was well received and i felt privileged to be there. Right aftre was Bob Morgolins played with his old timer all star band many of whom were in Muddy Waters band. I got to hang with 92 year old Pine Top Perkins and drumming legend Willie Big Eyes Smith. (Photos) In attendance was the owner of our record label (Alligator) Bruce Igliaur. We chattedfor a while and i got a photo with him and Lil Ed. I got to vistit with Ed's drummer whom i had met on a cruise a few years back. I aslo hung with The talented Andy T and his loveley wife from San Diego who i also bumped into in Dallas at an anson Funderburgs show. Joe and Bnois had an interview with some Belgium reporters so we hung around for a while. Very cool event for me to be at.

One gig in Memphis and back to Dallas.

welcome back.....Lansing MI

2007-11-06T11:39:00.000-08:00

Well it has been over a month since i posted. i am not sure why i haven't but here i am. I had hoped to post something on every gig but that is not realistic right now. I left off posting in Indiana. The next gig was a street festival In Lansing MI. I really lie playing outside. This was a better big fest and we were the headliners. We went on around 8PM. It was in the street with row houses on either side of the stage. Folks were on there porches and balconies. The street was packed with people. The promoter told me a couple of thousand people. I was gratified to see such a diverse crowd culturally and age wise. I really had fun. We played great and the crowd loved it. We did several encores and bam it was over. Some nights it ends too soon. We went to a green room they had set up for the artists and had some great food and plenty of laughs. Load our stuff and head for the hotel and the next morning....Dallas There is so much driving involved in this job. I had no idea.

BTW I figured out at our next gig that i left my drum rug there. Oh well. I hope someone is enjoying it....

Key Palace, Red Key, IN

2007-09-22T13:11:00.001-07:00

The owner of this club, Charlie, told us he bough this falling down movie theater 16 years ago for $1,000. In 16 years he has built it in to a thriving blues bars. The movie theater feel is still there and adjacent is a very cool bar area and a large restaurant. This is pretty much in the farmlands but people come from far and wide to see the national acts he brings in. On the walls are posters and photos of all the acts that have played there. It read like a who's who of the blues world. Charlie is one of these important people that are keeping the blues alive. I had a great time and i felt like we kicked some ass. I really feel comfortable with the new material now and look forward to playing it. I met a young lady Ashley (photo) that was actually into the blues. This is rare and it is always heart warming to meet someone like her. She was taking photos of Joe's guitar after the show with her camera and phone. It would be my pleasure to play here again... Thanks Charlie. PS I will be home in a few days after being away for about a month. I am really looking forward to being at home and spending tme with my lovely wife Ruby. We are celebrating 24 years of being together. I just keeps getting better every day. I love you Ruby.

Stillwater OK Blues Festival

2007-09-16T20:42:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we ran up the road a piece (4 hours) to Stilwater OK. We left around noon and got here with plenty of time to spare. Our slot was at 9:30 so we had plenty ot time to spare. This is a free concert put on by the City and other sponsors. When we got there the band Rollin Phatty's was up there doing there thing, The highlight was their drummer Dixie (photo). Bnois and i were immediately captivated my her playing... OK her beauty also. As we watched her play it was clear she had been formally trained and had great chops. I know women can do anything but i find it hard to watch a woman drumming. This is mostly due to their not being many around. As soon as they were done i engaged her and helped her load out her kit. (DW). Dixie was fun to talk to and she told me about her training and her collection of drum kits. She plays all kinds of music and it is unusual to see a young person playing blues. She also teaches drumming to young people and works in a music store. It was great to meet her. I talked to a lot of other cool folks and watched some great music while we waited to play. Our set started a little late after a killer set by Austin Based ,female guitarist, Tracy Conover. I was told ahead of time that the show would be streamed to the web. I called a few friends in San Diego and gave them the address. I had a great time playing especially since i had a few weeks off from live music. We ran through some old songs and a few of the new ones. All went well and the crowd stayed with us till the end.

Life is good

2007-09-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

while i was hanging in Dallas i got to meet Anson Funderberg. I have been a fan since i saw them on the Blues Cruise with Sam Myers. I went to the House of Blues to see him also. They have a great Texas sound all their own. Doyle Bramhall has told me some really funny stories about when they were roommates back in the day. We are off tomorrow to play a festival in Oklahoma. It will be great to me making music again. Stay tuned.

Cine El Rey, McAllen TX

2007-09-07T18:34:00.000-07:00

While we were at San Antonio we dashed down to the border and did a great gig at a converted movie theater. Great sound system with a killer light show and the crowd was totally into it. The management/ownership really treated us great including an incredible dinner after the show. Love to come back there anytime. PS We have been hired back there On February 15 right after we get back from Costa Rica.

NA Convention San Antonio, TX

2007-09-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

I have been looking forward to this for a while on several levels. one is the fact that as a recovering addict, playing at the Narcotics Anonymous Convention is a huge honor. Additionally my wife and great friend Steve D came in for the convention and i have 2 days off to spend with them. Level three is my good buddy, Doyle Bramhall (Pictured playing drums)is set to open up for ZZ Top (Pictured) at the Alamo Dome. Doyle's show was awesome.Our show went well. We played outside at a place called Sunset Station on the opening night of the convention.. It is a converted train station. Ozomatly (Pictured with Ruby)and Billy Price played on a different stage before us. Joe coined the phrase "Dope Fiends A GoGo". Love it.

Jimmy Reed Highway, Jimmie Vaughan

2007-08-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

I went to see A show call the Jimmy Reed Highway. It was held at the Dallas House of Blues. The band included Jimmie Vaughan, Omar Dykes, Kim Wilson, Lou Ann Barton and a great rhythm section. Anson Funderburg opened up the show. This is a tribute to Blues Pioneer Jimmy Reed. The shows are in support of an album by the same name released last week. Guests on the album include Delbert McClinton, James Cotton and Gary Clark Junior. It is a great album, pick it up. The show was very cool and they all looked like they were having fun. They played for almost 2 hours.Their interpretations of these classic songs was moving. Very simple arrangements with lots of room for the music to breath. Jimmie's guitar playing is the perfect compliment to these songs. Kim Wilsons harmonica playing and singing was full of passion and soul. Omar can sing! It was great to see Lou ann and her parts were beautiful. Lou Ann and Omar did a duet on "Natural Born Lover"...WOW After the show i got to go back stage and meet Jimmie Vaughan and Omar Dykes. This was a huge thrill for me. I have been a fan of Jimmie's and Stevies for years. He was very sweet and we chatted for a few minutes. We have a few things/friends in common that we discussed.The green room started filling up with friends and family as i made my exit. Very cool evening indeed. I am the luckiest man alive...LMA

Pearl, Dallas Texas

2007-08-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

It was great to play in Dallas for a change. I have not played here since i have been with Joe. I did play at Pearl once before at a Hash Brown jam a few months back. Very cool bar with a top notch staff. Above you see Roger, Joe's guitar tech and Margret and Coi, Joe's sister and brother in law. There were many of the bands friends and fans in attendance. The bar was packed and all went well. I got several compliments from people that had not seen me play with joe before.I felt like we were really grooving on the new material. We have been playing it on the road for a few months and tweaking it as we go. We go in the studio next week to record it with Bruce from Alligator Records. I feel like we are ready. After the gig i went to eat at a Waffle House. It was 3:00 AM and the place was quiet and almost empty. I was a little fuzzy as i had been up for 22 hours, flown in from San Diego and played a gig. After i ordered all of a sudden the SRV song "The Sky Is Crying" came blasting out. It shocked me as it was a very unexpected thing to hear break the silence. After that the Doors song "Break on through to the other side" came on... Wow i need some sleep.

