Caught in the Act

Starbucks Coffee - Humble, Texas

Many have asked ‘Why doesn’t George Poe Trio play Jitters anymore?’ The answer is that three had decided it was best to bow out of playing the monthly engagement because one of the female barristers had become increasingly antagonistic towards the trio. Following her lead, some of the workers had even begun to be unpleasant to the group’s supporters. The undeserved treatment of the band’s friends displeased Lee and George very much, and they felt something had to be done. The store’s management was always cordial to the group, but they were absent on the weekends when the band would perform. Rather than complain (and possibly get the girl reprimanded or worse - fired) the boys decided to quietly ‘dismiss themselves from service’ to pursue greener and more welcome pastures. August 18th marked their final visit, and George Poe Trio was able to graciously end the relationship peacefully and without incident before tensions escalated. Since there was never a formalized agreement between Jitters and GP3, the guys simply just stopped coming. They chose a more centralized location in Humble to make it more convenient to the group’s supporters. A Starbucks Coffee on FM 1960 (dubbed ‘The Lab’ by George) is the new home port for the group.

It’s a very refreshing change as Lee and George are eagerly welcomed by Chip the weekend manager (and his crew). A few handshakes later, the two go into ‘Battle Mode’. Within moments the GP3 calliope is ready to go again. Matthew arrives and already is sampling the coffee delights of the venue even before his bass is out of the car. He notices that Lee has managed to cut his finger on something and is bleeding out like a sieve. George and Matthew consider it a bit of a christening to this new locale. George helps by tying off the bleeding finger with something that looks like a fabric softener sheet -but it works and Lee will survive (at least through the evening).

Randy, Jacob, and Teresa drop by along with her in-laws. Teresa’s visit is significant to George since she was at the very first Nothing Special event nearly a decade ago. For those of you GP3 historians, Nothing Special was the precursor to George Poe Trio. It was started by a singer Todd Gill and George. These two played Houston area retirement homes until Todd was ‘extradited’ back to Louisiana . So in 2004, Matthew joined forces with George to continue the NS legacy. Both played convalescent centers, coffee bars, postal expos, etc. until an unsuspecting Lee saw them one night and asked to join in. Footnote: Nothing Special was pretty much same thing as GP3 just without all of the ‘Bigelow’ on it. The point of all of this is Teresa was there when all of this silliness began. Some say it’s taken her 10+ years to gain the courage to return, but George would like to think that she’s just been really, really busy.

Tonight the guys ease into the groove like the first smooth sip of a warm mocha. Understated elegance of tunes made famous by Gene Kelly, The Platters, Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra resonate off the stone walls of the shop. A soft breeze finds its way down the hill to the patio basin past and envelopes all of the outside patrons. A beautiful evening.

Eileen arrives towards the end of the first set (Robert is away in Lee’s hometown of San Diego at an I.T. conference). By now Teresa’s 7 year-old son, Jacob has been flirting with little girl whose mom finds it endearing. But Teresa’s father-in-law, Steve is hungry and is ready to leave. George promises to play THE BATTLE OF NEW ORLEANS if Teresa will stay. Even though it’s her favorite song, she knows George well enough to know he’s bluffing. They leave as others assume their table.

The trio decides to ‘test drive’ TIME OF THE SEASON by the Zombies. Eileen gives the lukewarm performance an “Eh…not yet” wrinkle of the nose. No problem. The guys press on with a soulful and slightly slower version of SPOOKY by the Atlanta Rhythm Section. This one hits the mark, and they’re back on track.

Becky Sue arrives soon after, and she and Eileen resume their monthly rummy tournament. And even though Robert is nearly 1500 miles away, they still accuse him of cheating. George announces the evening’s trivia question: “The Heather Mills/ Paul McCartney divorce settlement was awarded a few days ago. If Heather Mills was paid for each day of marriage, what would that amount to in American dollars? Think about that as we play a song which was written by Sir Paul for his first wife, Linda” The guys proceed to perform a string-rich version of MY LOVE as ‘contestants’ attempt to work out the solution.

At the conclusion of the number, George shows off a VHS copy of SPICE WORLD. “Gratefully, this is the only movie that the Spice Girls were ever allowed to make that we know of. And it can be yours tonight if you can guess how much was granted to Heather M. in a per day amount over 4 years.” A few feeble guesses later, and George reveals the answer: The equivalent of $93,000.00 US dollars per day or 1.7 billion for a little over 4 years ‘work’. Gasps all around. Then he foolhardily asks: “How much should I have been paid, being married to Sabrina since 1989?” This is a dangerous question since Sabrina and the kids have just arrived and are walking up. “What did he just say about me?” George manages to wiggle out of this precarious spot by answering: “Aw, Come on…you can’t put a price tag on that!” But Sabrina is not satisfied with this contrived reply. She fires back by smugly walking up and placing an odd looking red business card in the tip jar. “This is what it’s worth.” George pulls the card out to see that it’s a Jitter’s Coffee ‘Frequent visitors’ card. The guys laugh – it’s a slam dunk for her.

