Big Thank You to Joe Bonner and family

Vincent Caster · April 3rd, 2005, 01:30 PM

Just a short post to thank the Bonner's for their hospitality.

The Hudson Valley contingent invaded Queens and, as usual, played teles, ate loads of food and sat around and talked tele like a bunch of biddies at a quilting bee.

I'll post more later....as usual I am being summoned for a domestic situation invoving Elmers glue.

Also I have to edit this post as I would be remiss if didn't send a big thank you to Ian for the use of his Princeton Reverb, hey if can't play well you might as well sound good. I even set up and jammed along side, not a good idea the last time we jammed, it kinda ended up like a couple of kids cutting up in the back row of class.

eryque · April 3rd, 2005, 04:08 PM

Vince, is the situtation in question because one of your offspring created a situation in which you need to apply elmer's glue to something, or because they created a situation that can only be fixed by you applying elmer's glue?

Too bad I had to miss this one. My morning class was cancelled, so I took the car to the shop for new struts. $1000 and 4 hours later I finally got out of there in time to wash up for my banquet. What a day...

chipl · April 3rd, 2005, 04:44 PM

The massive rains and the fact that the board had been down, and the fact that the regular drummer did not show (MIke Rice filled in superbly let me say right now)... could not spoil a great spring NYC Tele jam.

This is how cool the people on this board are. This is a true story. It happened to me...

So I'm seeing Pat Metheny in Manhattan Saturday night and I'll be parking on the streets. The last thing I wanna do is bring a Tele and amp and then leave it in my car on the city streets during the concert. So it looks like I'm not gonna make this jam. (I'm tempted by the food, as always, but I really wanna play...)

Nonetheless, I query my fellow jam-mates and ask:
"Can anybody spare a Tele?" I can bring a strap and a cord."

Where else but the TDPRI can one just show up and freeload a real 50s Esquire, a custom Tele and Strat ("What's that?" they all sorta asked scornfully.), a JD Tele & 66 BF Vibrolux that I didn't get to play) and a variety of 60s and 70s Fender blackface amps besides. So much gear, so little time...We got to play a lot of fun tunes too.

And since I had to leave early to get to the Metheny show, they also played roadie for me and packed up the gear I got to use. I could get used to this...

You gotta love this place. Thanks Joe!

Mike Rice · April 3rd, 2005, 11:40 PM

Joe threw a wonderful bash!

I have played sooo little guitar lately that it's probably a good thing I spent most of the day on drums. I had a blast with on 3 or 4 songs I played guitar. A couple were with Vince's homebrew '52 RI which remains one of the nicest Teles I've ever played. It's what made me fall in love with VanZandt PUs and through Ian's Princeton Reverb it sounded good even with me playing it! On the other 2 songs I played I used Frank's Greenwich Custom 60s Tele Custom replica through his Line 6. I tend to be such a curmudgeon with hi-tech stuff and still haven't warmed up to any of the Fender Cyber amps, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love the sound that Line 6 put out in Tweed Bassman mode. Joe has a new amp too that he should tell us all about. He said it's an AC30 clone but I'd put the tone somewhere between Voxish and Fenderish, very articulate yet very punchy.

I know this may sound trite and I'm honestly not heaping praise for the sake of Telecaster bonding, but while I've been sitting idle it's obvious everyone else has been practicing...alot! The sign in the church hall said "No Smoking" but everyone chose to ignore that when it came time to solo. Joe steps out more and more each time and Tony Dogs is getting his chops back in a major way. Ian took a second solo on Unchain My Heart that blew me away. Vince knocked me out with some of his soulful solos and incredible diversity. His vocals are really developing as well. Chip made the most of his bender and also played some really jazzy riffs. Bruce is playing more and more stuff that really smokes a la Mitch and the late great Spanky. Frank has always been quietly oustanding and continued in that tradition.

We also got to meet Joe's charming wife and discovered why his daughter, who most of us had already met, is so pretty.

Stay tuned as I will definitely be scheduling a jam for some weekend either later this month or sometime in May. I know it won't be the weekend of May 12th and I'll try to pick something real soon.

bdkphoto · April 4th, 2005, 10:08 AM

It was great to have the jam just around the corner, and as always it was great to get together with everyone to make some noise. A big thanks to Joe & family, and to Mike Rice for taking on drum duty to keep the beat for most of the day.