Knuckleheads Saloon, Kansas City

2007-08-28T08:03:00.000-07:00

This took place on August 18. As you can see i am running a few weeks behind posting. I had played at Knuckleheads once before in December. The ownership (Frank and his wife) are very cool and know how to make performers feel comfortable. There was nothing i needed that was not readily available. This was a 3 day festival of sorts held on their outdoor stage. I had been especially looking forward to this show because my wife, ruby,(a saint)was coming in from San Diego to see us. We have friends in KC we met on The Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise 3 years ago. Tim and Jennifer are huge blues fans and we have a LOT in common.Ruby and i stayed at their way cool house. It was nice to sleep in a real house with my wife for a change. This show was packed full of great acts. Ruby, Tim and Jennifer had great seats in the wings next to the stage. They also hung around backstage with us before and after the show. i was glad to see Zac Harmonon the bill who i know from San Diego and the cruise. This guy has great energy on and off the stage. Also on the bill was Candye Kane. She is from San Diego and we know her most excellent guitarist, Hiene Anderson. Her son is her drummer and i have been watching him gain experience over the years. I dug seeing and talking to him. Candye was sweet to ruby and I. It was great to see them.
This was a very cool show for me. Great audience also. The food backstage was to die for. These people know Bar B Que.
.

Remembering SRV

2007-08-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

Today is the 17th Anniversary of the death of Stevie Ray Vaughan. He died with just shy of 4 years sober. His sobriety date was October 13, 1986 (The same as mine). I have heard many great stories from close friends of his about what a sweet man he was. Smokin Joe Kubek told me a story last week about seeing Stevie in a bar in the 70’s. Joe said there were 3 people in the bar and Stevie was playing as if there were thousands….I hear his music and see his image every where I go. I have been told Stevie worked his program as intensely as he played his guitar. He helped countless others and carried the message, He will be missed. I happened to be with his brother, Jimmie Lee Vaughan, last night after a concert at the House Of Blues in Dallas. He too is a very sweet man. I thank the universe for sharing people like this with us…….. I honor the privilege of sharing my music with people. On my drum skin is written “Thanks Stevie”. I think of him EVERYTIME I play. I encourage you to live every day as it might be your last. Tell the people you love that you love them. Practice random acts of kindness. Pass on what has been so freely given to you.
I love you!

Miss you Stevie.

Dave K

Zoo Bar, Murphys Blues Bar , Blues On Grand

2007-08-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

Back to the Zoo Bar Lincoln NE.
We played here a few months ago. Great blues bar. This was an early show that started around 6:00PM. This is common in this area. I think it is a great idea. People want to get in bed early on a week night. We had a killer crowd with many of the same people that were there last time. I am starting to know some of the faithful fans. This was a fun show.

Murphy's in Omaha NE.
Murphy's is also a great club. This was an early show also and a great crowd. They really seemed to like the new material. Many folks asked to buy the CD that had the songs they just heard on it. Sorry.. not yet.

Blues on Grand, Des Moines Iowa.
This club won a Handy award for club of the year a few years back. The owner is a hoot. This bar has had every blues act you can imagine there. The crowd was very involved. Now that i was used to the early shows this one hurt. I had a great time playing and Joe and I split a Pizza after the show. I got back to the hotel around 2:00 AM Sleepy indeed.

No photos.. My camera was broken.

Bay Front Blue

2007-08-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

This is a huge festival and very well organized. They have been doing it for years. Every detail was totally professional. This was one of the better back line drum kits i have played on. The crowd really responded to us and we had a blast.

We played at Bev's Joint later that night across the bridge in Superior WI. Many of the Fest crowd came there. The room was full of energy and i had a great time. I was tired from 2 gigs in one day but when i am on the stage all the fatigue goes away. At the 2-3 encore Bev grabbed her guitar and hopped on stage with us. If anyone has pictures of that please send them to me. Bev is the best. All in all it was a great day. I have had many this year.

Tour 8-07

2007-08-24T07:57:00.001-07:00

Wacanesha MI

Great fest. These photos were supplied by great friends/fans Cassie (See Minnesota blog) and her parents Randy and Paula. Thanks for all your support. I got to hang with Bruce Igular and Shamekia Copeland after our set. I was weepy as we drove to this gig as we drove right past AlpineValley WI. This is the site of Stevie Ray Vaughan's Death 17 years ago.

Torre Alfina 2

2007-08-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

We did get to eat dinner with Mossimo. He is the fine gentleman that put this tour together for us(Man drinking 2 beers) He was really funny and very cool to us. He is Monolo's boss and is was fun to watch them interact. Pretty funny. This gig was sort of surreal. It was in a town Square next to the castle and an old church. They had a light show shining on both. At sound check Joe asked for them to find something to set the amp on to raise it up off the stage. They brought a beer keg. We fell out laughing. The crowd was mostly older people and they did not know what to make of us and our Texas Blues. A core group of younger people did get it and we rocked them good. Then..... it was over. WOW. 9 gigs in 10 days all over Italy. I most say i am privileged to be in this band and i love to watch Joe and Bnois every night. Bnois is a really funny guy and i like haning with him. Joe and i have a ton in common and i feel close to him. We sat and chatted for a while and back to the farmhouse. Ruby and i get a room together, cool.We get up very early (i forget when) and drive to Rome airport. Ruby and Dalen catch a train to Milan to return to the US. After some trouble checking our instruments we catch our plane. We get to the US and our connecting flight is delayed, delayed, delayed, canceled. AHHHHH. I need sleep. They give us hotel vouchers and we spent the night in Ohio. Early the next morning we catch planes home. The band to Dallas and me to San Diego. I really want to thanks Joe and Phyliss Kubek for helping me have this wonderful experience and facilitating Ruby and Dalen's Italy trip as well. This was a very exciting trip for me and a dream come true. I have officially rocked Italy. Thanks also to my new friend Monolo and Mossiomo.

A week off in San Diego and back to Dallas. We have a tour up the middle.

Torre Alfina Blues Fest, Viterbo Italy

2007-08-17T15:54:00.001-07:00

Ruby and Dalen take a train from Rome to meet us at this gig. I really appreciate all the effort they went to to get to 3 of our gigs. I am the luckiest man alive to have such a great family. My stepson Chad got to stay home and run the family buisness. I thank him also. The hotel we all stay at is a 300 year old farm house. The owner is very sweet and takes care of all our needs. We go over to the venue for sound check and find it is in the shadow of a castle. Go figure. Back to the farm house and then out to dinner.

Pontina Rock Blues Festival.....Latina, Italy

2007-08-17T15:43:00.001-07:00

Up early again, drive to airport. this time we fly to Bologna. Third morning in a row i wake up in this airport. Sleep deprived we load into our van and drive to just south of Rome. We stop at Burger King on the Auto strata. Some times you just need a burger. BTW the scenery everywhere we go is beautiful. There are ruins and very old buildings every were you look. Very cool. We get to the hotel and take a nap. YEA. Sound check, a great dinner (Seafood pasta) and off to the gig. This was a smaller venue with a crowd that warmed up to us and begged for more. Into bed for a full nights sleep, finally.

