May 2015 – I'm With The Band Wives

Sagamore by the Numbers

Posted on May 27, 2015 by debbiehoran

I am offering a list of a different sort in this post. This weekend I went to Great Camp Sagamore to participate in a volunteer work weekend. My time there was full of fun and laughter. Here is my experience by the numbers….

0…..Number of black fly bites I bragged about receiving

1……Number of black fly bites I actually received

1……Number of long lost daughters I reconnected with (Hi Eva!)

1……Number of bloggers I met (Hi Michelle!)

2……Number of Bryans with a ‘y’

3……Number of Debbies

3……Number of times I reported for early morning kitchen duty

3……Number of tambourine songs Day Ja Voo played for me

4……Number of gorgeous days at Great Camp Sagamore

6……Number of times Charlie asked me “Haven’t we got ridden of you yet?

7……Number of fun people I worked with in the kitchen crew

9……Number of times my Mom told me she just knew I would love this place

13……Number of times I thanked Chick and Bryan for bringing me

17……Number of times I bragged about Day Ja Voo to anyone who would listen

18…..Number of days until I get to go back to Great Camp Sagamore

19……Number of times I lost a game of spoons

28……Number of times I heard the Burdick sisters laugh

Weekend volunteering at Great Camp Sagamore: PRICELESS

Top 10 Tambourine Songs

Posted on May 17, 2015March 3, 2018 by debbiehoran

The tambourine. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Not a featured instrument by any stretch of the imagination. Search for top 10 tambourine songs on the internet and you come up with a number of sites. Here is my list:

10. Wheels by The Foo Fighters This is the only song included on the list from the last 30 years. I don’t know much about the Foo Fighters, but I know this song because Day Ja Voo covers it and I really like it. When you finally hit the ground, there ‘s another chance to get it right.

9. Elenore by The Turtles This song was meant as a satire of Happy Together; the powers that be wanted more of the same, so The Turtles gave it to them. “You’re my pride and joy, etc.” What is included in etc., anyway? I think the song is swell.

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American Pie

Posted on May 11, 2015March 3, 2018 by debbiehoran

It was another night at Johnny’s Pub and Grill. “OK, Pat, as long as we have the words…” Brian said into the mic as he flipped through his binder. After a moment we heard, “A long, long time ago…”, as Brian looked over at Pat and smiled. The crowd sang and swayed to the Don McLean song. Lyn and Mike’s mom asked for this song because it was one of their dad’s favorites.

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Cover bands are terrific because every song that comes up is familiar and easy to sing along to. It is fun to see The Earthtones because they have a woman singer, which is so different from the other bands I follow. Eva does such an amazing job with Stevie Nicks and Joni Mitchell, just to name a couple of artists. Brian carries most of the other vocals and the guitar and bass. And of course there is Mike on the drums, the same Mike I have been following for 30 years now.

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Cybershot Heard Around the World

Posted on May 2, 2015July 23, 2015 by debbiehoran

Fireball. It’s not just a Pitbull song. It is also the official drink of the Band Sisters. Well, not all the Band Sisters. And some of them may never drink it again, to hear them tell it.

It all started at my birthday party. I had tried Fireball and thought it was delicious. It tastes just like the candy and doesn’t even have an aftertaste. It is a Horan family staple at all the pomp and circumstance ceremonies, like graduations and weddings. It doesn’t really taste like whiskey, which is what eventually became part of the problem. I had some left in a bottle, and brought it to the party.

A couple of hours into the party, the son of the host, a SUNY Oswego college student, found the bottle and thought some shots were in order. He found some proud SUNY Oswego alumni among the partygoers to participate and we found some shotglasses, We raised a glass to Oswego and to graduating and after a while, any excuse would do.

Let me get something straight. The band wives are all 50 something women who do not party. We are responsible adults who lead full, productive lives without partying like rock stars. But no one would have known it that night. There was one point in the night when one of the band members looked out at the crowd and realized that the wives were drunk. It was a friendly gathering and all the principal parties had designated drivers, so there was not immediate danger. And then there was the incident.

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Move It On Over, Mobius Jones Is Movin’ In

Posted on May 1, 2015July 23, 2015 by debbiehoran

Move over little dog, a big old dog is movin’ in! I saw the first performance of the Mobius Jones reboot, with a new band member. Me! The roadie! Just kidding. They have a great new talent in Bryan Rubenau, who has joined the band with keyboards and vocals.

The banquet room of Barbagallo’s slowly filled with partygoers as we did our first sound check. I was given a quick lesson in how to work the soundboard, but even then I knew I would be too scared to actually touch it during the show. There were things I could handle, like moving bags and crates from the cars and unraveling cables and cords.

There was so much to learn, this first time as a roadie. I had gone to so many shows previously, in the stalker and grouple role, but this was my first roadie gig. i transported the speaker for the bass, and helped them unpack all the equipment. I talked with the drummer while he set up, and found out my first new thing…drums need to be tuned. I also helped hook up some XLR cables and helped set up the mic stands. Are you impressed yet?

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