The Steel Guitar Forum

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Paul, I played a job with Mike Garrison a few months back. Nice guy, very fine picker. A friend of mine, Nick Bachman, gigs with him in Wilmington. They have a regular gig at a place called the De Ja Vou. Are you familiar with it?

I played a gig at A&J's with Nick and his old band, Lone Star State, just before it closed. Too bad; that was a cool old dancehall. It struck me that they had terazzo floors in the place, and the traditional split-rail fence around the stage.

I'm doing a gig this Fri. with Nick in our new start-up band, Cropduster! We've got Glen DeMichele on steel, I'm hidin' out on bass, and a lady named Theresa Drda beatin' the circles. It's at a place called the Charleston, near Damen and Armitage, if anyone is in the neighborhood. Very cool place. It still looks like an early 1900's public house.

Yes, I've had a beer or two at the A&J, Paul. Never played there, tho.

Not to roam too far afield, but Michael, was that Carol's Pub on Clark St. we went to to see Paul Carestia back in the early '80's?

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Buddy C-I haven't seen Mike Garrison in a few years
I have been to De Ja Vou in Wilmington
the last time I went in there was also a few years ago-Teddy Douglass was playing there at the time-My girlfriend and I had to make a quick exit from the joint-Chock full of Skeezers and Druggies-The local crowd had us pegged as non-regulars (and probably as law enforcement as well) so we didn't feel too comfortable to stay and drink there

Yikes! I didn't realize De Ja Vou was one of "those" joints.

Paul... Don't know if you remember me. I met you at Cotton Flanagan's wake some years back. Dusty introduced us. We ran into each other a few times down in St. Louis too. I wonder what happened to all of those silver dollars (the real ones) mounted in the top of the bar at the Pinto? After a time, I noticed that they were replaced by Ike copper clad ones. I've also drank a few beers at the A&J a few times over the years, but it wasn't one of my main hangouts. Tuffy's doesn't do much country, or even live music, these days. I remember it when it was Sippy's. The Deja Vue still books some local country stuff. Haven't been there for a couple of years now, but I don't think it was too much worse than any of the other "knife and gun" clubs around this neck of the woods.

Michael... Was that the same Bobby Thomas of "Bob & Bobby Thomas" from the old WGN Barn Dance? Seems I remember him playing a banjo back then if he's who I'm thinking he is.

Dusty Nall still plays with some of the locals around the Joliet area. He recently released a CD called "You Ain't Nothin' Boy" with some really great arrangements on it. He's been making it down to the convention in St. Louis for the last 3 or 4 years now.

OK... Anyone remember the Blue Front on Archer Avenue in Willow Springs? Bobby Pierce had a pretty long run there and had a really decent single titled "I've Got One More Mountain To Climb." I always thought that recording should have gone alot further than it did.
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George-Hello-Of course I remember you-I know you're a "Sho-Bud" man-we talked on the phone besides the times you mentioned which we have met
I got in touch with Dusty by phone not long ago-I know He is not on the Forum so I called to break the sad news to Him that John Hughey passed away-Dusty was grief stricken even more so than most of us as He and John had been friends since they were just boys growing up together
I don't know what happened to all the silver dollars on the bar at Bert's Pinto Lounge (I never got paid in any-HA)
Cotton Flanagan's son Ernie (former bandleader of Southern Knights) has been co-hosting a jam session at Jordan's Bar in Palos at 135TH Street and Harlem Ave on Wednesday nights along with my good friend (and phenomenal guitarist) Jim Karones (aka Jimmy Six)
On the night I spoke about going into De Ja Vue in Wilmington-Red and I had gone out there to see Dusty play at the American Legion (or some place on the other side of the river) and somebody mentioned that Teddy Douglas was playing in town so Red and I decided to stop in there (De Ja Vue)on the way back-MISTAKE
After paying the cover and ordering up a couple of drinks some drunk skeezer broad starts hitting on my girlfriend-apparently we were "overdressed" in comparision to the local regulars and must have stuck out-Red and I both have had lots of professional experience dealing with the dregs of society and there were some obvious "tweakers and slammers" going in and out of the joint so we put our drinks down and hightailed it out of there-I never even got to say hello to Teddy-Wilmington is a scenic river town that is seemingly nice to visit-yet our law enforcement contacts in the area have informed us that serious substance abuse is widespread in the local community

I met "Noel Reltub" (a/k/a Butch Butler) at the StageCoach Inn in the Back of the Yards neighborhood when I first moved to Chicago around 1981. A friend of mine says he saw Alan Jackson at Nashville North in Bensenville before AJ hit it big.

Big highlight was seeing Buddy Emmons in the early '80's at a special afternoon concert at that club in Wheeling on Aptakisic Rd. - the Wagon Wheel?

And of course, enjoyed seeing Terry "T.C." Furlong of Jump N the Saddle fame all over Chicago back then. Surprised he hasn't chimed in - maybe he never played those southside hillbilly dives we all went to...

Frank F-T.C.'s first name is Tom and He did play several times with "Jump" on the southside
I remember him appearing at the old "P J Flaherty's" in Evergreen Park and they also did a gig at Moraine Valley Community College back when I was a student and Campus Security Officer there-as I recall I had a great time that day hanging out with T.C. and the rest of the band

Thanks for the correction on the name, Paul.

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George, you mentioned Bobby Pierce. Well, here I sit, with KSEY coming through my computer speakers as usual, when I hear - Bobby Pierce - Walk On, Walking Shoes.

Until I saw you mention him I don't think I was familiar with him. Erie coincidence.

On another front, I got to play a gig last night, with Ken Champion as guest steeler. A great time was had by all.

Here's the part that blew my mind: there were 5 steelers in the room at once; this at a little backstreet hipster bar in Chicago. The odds of that happening are somewhere between Slim and Nun, and Nun sent Slim back to Texas.

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Cool pix, Michael. Do you believe this thread has been visited almost 1,000 times?

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