TRUE DAKOTAN

This picture obviously was taken a few years ago during a South Gulch Band performance, but you get the idea. Penny on the left and Craig on the right.

Let’s play some rock ‘n roll! – We suppose a lot of you went out last night (New Year’s Eve)… and yes, so did Penny and I.  The daughter of some dear friends of ours got married in Las Vegas a month or so ago and they had a reception for them at the Thunderstik (Hunting) Lodge near Chamberlain last night. Our son Korrie plays in a pretty good band, and they were playing, so it was a especially fun. It was ten years ago, New Year’s eve 1999, that Penny and I retired from the band business. After 34 years of it, including 30 straight News Year’s Eve “gigs”, I decided it was time to do something else.  So what do you suppose we did? Sat in with the band, of course. The really good part about the night –aside from seeing old friends and sitting in with a new year’s eve band– was that we didn’t have to set up or tear down the equipment. Since my vintage Fender Twin Reverb amplifier weighs around 100+ pounds, one of the younger guys even carried it in for me. If I’d had them around ten years ago I might still be playing!! Penny played Korrie’s new digital drum set and –just between us– sounded just as good as she did ten years ago. I, on the other hand, need to trade these fingers in for something in a newer model. Every song I played on that gorgeous black Gibson Les Paul –the ultimate rock ‘n roll weapon of the world– seemed to be in “slow motion”. Anyway, it was incredibly fun and I do not have a headache today (January 1, 2010).  When Penny and I finished our stint with the band, Korrie said, “By the way, that was my mom and dad up here… one of them taught me how to drum and the other one taught me how to drink.” Wonder what he meant by that?    — craig