Here it is Tuesday evening and I’m just now getting around to posting a review of our show last Friday at the Player’s Pub in Bloomington.

It was a beautiful day for a drive to Bloomington from Indianapolis and it was  foretelling of what a great evening it was to be.   Friends old and new, a room full of partying teachers, family, Tyler’s Grandpa, a table following us from Medora…it was a great mix of fans and we did our best not to disappoint.  As usual, the staff at Player’s Pub did a spectacular job of catering to the crowd and serving up great food and tasty libations.  Our good friend Robert White even got up and did a couple songs with us and it was a pleasure to have his great voice on our stage.   On a night like this, three hours is far too short to play and visit with everyone and, before you knew it, the last song was played and it was time to go home.

The ‘thank you’ list is extensive:  the Flicks for all you do, Erica, Rex and the entire PP staff, Barbara Young for directing your crew in to see us, Tammy for the support even when times are tough (you’re in my thoughts) and, again, Robert for jamming with us.

Next week is a corporate show for the REMC in Orange County (can we play as ‘REMC Speedwagon’?) but we have some other public shows on the docket as the summer moves on.  I invite anyone interested to check out my solo website to see a show of mine.

Thanks again everyone for making us so proud to be your friends!  Don’t forget the sunscreen and let’s do it all again real soon!

I must say, getting to Perry Street Tavern in Medora is somewhat of a haul for most of us in Pet Monkey, but once we got there last Saturday, we felt right at home.  A great crowd, lots of dancing, requests of songs we knew and some fabulous Jackson County hospitality made it a special evening.  Tyler and I made our way through the crowd to meet everyone and truly appreciated everyone’s kind words. Chelsey took my Nikon and got some great shots of us with the new lighting and we were very pleased with our reconfigured sound system designed for clubs this size.  Although it made for a sleepy Sunday (I almost slept through the Pacer game),it was a fantastic trip.

Another thing bringing a smile to my face is a new gig at a new venue.  Todd has booked us at a place called “Phat Guys” in North Vernon, just minutes away from Seymour and I-65.  It’s the last day of August and we can’t wait.

My day job took me by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday and it was sweet to hear the cars inside zooming by,  The speedway, rolled down windows, Mug & Bun Root Beer, the smell of flowers and the sound of Pet Monkey.  I do believe spring is in the air!  Enjoy every moment everybody!

Friends, Fans, Family and First-time Felons:

On the road again, back to a familiar haunt: the Perry Street Tavern in scenic Medora!  We are really looking forward to it as we have invested in some great lighting and effects and a new Mackie Sub Woofer that’ll thump you like that kid that took your lunch money (this time in a ‘good’ way).  We can’t wait to try this stuff out and hope you and yours can make it down for the evening.  The shenanigans all begin around 9:30 and we’ll rock on until dawn, or 1:30…whichever comes first.

New gear, new tunes and new (and old) friends and maybe even a nude dancer or two.  Sorry, I mean a NEW dancer.  It all adds up to new opportunities for a great Pet Monkey time!  Use the fancy link on the ‘Schedule’ page for more information.  If we don’t see you sooner, we’ll for sure see you later!

PS: The Scott Strange ‘Acoustic Strange’ tour rolls on again on Friday night at Mi Pueblo Mexican Restaurant in Franklin, starting at 6:00.  For more info, click this.

Just a couple quick pictures from today’s practice.  We got together with Robert White, who is going to sing a couple songs with us at our late May Player’s Pub show.  We also got to see Tyler on his Birthday.  HaPpY BiRtHdAy TyLeR!!!!!  Also, David Webb was rushing to get home to have a birthday dinner with his wife (and Pet Monkey’s Graphic Designer) Andrea.  Happy birthday to you too Andrea.  That’s all the news today on the Pet Monkey front.  And here’s a parting picture of birthday boy and guitarist Tyler with his blushing sweetie Chelsey:

Tonight I had the pleasure to book a Pet Monkey show at Jake’s Nightclub in Bloomington.  It kind of brings David Webb and my musical journeys full circle.  Many years and a few pounds each ago, David and i played in a band called the Jay Michals Band and had the chance to play many Bloomington area venues  But the pinnacle gig of the day was Jake’s.  We were able to get a few Monday night shows when the cover charge was cheap and the drinks were cheaper but we craved a bigger show there.  Since most of our friends at the time were more interested in the ratio of drinks per dollar as opposed to the amount of hours left before work the next day, getting weeknight fans was never a great issue.

