On the evening of April 19th a number of folks gathered around food and fundraising for the SANDS organization (Sportsmen Assisting the Nation’s Disabled Sportsmen).  My good friend Dave Burgess (SANDS president) planned the event to bring participants and supporters of SANDS together to celebrate the on-going efforts of the volunteers, donors and directors to enable those who need assistance to get out fishing, hunting and other outdoor activities.  We were treated to a show of fancy roping, had opportunity to make silent bids on many donated items and also bid during a live auction conducted by Auction Solutions Inc.  The NE Game & Parks was represented as well as Whitetails Unlimited.  I was asked to provide a portable sound system to facilitate the announcements and auction – which I was glad to do.  It’s trying to be Spring so let’s all think about getting out of our enclosures and spending more time out in God’s creation – and not forget those who can’t just walk out by themselves.

This past Saturday Gator O’Malley’s was once again host to the 16th annual AquarianFest.  This long running tradition is largely spearheaded here in Omaha by AquarianFest Formenter Ron Green who developed the event out of an acoustic jam.  Several individuals, duos and bands play popular tunes mostly from the 60s to the 80s that you would have heard at concerts, love fests and such, and spinning your 45s or 33s (yeh, you know – vinyl).  Eric Johnson (who keeps the website and promotion materials updated) and his wife Denise come back each year from the Chicago area to reunite the Fishippies for their performance in the lineup which included Tom & Toni Allen, Mike Brock, The Bishops, Terry Little, 37 Years with Kyle Knapp, and Blues Agent.  John Green (The Bishops) provided most of the sound gear and Tesco Productions added a few other items needed while I did my best to mix an enjoyable house show.  So from the days of the hippies to 2013 the quest for love and peace continues.  Can a flower in our hair get us there?

This Side of Sunday recorded their first CD at Tesco Productions in late 2010 debuting as Crazy World.  The group has seen a lot of mileage, both from the CD and on the road since that time, and it’s time to start working on some new material so a single is being recorded for now.  Scheduling the band members and working around the holidays and flu has made the process kind of slow.  The group consists of three new members and so their sound has changed some but the core essence is still there.  Kristin Riche is laying in a nice vocal line for the song, while her husband Chad is playing out the low end on electric bass.  Keith Wilson – a long time friend of Tesco Productions and musician extraordinaire – has joined in on dobro and acoustic.  We’re putting the newly acquired mics and pre-amps to work and definitely appreciating the enhanced sounds.  There’s some pics up in our photo gallery of their session.