Faces In The Crowd, 2003

*Bob Hope Hollywood USO Tour, Army Reserve, Los Alamitos, CA, February 7, 2004*
	(L) Blues Bar-BQ takes the stage as the first band of a 5-band afternoon of entertainment for the Army Reserve troops at the Joint Military Training Base at Los Alamitos, CA. Billed as the "First Annual Family Readiness Fair," there was food and a number of information booths in addition to the music. (R) Bob is seen with the Swing Dolls, one of the groups in the lineup. They did 1940's style vocal swing.
	General Gong was the man in charge of all the festivities and came out to meet all the band members. Here he's seen with Bob (L) and with Brion (R). Hosting the event was the 40th Infantry Division (M) from the Army Reserve.
	General Gong, the troops and several of the entertainers got together after the bash was over. Other groups that performed were Straight Jacket (full on '80's power rock and roll) and Ms. Demeanor, a three lady group who had originally performed together in Viet Nam in 1968 for the USO. They just got back together again last year after a 30-year absence from the music scene and put on a great show of '60's rock. In the center in the white hats are the USO organizers of the show. To their left is General Gong and members of the Swing Dolls and Blues Bar-BQ. Members of Straight Jacket are to the left of the photo.
*House of Blues, Anaheim, CA, December 19, 2003*
	Opening for a big national act like Kim Wilson and the Fabulous Thunderbirds always brings a lot of excitement to the evening. The place was packed with appreciative fans who hopefully had as good a time as we did.
	(L) Joe is seen backstage with guest Bill Stuvie, long time bass player for Rod Piazza's Mighty Flyers. (R) After the show, Joe got together for a photo with Kim Wilson (right), guitarist Troy Gonyea and (center, rear) drummer Jimi Bott. The band also features Ronnie James on bass and Gene Taylor on keyboards.
	(L) The big dance floor was packed shoulder to shoulder, but some folks found room to dance. (R) Craig's guests Nedra, Debbie, Bill and wife Marda joined him to watch Kim Wilson's show.
	(L) Backstage we talked Kim Wilson's keyboard player, Gene Taylor and guitar player Eli Fletcher for posing for this shot. (R) Upstairs in the gallery a group of JoJo's friends and family enjoyed the show.
*Arbors Restaurant, Huntington Beach, December 13, 2003*
	Arbors is a great small club with an intimate bar and a good dance floor where you can enjoy dinner, good drinks and plenty of music with no cover charge. Here are some of the partiers at the last gig.
	(L) Cynthia (right) and friends kick back between sets. (R) Max and Vickie smile like they're having a good time.
	Vickie Hughes chats with Tom, who is better know as master keyboardist, T.K. T.K. sits in on keyboards with us now and then and always puts on a heck of a show.
*New York City Marathon, New York CIty, NY, November 2, 2003* (Click any photo for larger image.)
	(L) Joe, Geoff, Brion and sound man Justin Landgraff in Times Square our first night in town. (R) The next morning Bob goes over performance times with event organizer Peter Ciaccia of the New York Road Runners, who put on the marathon and invited us to play. Sponsors Continental Airlines and Sheraton Hotels provided us transportation and lodging.
	(L) The "Best Buy" stage crew sets up the instruments for the Saturday morning sound check. Like everyone we encountered in the organization they were total professionals. (R) The band plays a couple of songs for the final sound check. It was unseasonably warm for November 1, topping out at about 78°.
	(L) Craig looks over his keyboards while the Sunday morning marathon crowd gets ready for their run. (R) Teenage pop sensation Stacie Orrico sang an accoustic set backed by her guitar player.
	(L) And they're off! 35,000 runners head out over the Varizano Bridge from Staten Island toward Brooklyn at 10 AM sharp. The finish line was in Central Park. (R) Brion and Justin check out the view from the Empire State Building Observatory.
	(L) On Halloween at Rosie O'Grady's we found the lovely interior designer Heather, who couldn't decide if she was a devil or angel...only one of her red horns would light up. (R) Joe backstage with Stacie Orrico.