I vote that Frank must now provide all the guitars for us at the next jam, Chip shouldn't be the only beneficiary of Franks's collection...

Mike summed up the days music very well, so let me second his thoughts, and I'm looking forward to getting together with all of you soon.

mark norwine · April 4th, 2005, 10:18 AM

Queens?

I wish I had known....

Mitch Roberts · April 4th, 2005, 01:35 PM

I had thought I might be able to rearrange things at the last minute and come, but no such luck. Sounds like everyone had their usual great time. I am really sorry I missed it. Hope to catch the next one.

zydeco honeycup · April 4th, 2005, 02:03 PM

The Tele and I were playing up in Providence. A good show, but counting transit, soundcheck, and waiting around - don't ask me what I got paid per hour.

Looking forward to the next (and my first) one!

inertian · April 5th, 2005, 10:23 AM

1 - Large rooms with high ceilings in churches have surprisingly good Tele-acoustics.

2 - Joe B has a lovely wife, and not just a cardboard cutout that some of us suspected he kept in the closet.

3 - Frank has many cool old guitars and his tasty playing is only exceeded by his generosity in letting unworthies (i.e., me) play them.

4 - '59 Esquires have harmonics all over the fretboard - its like they're alive!

5 - Vince is a force to be reckoned with now that he has tapped into his inner woman.

6 - Bruce & Tony Dogs are no longer allowed to practice or improve their playing any further.

7 - Dave's right-on-the-money horn playing consistently amazes me.

8 - The best compliment I can give Mike Rice on his drumming is that not once during the day did I (or anyone else I bet) notice we didn't have a great drummer. And he plays a little guitar too.

9 - Chip has transcended technical proficiency on his bender Tele and now dwells in the land of musical virtuosity.

10 - Teles + food + TDPRI people = good time

chipl · April 5th, 2005, 03:42 PM

White that is...

Both Mike and Ian noted my tasty "bender Tele" licks..well guys...I left the bender Tele at home, remember, and used Frank's guitars which are non-bender.

So you know how everyone marvels at Clarence's bender licks on Sweetheart of the Rodeo...until they find out that the B bender wasn't even used on the entire record. Only later did he use a bender-equipped Tele.

So I love the fact that you guys thought I was playing a B-bender Tele when all it was my short stubby fingers.

So it seems I have something in common with Clarence White...uh huh...as my son would say, "yeah, and then you woke up!" Thanks anyway for the compliments...I am not worthy.

inertian · April 6th, 2005, 01:05 PM

No bender? Really? Is that why you were making those weird faces on the bends?

Seriously, I didn't know, I saw what looked like your blonde bendercaster, and heard those long bends so I just assumed...

Man, you really are good! PM better not bring a guitar to your next concert

Tony Dogs · April 10th, 2005, 10:41 AM

Mom taught me its never to late to say thank you. Thanks Joe for a great time - and great food! mmmmmm fried plantanos.

Thanks to Mike Rice for lugging down the PA and his drum kit (how many pieces are there?), along with his geetars. And here I am *****in' about my hot rod being a little heavy. Thanks for giving up guitar playing time to provide us all with a beat.

Everyone sounded great and Dave-Sax-Bass has to change his name to Dave-Sax-Bass-Keyboards! Amazing what this guy can do! Ian had a brand new sunburst with a bigsby that I was hoping to sneak away with when he wasn't looking. Got it as a gift from his better half (you should keep her)! :D

Vince did all my favorites (gotta love the BAD DOG). And I thought ChipL had his bender too.

Frank wins hands down the "most new toys" award. Very cool stuff. 59 top-loader Esquire was my favorite.
You know Frank, I've never played one of those original Broadcasters, would you mind picking one up for the next HVJ.

Best line of the day came from our resident Borscht-belt comic Mikey. After bdkphoto finished a soulful lick and it was my turn to torture everyones ears - Mike says "From the Katz to the Dogs". As you've said before Mike - try the meatloaf - I'm here all week!

Thanks again Joe.

FWesley · April 10th, 2005, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony Dogs

Thanks to Mike Rice for lugging down the PA and his drum kit (how many pieces are there?), along with his geetars.

Thanks for giving up guitar playing time to provide us all with a beat.