Sically Italy

2007-08-17T15:19:00.000-07:00

We catch our plane to Sicaly. We meet our ride to the hotel. A small welcome party is set up for us with snacks and drinks. The hotel is walkinbg distance to the venue. The stage is set up in the town square in front of an acient church. (Lots of churchs here). I walk over with Monolo to check out the drums. We make an arangement with the opening act and head back to the hotel. Monolo insists i taste a local food dish. I had tried to get this in the Bologna airport but he told me to wait till we get to sisally cause that is where the come from. It was killer. It was like a croket made of corn bread with beef, peas, poataos and grayinside. Thesee folks can eat, i repaet. We have a little rest (stress little) then a wonderful dinner in the hotel. We walk over to the gig. This entire town square is packed with people. I was told 3500 by the promoter. We work our way to the backstage tent. The opening act finishes up and we launch. WOW> these people really respond to us right off the bat. The energy grows as we do our set. As we end the main show the crowd was frenzied. I lost track but we did 3-5 encore songs. The crowd was going insane. It was very energizing especially since we had had very little sleep in the last few days. People were trying to climb onto the stage and the security people had their hands full. When we finally ended it was nearly impossible to get off the stage as the backstage area security had fallen apart. SJK and Bnois were signing autographs and having photos as they struggled to get to the tent. Paul and i were getting mobbed to a lesser degree. I signed a ton of stuff and had a bunch of photos take. The girl in the photo insisted on several photos with me so i insisted on a photo of her. After this photo her boyfriend insisted Paul pose with her on their Vespa scooter. This was by far the best gig in a string of really great gigs. I love theses people. Sleep.....not just yet.

Sardina, Italy

2007-08-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

We took a flight from Bologna to Sardinia. We met our driver, Laura, and headed off for a 2 hour drive to the gig. (Recap... No real sleep yet) We get to the hotel and rest for an hour or so. Off to sound check. The gig is right on the Med Sea. It reminds me of San Diego. The people on the beach were grooving to our sound check. Back to the hotel and another great dinner. We ate with the opening act, Key Scott, from LA. I little more rest in the room and off to the gig. It went well and it was cool to play right next to the water. Back to the hotel. Sleep....A little. We leave the hotel around 4 am to drive back to the airport to fly back to Bologna. We start feeling like the movies groundhog day and terminal mashed together.

Cuneo Musica Fest, Italy

2007-08-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

This was held in a tiny town square. The hotel was insanely cool. It was ultra modern built into an extremely old building. The mural was upstairs near a reading nook. This is Manolo looking eye to eye with ? Our chef was preparing beans in the courtyard as we relaxed before the gig. My room had a huge copper bathtub in the middle. The gig went well. Our host told me 900 people live in the town and they have 13 churches. I asked how old was the oldest church. He said only 1100 years old. HUH Unfortunately we did not get to stay in the hotel as we had to drive to Bologna after to catch a plane to Sardinia in the morning. Sleep was attained in the van on the way. Sleep is highly over rated.

Perugia, Italy Day Off

2007-08-17T14:58:00.001-07:00

We spent or day off looking around the town of Perugia. Manolo drove us up ther from the lake. We did some sho

ping, sightseeing and spent an hour sipping expresso in a sidewalk cafe. Very cool town.

Transimeno Blues Fest, Perugia Italy

2007-08-17T14:50:00.000-07:00

Killer gig. This stage was on the edge of Lake Transimeno. After sound check we had an incredible dinner at the little restaurant at the lake campground. Dalen and Ruby took a Taxi from Perugia to the gig. This crowd warmed up to us quickly and was loosing their minds at the end. My daughter did help to get them up and dancing. She took this picture from the stage during and encore. Our tour manager, Manolo was a huge help in every move we made. Love that guy.

Chieti, Italy

2007-08-17T14:42:00.000-07:00

This gig was in a 700 year old fort. It had slots in the

walls for arrows to be shot through. The crowd was large and responded well. I gave some drumsticks away to fans that begged for them. Next time i will bring extra sticks to give away. I had to rig the house drum set to meet my needs. Great gig. We went to a British pub after the gig for dinner.

Italy gig 2

2007-08-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

This gig my daughter Dalen and wife Ruby came to. They can to 3 gigs and got to see all the great spots while i was drumming my ass off. The pig did not do so well. Did i say there people know how to eat. Beutiful scenery in this region and a great crowd.

Italy 07 Bergamo

2007-08-09T11:06:00.000-07:00

We are back from an incredible trip to Italy. The weather, people, food and lodgings were great. Our Road Manager Manolo did a fantastic job of moving us around the country an meeting our every need. We did 9 shows in 10 days. I am still tired. The first show was in the north in an area called Bergamo nears the Swiss alps. We stayed at a 300 year old mill converted to a hotel. Very cool spot. Our instruments did not make it on our flight so we had to run back to Milan to get our stuff off the next flight. The hotel has its own trout farm The trout above was unlucky enough to land on my plate. These people know how to eat and some. The gig was in a community park and went really well. The host took great care of us. The crowd dug what we did. I discovered Italy has no drinking age. HMMMMM. I did not sample any of the local wine.

North Atlantic Blues Festival,Rockland ME

2007-07-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

Wow. This is the biggest concert i have ever played. I was told 8500 people. This is a class operation from start to finish. We drove all night to get here on time for our 1:00 slot. We did get a few hours sleep before

our show. We had a blast and the audience seemed to react to it. It if funny i can only see back 20-30 rows and everyone else is a blur. They had a great DW drum kit like mine and the stage crew was all over helping us. I am off to Italy tomorrow. We have 9 shows in 10 days there. My wife Ruby and my daughter Dalen will be there to see 3 shows. i will write more later upon our return. Many more cool things on the horizon... Stay tuned.

Dave K... The Luckiest Man Alive.

Chans, Woon socket RI

2007-07-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

Very cool spot. This has been the premier club in this area for 25 years. Met some young blues heads. My life long friend Joe C and his friend Kelly came to see us. Thanks Joe. More later

peirmont NY

2007-07-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

As always this is a killer gig. Small club, intimate club. I met a young blues fan/guitarist named Matt. Felt a ghosts presence. More later

Thunder Bay Onterio, Canada

2007-07-12T12:39:00.001-07:00

I have been looking forward to this gig for a while. I have never played in Canada and it looked like it was going to be a pretty big show. The drive from Superior WI to Thunder Bay was very cool. We did have to roll pretty early though. I am learning how to sleep sitting up in the van. This is a skill they do not teach you at Berkley School of music although they should. Our drive included crossing the Canadian border. I am told by my band mates to expect any number of complications entering Canada. We allowed 1 hour extra in our travel time for this. Before we got there we got all our ID and documents in one place ready for them. We all have current passports and we also have work permits set up by the booking company. We rolled up to the gate and were asked a few questions by the border agent. When he learned we were musicians i thought, here we go. He asked if we had work papers. We said we did and he said have a nice day. If I were a border agent and a van and trailer full of ???? us, i would want everyone and everything out onto the concrete. What do i know. I guess we do not fit any profile they teach about in Canada. We are really harmless you know. We had time to the hotel for a few and get ready for the gig. IN the hotel lobby was a local paper with a front page story about the Blues Festival. We showed up on the festival grounds and made our way backstage. The festival is right on a huge bay/harbor of Lake Superior. They provided a spot for us to pull in directly behind the stage and 5 stagehands descended on us to help. This fest is really well organized and the people were falling all over them selves to help us.... Very cool. I was directed to the drum staging area to set up. I peeked through the curtain to get a look at the drum kit that the band before us was playing so i could see what i would need. As i pulled the curtain back a little i am struck by the size of the audience. They seem to be grooving to what this band was doing. I notice that Joe, Bnois and Paul also had a wrangler each to help out. They had a big row of amps and gear for us to choose from. I got my stuff ready in a pile. As soon as the other band finished they helped us get in place. The drum kit they had for me was a brand new Pearl Brand kit up on a big drum riser. It had everything i needed and then some. My wrangler helped me get it going as the sound guys moved the mics around and tested my monitor. A stage hand brought me towels, water and a fan. I could get used to this. Everything ready and here we go.... Joe counts 1-2-3-4 (Drum intro)1 triple 2triplet 3 triplet 4 triplet, Bnois sings "Too hot, Too hot, you know it had to cool down"...... Yea this is fun. I always settle down a few measures into the first song. Now I look around and start to soak n where I am and what I am doing being careful not to get caught up in it and loose my place. It is impossible for me to describe all the feelings while we are rocking out in front of all those people. Lets just say it is great and worth all the work getting there. Our set at a festival is a mix of our old songs and the songs for the new album. On this day it is a one hour set. The hour goes really quick. We do one encore and head off stage. The crew helps us get our stuff off. Wow that was fun. Joe and Bnois head over to the merchandise table and sign autographs. The 2nd picture is the line of people still waiting to get autographs after a half hour or so. I wonder around the site and talk to Roger Naber one of the owners of the Blues Cruise. I get some of the sandwich's they provide for us backstage. I eat my food with guitarist Sue Foley who will be performing soon. I talked to some local police and then we head to the hotel. all in all a very cool day. I am blessed to be able to make music at this level.