	In our continuing series of "JoJo as seen with" pictures, we find him here with Campbell Brown and Lester Holt, the Saturday hosts of the NBC Today show. Joe is a fan of the show and wanted to see the set in person.
	(L) The Dan Levinson Jazz Quartet started out the morning's entertainment before we came on. Their traditional Dixieland jazz has been featured at the marathon since 1998. (R) The cameraman from channel 4 liked our music. In the background, buses roll in from Central Park loaded with runners.
	(L) Brion and Geoff flank the sign that announces guitarist Les Paul plays here at the Iridium Jazz Club every Monday night. Where else but New York? (R) Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island is just below the foot of the Verrazano Bridge, which is where the marathon begins. This 77-year old guide kindly offered to take us on a tour of the fort.
	(R) The NYPD cops were the friendliest anywhere. They even let us sit in their car and snapped this picture for us. (R) Here the band poses with two of New York's finest who were kind enough to lend us their squad car for the previous photo. (The "Martini's" in the background is on 7th Avenue, not the one in Huntington Beach...)The reputation for surliness bestowed upon New Yorkers was totally unfounded in our experience. We met nothing but friendly, helpful people.
	(L) A group of runners prepares for the 26.2 mile race. (R) Another group decked out in British colors gets ready to run. There were runners representing most of the counties of the world in this internationally famous event.
*Martini Blues, Huntington Beach, CA, September 8, 2003*
	(Left) Motion control representative Robert Jewell called on Craig at his day job at Sherline Products. When he saw a photo of the band on the wall he recognized the Martini Blues name and said "I live a block from there." He and his wife walked down the street two nights later to see us. They had been meaning to visit Martini's and enjoyed the show. (Right) JoJo's wife Vickie Hughes is joined by Jack and Christene.
	The evening was sponsored by the Southern California Blues Society. We thank them and all those who came out to enjoy the Blues.
*The Mirage Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV, August 1, 2003*
	Well, perhaps the sign is a bit of a fantasy, but why not dream big?
	We were treated absolutely first class by our hosts, The Robert Bosch Corporation. Here's the band on stage at the Mirage.
There were too many friendly people to name, but here are a few faces in the crowd who came out for the Bosch Beach Party at the Mirage. Again our thanks to Scott, the Bosch Corporation and the Mirage Hotel for showing us such a great time. We hope you all had as much fun as we did. We'd love to do it again! Scott and friends. Why the big grin? Guitar Player Tommy proposed to Leslie and she said "Yes."
*The Galaxy Performance Theatre, Santa Ana, CA, July 3, 2003*
	(L) Drummer JoJo Hughes and Craig Hammons of Live Magazine get ready for a great show and a hot July 4th weekend. (R) Tom and Ivy. Tom came "in uniform" with his flame shirt. We encourage all our fans to wear your flame shirts to BBBQ gigs. One of these nights we plan to have a "best flame shirt" contest.
	(L) Savage City on stage. They came on after Blues Bar-BQ and really got the place warmed up for Tommy Castro. (R) Cy tries Brion's left-handed standup bass on for size back stage.
	Savage City's singer, Deanne...backstage "before" and on stage "after"
	If you like a jumpin' band with a big, powerful horn section, don't miss seeing Savage City next time they play.
	L) Big Bubba put on a great show as guest guitarist for Blues Bar-BQ. Bubba has his own band too...Bubba and the Big Bad Blues. Both he and Savage City were also nominated for awards in the 2003 Orange County Music Awards. That's Bubba on the left and Corvette Sandy on the right in the lobby after the show. (R) Tommy Castro never fails to get the crowd going, and he and his talented band played two solid hours of great blues.
*Grand Opening, Mr. Hogg's Blues City BarBQ, San Marcos, CA, June 7, 2003*
	(Left) Band members get behind the grill for a shot. Looks like their shirts got a little to close to the fire! (Right) The real chefs cooked up plenty of ribs to keep the crowd happy all day long. Blues City BarBQ will soon be bottling their own sauce, and we plan to make it available at our gigs for you BarBQ fans.