George’s children, Faith and Joel come in Halloween costumes the family purchased earlier in the day. Joel, age 3, is dressed as X-Man Wolverine; while Faith (7) shows up as the Velveteen Rabbit. George announces that GP3 are avid supporters of the arts, and there is a local artist competing for the band’s tip jar this evening. He brings Faith up to the ‘stage’ and announces she has some of her overpriced drawings for sell, and purchases are likely to go towards a college fund or maybe just a WebKinz doll. [See a rending of George Poe Trio that they were tricked into buying here]

After another set of songs, Matthew’s new feature is showcased: “What in the World Happened Today in History?” segment. He musters his finest oratory voice: “Today marks the release of the 1957 film The Amazing Colossal Man It’s the story in which Lt. Col. Glenn Manning, a soldier in the U.S. Army suffers serious burns over 90% of his body following inadvertent exposure to plutonium radiation from a bomb blast. The radiation causes him to abnormally grow into a 60-foot-tall giant. At this size, his heart is unable to supply sufficient blood to his brain and he gradually goes insane and wreaks havoc in Las Vegas before being cornered by the Army at the Hoover Dam.

“Also on this date, Marie Osmond and Paul Simon were born. We want to honor them both now buy playing two songs – two Paul Simon songs that is. We just couldn’t bring ourselves to play PAPER ROSES.” The band launches into SLIP SLIDDING & AWAY even though they’ve never rehearsed it. Though Lee is apprehensive about it in the beginning, it sounds good. They play the last verse twice as Matt nails the harmony –very nice. This is followed by another Simon hit, STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS.

George’s mother, Mary arrives. His younger brother, Nathan is also down from Austin . George adds to Matthew’s This Date in History announcement: “It’s Nathan’s birthday today!” Matthew asks “Did he write any songs we can play?” “No, but he was born on this day in 1974.” Nathan replies “No I wasn’t.” “You weren’t?” “No, I was born in ’73.” “Are you sure?” “Of course, I’m sure.” “Oh…I’ve thought that for years now you were born in 1974.” “Nope.” “Well, what happened in 1974?” Matthew chimes in “Ed Sullivan died on this date in ’74.” Mary joins in “Your other brother was born in ‘74” “Really? Are you sure?” A resounding “YES” from all involved. George plays HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Nathan who by this point is trying to turn invisible.

The band takes a brief intermission to greet their guests. George starts up some pre-programmed music. Faith and Joel dance spasmodically to the quirky POPCORN song followed by Herb Albert’s A TASTE OF HONEY. Their Uncle Nathan talks to Matthew about conspiracy theories on Austin radio. George apologizes for date of birth mistakes, and decides not to ask to see Nathan’s driver’s license for confirmation.

The trio return from the break playing OVERKILL. Joel has terrorized just about everyone here with his mock-metal alloy adamantium claws and Faith has made a killing of $6.00 on her art. She hands a $1.00 bill to Joel to put in the band’s tip jar - A heart of Gold. Sabrina and kids head out to Denny’s for a dinner with Mary and Nathan. The band plays MARY’S PRAYER and WIND CRIES MARY in honor of George’s mom as she leaves. Sorry, no TAKE FIVE tonight.

The sun has completely gone down now. The coolness of night is setting in. A car alarm horn echoes in the distance, probably from the Deerbrook Oaks strip center across 1960. Matthew and George attempt to match the rhythm and the key. “It’s an Eb I think”. This leads into Matthew leading into a preview of Christmas song parodies that he and George have written. Matthew has changed the lyrics of the Police song ROXANNE into “Santa…You don’t have to put on the Red Suit…” It sounds pretty good considering they haven’t played this in about a year. Next is a new favorite by the group of HOLDING BACK THE YEARS. This leads into an impromptu version of Pink Floyd’s BREATHE from DARK SIDE OF THE MOON. Chris arrives during the song with his barefoot son Xavier. Named after Dr. Xavier of the X-Men comic (It’s a shame he wasn’t here to see Joel as Wolverine).
After the song, Matthew decides to strut his linguistic stuff that would make Gilles Fauconnier proud. He gives a dissertation about the origins of words used in the song: “The lines ‘Strangled by the wishes of Pater, Hoping for the arms of Mater” Pater means "father" in Latin, Greek, and Umbrian and may refer to: Dis Pater, a Roman and Celtic god of the underworld, later subsumed by Pluto or Jupiter. While the term Mater is a formal term for mother, from Latin… blah blah blah. While Lee and George are secretly impressed, this is too good to pass up! Both start to give their theories as to what the lyrics ‘really’ mean. “

Mater is the tow-truck in the Pixar movie CARS . Because he is a tow truck, his surname is TO’Mater, as in Tomato. He is rendered as a 1958 International Harvester tow truck…blah blah blah.” Matthew gets the point – Shut Up and Sing!

