Happenings, happenings, happenings... there has been a lot of the goings on of life aboard the ship of late, not all of it good, but as honorary Pirate Robin Trower said "maybe things will get better. Don't you know that a drowning man, well, he don't get no wetter. The same rain falls on you, falls on me!" Interpretation, we've experienced a few knocks, but don't feel sorry for us, we're enjoying the challenges and moving right along. There's no black cloud staying over this Pirate Ship!
First up, our bass man Ronnie, keeper of the lower ranges of the ship, had a hand injury that has kept the bass in the case for a while. He's working on getting back to working conditions and we're pulling for him there. In the meantime, old band friend Jim Clark has been doing a great job filling in. Trust me, it isn't easy to step on board a ship that rolls like this when you're not used to it! He's doing fine and is feeling more comfortable every gig.
Second up, Rick who lives to Chris' left on the main deck, has finally allowed the ship's surgeon to fix a long held issue in the lower back that makes it hard to stand watch for long periods of time, especially with a guitar strapped to the torso. This surgery went very well, and Rick is up and about and getting ready for a return at the end of June. Long time friend Thomas Harris has stepped in to fill that void during the outage. Thomas is a longtime area musician, and plays regularly (with Jimbo) in The Keepers. He's a strong player and vocalist in his own right and the band is blessed to have him aboard for a few ports!
We're looking at some set list adjustment as we move towards a return to the Freeport Blues Fest later this summer, and adding back some of the rock and blues the band was founded on. This will be a good fit with everything else we have added over the years, and will help keep the revelers a'revelling! We love the change as there is more great music out there than can ever be gotten to so we like moving with the currents that move the ship onward.
Now, to get the Ports of Call updated, and then back to that rudder...
