[Dixielandjazz] Retirement Home Gig

[Randy Fendrick]

We played a retirement home gig last Wednesday night with our 7 piece  
band, Southside Chicago Seven.  Two events took place while there that  
is worth noting.  Ran into Whitey Thomas, a trumpet player that was on  
the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band, and following the war played on  
the Tex Beneke Band from 1946 through 1950.  While he is now blind,  
his memory is great and he seemed in fairly good health, but seemed to  
be on some fairly strong medication.  The legal kind.   We talked  
about the old days.  Whitey said that they used to do 8 shows a day.   
While today, again according to Whitey, people bitch when they do  
two.  Hell I'd like to get two a year.  =-)!  Only kidding!  A little  
later, a guy, pushing his walker came up to the band and said hell he  
started on drums when he was 8 years old, about 82 years ago, and  
played most of his life.  He sat down next to the drummer and seemed  
to enjoy what he heard.  Before the break he moved over to me and said  
what do you think about playing for all us old farts?  I said it beats  
the hell out of television.  The guy almost fell out.  A little later,  
he and a woman, also in a walker had a duel on the dance floor.  Money  
was bad but the gig was good, and again it beats the hell out of TV.
later,
Randy Fendrick
Southside Chicago Seven