Pine Grove Farmer's Market and Happy Memories

Playing for the Farmer's Market in Pine Grove for opening day was a sweet and special day for me.  An anniversary of sorts.  It was just two years ago that John asked me to learn to sing songs for this very same day.  I still don't know why I said yes to that, but I did.  I remember being pretty embarrassed that day.  I learned a bunch of lyrics to songs and I didn't have any cheat sheets.  I also had to learn harmonies and melodies.  Some songs I had heard before, some were completely new to me.  I had to purchase a microphone and a stand.  I couldn't decide what to wear (whatever makes me look the skinniest of course!).  The whole day was a blur.  I survived.  I kept showing up each week for the entire summer and it got easier.  I ended up joining John in some gigs in different capacities, singing a little here and there.  Later that fall, Steve and I joined John and Michael for a "real" gig.  Then a couple more before the end of the year.  When the New Year came, we were coming to all of their gigs.  Just a little over a year ago, I remember being at one gig that was about 3 hours long and I sang one song, and that was it.  As we did more and more gigs, I learned more and was put in to the show more.  When the next Farmer's Market came up, the four of us and Sarah played once a month in addition to our weekend gigs.  I always enjoyed the relaxed, informal feeling that we had at those gigs.  And, these were the things that were going through my mind last week when we returned with our entire band and played in the park.  

It's two years later and I'm not afraid all the time anymore.  My "new" comfort zone is the band.  Everyone in our band is supportive of each other, personally and musically.  This is my second "season" of playing gigs and I am having the time of my life.  I've met so many terrific people and I've been blessed to play at some pretty great places.  Sometimes we are playing a song and we are all having fun and the weather is beautiful and the people are having fun....those are the perfect moments.  Playing in the park for the Farmer's Market was certainly one of them.

We sent out our email list and invited our band friends to come out to the park and enjoy the afternoon with us.  We were surprised and delighted to see the folks arrive and stay, that makes everything so worthwhile.  

Mary and Dennis, such great friends!  And, wonderful dancers...

Diane and her husband, we played two times at her house for a private party.  In fact, it was at her house that John, Michael, Steve and myself played our first gig with just the four of us!  

These friends saw us the week before in Folsom and brought their husbands spend the afternoon.

Ginger and her friends came out.  They are also involved in the Music in the Park series, which we will be playing for in just a few weeks in this same park!  And, later in the summer we will be playing for the Camp Out for Cancer that Ginger and her husband are part of organizing.  It was wonderful to have them there.

And of course, there is the FOOD!  What is better than fresh veggies, grown locally??  MMmmmm.   Delicious!

Michael made his guitar "talk" to me.  I think what his guitar was saying wasn't nice and sweet, but it WAS fun....

I'd like to see 2 guitars arguing...that would be great!

What is it about a sweet song that makes me want to sing with my eyes closed?  

We are busy this summer and that's a good thing.  However, it makes it too difficult to play the Farmer's Market every week or even every month, so this was it for this year.  When we first booked it, it was supposed to by John and me alone.  I truly hoped that the whole band would come and enjoy the day together and they did without hesitation.  

We didn't wear our black signature clothing, we just wore whatever we wanted to.  Truth be told, I'm happy in the black.  It makes for a lot less stress deciding what to wear!

I will miss the Farmer's Market this summer. But, I am truly looking forward to some pretty great places that we are playing at and I hope to see you there!

If you are not already receiving our show list in your email, please let me know or sign up on the front page of our website:  www.crystalimageband.com

2 Wineries and a Festival!

What a weekend!  It was as near to perfect as it gets!  We love outdoor venues and this weekend we had 3 in a row!

First, Elizabeth Spencer Winery asked us to play at the last minute and we hopped in our cars and headed to Napa (Rutherford) to play at this beautiful winery.  The weather was perfect and we had an awesome time!

Next we played for Sierra Ridge Winery out on the lawn.  It was a beautiful night and the view there is spectacular.  We weren't sure if we would end up playing to an empty lawn or not.  What a pleasant surprise to see so many of our friends there!  We sooooo appreciate all of you for coming out and enjoying the night with us.  The wine was flowing and there was dancing on the lawn up to the last encore!  

Here is a video with some clips from the evening:

Saturday we were at Historic Folsom for 2nd Saturday.  It was a sunny day so we brought umbrellas and that was a life saver!  A friend of the band had a professional video being made and offered to take some video for us that day.  It wasn't the best gig to video, the sun was really bright and we were in sunglasses.  The wind was blowing my hair all over the place and the background was just a brick wall.  But, hey...video is video and we did our best!  

They had us on a flat bed that was at a slight angle, so it felt a little dizzy to stand there.  And, there was an opening in the front half that I was afraid my shoe would get caught in, so I wore different shoes than I had planned.  The girls will understand this.   And....right at the beginning of a song, Steve dropped his harmonica and Yep! it went right through that opening and down under the stage.  To top it off, he was needed to sing harmony on this particular song.  So, Michael set his guitar down and crawled under the stage, retrieved the harmonica and got it to Steve right before his solo.  How's that for Teamwork.

Santa Jerry had a friend stop by to listen to the music.  Notice any resemblance? 

We have a LOT more pictures on our Facebook page, click here

https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/crystalimagemusic

and "like" our band page.  And, if you see yourself or a friend in our pictures, please tag them!!