Bevs Juke Joint

2007-07-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

Bev's Juke Joint, Superior WI, Saturday night. Superior is right on the shore of Lake Superior. This looks more like an ocean than a lake. Bev's is a great little bar run by a Blues lover named Bev. Go figure. She put us up a great old hotel nearby. The patrons, all locals, dug what we did as Bev danced behind the bar as she served up the drinks. The walls have autographs of all the nation acts that have stoped by to perform here. It was great of her to have us. Bev has punk bands play during the week to help pay the bills but her heart is absolutely into the blues. We signed the walls and off we went. We will be back at Bev's next month after we play a festival in Duluth MN just across the lake earlier in the day. This will be the first time i have done 2 shows in one day with the SJK show. We had to hit it very early (8:00AM) in order to get to Thunder Bay Ontario Canada in time to play at 3:15. Sleepy
Thanks Bev!!!!!

Famous Dave's Bar B Que.. Minn, MN

2007-07-08T18:18:00.000-07:00

After 2 days of driving we arrive in Minneapolis. We get loaded in to Famous Dave's. This place is very cool. It is done up inside like a Chicago street. Very well done. The stage is huge and is made to look like a loading dock. We come back to get started around 8:30 for a 9:00 downbeat. The house was pretty much full. We launched on our first set. It went pretty good but nothing was coming out of my monitor. The monitor helps me hear the rest of the band. The main thing I need to here is Bnois's vocal. I never have trouble hearing the guitars. I like the way my drums sound coming out of the monitors but i can play without it. I met some cool people on the break. One of the people i met was Cassie. Cassie is a young lady that loves the blues. It gives me hope to meet people like her. Cassie's parents have been SJK fans for years. Our second set went well and I had a working monitor this time. Break down and off to bed. Famous Dave's is a very cool place with great fans. I would be happy to come back anytime... In the morning I drove by the treatment facility I went through 20 years ago (October 13, 1986). It was very moving to see it. I totally remember walking out the door at the end of the 30 day program and being very scared. Staying clean for 30 days in a facility is one thing. Staying clean on the outside, forever is quite another. I have remained clean and sober ever since...I am glad I made the effort to visit there....... Off to Superior WI

Home for a while

2007-07-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

We left Colombia Pike and drove strait back to Dallas. We were all anxious to get back so we all agreed . Upon returning home i........ It was great to be home for a few weeks. I had an arbitration hearing the day I got back. It went very well for us. My daughter, Dalen turned 21 while i was gone. We all went out to eat at a great Mexican place. I watched her order her first legal drink. I hope liquor never turns on her like it did to me. I spent some quality time with my wife Ruby. I miss here so much on the road. I went to my other job and got caught up. I spent time with my parents and helped them clean up a spare room. Ruby and I went to the Irvine Lake Blues Fest. Walter Trout, Coco Montoya and Tommy Castro. What a line up. As soon as Tommy rolled up we were able to go back stage and watch the show from there. I got to talk to Walter and Coco. I told them Joe said hi and they both lit up. Coco said how can you not love Joe Kubek? We got to spend some time back stage with Tommy and Chris his drummer. It was a great show.
on July 4th we had a party at our house and watched the fire works from our roof. I got on a plane at 11:00 that night and arrived back in Dallas at 8:00 AM. I got a shuttle to Joe's house and we rolled out at 10:00 Am for Minneapolis MN. It was really great to be home but i am glad to be on the road again. This is going to be in interesting month.

Colombia Blues Fest, Arlington VA

2007-06-17T17:17:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-16T14:53:00.001-07:00

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

2007-06-10T21:49:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-08T16:31:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

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.

The Gutter Bar, Pepsi Cola FL

2007-05-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

We had a few days off between gigs and i got some rest and did some laundry. I went to the movies took a few walks and caught up on some work. When i heard the name Gutter Bar i must admit i was very curious. Well it turns out to be a very classy place attached to a bowling alley in Pensacola FL. I started calling it Pepsi cola, FL. The Gutter bar is a big, fairly new room with a big stage and a great sound system. I believe Tim was our sound guys name. He is also a drummer which helps me because he knows how to get the sound i like. We loaded in earlier and went back to the hotel to rest up. When we arrive back at the bar it was packed. In attendance where many musician's, blues society people, radio station people, blues cruisers and just plain blues fans. As normal i met many folks that knew the SJK band for years. We launched in to our first set and tore it up. Off to my right i could see a guy that was making drumming movements with his hands the whole time. Drummer i asked my self. At our break i talked to drumming man and many others. I talked with lovely Sharon and her husband. (See attached photo). Sharon had a fist full of money as she was on her way to the merch table to spend her money with Miss Phillis on SJK CD's. I got asked to sign some CD"s which is a little weird for me since i am not on them. My ego likes it but it's strange. I met a radio DJ that has a blues show in town on Saturday nights for six years. The theme song to his show is Joe"s song howling at the moon. He was thrilled to meet Joe and talk to him. Our second set went real well. We are still doing all the new songs on the seconds set. We are tweaking them as we go. I recorded this sent and we listened to it on the house system after the patrons left and we loaded up. It was great to here it on a nice system. I listen to the playbacks on my headset but it is not the same. I really enjoyed this show as we had a few days off before it and i was itching to play. Great club, great crowd and great memory's.

The Elks Spa and Resort

2007-05-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

This is the spot the Wabash BBQ put us up at. What a cool spot. This hotel is very old and built to last. It reminded me of the 30

s-40's. There was a movie being filmed out back that was a wedding scene. It was cool to watch. I got a chance to go in the Jacuzzi before the gig. I miss mine at home. It felt great and i got some sun also. We sleapt late and left for florida the next morning. We made it to Paducha Kentucky, speamt the night and drove the rest of the way today. I have a few days off in Pensocola and i am looking forward to looking around, hitting an AA meeting and relaxing a little. Thursday night we play at the Gutter Lounge... More will be revealed.

Dave K Drums.