Loretta, Cindy, and her mom arrive as the band plays THAT LUCKY OLD SUN (Tim is away tonight painting his son’s room). Cindy requests HONKY TONK WOMAN. This is one of the top 5 songs of all time that features the cowbell. “More cowbell!” yells Chris. “I’ve got a fever and the only cure for it is MORE COWBELL!” That’s all the encouragement Lee needs. Chris requests Frank Sinatra’s COFFEE SONG but Matthew’s mic is not loud enough to deliver the full effect. Chris is pleased even so.

Matthew makes an offhand comment about how Starbucks is named after the character in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. George is dumbfounded to learn this “I didn’t know it was named after the whaler when I read Moby Dick. Are you sure that it’s not named after the character on Battlestar Galactica played by Dirk Benedict?” “You’ve read Moby Dick?” “Yes, why does that surprise you? I read it about six months or so ago.” Matthew is surprised that George has read Moby Dick. George is surprised Matthew has seen the original Battlerstar Galactica. The two look suspiciously at each other and then look away.

The trio starts the final set with THINGS WE SAID TODAY. Despite George’s efforts to encourage them, Lee and Matthew offer the most unenthused band introduction solos of all time – Matt doesn’t even play. George laugh’s it off and the three finish up with HALLELUJIA, I LOVE HER SO straight into WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD. The crowd acknowledges that they’ve had a good evening.

As the guys begin packing up their gear, George is enchanted by the sense of community forming between the group’s supporters. It’s more than just people milling about, there are genuine connections forming. He tells Lee “This is what it’s all about.” This epiphany is interrupted as shouts of “Hey you…Hey guys!” coming from the drive-thru exit area. Matthew is puzzled as he leans towards the open car window. The unknown voice continues “Hey what are you guys doing here?” George and Matthew simultaneously recognize the driver. They look each other then back to the driver. They can not believe there eyes – It’s Frank! The coffee barrister from Jitters! He repeats “What are you guys doing here?” Matthew laughingly replies, “What are WE doing here? We should ask you - What are YOU doing here?” A bewildered George adds “Yeah, Don’t you WORK at a coffee house?” A smiling Frank attempts to defend his hypocrisy, “Yeah, but they closed at 9:00… it’s after 10:00 now.” “Frank, you should have come up. We would have bought your coffee for you.” Frank goes on to say how the female barrister that had given GP3 such problems (who will remain nameless in order to protect her from GP3 fan retaliation), has been fired from Jitters.

As Frank’s car disappears into the darkness Matthew and George are still in disbelief. They return to wrapping up mic cords and eventually meld into the many conversations of the night. It was nice to see Frank – maybe they’ll go back to Jitters some day. Maybe they will…but for now…for now they’ll call this place their home.

(Gig) Master of Your Domain?

George Poe Trio is trying out a new service for booking events. It is an internet based company called GIG MASTERS. The web site boasts of helping over 17,000 professional performers book everything from weddings, corporate events, private parties, cage matches, etc.

Our aim is that new service will be easier for potential customers (or rather, 'POE' -tential Customers) to hire the guys for events. We expect that this will help GP3 too. Hopefully this will put an end to the guys having to decipher smeared writings about gigs on Jack-in-the-Box napkins, the backs of business cards, or Matthew's hand. Although, it likely that Matthew will continue to scribble down info on to his palm - it's a start; and by the way, Matthew has a really large hand (the left one).


Here's the link: http://www.gigmasters.com/jazztrio/GeorgePoeTrio/


For those of you that are too stubborn and/or fear change, the former method will still be available at: http://www.widsonline.com/GP3/Booking.htm

Regards,GP3

Matthew's Top 10 Reasons to Hire GP3 Instead of Buy Halo 3

10. Because GP3 (George Poe Trio) comes before HALO 3 alphabetically

9. George Poe Trio doesn't have a parental advisory

8. No standing in long lines to get a copy of GP3

7. Master Chief doesn't take musical requests no matter how much you ask

6. Try seeing HALO live

5. Who ever heard of "Put some HALO on it!"?

4. GP3 is rendered more life-like (most of the time)

3. Nobody ever died in an internet cafe wearing an adult diaper while listening to GP3 (although there was that lady that had a heart attack after singing with Matthew and George that one time -true story)

2. No Carpal Tunnel Syndrome


And the number 1 reason to see George Poe Trio instead of buying Halo 3…


1."You had me at HALO."

Have a great and prosperous week,
GP3

George Poe Trio Encourages You to Waste Time at Work!

Announcing the GP3 Games Page. For those of you that are hard-core video gamers, you know that today marks the release of the highly anticipated Halo 3 video game. The GP3 marketing team decided that this would be a perfect opportunity to release some crappy little games of their own. In contrast to the high-tech Halo and other games, our games are very Lo-Fi, Compare Here. But they are still a lot of fun and some are quite challenging. Here’s a listing of they’ve put out there for us:

Tic Tac 'Poe'A hilarious game of Tic Tac Toe against Matthew's Evil Twin who uses upright basses instead of O's

Lee's Picture Scramble Game Unscramble pictures just like the retro hand-held plastic square game
George's Memory Game A timed game of skill and concentration using GP3 images

Lee's Hyper Cube This virtual cube puzzle is like a Rubic's Cube on steroids!