I concur - very kind - and Mike played so well!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony Dogs

Everyone sounded great and Dave-Sax-Bass has to change his name to Dave-Sax-Bass-Keyboards! Amazing what this guy can do!

Dave adds so much to the mix - he's just a pleasure to play with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony Dogs

Vince did all my favorites (gotta love the BAD DOG).

Those songs are going to be on the first HV TDPRI CD release. I think we should let Bruce do the cover since he did Bill Kirchens Tombstone cover and has some experience.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inertian

6 - Bruce & Tony Dogs are no longer allowed to practice or improve their playing any further.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one that noticed that. I know Bruce has being hanging out too much in the 30th steet studios on Sat night but what's with Brian?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony Dogs

You know Frank, I've never played one of those original Broadcasters, would you mind picking one up for the next HVJ.

Nobody would enjoy that more than me. I'll keep my eyes out for one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tony Dogs

Thanks again Joe.

A big thanks to Joe

Dave_sax_bass · April 16th, 2005, 04:04 PM

Hi guys,

Sorry about the delay in replying. My manners got lost in the middle of my busy work.

Anyway, thanks to Mr. Bonner and family for the event. I had a great time.

Thanks to the church for letting us play even though the Pope died while we were jamming. (You could say we gave him a hell of a send-off!!)

A big sarcastic thanks to Frank bringing his gosh darn Line 6 amp, which so amazed me that I haven't been able to get it off of my mind (not even while I'm working!!!) Are you going to get a Line 6 guitar to go with it? (not that you need it!)

Thanks to everyone who thought I was great. That's always nice. :)

Thanks to Ian for "commando-driving" (as he calls it) me, my horn section, my bass rig and my keyboard in his land yacht.

Thanks to Mike Rice for the drums and, even more importantly, the PA.

It's awfully nice of you upstaters and Connecticutters to come down to our traffic-friendly home that is the NYC Metro Area (or, in this case, NYC) and jam with us. :)

That's all the smart-ass remarks I have. I look forward to seeing you again.

- Take care,

- Dave-Sax-Bass-Keys-[more instruments to come] (are you happy now, T-Dogs???)

April 3rd, 2005, 01:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
Vincent Caster Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Peekskill, New York Posts: 624 6 Photos	Big Thank You to Joe Bonner and family Just a short post to thank the Bonner's for their hospitality. The Hudson Valley contingent invaded Queens and, as usual, played teles, ate loads of food and sat around and talked tele like a bunch of biddies at a quilting bee. I'll post more later....as usual I am being summoned for a domestic situation invoving Elmers glue. Also I have to edit this post as I would be remiss if didn't send a big thank you to Ian for the use of his Princeton Reverb, hey if can't play well you might as well sound good. I even set up and jammed along side, not a good idea the last time we jammed, it kinda ended up like a couple of kids cutting up in the back row of class.

April 3rd, 2005, 04:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
chipl Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 737	That was fun! The massive rains and the fact that the board had been down, and the fact that the regular drummer did not show (MIke Rice filled in superbly let me say right now)... could not spoil a great spring NYC Tele jam. This is how cool the people on this board are. This is a true story. It happened to me... So I'm seeing Pat Metheny in Manhattan Saturday night and I'll be parking on the streets. The last thing I wanna do is bring a Tele and amp and then leave it in my car on the city streets during the concert. So it looks like I'm not gonna make this jam. (I'm tempted by the food, as always, but I really wanna play...) Nonetheless, I query my fellow jam-mates and ask: "Can anybody spare a Tele?" I can bring a strap and a cord." Where else but the TDPRI can one just show up and freeload a real 50s Esquire, a custom Tele and Strat ("What's that?" they all sorta asked scornfully.), a JD Tele & 66 BF Vibrolux that I didn't get to play) and a variety of 60s and 70s Fender blackface amps besides. So much gear, so little time...We got to play a lot of fun tunes too. And since I had to leave early to get to the Metheny show, they also played roadie for me and packed up the gear I got to use. I could get used to this... You gotta love this place. Thanks Joe!