Wabash Bar B Que, Excelcior Springs MO

2007-05-21T23:03:00.000-07:00

I have been looking forward to this gig. It was the kick off of the 10th season of concerts at this very cool outdoor Venue Photo one is of a great friend, Tim P that Ruby and I met on several of the Blues Cruises. We kept in touch and visited them in KC when SJK band played Knucle Heads Bar on 12-30-06. I really apreciate him coming. It is very fun to meet up with friends while on the road. Thanks to t
Tim for bringing the band hair products on his bike from his lovely wife Jennifer.

We where put up at a great resort/spa across the street. (See next post). I walked over 1 hour before the gig and the place was packed. This is a popular spot with the biker crowd and they where well represented. As i hung with Tim and his friend before the show more and more people rolled in. This is a huge outdoor picnic type area ajacent to the BBQ resturant. They had an outdoor food area as well as several beer bars. I estimated 400-500 people there. The smell of BBQ filled the air all night. People were raving about the food.

We launched a 7:00 PM and the crowd really seemed to dig it. I always enjoy playing outside. It was a little hot at first but as the sun went down it cooled off. There where all ages in attendence and a dozen or so little kids were hanging around the front of the stage dancing and playing. We did our thing and fed off the energy from the crowd. Most folks stayed till the end. When the bikers left some spun thier expensive tires right behind the stage. We got to talk to a bunch of the fans during the break and after. Mitchell i believ was the owners name fed us afterward. I would have to say this was in the top 3 BBQ food i have ever had. We chatted with the owners for a while and packed up. This was show 21 for me with the fabulous Smokin Joe Kubek Band. We continue to play the new songs on the second set. We tweek then a little here and there as we go. I AM HAVING A BLAST. These guys are great musisian and i feel at home here.

BTW I miss my wife Ruby>
We

Zoo Bar Lincoln NE

2007-05-21T22:41:00.001-07:00

This is a real live blues bar. It has exists right in the downtown area for 30 some odd years. The walls are adorned with posters from all the shows that have taken place there. It reads like a who's who of the blues world. This place has serious mojo. The first photo is myself and a SJK fan named Dane and nicknamed "The Scottsman". He introduced himself to me and said he has been reading the blog. I was please to meet someone other than my friends and family that reads this. If there are others out there enjoying this, let me know. Leave a comment here or e-mail me at davek@davekdrums.com. The second picture is SJK and his lovely wife Phillis behind the stage during a break. I am not sure what they are talking about but it appears they are in agreement about whats up. Phillis takes great care of us out here on the road. She deals with all of the business so we can focus on the music.

I really dug playing at the Zoo Bar. The house was packed and i saw many people lip syncing the words to the songs. During the break i got to meet many of them. One couple i met, Jeff and (sorry i forgot) drove from Des Moines Iowa to see us. They are aware we are playing in thier town in August but claimed they could not wait that long. We will be back at the Zoo Bar in August also.
Thanks Zoo Bar people. I had a blast here. The downtown area was rocking as we packed up and went to eat. I am getting used to eating at 1:00AM. Off to the hotel and on to the next one..... Good night

Blue Bayou Club, NC

2007-05-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

We pull up in front of the Blue Bayou Club in North Carolina. As we get out a car passes and a guy screams "SMOKIN JOE". That's a cool welcome. Moments later my friend Gabrielle (see photo) comes walking up. I have not seen her in 15 years or so. We were friends in Long Island and California and she wound up marring my business partner. She drove 2.5 hours to see us and i appreciate that immensely. We scope out the club and head for the hotel. The venue put us in great place right nearby. I unpacked and Gabrielle came and got me. We visited for a few hours before load in. It was great to catch up on her life and catch her up on mine. We both have really great spouses and very happy lives. I am glad for that. She dropped me off and i got ready for the gig. Load in and set up in a flash. The crowd started rolling right away. This was the first Sunday night this venue had tried. The turnout was awesome. Joe's booking agent Tina and her husband came to see us and there where many others that seemed to know the band. The show went well and i was totally feeding off the audience. It was great to see Gabi rocking out to the tunes we cranked out. This was the fourth night in a row and i felt really good about how i was playing. I had a really good time... Is that clear yet? Most of the folks stayed to the bitter end. We finished our normal sets and did 2 encores. Did i mention it was fun. I am such a lucky man. I get to play great music with great players in great clubs for great people. YEA! The club fed us some great Mexican food. I had a catfish burrito. It was totally different and tasty. Gabrielle left after we packed up. The next morning she picked me up, we had a great lunch and she dropped me off at Raleigh Durham Airport. Next stop...my sweet baby's arms in San Diego. This was a great trip. Love to be home... can't wait to go out again.

Mid Alantic Tour

2007-04-28T23:18:00.000-07:00

The top picture is the wonderful crowd at Chick Halls Surf Club outside of baltimore MD.

Update... The muffin was sold. Here is a picture of the happy new owner. See the threat in the previous post for more info.

Our first show on this run was at JM Randals Club in Willaimsburg VA. We were able to load in earlier in the day and just show up for the gig. There was a great crowd and the ownership treated us wonderful. I talked to many people that came quite a way to see us. That is pretty gratifing. By all acounts the folks loved what we did. It was funny i caught the wait staff and bus people rocinkin out to our show. We were fed some really yummy food after the show. I am getting used to eating at 1:30 AM. Back to the room for some sleep.

Friday morning up and at it. We only had a short, 1 hour drive to Varginia beach to the next show at The Jewish Mother Club. The drive was senic as part of it was around the Chesapeque bay area. We rolled into the beach area and went strait to the club. We were able to load in right away and set up. While we were there we enjoyed a killer lunch at the club. The hotel they provided was right on the ocean and our rooms looked out on the atlantic to a beautiful clear day. I cought a nap and then did a little work on the computer. As i was sitting next to the sliding glass door working i looked up to see a sudden storm heading strait for the hotel. It was freaky like a tornado with thunder, lightning, rain, and 50- mile an hour wind. As soon as it came it dissapeared. It lasted maybe 15 minutes. Wierd. We rolled up to the club around 9:00 PM to find it full of frienly faces. The local blue sosiety was there in force. They held a raffle at our break and helped to make us feel welcome. I got to chit chat with a few fans before we started. This show was fun for me. The seats were right up close to the stage. I can not always see the faces of the folks but i could this night. I realized that i like to look at the people as a mirror to see thier reaction to what we are doing. I can ussally pick out 3-4 hard core listeners and i watch then. We did our 2 sets and broke our stuff down. Once again we got some great food from the owner Sonny and had a bunch of laughs. Load out and off to bed.