GP3 Collage Memory GameTest your memory by revealing the correct squares of the collage

And our personal favorite:Guess Matthew's Social Security Number Guess Matthew's SSN, assume his identity, and tour with GP3

See them all here: GP3 Games Page

There’s no waiting in line, And the best part is that IT’S ALL FREE!
Enjoy,GP3

If the Shoe Fits

Footsies – The Strand, Galveston, TX

To celebrate the anniversary of the opening of Footsies Shoe store, Joyce and JaRue have hired GP3 to perform outside of their store on Galveston Island. This is the trio’s third visit to this location, but the first time for an afternoon session. Previous engagements here have begun around 6:00 PM. and gone a little past 9:00. Today, the boys will play from 3:00 – 7:00, and it’s a scorcher. Lee and George struggle with the little blue tent that the ladies offer. In these conditions the blue tent = life. The Footsies crew keep the guys loaded up on water (probably to avoid a heat-exhaustion law suit from Matthew or George).

Despite the temperature, the band is pleased to be here celebrating with them. At the end of the street, Lee can see a cruise ship docked and loading. This thing is huge! George says that it must be as tall as a six-story building. The three briefly imagine what the music on the cruise must be like. Maybe they have karaoke, a DJ, or someone singing MIDNIGHT AT THE OASIS, or something really special like a husband and wife dressed to the nines in sequins and polyester singing the hits of Captain and Tennille (with a big MUSKRAT LOVE finale). “Those cruises are air-conditioned, right?”

In an unexpected and magnanimous gesture, Lee has brought George a hat for the occasion. George is grateful. This will help to keep the sun out of his eyes, and maybe act as a disguise from…oh, too late...Here comes that woman that IS NOT a groupie or stalker- even though she manages to find them every month. She claims to have just been passing by. But she is not a stalker and definitely not a groupie. Just a coincidence. Serendipity if you will. The guys still do not know this lady’s name, but they have crossed the point of no return to where they can not admit that they don’t know it. So there is a lot of “Oh hey you.” “How are you doing there?” “Hey, now there’s a familiar face”, etc.

It’s 3:00, and the band starts strong. After a few solid faithful songs, George takes the guys ‘off-road’ as he calls it to perform a few outside of the main list. The first is a touching song written by Eric Clapton, TEARS IN HEAVEN. The mark of a good tune is when someone other than the writer can perform it and it stir up similar feelings. That‘s exactly what occurs with this one; even though this is the first time for the trio to play it, the song still carries an emotional impact.

At that moment, an inebriated biker from the biker bar across the street approaches the group and asks about the specials inside. Matthew and George attempt to diplomatically explain that “It’s a shoe store, not a bar.” “They don’t have drinks inside? Is it, like…topless in there or something?” “No,” Matthew replies, “They only have shoes. I mean they only SELL shoes in there-no drinks.” George jumps in “Yeah, fully clothed people selling shoes to other fully clothed people.” The man incredulously looks past the band into the store windows. “Not even Bloody Marys?” “No!” reply the guys in unison. Disappointed, the man wobbles away. They watch as he heads back to the direction of the biker bar (where he was undoubtedly cut off from drinking).

Across the street from Footsies, there is a Segway rental company called Big Hummer.com. Segways are essentially pogo sticks with oversized wheels. They are marketed to people who are either too lazy to walk, or can not afford a seat (making it a moped). This company rents the ‘pogo sticks’ and gives Segway historical guided tours through the streets of Galveston. Today they have many participants eager to explore the area while standing completely stationary.

These ‘Segwaians’ mount their scooters as the trio begins to play the song HOLDING BACK THE YEARS. The riders roll across the street in a perfect line that would please any marching band drum major. But as they whiz by the Footsies’ band stand, a rider falls off, tumbling down at a break neck speed of say 1.6 MPH or so. He crash lands right in front of the band. “Man down! Man down!” yells George into the mic as the song continues to play. “Oooh, not getting the deposit back on that one.” George quickly changes the words of the song from “I’ll keep holding on” to “I can’t Keep holding on” (which is basically all you do on these things). The guys feel that they’re safe from any retribution from this guy since he is either remarkably uncoordinated, or too drunk to stand still on a Segway. Instantly, the entire Segway hive has surrounded the fallen rider, and is attempting to lift him back on to his ‘pogo stick’ without leaving their own sticks. Apparently, these scooters are so valuable that if left unattended even for a few seconds to help a fallen rider, the transport would be in jeopardy of being hi-jacked by a pedestrian looking to upgrade his ‘sidewalk status’ (probably a drunk from the biker bar). As the song ends, the Segway riders buzz away to continue their adventure.

