Jive Kings Reunion

Well we had the Jive Kings reunion on Sunday July 10th as part of the PEI Jazz and Blues Festival and what a time it was! For us and seemingly for the audience.  I have to say I really missed the excitement of being onstage with our little ol' swing band from this little ol' sandbar.  And there's something to be said for receiving crowd appreciation like that...for those of you that were there...Thanks!  For those that weren't...it was a giant tent Smack Dab in the middle of Queen Street filled with 1500 people there to support our reunion...rockin! 

There's just nothing like it!  It was exhilirating, emotional, and exhausting all at the same time.  Felt like that first big weekend we had at the 2000 ECMAs in Sydney....we went not knowing if anyone had ever heard of us and turned out to be the Buzz band of the weekend.  All weekend we kept hearing 'You're in the Jive Kings!?! Man you guys are awesome!!! I got your CD and can't wait to see you play'  It was weird as hell!  Yesterday when we played it felt like the few times we played that weekend in Sydney...Bruce Morel's kitchen party in a local arena ( Pat Dooley, our soundman that night, tells me every time he sees me that he still gets compliments on how good the mix was that night! )....Mayflower Mall we played right after punk act Shyne Factory and had an awesome crowd...and of course our last performance that weekend was the 72 Hour Jam in the Legion ( Atmosphere was perfect! ) where we had the coveted midnight slot on Saturday Night...the lineup was down the street with people complaining dissapointedly that they couldn't get in to see us ( sounds like Late Night at The Mack! )...that was an electrifying gig and I remember when we played the standard Tin Roof Blues that even the people at the bar and in the kitchen stopped to watch and scream and clap...fantastic! 

And to top it off we did the unthinkable and picked up the ECMA 2000 Award for Jazz Artist of the Year.  I remember Mike saying 'now guys if we don't win let's not act too disappointed..and if we do win..don't go nuts..act cool!' ...Mike later confessed that when they said our name he literally put his hands on his knees and pushed himself out of his chair in excitement!  Jon MacInnis, who purchased his awards show ticket late, had to sit in the upper bowl and when we won he had to quickly make his way from all the way up there to the floor of the rink and then onto stage...I remember seeing a tall dark figure bounding his way towards the stage and I figured it was someone coming to take our award away telling us it was a mistake!  but no it was Jon frantically trying to make his way to the podium to accept that wonderful award with us as a group! 

And this is how green we were....you know when you watch award shows and someone wins...and then they're ushered offstage...well..it's common practice for awards shows to have winners go to be interviewed in the Media Room where tonnes of different media companies have set up to capture artists in the moments after they win...same thing at the ECMAs....but...we had no clue...we were just ushered back stage and told to wait in the hallway....then a door opens and the artist who won before us walks out...and then we're ushered into the insane Media Room onto this little platform built for a band of four...so...there's the EIGHT of us...standing all squished together...still shocked and buzzing from winning, staring at 20 TV cameras and 60 flashing cameras...NOT SAYING A WORD!  We didn't realize that we were supposed to go in and almost give another acceptance speech but for the press...

yup...we were cool....all of us standing there in silence being blinded by flashes and caught uninterestingly on video for major news companies...finally Steve Horne ( then the ECMA 2000 Marketing and Communications director, now the Executive Director of the ECMAs and my boss ) says 'So how does it feel?'..and Mike awkwardly and half jokingly says 'umm....we're glad we're here...and we're glad we won...ummm...'  It was awesome!  well...afterwards it was...

So, our award was presented during the Pre-Telecast portion of the Awards ceremonies so our families at home were unaware when we won.  After the preshow we had 30 minutes before we had to be back in our seats for the TV show...so we all gathered and collected ourselves and took turns holding our new Trophy...I was the last to hold it and the other guys were chatting with people and I thought I'd go call my family at home and tell them....so...I run around Centre 200 in Sydney trying to find a pay phone ..and I mean run...remember I'm on a time limit...so there I am bootin' er' around the perimeter hallways of the rink and I finally find one...make the call and tell Elizabeth and my Mother that we won ( they didn't believe me at first ) ... I tell them I have to go because of the time limit ...

so I start bootin' er' again ( I like saying bootin' er' )...and realize...in all of the excitement I didn't realize that I was seconds from spraying vast amounts of urine at a redicously fast rate down my leg...so ...I start bootin' er' again ( come on..say it...it'll make you smile...bootin' er'!  ) to find a bathroom...I find a mens locker room that was made up as a dressing room for one of the TV show musical Acts..I think it was Fur Pact Action...anyway...I burst in and say...'umm...is there a bathroom in here? I'm with the Jive Kings, I just won and ECMA and I'm about to piss my pants!'...awkwardly and confused they all just point to the stall....So...I go in and damn near destroy the porcelin with the shear force of my stream....relieved, I wash my hands ( I'm a good boy ) and start...well..you guessed it...bootin' er' back to my seat...I've got only minutes before the TV show starts..if I don't get back they'll fill my seat with some volunteer...I'm halfway around the rink and I'm muchly enjoying how strangely light I feel...remembering my wonderful porcenline friend I smile...then something else enters my head...my wonderful porcenline friend didn't only serve to relieve my bladder..the tank was was a great place to temporarily place the ECMA Trophy while I ....DAMN...I FORGOT THE TROPHY ON THE TOILET!!!

Now imagine how much I was bootin' er'!!!!!!!

I burst back into the room as the guys were tuning up and while running frantically towards the stall I stupidly started explained myself...'Hi...sorry...I was just in here...pissed...left my ECMA on the toilet...hope it's still there...yup got it...phew...thanks...gotta run...have a good show...'

ahhh good times..

ahh...one more quick story before I go...

It was a big deal to us...especially to me...growing up I never thought I'd amount to much ( man I had a low self esteem ) and here I was during this wonderful weekend, played shows and blew people away...won an ECMA! wow!  Awesome...I've never felt cooler in my life...but...life has a way of humbling the ego...

So...the afterparty...

I get to the afterparty and head downstairs where the crowd is...I'm early...( damn I'm always early...) there's a few people around probably 40 people, among them was Measha Bruggergosman and some other people that just intimidated me...so as cool as I felt I was a bit shy to be there by myself...so I grabbed a beer at the bar..and she poured it into one of those big plastic beer cups...I lean against the wall taking a few sips of my beer and feel so damn out of place...so I decide to head upstairs to see if any of the guys are around...I walk through the crowd start up the stairs just as some attractive female types are walking down the stairs...

Have you ever walked up the stairs and missed a step?

Have you ever won an ECMA, felt cool as hell, went to an afterparty, purchased a beer in a plastic cup, tried to walk up the stairs only to miss a step in front of an attractive party of the opposite sex?

Well...there's gotta be some law of physics to describe what happened next but well...you see...when one trips...their hands shoot down and foward to break the fall...and one could say that where the hands were, the face now is...now when is carrying a cup of liquid...and trips...the hands go down at such a fast motion that the liquid just doesn't have a chance...it can't keep up...so it stays put...for an instant...in the air...hanging in it's frothy form...just long enough for that face to catch up and splash at great speeds into the cloud of liquid...

i.e....I fell and basically threw my cup of beer in my face...

smoooooooth