Next morning we headed north to Maryland. This as a senic 4 hour drive untill we got to the Washington DC area. The traffic was skrewed even though it was a Saturday afternoon. Oh well, take the good with the bad i guess. We arrived at Chick Halls Surf Club for load in. This club has been a music hall for 50 years. We were given some of the history by Mike, our sound guy. We got set up and headed for the hotel. The traffic was horrible going through the Maryland University area. UGH. We were all looking for a nap which we eventually got. Side note... No starbucks today> Not good. We head back to the club all fresh at 8:00. When we arrive the club was packed and folks kept rolling in. Many in attendance where very familiar with the band. Again the local Blues Society was in the house. This is so important to the art form and i encourage you to join one, today. I have not met these music lovers and it is cool to hear them tell me all the SJK shows they have seen. Tonight we totally rocked out. The patrons hit the huge dance floor right away and we fed off the energy right away. I am listening to a recording of it right now. These folks ate it up. Love it.... This is why i am out here making art with these talented musicians. See the above picture taken by me right before the encore. One of the people i saw i actually knew from the blues cruise. His name is Kevin and he drove 50 miles to see us. We will be playing on the cruise in January and Kevin will be there (WWW. bluescruise.com) We were mobbed for autographs and photos after the show. Again we were fed well and off we went. A few of the fans helped us carry the stuff out.. Very cool. I am winding down now at 3:00AM. It is hard to come back to the room and go right to bed. I am all jacked up from the energy of making music and feeding off the crowds energy. Tomorrow we we play in North Carolina. I am very excited cause a great friend, Gabi D. will be coming to the show. I have not seem her in 15 years. I appreciate her driving 3 hours to come see us........ BTW I finished my Jimi Hendrix biography last night. I don't want to ruin the end for you. It is sort of sad how it ends. I did feel grateful that i did not die from my drug addiction. I certainly partied as hard as he did for many years. Having been clean and sober for 20 years i have a completely different perspective on the 70's... Glad to be alive. Good night folks

Long Days

2007-04-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

In a life full of long days i had 2 that stand out in the last week. last Sunday i woke up at 6:00AM in Mississippi. Bnois drove us to Dallas in just under 7 hours. I went to
Love field and got on a plane to San Diego. 5-4 hours later i was being picked up in San Diego by my Road Dogs band mate Terry Padgent. He drove me directly to the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach CA to see our buddy Tommy Castro with his very fine band. We met Ruby out front as she had arrived earlier and got us seats in the front row that were saved for us by Randy McDonald, Tommy's bass played and tour manager. Charlie musslewhite was the opening act and he was 2 songs into it as we entered the club. He is the most soulful harp player ever and his band is tight and talented. Tommy's show is as always very energized. Tommy's drummer Chris Sandoval always inspires me to play hard. Ruby and i have traveled all over to see them perform. I might have just stayed in Dallas for a dew more days if he was not playing in San Diego that night. The concert was over around 12:30 and we hung around to talk with Tommy and the guys. Tommy invited us backstage and we chatted for a while. Ruby and i drove home in the rain and went to bed around 1:30. LONG DAY INDEED.

The other long day was Wednesday. I got up and did my thing during the day then had a walk at the bay with ruby. We went out for dinner then home to pack. I got on a plane at 10:45 PM.
I arrived in Charlotte NC at 6:00 AM and got on a flight to Richmond VA. I then got a shuttle bus to Williamsburg VA and arrived out my hotel at 10:00 AM and directly to bed. Now that's a long day.

2007-04-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

Well i i am sitting in Love field , Dallas waiting for a flight to San Diego. Ruby and i have tickets to see Tommy Castro in San Diego tonight. I woke up in Mississippi this morning and we drove to Dallas. While in Dallas last week I went out to 3 blues jams and got to play. I met some new musicians. Joe, Bnois an i were the judges at the guitar center King Of The Blues Guitar contest one night. That was cool. It was hard to judges theses guy but the last contestant blew us away. All the other players were great but this 17 ear old guy was very original and stood out from the others. Joe and i went to the Dallas Guitar Show (naturally) Thursday which is sort of industry day. It was not open to the public yet. I had a blast and bought a few items at really great prices. Friday we were off to Mississippi to play at the Natchez Bluff Blues Festival. It was about a 7 hour drive from Dallas. The drive was uneventful and the scenery was different. I went out Friday night by myself to see some music and eat. I was hoping to find some authentic MS blues but i did not. We stayed at a hotel the first night and the promoter put us up the second night at a very nice old hotel downtown. The gig was in a park overlooking the Mighty Mississippi river. Very cool spot. We could see across the river to Louisiana from the stage. The gig went well. I played on a pearl drum kit supplied by the promoter. It was OK. It had some huge rack toms so i took one off and put up my own cymbals. I prefer my own kit but it is nice not having to set it up and break it down. The crowd seemed to dig us and i had a great time. I got to meet Muddy Waters son in the back stage area. He was going on after us. After the gig Phyllis, Joe and I went out for a drive and saw some very cool houses. then we went out for "retail therapy". This is walking around a mall and soaking up the local color. MS has a completely different vibe that other places i have been. They even sell crawdads(Crawfish) at most gas stations boiled or live.... Joe and i pigged out on great apple fritters instead and then went to dinner.

My flight is ready to board. I will be home for 3 days then off to the mid Atlantic for 4 shows. See ya'll next time.

Dave K Drums...

My Hearts In Texas

2007-04-15T00:53:00.000-07:00

Back in Texas. After a week or so at home I am back in Texas. It was great to be home with my sweetie. It was sort of hard to back at work though. Makin music is much more fun. We had a gig in Ft Worth last night at J&J's Blues Bar. I had played there on New Years Eve so i knew what the club was like. We all met at Joe's place at 6:30 to go to the storage facility and head out. Ft Worth is about 30 minutes away...normally. Well a huge storm was bearing down on us. The weather guessers had been prediction thunder, lighting and tornado's. They were right. As we were all climbing in the van after hooking up the trailer the sirens started howling. I have never heard this and it was a bit scary. I later found out the siren means a tornado has touched down nearby. The sky was getting dark. We had decided to head over to the storage a block away and see how it went. At that point Phyllis, (The Voice Of Reason) came out and insisted we get our dumb asses in the house. We did and she was right. Minutes later the sky got darker and darker. We were watching the TV show a satellite image of this huge storm heading right towards us. the lightning and thunder started. Soon the hail came down like golf balls. The power went out n the house and we lit some candles. It dawned on me loading the trailer in this might suck. The images in the house were weird. Strange noises all around including a portable weather radio. I got my lap top out and we looked at a current satellite image. It appeared the worst had passed. Fun's over, back to work. We headed out in the light rain and got the trailer loaded. I drove the van over to Ft Worth. It was quite emotionally taxing as it was still raining and plenty of lightning. A tornado had touched down about 3 miles from the club. I guess a few semi trucks blew over and a store got it's roof ripped off. We arrived safe and loaded in with light rain helping us. The patron started coming in as we set up. We where about 2 hours later than we wanted to get there. Once we launched i totally settled in. We decided to go with the new material on the first set. I felt good about my performance. The place wound up about half full. We were surprised that many people braved the weather. The second set went well also and we had a guest up to sing the last few. The guest vocalist is a very old guy that comes every time Joe is there. It was a cool change of place. After the gig we loaded up and headed back to Dallas. None of us had had dinner so we stoped at Whataburger around 3:00AM and pigged out. The manager guessed we were musicians.. Good guess. We drove back to Dallas and loaded into the storage then to Joe's to unhitch the trailer. Joe then drove me to my suite at Motel 6. I arrived at the room at 4:30 and went to bed at 5:00. A day in the life of a working drummer.

I can tell you i slept really good.

Tonight i went to a few local clubs to check out some music and meet some of the Dallas Blues heads.

and now... Good Night.

Rollin in my sweet babys arms... at last

2007-04-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

Well it is great to be home. I had incredible time on my first tour with Smokin Joe Kubek. My cherry has been popped and i have an awareness of what a touring musician has to go through.

Lots of work and very little music. The daily music is perhaps 2 hours and the motels, loading and driving 22 hours. Joe and Bnois have been doing this continuously for 17 years. Holy Shit!

I got sick on the last few days of the tour and could not find the energy to get on the computer. I wanted to finish this blog before we get onto the next adventure.

Muffin Update:

We sold the muffin! Check our our e-bay item at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=005&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=150106800413&rd=1&rd=1. We auctioned a blueberry muffin on e-bay and will be donating the money to Eric Clapton's recovery center"crossroads" on Antigua. The celebrity muffin was owned by SJK for a few days. We got $24.50 for it.... What a country.