Yes, it was a wonderful weekend, we had a great time and are looking forward to a summer FULL of fun gigs.  Hope to see you at one of them!

Private Party and Classic Cars!

Saturday we were booked for a private party...a really fun BBQ.  Our Host was Craig (below).  And, they are also members in a car club....MUSTANGS!!  

We played for this party last year when Steve and I were really new to playing music.  John had already booked the show and he added us in.  This year we came as our "band", now that Jerry has joined us we have made the decision to always play with the five of us as much as possible.  

The problem was the WEATHER!!  Last year we played the same day and it was so hot, we needed a fan.  This year the weather forecast was RAIN!!  What?  Ugh.  All kinds of fun events were canceling left and right, but NOT this party!  Craig had a plan "B".

They set up tents all around and they had a fire pit going the whole time.  Doesn't that look like fun?  It was!!

There were heaters, but it wasn't really that cold.  He had the band set up in his HUGE garage/shop.  It's a very cool place with cool signs and lots of car memorabilia and parts.  And, the sound was just great.  And later in the day the sun actually made an appearance!

This is a very laid back group of fun people.  It's just the kind of party I LOVE to attend.  People wandered around visiting with each other, there was tons of yummy food and we just played and played. 

I had a dilemma.  To put out a tip jar or not.  We all decided that we would NOT put it out at a private party.  Craig came over and asked us where our tip jar was, and we told him.  He told us to go get it and then he announced to everyone to show appreciation and they filled up our tip jar.  How NICE was THAT?  They were so very generous!

There was even a little dancing!  Of course!!  And, then there were the CARS!   

This picture was fun.  When I posted it on Facebook, John and Jerry had some funny comments to add.  Jerry said "OK...who took the motor?", John said "I didn't do it".  Ha Ha!

We simply couldn't resist a band picture in front of the classic beauty!

Craig and Amy had their family there among the friends.  We knew that the party was also around the same time as Craig's Birthday, but Craig told John that he didn't want that mentioned.  So, we didn't.  Until the end, when Craig's daughter came up and requested it.  Most of the people were gone by then, so we did the Beatles Birthday song for him. 

John and Michael have played for this party for the past four years, and Steve and I joined them for the last two.  These people sure do know how to put on a fun party!!

We love private parties!!  If you want to have some live music at your next party...give me a call!  (209)293-4254

Stockton Singles Love & Hugs!

The Stockton Singles Club....why "Love & Hugs"?  All of us in the band look forward to playing there each month.  We LOVE it!  And, when we get there and get all set up, we feel the "love" coming back to us.  We get more HUGS at the Stockton Singles than anywhere else.  After playing there regularly we recognize everyone and it's like we are playing for a room full of friends.  How great is that?  When we were getting ready to start, I said "Good Evening" and they applauded. How's that for a welcome?   

It really doesn't get any better than this!!

Deiter and Karen were there.  It's always a great night when we see them!  Thanks for coming...and Deiter...thanks for requesting your special songs, we love that!

Steve went around the room and took pictures of the friendly faces that we so enjoy playing for, I wish I could put names with everyone...

 These people all  dress so nice and they love to dance.  Line dancing, cha cha, rhumba, swing, waltz, it's wonderful to get to watch them dance all evening.  

Our friends from last week!!  Thanks for coming!!

On this particular night, Steve and I came early to run some errands in Stockton.  When we had time to spare, it was off to the mall of course.  I bought a pretty new ring to wear in the show (red sparkly butterfly). 

While I was playing bass to Folsom Prison, I started to feel something stinging on my finger.  Turns out my ring was banging against another finger and by the end of the song I looked down and it was bleeding (ew).  At that very moment I could hear the beginning to "Sweet Dreams" a very tender song.  So, I just ignored my hand and started singing, that was crazy.  I'm sure I didn't do the song justice, but I was distracted after all.  

When I was telling my story to the band later on, they thought it was even funnier when I swallowed the wrong way just as I was taking a breath to sing Tennessee Waltz and when I tried to sing, it came out like a frog croaking.  I was convinced that I could just force my way back to normal, and by the end it was fine.  I'm sure everyone was wondering about that!   

Michael showed me his new gadget....I LOVE gadgets and technology (bet you couldn't have guessed that, right?).

Michael doesn't usually get much in to techno stuff, like email, internet, facebook.  He only uses his cell phone for urgent things and most times it's not even on.  So, I was very surprised to see his wonderful new "tablet".   It does everything!  Goes on the internet, gps...tons of stuff.  Of course when something is new...there is a learning curve.  I really couldn't show him all that much, because I don't have one of these.  But, I imagine he will be an expert before too long!  Then he will be able to read my band blog on it!!  Go Michael!

These folks showed up and gave us hugs:

I knew right away that we knew them, but it took me a little bit of searching my brain to remember where we met.  Turns out that they saw us LAST YEAR at the Lodi Wine Cellars.  It was so nice to see them again.  They even requested "Mean Woman Blues", one of John's original songs.  That was great.

We had a really nice gal tending the bar, Jessica.  I wish I had her picture, she was so nice.  And she is going to recommend us to the Stockton Moose.  We haven't played there in over a year and would love to come back.

We all truly appreciate the Stockton Singles and we are already looking forward to coming back on July 1st.