Lee has started to get under the blue tent after every song. This is worth noting because Lee’s occupation (working on roofs in Houston) requires him to be out in the sun quite a bit, but this heat even tests his resolve. During one of his visits under the tent, he notices that the cruise ship is no longer at the dock. It left without a sound, disappearing like some David Copperfield trick. George suggests that maybe it was just a mirage, or a hallucination brought on by the heat.

Speaking of heat, George realizes that due to the left side of his body only being partially covered by the magical blue tent, he now has a sunburn. Now the heat is radiating from outside and within. But his burn is just on the left arm, and on the left side of his face and neck. Good thing he had the hat from Lee or his entire face would be the same color. He wonders if it’s karma for making fun of the uncoordinated Segway rider. Nevertheless, he thinks that he must look like the Two-Face, the villain from the Batman comics. In the end, he chalks it up as an occupational hazard when playing outside.

When GP3 was invited to play this event, Footsies’ owners Joyce and JaRue had asked the trio to perform songs that have a shoe theme. George and Matthew joyously committed to this, before realizing they only knew 3-4 shoe songs. The medley of viable shoe songs that they came up with only included BLUE SUEDE SHOES and THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR WALKIN’. Understanding the basic dynamics of performing, the trio was forced to admit that you can only play these two songs for a limited duration before someone catches on that you’re out of shoe songs.

The solution is song parodies. Matthew and George ‘moonlight’ with a few other guys in a seasonal group known as Camryn Manheim Steamroller. This comedy band performs during the holiday months, and is known for changing classic rock songs into Christmas tunes. George asks Matthew to write some parody songs to accommodate the shoe request. Between the two they come up with ONLY SHOE (Only You by the Platters), YOU WERE ALWAYS ON MY FEET (Always on My Mind-Elvis & Willie Nelson), MY SHOES (My Girl by The Temptations), SHOE SIZE (Blue Skies by Irving Berlin), I LIKE TO WEAR PUMPS (I'll Follow the Sun by The Beatles). And they finish with a special song about Footsies to the tune of TEA FOR TWO. Click here to see the lyrics

As the trio concludes the Footsies tribute, several charter buses arrive across the street and begin unloading passengers. The guys quickly discover that the convention center is hosting a real estate seminar this weekend. The street is filled with salespeople eager to spend their sightseeing money at the strand. George’s mind immediately runs through a mental list of songs that would comically appeal to this new group of listeners. Tunes like PINK HOUSES, OUR HOUSE, HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN, etc. race across his brain. But alas, the boys have done their duty today…he suspects there will be other opportunities. For now the trio settles for ending with the Beatles OH, DARLING dedicated to the ladies of Footsies. The three pound it out with a zeal that would make Sir Paul proud. “Well that certainly was…” Oh wait, that’s not the final song, a lady and friend passing by requests that the guys play “one more little song” so she can dance. Her friend scolds her, and reminds her of how silly she’ll look. “I don’t care!” I want to dance.” Upon hearing this, Matthew and George decide to play one more. Who are they, to deprive this request? The three finish with a swing version of I’M LOOKING THROUGH YOU.

Whew, The guys are tired, but in a good way. They begin break the gear down. Lee and George pause a moment look at the check this time. The bittersweet relationship the two have with the blue tent continues: But being weary from the heat, slippery hands from sweat, and George’s ½ burn, the tent has the advantage. The two struggle to shove it back into the case. They even enlist Matthew’s help this time, to no avail. It’s like trying to shove a polar bear into a file cabinet. “Did the heat make this thing expand? Uugggh!” There it goes!” (Elapsed time: 7 ½ minutes). Lee gratefully returns the tent to the ladies inside. Matthew and George follow. “Hey there’s cake in here!” The three present Joyce and JaRue (and the rest of the crew) an anniversary gift. Pictures are taken, refreshments are offered. Eight to nine cups of lemonade later they say their farewells.

"Thanks for having George Poe Trio, Happy anniversary Footsies".

Handshakes, Ribbons, Warriors, and Cheese

Mall of the Mainland – Texas City, TX

The Texas City/La Marque chamber of commerce has asked the trio to perform at a ribbon-cutting/mixer event. The group is to play inside the Mall of the Mainland in an area that appears to have once been a functioning restaurant. Now the space has been converted for special mall events. Judging by the décor, it looks to have formerly been a Bennigan’s restaurant. All of the signage and artifacts have been removed from the walls and ceiling, but those booths and the bar are unmistakable. George arrives early enough to tour the mall and sets out to learn what he can about the area.

The ‘no-name’ restaurant the guys will be at is directly across from a Tilt arcade game room. The pulsating neon light beckons to him like a siren’s song, and since George has an hour or so to kill, he easily gives in. He meanders around inside a bit, and then he sees it: “Gauntlet Dark Legacy”. It’s a modern version of the Gauntlet video game from the late 80s, in which medieval characters run about in a castle environment hacking up sword wielding skeletons and other undesirables. Not that George was ever really that good at the original game, but much of his courtship to his wife Sabrina took place in front of the game. And in truth, much of their marriage is reflection of how they worked together in the game world. George’s warrior character would unsuspectingly wander into a nest of evil ghouls with glowing red eyes, requiring Sabrina’s elf character to bail him out with her faithful cross-bow. Ah…Good times. The only problem was that the 80s game was programmed to work the players into a frenzy, and then demand more coins to continue or suffer elimination of their fighter, wizard, etc. “Warrior need food badly! Insert more coins NOW for more time!” This version uses the same tactics. Ah…but not today - George smiles as the game pleads with him to shell out more quarters. He ignores it and walks away.