	(Left) A table full of happy diners. (Right) Craig shares a french fry with Charla Papp. She is joined by her husband Dan and mom and stepdad.
	(Left) Inside Blues City BarBQ the decor features old blues concert posters. Blues plays over the sound system at all times, and "Back for Seconds" is part of the mix. (Right) The Cat Lady thought the ribs were purrr-fect.
	(Left) Brion, Bob and Big Bubba enjoy some of the fare during a break. I don't think the owners knew what they were in for when they offered free food to the band. There go the profits... (Right) Craig's grandson Marc got to see Papa play. Marc loves to dance to BBBQ's CD's but here he got to dance to the real thing.
*JoJo's 50th Birthday Party, May 25, 2003*
	Cool cake included an edible photo of the band's logo on JoJo's drumhead. The coolest card had to be the candy bar card from Joyce and Jim.
	In addition to Blues Bar-BQ, musical guests included Big Bubba on guitar shown here with Brion on bass. Also taking turns on stage were Kelly from Kelly's Lot and her guitar player, The Chris Anderson Band, River Blue and Steve Copeland from Raging Sun, T.K. on keyboards and Elnora with her knock-em-dead voice. That's a better lineup than most blues festivals!
	(Left) Here Kenny (guitar) and Craig (keys) play under the light show provided by T.K. (Right) Nedra, one of the "Briquettes" displays the proper Blues Brothers attitude.
	(Left) Dennis and Allison (Right) Steve Copland of Raging Sun showed his multiple talents by singing, playing drums and keyboard.
	(Left) The birthday boy hisownself. (Right) His bigness...Big Bubba on guitar.
*Bob and Cristine's Wedding, May 10, 2003*
	BBBQ's singer/harp player Bob Landgraff and Christine Campbell tied the knot at the lovely home of a neighbor in Long Beach. Here's the wedding group plus Christine tossing the bouquet. More photos to come soon...
Long Beach Grand Prix Corporate Sponsor's Party, April 11, 2003
	Before the party, the band poses with the race queens. We know you've seen enough of us, so here's a closeup of the lovely ladies.
	In the expo there was lots to see too. The girl on the right sported the latest in hot paint jobs.
	It's more than a party, there's actually a race too. Here you are in the pits with Adrian Fernandez
	The food was great too. These treats looked so good it seemed a shame to eat them.
*Off Campus Pub, April 13, 2003*
	On Sunday afternoons, the Off Campus Pub in Fullerton is the place for good food and good blues. Chris Anderson played lead for us that day along with Kenny. Twice the guitar for your money!
	(Left) Guest player River Blue from Raging Sun took the stage for a harp duel with Bob. (Right) The group at the bar overlooking the dance floor had front row seats.
	Some of the many guests in the crowd enjoying the show.
The 2003 Orange County Music Awards, March 29, 2003, The Grove in Anaheim...
	This is what we were going for...the award for Best Blues Band of 2003 for Orange County. The award plates were a limited edition of 25 (one for each division) designed by artist Jordan Mercedes. The other blues band nominees were a strong group including international star Walter Trout and well known local player Big Bubba plus up-and-comers the Barnburners and Room 105. After the awards, Brion, Craig, Bob and Joe share a toast to the win.
	(L) Featured guest Dick Dale received a lifetime acheivement award at the ceremonies. He and his son Jimmy played an outstanding guitar duet that earned them the only standing ovation of the night. (R) Big Bubba and Bob light up a couple of cigars after the show. Bubba was one of the first to congratulate the band...a real class act and a great player too.
JoJo's fellow drummers and musicians at the 2003 NAMM show...
	(L) The one and only Ray Charles was spotted at the NAMM show talking to T.K. about the merits of Kurzweil keyboards. (R) Joe with Kenny Arnondoff.
	(L) More NAMM show shots...Joe gets a conga lesson from the great Pancho Sanchez. (R) Joe with Bernard Purdie.
	(L) John Blackwell and family. (R) Joe with Zorro at the 2003 NAMM show.

Faces in the Crowd, 2003

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