April 3rd, 2005, 11:40 PM	#4 (permalink)
Mike Rice Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Hudson Valley Age: 48 Posts: 2,230 3 Photos	King of Queens Joe threw a wonderful bash! I have played sooo little guitar lately that it's probably a good thing I spent most of the day on drums. I had a blast with on 3 or 4 songs I played guitar. A couple were with Vince's homebrew '52 RI which remains one of the nicest Teles I've ever played. It's what made me fall in love with VanZandt PUs and through Ian's Princeton Reverb it sounded good even with me playing it! On the other 2 songs I played I used Frank's Greenwich Custom 60s Tele Custom replica through his Line 6. I tend to be such a curmudgeon with hi-tech stuff and still haven't warmed up to any of the Fender Cyber amps, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love the sound that Line 6 put out in Tweed Bassman mode. Joe has a new amp too that he should tell us all about. He said it's an AC30 clone but I'd put the tone somewhere between Voxish and Fenderish, very articulate yet very punchy. I know this may sound trite and I'm honestly not heaping praise for the sake of Telecaster bonding, but while I've been sitting idle it's obvious everyone else has been practicing...alot! The sign in the church hall said "No Smoking" but everyone chose to ignore that when it came time to solo. Joe steps out more and more each time and Tony Dogs is getting his chops back in a major way. Ian took a second solo on Unchain My Heart that blew me away. Vince knocked me out with some of his soulful solos and incredible diversity. His vocals are really developing as well. Chip made the most of his bender and also played some really jazzy riffs. Bruce is playing more and more stuff that really smokes a la Mitch and the late great Spanky. Frank has always been quietly oustanding and continued in that tradition. We also got to meet Joe's charming wife and discovered why his daughter, who most of us had already met, is so pretty. Stay tuned as I will definitely be scheduling a jam for some weekend either later this month or sometime in May. I know it won't be the weekend of May 12th and I'll try to pick something real soon. __________________ Sure I like country music and I like mandolins, but right now I need a Telecaster through a Vibrolux turned up to 10...John Hiatt

April 4th, 2005, 10:08 AM	#5 (permalink)
bdkphoto Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: NYC Posts: 243	Thanks Joe, Julia & Lillian It was great to have the jam just around the corner, and as always it was great to get together with everyone to make some noise. A big thanks to Joe & family, and to Mike Rice for taking on drum duty to keep the beat for most of the day. I vote that Frank must now provide all the guitars for us at the next jam, Chip shouldn't be the only beneficiary of Franks's collection... Mike summed up the days music very well, so let me second his thoughts, and I'm looking forward to getting together with all of you soon.

April 4th, 2005, 01:35 PM	#7 (permalink)
Mitch Roberts Tele-Meister Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: NYC Posts: 433	Sorry I missed it I had thought I might be able to rearrange things at the last minute and come, but no such luck. Sounds like everyone had their usual great time. I am really sorry I missed it. Hope to catch the next one. __________________ I think, therefore I jam.

April 3rd, 2005, 04:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
eryque Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: albany, ny [not chicago] Posts: 7,126 44 Photos	Vince, is the situtation in question because one of your offspring created a situation in which you need to apply elmer's glue to something, or because they created a situation that can only be fixed by you applying elmer's glue? Too bad I had to miss this one. My morning class was cancelled, so I took the car to the shop for new struts. $1000 and 4 hours later I finally got out of there in time to wash up for my banquet. What a day...

April 4th, 2005, 10:18 AM	#6 (permalink)
mark norwine Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: New Jersey Age: 50 Posts: 1,381	Queens? I wish I had known....

April 4th, 2005, 02:03 PM	#8 (permalink)
zydeco honeycup TDPRI Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: New York, NY Posts: 95	Sorry I missed this one The Tele and I were playing up in Providence. A good show, but counting transit, soundcheck, and waiting around - don't ask me what I got paid per hour. Looking forward to the next (and my first) one!

April 5th, 2005, 10:23 AM	#9 (permalink)
inertian Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Lindenhurst, NY Posts: 583	What I learned in Queens on Saturday 1 - Large rooms with high ceilings in churches have surprisingly good Tele-acoustics. 2 - Joe B has a lovely wife, and not just a cardboard cutout that some of us suspected he kept in the closet. 3 - Frank has many cool old guitars and his tasty playing is only exceeded by his generosity in letting unworthies (i.e., me) play them. 4 - '59 Esquires have harmonics all over the fretboard - its like they're alive! 5 - Vince is a force to be reckoned with now that he has tapped into his inner woman. 6 - Bruce & Tony Dogs are no longer allowed to practice or improve their playing any further. 7 - Dave's right-on-the-money horn playing consistently amazes me. 8 - The best compliment I can give Mike Rice on his drumming is that not once during the day did I (or anyone else I bet) notice we didn't have a great drummer. And he plays a little guitar too. 9 - Chip has transcended technical proficiency on his bender Tele and now dwells in the land of musical virtuosity. 10 - Teles + food + TDPRI people = good time __________________ "There's very little you can't do with a Dremel if you have the right attachment."