One day, our big…er bigger break came.  We were booked to play immediately following the Chippendale’s dancers on a Thursday night.  In our minds, it was to be an epic gig.  We set up before the dancers and crowd arrived and we planned to start right after the dancers cleared the stage.  When we  arrived for the show the parking lot was full and a line of guys waited at the door, eagerly awaiting the opportunity to put the make on ladies likely still hot from the dirty dancing they just witnessed.

Then it happened:  the dancers left and, as they fellas were making their way into Jake’s, the hotties were making their way out.  As per our plan, we took the stage immediately, to a half-full room of disappointed single guys.

Lesson learned.  From that very night, I’ve turned down every opportunity to open for a male dance revue.  So, needless to say, July 27th at Jake’s will just be us, and hopefully, you as well.  And David Webb and I having a smile at coming full circle as friends and musicians.

One second we booked a show this morning and, not fifteen minutes later, another one falls into place.  We are returning to Medora’s Perry Street Tavern in just a few Saturdays and doing a private show for the REMC in the beginning of June.  We’ve got some other shows in the works, but nothing I want to jinx by mentioning it.

And, since I write this blog, I guess I am at liberty to mention that as a solo performer I have a nice schedule of shows coming up starting the beginning of May.  My website, www.scottstrange.com, details the whens and wheres.

Everyone enjoy the weeks to come and lets all hope for a warm-up.  Looking forward to seeing your monkey-butt in one of our monkey-seats sometime soon.

It’s Sunday morning after last night’s show at Hoosier Bar & Grill and, although I’m still a bit groggy, I couldn’t wait to get my thoughts about last night on paper…er whatever the material monitor screens are made of.

After the set-up, we had some of the fine HBG food (the flat iron steak is NOT to be missed!) and got ready to rock.  Old friends crawled out of the wood work and some even brought their friends.  Add to that some great new Pet Monkey fans (Happy Birthday to Dana and her wild bunch) and the mix was set for a spectacular night.  The bar had some awesome lighting effects which made the electricity even higher.   We even had a few Pet Monkey shirts and shot glassed as giveaways for our guests.

As for the music, we had the opportunity to play some of the newer songs we had been working on and, with the help of Gary on the sound board, we we pulled most of the songs off to our satisfaction.  We played longer sets (we only took two breaks for a 4-hour show) but, even after playing for 75 minutes, we were having so much fun we hated to stop.  An added bonus: drummer Todd Bessinger’s birthday started at midnight, so we got the entire crowd to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to both Todd and Dana.

To all the new folks we met last night: thanks for coming out and thanks for your kind, kind words.  We truly appreciate it.  Thanks as well to Eric Vance from Vance’s Music for your help during our sound check and thanks once again to Rick Flick for, well for everything.  A big ‘thank you’ shout out to Josh Collier for being our door guy.  Let me also say ‘thank you’ to my wife Jessica, who last night multi-tasked between being the photographer and t-shirt salesperson.  Thanks also to Betsy and the entire Hoosier Bar & Grill staff who took such great care of our fans and enjoyed everything so much that we’ll be playing there again for the Halloween Party on Saturday, October 27th.

Our next Pet Monkey show is, as it stands today, at the Player’s Pub the last weekend in May.  We hope all of the HBG crowd can make it out and tell your friends.  For us, we really do enjoy playing music and have a great time even at rehearsal.  But, when you factor in an unbelievable audience like we had last night, it makes all the hard work and investment of time and money worthwhile.  Once again, our thanks.

Hope to see you all again soon, but until then, keep a real big smile on your little monkey face!