He strolls past the food court, a nail salon, a You-Pick-It You-Paint-It place, a small bookstore. George suspects that one can learn a lot about a community by how much of the magazine rack is devoted to wrestling, tattoo design, or wooden-duck making. After a quick perusal of the periodicals, he determines that the trio is in good company for tonight.

Lee has arrives, and parks beside George’s car. Looking in the vehicle’s windows, he notices that all of piano equipment is still inside, but George is nowhere to be found. Lee has unloaded almost the entire the drum set, when George nearly bumps into him with his Subway sandwich in hand. The two encounter a wonderful man that they’ll be working with named Etienne. He explains that he is the Aesthetic Director of Mall of the Mainland. He is very helpful, though his overuse of the word ‘Fabulous’ secretly has Lee a little uneasy. A flatbed dolly is offered to the two, and they almost finished stacking equipment on it when Matthew appears. The three spend 5 minutes loading the flatbed, only to push it a distance of 45 feet and unload it again because the door is too narrow. (George is already laughing).

The boys set up on the stage – yes, stage (with lights, curtains, etc.) in a Bennigan’s. Their humor is lost on Etienne. He attempts to be accommodating, but it’s a lost cause with these three; Matthew and George inadvertently convince him that there will be a puppet show later, while Lee asks for the hors d'oeuves tables be moved into the band area so they can get started eating before the guests arrive and want some. Bewildered, he brings a white table cloth (for the puppet show) to the guys in time to hear Matthew and George contemplate how much sour cream dip Lee’s small drum tom could hold if turned upside down. GP3 is an A.D.’s albatross. But as odd as these three are, he finds himself endeared to them already, and decides they are, in a word…Fabulous.

As Lee and George continue to set up, Amy, one of the evening’s coordinators arrives to welcome them. She works with Kelly, who saw the trio perform a few weeks before in Galveston. They are excited to have George Poe Trio here, and the trio is excited to play in air-conditioning again.

A few moments after the ladies leave the stage, George gets a call on his cell. “Matthew?” looking around, “Where are you?” “I’m in the bathroom.” “In the bathroom? Is everything alright - are you sick or something?” Matthew replies: “No-no, I’ll tell you later.” “What are you talking about...why are you whispering? Are you sure you’re okay?” “I’m okay, nothing’s wrong…do you know Lee’s cell number?” “Yes, Matthew, I do but…” “Nevermind, nevermind”, . In the time that it takes Matthew to look up Lee’s number and call it, George and Lee discuss what could possibly be going on with Matthew. “Was there a Senator Craig from Idaho in there or something?” “I have no idea what he’s doing, but I’m going to check on him” But before George can make it down the stairs, Lee’s phone rings and the routine begins again. However, Lee finds out a little more than George did. Matthew has found a phone on the lavatory in the men’s room, and is checking to see if it belongs to either of them. Matthew soon discovers that it belongs to one of Etienne’s fabulous workers and the 'crisis' is averted.

It’s almost time to start and the crowd is trickling in now. Matthew has purchased a new mic that is actually designed for the upright bass (see previous blogs). It sounds-Fabulous! Not to be outdone, George has brought a compact keyboard module that allows him to play piano and string sounds (and organs) simultaneously. These modifications to the bass and piano add an entirely new dimension to the group’s sound. Oh, and…uh, Lee’s haircut looks nice too. Though as good as the bass sounds, Matthew is more transfixed on a huge block of cheese that Etienne has placed on a table to the left side of the stage. (Matthew has secretly named the object of his desire ‘Harold’).

The trio quickly launch into the set list. The first tune of the evening is Simply Red’s HOLDING BACK THE YEARS, and with all of the new audio embellishments, it sounds great (or if you prefer, Fabulous). Many compliments are given to the guys, to which they acknowledge with a smile and nod of the head.

The guys burn through the ‘core’ set list. These are the 'primo' songs from George Poe Trio – the cream of the crop. After an hour or so in, a man named Mayer introduces himself to the guys. A very pleasant fellow, who turns out to be the owner of Mall of the Mainland. Matthew quickly picks up on Mayer’s dialect, and the two begin to speak in Farsi to each other. (Dumb looks from George and Lee). Mayer asks if he can use a mic to announce the ribbon cutting. After multiple attempts by Mayer to mobilize the crowd to go outside for the photo-op, Matthew clears the room when he threatens to lead a group prayer with anyone who stays behind.