Our show in Westbrook MA at Chicky's Fine Diner was a blast. The ownership really went out of their way to help us have a great show. The house was packed with SJK fans. Many people knew Joe and crew from other trips up there. I feel like the new guy in these situations but most of the fans treat me great. This was my 11th show with these guys and it feels tighter every night. I love making music that i am familiar with. Hey the food was great also. I hope we get a chance to play there again.

Marlboro Ma found us at Dante's Bar B Que. Great room with a great sound system. My friends from Long Island came to the show and it was great to see them. I don't get to see these folks too often. we have been friends for over 40 years. There was a group of FBI agents in attendance that are big SJK fans. We stayed at Sandy and teds house in Fitchberg MA. She is a great friend to the band and opened her house and refrigerator to the entire band. Thanks Sandy!

Toupelo Music Hall, Londenderry NH. I stayed at a friends house nearby. They fed us homemade Italian food an energized me with friendship. My cold was kicking in at this point but the show went fine. The place was sold out and the owner Scott helped us feel comfortable there. Nice green room and great food. There where serious SJK fans in the house. Some of them have were at other shows we did this tour. Having packed houses and SJK fans really is a great atmosphere to play in. Most of the music i have been playing for the last few years has not been that way to say the least. Every night with this band is better than all those other experiences.

We drove 2 full days to get back to Dallas from NH. I was really sick at this point. I broke down and drank some Nyquil at one point. Being a recovering alcoholic I avoid taking this stuff but i needed relief. I went to sleep on the floor of the van at that point. We stayed at a very crappy hotel on the Tennessee border. We rolled up to joes house at 2:00 AM or so. I caught a plane back to San Diego the next morning. It was an incredible feeling to be back in San Diego again. I realized i was taking a lot for granted. Ruby and i have spent a lot of time together since my return. I love her dearly!!!!!

I leave next week for Dallas again. Friday the 13th we play at J&J's in Ft worth. The next day we start work on the new album in Dallas at Audio Dallas Studios. We have 13 new, killer songs and a few SPECIAL guest artists. At the end of that week we go to Natchez, MS to play a festival. I will be back in San Diego for 3 days and then off to the Mid Atlantic. I love my new life an am very grateful to all the family and friends that have facilitated this for me.

Stay tuned.

Dave K Drums

Dancing machines

2007-03-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

Time Out Pub, Rockland Maine...

This place is the rockiness bar I have ever seen on a Monday night. The place was packed even though it was a rainy night. The patrons hit the dance floor and did not leave until we finished both sets. It is very energizing to play music under these conditions. Most of these people where my age or older (that's old). Many drove over 100 miles to come there. I told one guy I traveled 3,300 miles to get there. He said he had a friend in San Diego. Turns out I know his friend very well from AA meetings. Small world huh. These people flat out loved our show. We continue to perform the new songs on the second set. They are really getting tight. We are making minor changes to them as we go. This is Joe's road test method. It is great to see what they respond to. Because of the energy in the room I played really hard. So hard in fact that I smacked my finger to the point of bleeding. The finger hurt and blood was flying. My pants got bloody as did my snare drum. The attached photo shows my bloody snare after the show with my SJK laminate.

We where able to walk to the event from our hotel. We had loaded in and set up earlier in the day. This is my preferred method but not always what we do. More often we show up "gig ready". This means we show up 1 hour before downbeat, set up, and play. I like to relax a little before I play and I don't really like the audience watching me set up. I am learning on the road that I don't get to get my way all the time. The greater good is what takes precedence. There is so much crap to set up being the drummer. This is my chosen instrument but that part is a hassle. The other guys are set up in 15 minutes and it takes me 30 minutes or more. We normally get fed by the venue and we eat after the audience leaves and we break down the gear. After we eat we load the trailer and hed back to the hotel. I find i can not go directly to bed. It takes me a while to wind down.

I have a photo of my wife ruby that I had laminated. I keep it in my back pack. I tape it to my drum set when I play and post it in the van in my "Area". I put it out in the hotel room also. Ruby is my soul mate and best friend. I MISS HER! She has always been supportive of my music. Even in the height of my addiction she was OK with having my drums set up in the house. She very graciously facilitated me taking this job drumming for Smokin Joe. We talk daily and i miss her dearly. I will be home in 1 week and be in her arms..Cant' wait.

I am in Westbrook Maine where we play tomorrow at Chicky's Fine Diner. We went by tonight to check it out and see the band. The guitar player is a friend of Joe's from the Dallas area. He is staying at the same hotel and recognized Joe's van outside. The club was packed and we are hoping it will be the same tomorrow night. Every club has a completely different vibe. I hope this club can handle the Smokin Joe Road Show.

This evening I got to go to small AA meeting nearby. The folks where nice and it was great to plug in. I have not been to a meeting in 2 weeks. This is a long time for me. I normally go twice a week. I have 20 years of sobriety and will do what ever I need to maintain it. Being in bars every night can be slippery but it does not occur to me to drink.

I am enjoying getting to know these people I travel with better.......

Hey, check out my auction on e-bay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=005&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&viewitem=&item=150106800413&rd=1&rd=1

More will be revealed!

driving, hotels, music

2007-03-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

Driving and more driving today. I am typing to you from our hotel in Rockland Maine. We arrived about 12:00 AM after driving for 13 hours from Reading PA. It was supposed to be a 9 hour drive but...shit happens. I have been trying to eat healthy out here but it is not always easy. Let me back up a bit. Our gig at the turning point in Piermont NY went very well. This is a small club next to the Hudson River in a quaint old area. The club is downstairs with a restaurant upstairs. Evidently all the national touring acts play here. The house was filling up as we loaded in. Some fans helped us carry some of our crap. Many of the people knew the band members (except me). It was hard to set up as the tables are right up against the stage and the stage is tiny. We got set up and started on time. The first set was 1 hour of the songs we have been doing for a while. The second set was the songs from the new album. This was the second time we have performed them in public. It was very well received and the mistakes where minimal. Joe and Bnois where on fire during the last song. I have trouble staying focused sometimes. I am also a fan and i have the best seat in the house. The club owner treated us great and made us a CD of the second set so we had a chance to dissect it on the drive the next day.

The drive the next day was not bad at all. ( I now think a 4 hour drive is nothing). We had rooms in the hotel where our part of the festival was taking place. This is called the Berks Jazz Festival. It has been going on for a while and is a week long event. Shows are held all over town at different venues. Ours was one of the 3-4 blues shows. We got in on Friday night and our show was Saturday night. Once we got settled Paul and i headed over to the other side of town where Keb Mo (One of my favorites) was performing. We went up to the door and flashed our Smokin Joe Kubek tour laminates and the promoter was happy to find us seats(My first rock star perk). The show had just started and it was great. I got weepy when he played "Every Morning" because this song is very special to Ruby and I. I miss her more than anything else out here. We tried to get backstage to meet Keb but his tour manager told us he does not do that. I understand he is a very personal guy. Next we went back to our hotel where Bette LaVette was performing. We had no trouble getting in again. We watched a few songs and checked out the venue. Then went to bed.

The next day we had all day off till our set at 9:30PM. I went to do laundry and visit Wal Mart. I haven't been to a laundromat in years. Did you know it cost $4.00 for a load of wash.

