The Vault and the Clubhouse

The picture is actually of me a couple Tuesday nights ago at Locked & Loaded Grille.

In late 2003, when I tended to stay home with the "woe is me" syndrome, a neighbor of mine from Alabama used to come over and we'd exchange war stories about playing in rock bands. I saw a video of his and he heard a cassette tape of one of mine, saying, "Is that really you?" Come to thinki of it, when I saw the hair on the drummer, I said the same to HIM. He is now bald.
My OTHER neighbor and I frequented a restaurant at the time called O'Brian's. There was this delightful little waitress there who said she was starting up a band.
One night they showed up at this little dive called Loop Road Bar, which was the very first place I ever sang karaoke. It was this little waitress and an older guy who looked as though he'd found her and said, "Stick with me, Kid, and I'll make you a star." He was a legend at least in his own mind and she could sing and was learning bass, but hadn't quite synchronized them yet. She looked way younger than him, let me tell ya.
So last night, wanting some nourishment, I slipped over to Locked & Loaded and they had the thirty-five cent wings. That and a salad is a MEAL!. So I'm socializing and munching and doing a little flirting when I notice with woman with camo pants lugging in a lot of equipment...I mean a lot. Even more than the room would ever need. I commented that all I ever got from my wife at the time was, "Is that band playing AGAIN!?" when we had Parusia.
A band called "The Vault" was scheduled to play and I really didn't want my ear drums blown away, so the plan was to eat and skeedoo on home. Then I got a call from a friend to come to some place where there was karaoke, so I changed my plans. On my way to the men's room I asked the woman setting up, "Didn't you used to work at a restaurant on 64?" It was, indeed her, so I stayed around long enough to catch part of the first song, which was a cover of the Black Crowe's "Hard to Handle." Needless to say, the synchronisity has kicked in and the gal has learned to chew gum and walk er uh, play and sing at the same time and quite well, I might add.
But as it will always be, when faced with either singing or being sung at, I'll take the chance to sing EVERY TIME!
So off I go to the 40/42 area of "Garner" near the Cleveland School area to find this place "behind the Food Lion." I made one sweep through quite literally, behind it and swung around, fired up the cell phone and called Tim and Lisa back. Again, he said,"Behind the Food Lion." As I was about to ask which way to turn on this little road that runs behind there, Tim said he'd be in the parking lot waving his hands. I looked straight forward and there he was.
The place is called "The Clubhouse" and karaoke was set up at the front door. There was a short list and I put in a song, starting with Elvis' "Kentucky Rain," then the Doors' "Roadhouse Blues" a duet with Lisa from Kenny Rogers and Dottie West called "Every Time Two Fools Collide" then, back to Elvis with "In the Ghetto" and I closed out the show with "Break on Through to the Other Side" by the Doors.
It was good to hang out with Tim and Lisa and turned out that national whoops day, which WOULD have been my thirty third anniversary, was Tim and Lisa's fifth anniversary.
Today, which would have been my Mom's eighty-nineth birthday, their little Grandson will be Christened.
So now, I've found a Saturday night karaoke venue! Yay!
On the way home, I ducked into Locked & Loaded and the band was still rockin' their final song.