April 5th, 2005, 03:42 PM	#10 (permalink)
chipl Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 737	You guys are making me feel like Clarence... White that is... Both Mike and Ian noted my tasty "bender Tele" licks..well guys...I left the bender Tele at home, remember, and used Frank's guitars which are non-bender. So you know how everyone marvels at Clarence's bender licks on Sweetheart of the Rodeo...until they find out that the B bender wasn't even used on the entire record. Only later did he use a bender-equipped Tele. So I love the fact that you guys thought I was playing a B-bender Tele when all it was my short stubby fingers. So it seems I have something in common with Clarence White...uh huh...as my son would say, "yeah, and then you woke up!" Thanks anyway for the compliments...I am not worthy.

April 6th, 2005, 01:05 PM	#11 (permalink)
inertian Tele-Holic Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Lindenhurst, NY Posts: 583	(Not) On a Bender No bender? Really? Is that why you were making those weird faces on the bends? Seriously, I didn't know, I saw what looked like your blonde bendercaster, and heard those long bends so I just assumed... Man, you really are good! PM better not bring a guitar to your next concert __________________ "There's very little you can't do with a Dremel if you have the right attachment."

April 10th, 2005, 10:41 AM	#12 (permalink)
Tony Dogs Tele-Meister Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Long Island, New York Posts: 151	Where are my manners... Mom taught me its never to late to say thank you. Thanks Joe for a great time - and great food! mmmmmm fried plantanos. Thanks to Mike Rice for lugging down the PA and his drum kit (how many pieces are there?), along with his geetars. And here I am *****in' about my hot rod being a little heavy. Thanks for giving up guitar playing time to provide us all with a beat. Everyone sounded great and Dave-Sax-Bass has to change his name to Dave-Sax-Bass-Keyboards! Amazing what this guy can do! Ian had a brand new sunburst with a bigsby that I was hoping to sneak away with when he wasn't looking. Got it as a gift from his better half (you should keep her)! :D Vince did all my favorites (gotta love the BAD DOG). And I thought ChipL had his bender too. Frank wins hands down the "most new toys" award. Very cool stuff. 59 top-loader Esquire was my favorite. You know Frank, I've never played one of those original Broadcasters, would you mind picking one up for the next HVJ. Best line of the day came from our resident Borscht-belt comic Mikey. After bdkphoto finished a soulful lick and it was my turn to torture everyones ears - Mike says "From the Katz to the Dogs". As you've said before Mike - try the meatloaf - I'm here all week! Thanks again Joe. __________________ "save my soul sweet rock 'n roll cause I'm sinkin' fast"

April 16th, 2005, 04:04 PM	#14 (permalink)
Dave_sax_bass TDPRI Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 34	Dave weighs in... Hi guys, Sorry about the delay in replying. My manners got lost in the middle of my busy work. Anyway, thanks to Mr. Bonner and family for the event. I had a great time. Thanks to the church for letting us play even though the Pope died while we were jamming. (You could say we gave him a hell of a send-off!!) A big sarcastic thanks to Frank bringing his gosh darn Line 6 amp, which so amazed me that I haven't been able to get it off of my mind (not even while I'm working!!!) Are you going to get a Line 6 guitar to go with it? (not that you need it!) Thanks to everyone who thought I was great. That's always nice. :) Thanks to Ian for "commando-driving" (as he calls it) me, my horn section, my bass rig and my keyboard in his land yacht. Thanks to Mike Rice for the drums and, even more importantly, the PA. It's awfully nice of you upstaters and Connecticutters to come down to our traffic-friendly home that is the NYC Metro Area (or, in this case, NYC) and jam with us. :) That's all the smart-ass remarks I have. I look forward to seeing you again. - Take care, - Dave-Sax-Bass-Keys-[more instruments to come] (are you happy now, T-Dogs???)