We showed up at the backstage area around 8:30. Since SJK Band was the headliner we went on last. Deanna Bogart was on of the opening acts. She was great. I had sit in with her on the Blues Cruise in January 06. I got to chat with her and she got to meet SJK. We took a few photos with her. We are on a festival with her in June also. It was nice to have a backstage, food, drinks and people to help us set up. The room was packed and people where standing along the sides. I was asked to use the back line drum kit. I knew this would happen someday. I would have been more comfortable with mine but hey I'm a pro i need to step up. it turned out fine. I brought my snare, cymbals and throne. I wound up using their cymbals cause they were fine. Our set was one hour and Joe decided to do all the material for the new album. I was a little nervous since i was on a strange kit and the place was packed. Once we got started i settled right down. Again our set was very well received. I recorded it on Mini disc and we listened to it today. It gets better each time. The new album is going to be killer. I realize a big benefit of using the house drum kit is break down took only a few minutes. I got to go to the lobby and watch Joe and Bnois sign autographs. There where plenty of SJK fans in the house. Phyllis always has the merchandise set up to sell and people like to get their CD's signed. This was a really fun gig and it will certainly carry me till the next one. We perform here in Maine tomorrow night. Joe has played here many times and has fans in the area. The area is right on the ocean and i hope to get to look around a little.

Thanks for listening. It is comforting to know you all are out here with me. I feel better now!

Good Night,

Dave K Drums

New York- Snow

2007-03-22T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well we made it to New York safe and sound. I drove a total of 11 hours. I love driving and it relieves boredom. Joe and i talked about a lot of shit in 11 hours. Joe has a permanent seat riding shotgun. Perks of being the bandleader. Originally we planned on stopping at 11:00PM and get a room. We all decided to keep driving to avoid shifting to a different hotel. We checked in to our Utica Ramada hotel at 3:00 AM. I have learned that staying in the same hotel 2 nights in a row is a luxury for touring musicians. I am learning about energy conservation. Every extra move sucks more life out of you. Our show in Utica last night was a blast. This is what adds life back into you. The music to travel ratio is a delicate balance. The house was full and the audience very receptive. The first set was songs we do all the time. The energy was high and the crowd ate it up. The second set we did 13 songs we had never done in public before. These are the songs we are working on for the new album. They where very well received and we where all glad to get this first session behind us. We will be performing them each night if this tour. This is what Smokin Joe calls "Road Testing" the new material. Bnois had commented to the audience how we heard Utica was having a warm spell but we sort of disagreed. It was cold and rainy as we loaded out.
We are 50 miles from New York City. We have a gig tonight in Piermont NY. I am told it is a small but great venue. We have a short drive to Reading PA tomorrow. We are playing a Jazz festival.
I am enjoying my new life on the road but miss my old life. I speak to my wife Ruby twice a day or so. I take the people in my life for granted. I love them dearly. Live life to the fullest today, OK?
Dave K Drums

Finally on the road

2007-03-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

Hey music lovers......
I am typing to you from my lavish suite at the Motel 6 just outside of Nashville TN.

Ruby and i went to see the Clapton Concert in San Diego Thursday night. It was all i hoped and some. Doyle Bramhall II and Derek Trucks definitely added to the show. The rhythm section was killer. Eric was as always excellent. I left Friday morning for Dallas to hook up with Smokin Joe Kubek. We went to pick up my drums from his sister Margaret's house. She is very sweet and supportive. Saturday we hit the rehearsal facility at 2:00 PM after getting some Chinese food for breakfast. (crack of dawn for touring musisians). We ran through the arrangements of the songs for the new album and got them on mini disc. Sunday we went back and did it again. We recorded each song again. I am enjoying getting to create the drum sounds for the songs Joe and Bnois have already written. Joe gives me input and gives me freedom to create also. This morning we hit the road at 10:00 AM ( Really early for touring musicians).
We left Texas with Paul driving and headed north towards Little Rock then Memphis. A 12 hour drive is nothing for these guys. We did visit several of America's best fast food facility's and of course Starbucks. Bnois took over driving and we got to Nashville at midnight. It is interesting watching these guys in the van. They all have there "stuff" and rituals. Phillis has the back to herself and i got a good window seat. I liked having my wireless internet in the van. I kept up with K-Co and other things. Papa Joe rides Shotgun. He watches over every detail as a veteran bandleader would. I am a total rookie. I don't know what to bring so i bring too much. Then i look for something and can't find it cause i bring too much stuff. I will learn all the tricks in time. Well i better get to bed. I need to be standing next to the van at 10:00 Am or I'm in trouble. I get to drive in the morning, oh joy... Tomorrow we hope to make it to upstate NY.... Cold Country.

Dave K Drums

Getting Close

2007-03-11T03:19:00.000-07:00

Hey blogettes,
I just got home from a gig in Julian at Bailey's with KV Blues Band. The band is Keven Venable on guitar and harmonica and vocals, Rolllin Rogers on Bass and vocal, Terry Padget on lead guitar and vocal and myself on drums and vocal. I love playing with these guys. We had a great crowd tonight all the way till the end. The people in Julian love to party and most of them dance. It is so much fun to play for a responsive crowd. The club owner, Scott is a super guy also. This is my last gig before I hit the road with Smokin Joe Kubeck Band.
I talked to Joe today and he played me part of a song they are working on for the new album. It seems like it will be a killer album and I am looking forward to going into the studio in April to record it. The album should be in the stores by October.
Ruby and I will be at the Clapton concert this thursday. Really looking forward to that. Smokin Joe and Phyliss went to the Clapton show in Dallas and hung out backstage. He raved about the show. He said sonetimes there where 3 slide guitars going at once.... Gotta love it.

I'm off to bed. It's 2:30 but a gotta turn the clock up one hour. Like it isn't late enough. I guess i'll make up the sleep some other time.

Type to ya soon.
Dave K

March is here....

2007-03-01T23:55:00.000-08:00

Greetings blogmates.
I want to thank my sister Janet for helping create my new web site. She is the bomb.

I am up way to late on a school night. In 2 weeks I will be leaving for a few weeks on the road with The Smokin Joe Kubek Band. The reason I am up late is I am in training. When not playing music I go to bed around 9:oo PM. On this upcoming tour I will be going to bed around 3:00AM. Thats east coast time, 6:00 am our time. UGH thats late for a relic like me. I have been forcing myself to stay up late to get used to it. I have been practising my music like crazy at home on my electronic drums also. Thursday March 15 Ruby and I will see Eric Clapton in San Diego. We are really looking forward to that.

The next morning I leave for Texas. On March 17 and 18 we go into rehersals in Dallas so I can learn the songs Joe and Bnois have written for the new album. Then I hop in the tour bus (Dodge Van with trailer) and head to the north east. Joe keeps laughing when he tells me the joys of touring the northeast in March. He says if I get through this is will be able to hang through anything. I have some friends in the east coming to a show in Massachusets. That will be great. I am so not used to the cold. I guess I will survive. All my tourmates are really nice people. That will make all the diference. Or maybe I will find out what Joe keeps laughing about. They have been doing this for 18 years. It can't be all bad...
Stay Tuned.
Road Dog Dave

Welcome....

2007-01-31T11:01:00.000-08:00

Hello and thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm the drummer with Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King, and since I'll be on the road a bunch this spring I thought I'd try using a blog to keep family and friends up to date. I also thought it might be fun for "civilians" to hear more about what it's like being a touring musician...you know, the backstage full of celebrities, the swanky hotels and 12-course gourmet meals.

Um, actually, we're a blues band and not the Rolling Stones so it's a little less fancy than all that. We travel the world entertaing and meeting auesome people.

So I hope you will stop by again soon, and I will do my best to keep this blog up to date.