Yesterday was St. Patty’s Day. That is always a musical holiday for me; Mostly playing in bars for drunk people. And as usual, I had numerous gigs this last weekend with the punch line for the whole mess on Sunday, St. Patty’s day in the real.

I used to play with a string band called The String Creek Band with Mitch U’Harriet and Bob Eisenhower and we played nothing but fiddle tunes on St. Patty’s Day. I thought that was what it was about, That, and that dumb damned green beer and the drunks. Apparently, rock n roll, punk, bluegrass, blues, country, and folk music is St. Patty’s approved too. The drunks remain the same.

But my weekend was filled with gigs with some of the people who mean the most to me in this life. I have my family and they are the bedrocks in my life. And I have friends, some to argue with on Facebook, some to pick tunes with in the living room, and a great group of very talented friends to share stages with and make music at gigs.

Friday was a Pistol Pete’s show in Auburn, three hours with The Vintage Find. We are about two plus years into this Vintage Find thing and I couldn’t be happier to play with these guys. I’m honored to play music with every one of them. We had a good show, the first in a while, played a few new tunes, ditched our covers of a newly ostracized star’s tunes, and had a cadre of faithful fans make the drive from the valley to see us. No fiddle tunes and lots of drunks

Saturday at noon saw Side-Wheeler at The Blue Note in Woodland for some St. Patty’s warm-up and the opening slot for a three band bill. Side-wheeler is my people. I have more fun with those people than should be legal, and we make some pretty damned fine music as well. We played some new tunes, some old tunes, and played a little Whiskey Before Breakfast to honor the coming green holiday. No other fiddle tunes. And drunks and soon to be drunks by the townful.

Saturday night shows me as a rare audience member for my Side-Wheeler bandmate, Liz Ryder at Luna’s Cafe. The three acts played some Gillian Underwood tunes, Liz Ryder tunes, and Vanna O rocked the place for a set of loud ass good rock n roll. No fiddle tunes. And the drunks were polite.

Then Sunday, March 17, the real day…St. Pat’s day, that fine “pinch yer ass” day. And that brings me to the final two gigs. William Mylar of Hippie Hour fame invited me and a fine bass player, Dan Sawyer as well as Sacramento’s string guru, Matt Hevesh, to play a couple of St. Patty’s Day Mylar flavored Irish music gigs. We played a couple sets at Louie’s in the early afternoon then played much the same set at the Torch Club. We jammed, we played songs you’ve not heard since the fifties…or the last Mylar St. Patty’s Day show, and we got loud. And Danny Boy and William Mylar brought the house down. He has maybe the premier baritone voice anywhere around here and he let ‘er rip! No fiddle tunes. Drunks falling out the doors.

Was a good gig weekend with some of my favorite people and musicians. Makes my week great already. No rehearsals this week, no drunks, and no fiddle tunes.

Can’t say I miss the fiddle tunes, but I will mutter it to the backwoods. I miss the fiddle tunes and Mitch U’ Harriet. I’ll be along, Mitch, keep a warm seat next to you.