Once everyone’s out of the main area, the guys descend on the food tables. But all of the plates are gone!!! Where’s Etienne??? Matthew has made contact with Harold, the giant block of cheese and it was worth the wait. George and Lee are feeding on two different types of chocolate cake. The threesome are good to play for a few more hours now; and just in time, as the chamber members are headed back in. George offers up a jazzy rendition of I’M LOOKING THROUGH YOU, followed up by the debut a number of new songs to their repertoire including the HONKY TONK WOMAN, MAGARITTAVILLE, and others.

Then an elderly couple approach Lee and George. They request that the band play a cha-cha for them to dance to. Not having anything that resembles a cha-cha beat song but wanting to please, Lee and George heartily agree to do one. “Just put down a cha-cha beat, and Matthew and I will lay something on it.” says George. So Lee starts it up, a few measures in, George begins singing I’LL FOLLOW THE SUN. And to George's surprise it works! The trio cha-cha these two sweethearts ‘till the couple is worn out. Everyone enjoys it; these two lovebirds steal the show with their charm for each other.

A young man asks if the band can play the Randy Newman song YOU GOT A FRIEND IN ME. George and Matthew are astonished that they actually have a relatively obscure song like this in the songbook. It's a great tune, in fact Newman received an academy award nomination for it back in 1995. It's just a shock that a gen x'er would ask for this. Matthew and George look to see if Lee is pranking them. He's not - and the tune comes off flawlessly. Matthew suggests the trio ‘slow things down a bit’ and play the ‘Men at Work song’. At which the band unloads a stellar version of OVERKILL which is arguably the finest song of the evening, (Matthew’s harmony is second to none).

A few up tempo songs later, Kelly and Amy thank the trio, and the evening closes with a soulful version of Eric Clapton’s song WONDERFUL TONIGHT. As the area empties out, tables are bussed by Etienne’s fabulous crew, mic and speaker cables are wrapped, and the only thing left to say is…”Warriors need food badly.”

For Whom the (Cow) Bell Tolls

The Strand - Galveston , TX

The ‘three amigos’ head back to Footsies on the Strand in Galveston . Tired of stuffing themselves in to the floorboard of Lee’s truck for the out-of-town events, Matthew and George borrow a mini-van. As the two head to the beltway, George is doing his best to tease Matthew about his use of the word Reckon’. “What are you, one of the Cartwrights or something?” Matthew puts his Phillip Yancey book down just in time to see something in the road. The exchange goes something like this: “What’s that in the road?” “Where?” “Right there… it looks like a…oooh.” Insert sound efx of a purple mini-van going over the top of a slow moving turtle. “…it is…rather, it was a turtle.” George is really disturbed about running over the little creature since he had two smaller turtles as a boy (named Donny and J.J.) “Do you think he’s okay?” “Nope – I reckon not.” They hope this is not an omen for how the rest of the day is going to be.

Meanwhile across town, Lee is listening to STAND UP, the second album by Jethro Tull. It’s his only solace since he’s found himself trapped in a Saturday afternoon traffic jam. His truck is crawling along at a turtle’s pace (pun intended) covering about 10 miles per hour. He calls George and Matthew to warn them of the delay. Matthew thanks him and takes a jab back at George : “Let us know if you run into anything else, like a turtle or something.” George remembers his pets from long ago.

An hour or so later, Lee arrives at the bandstand outside of Footsies shoe store. JaRue offers the tent awning and Lee goes into set-up mode. Matthew and George arrive a bit later and unload as well. After the equipment is unloaded the van is moved to park. But George can not find a place to park. He discovers that the great ‘up close’ parking spot that he was so proud of last visit is actually reserved for the horse-drawn carriage services. He had unknowingly parked there illegally. It’s remarkable that he managed to avoid getting fined. He circles the Strand several times looking for a spot. Each time he passes Footsies he waves to Lee and Matthew at the bandstand.

It’s been 10 minutes or so since the last ‘ George sighting’ so Lee decides to check on him by calling George ’s cell phone. George has finally found a place to park and is walking back to Lee and Matthew at the bandstand. But Matthew has abandoned Lee for a restaurant around the corner selling gyros. Matthew gets a call from an old friend in New York . By this time George is considering taking a ride on the next horse drawn carriage that passes by; but apparently even they don’t come this far out.

George makes it back to the band’s just in time to start. The trio burn through a couple of Sinatra and Nat King Cole tunes when they are approached by a couple eager to know more about the group. They introduce themselves as Kelly and husband Bob. She mentions that she’s interested in having the trio perform at the Mall of the Mainland in a couple of weeks. She names a price and Matthew quickly accepts on behalf of the band. The group quickly slides into something of a Marx Brothers routine, but Kelly doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, she joins in a bit to ridicule Bob’s haircut. She and George exchange information. As they leave, the boys strike up BEYOND THE SEA as a tribute to the Mall of the Mainland opportunity that is…well, you know…beyond the sea (or Gulf).

Now it’s not uncommon for the people passing by to request a song from the band. But it is uncommon for the request to be a Kiss song. Ah, but the requestor (who was half-joking) is surprised when Matthew begins singing the opening lines to Beth. It’s an unexpected move, but it pays off and the man is pleased.

Matthew has begun to think about whether or not he may have jumped the gun in accepting Kelly’s amount to play the chamber event. He asks Lee and George “Did I accept too low of an amount for the Mainland thing? I mean, I know that normally we charge $__ and I was quick to settle for $__. Was that wrong?” He has said this to the guys, but he has spoken directly into the microphone for the entire block to hear. Lee and George quickly attempt explain to Matthew how a microphone works, and that “EVERYONE CAN HEAR YOU!”

Scene: Matthew is a defense attorney on a murder case. The defendant leans over to whisper to Matthew who is seated beside him at the table. “I did it.” “What?” “…I did it.” Matthew responds in a louder voice: “You killed them?” Louder for the courtroom to hear: “Are you saying that you killed him?” The Judge: “Mr. Stephens, please approach the bench.” “You Honor? Ooohhh…” To the defendant: “Uh, sorry.”

But Matthew quickly redeems himself with a peppy rendition of the Beatles’ song OLD BROWN SHOE – it’s the best version he’s ever sung of it and Lee and George are quick to forgive. At this point the band’s Galveston stalker/groupie arrives. No one really knows her name, but she remembers them. Lee finds it interesting how the trio is beginning to be recognized in these parts. Playing here each month is beginning to create a base, and dare say, a following?

As night begins to fall, the guys slowly begin to realize that the outside lights are not coming on as they did last month. This is an important factor because Matthew and George need to read the music. They share a oversized notebook containing 100+ songs. Using the music instead of memorizing the cords allows for more songs to be added to the repertoire and more quickly. Matthew and George joke about getting coal miner helmets with lights for the next visit. Lee is unaffected since he can’t see much of anything anyway. Ah, but wait, George finds a small book light that he mounts to the music stand. It doesn’t offer much light, but it is enough to see about ½ the page. As a result, the trio is forced to play long musical interludes during the middle of the songs as Matthew slides the light over to the other page of music. No one seems to notice. Or maybe it’s too dark to tell if they notice or not.

A husband of one of the shoe stores patrons requests that the guys play a Billy Joel song. So the boys play SHE’S GOT A WAY. He asks for another, and then another. George and the guys play NEW YORK STATE OF MIND, PIANO MAN, etc. They play their hearts out and this cheapskate doesn’t even give tip. George secretly vows to watch out for this guy in the future, but soon realizes all that he can see is a silhouette in the darkness - and could be anyone, so he relinquishes his grudge, determined to save his grudge energies on a more realistic goal.

George starts playing the Buck Owens song ACT NATURALLY. Foot Note: Lee secretly doesn’t like this tune. Mainly because Matthew and George do a kinda hoedown version which doesn’t leave Lee very much to do percussion-wise. That is until tonight! Earlier in the week Lee purchased a new cow bell and wood block. Foot Note to the Foot Note: All drummers are prone to try and build the perfect drum set – It doesn’t matter if they’re young or old, they’re always buying new gear. The truth is that the perfect drum kit doesn’t exist (much like the Holy Grail) but they are constantly buying trinkets, replacing toms, etc. –whatever keeps them happy.

Anyway, Lee starts playing the cowbell and wood block, and REALLLLLLLY overplays it. The sound is so comical that George gets to laughing – It sounds like sound effects track you’d expect to hear in a Hanna-Barbara cartoon. When Lee realizes that he has struck comedy gold, he lays it on more. Now George is laughing so hard he can’t even sing on some of the verses; and what he does manage to get out wouldn’t qualify as true singing. It’s as if Lee has found a string connected to the back of George ’s neck that makes him laugh when it’s pulled . And he keeps pulling it, and pulling it, and pulling…Matthew wonders why George just doesn’t end the song, but for some reason George is determined to finish. Tunky-clip clik Tunky-Tunk-Tee chikiliggle … George can’t stand it! His eyes are filled with tears from laughing so hard, he is not so much as playing the piano as it is holding him up off of the ground at this point. Tee chikiliggle clip-clob clik – It sounds so ridiculous!

It’s finally over. George ’s sides are aching now. Lee is feeling very satisfied, for he is often the one struggling to maintain his composure against the wiles of George and Matthew. There is nothing better than out-pranking a prankster. And Lee has earned his merit badge tonight!
The band is introduced during an extended version of BROWN-EYED GIRL in which passer-bys across the street are dancing. So George introduces them too, and in doing so shifts the focus to them. The two women dance about a bit to the delight of the crowd.

The final song of the evening is the Louis Armstrong classic, WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD. “Thank you Galveston , and many thanks to our hosts at Footsies”

The tiny light over the song notebook is clicked off, and the guys start packing it in. George begins the long trek to the van. Still in the afterglow of the performance, he chuckles a bit as remembers Lee’s cow bell and wood block solos. As he’s humming the chorus of WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD, he turns and looks back at Lee and Matthew…and thinks “…You know, sometimes it really is wonderful (turtles and all)”.