Mike Starcher – Drivin' It!

Hi gang!

I just checked and…yep, it’s still winter! It was warm and toasty at Tuesday’s Cleveland Music Club jam night though, thanks to guest hosts G.S. Harper and Kevin Fancher, Ron ‘Papa J’ Jackson, Bob Laeng, John Kerver, Don Lydon, Dan Elliott, Greg McGill, Bob DeVries and John Yonkey, Joe, Michelle, Vern, the Dancing Marilyns, our awesome bartender Meg and the rest of the die hard ‘Frog faithful. Our sponsor each week is Dirty Town Guitar and Amps. Congrats to prize winner John Kerver! Mega-thanks to everyone who came out to host, play or hang out!

At Saturday’s Shady Drive appearance at the Fairview Tavern the house was rockin’ with Lisa, Joe and Lisa’s Mom and Dad, Ken (feel better soon, Sandy!), Jeff, Bob, Gerald, Tricia, Vern and the Tavern gang. We dusted off some tunes we hadn’t played in quite a while and busted out a few of the original tunes from our upcoming CD. We had a great time and hope you all did too!

Coming up this week…

The Cleveland Music Club Jam happens every Tuesday at Bullfrog’s Sports Cafe (33137 Center Ridge Rd., N. Ridgeville, 8:30 – 12:30) This week’s guest hosts are Rob ‘Shady’ Hayes and Kevin “Hollywood” Fancher. Our sponsor each week is Dirty Town Guitar and Amps. Full backline (two guitar amps, bass amp, Sonor drums, Alesis QS6 keyboard and PA) is provided, so bring your favorite axe, sticks or just your party attitude and dancin’ shoes and come join the fun!

On Friday Shady Drive will head to The Upper Deck (375 W. Bagley Rd., Berea, 9pm – 1am) for our monthly appearance there. Great food, great service and a very comfy room with plenty of parking are the order of the day at Upper Deck. C’mon out and party with us this Friday night!

Saturday will find Shady Drive back at The Bier Haus (17692 Pearl Rd., Strongsville, 8:30pm – Midnight). The food there is amazing and they feature dozens of craft beers. Not to mention that Bob, Michelle and staff rock the house in their own right with service that can’t be beat. Come join us! You’ll be glad you did!

That’s it for this week! We’ll talk soon…

Mike :c)

Hi gang!

Is it spring yet? I’m ready for it, and I’m sure you are too. :c) This past week, we did our best to make winter a little more bearable. The CMC Jam on Tuesday night featured guest hosts Brian ‘Jimi’ Davidson and Bill March, sponsor Dirty Town Guitar and Amps, jammers John Kerver, Greg McGill, Bob Laeng, Hichem Ferrah, Mal Mapes, Luke Pernici, Kevin “Hollywood” Fancher, Alyssa Chace, Tim Hayden, Dan Elliott, Don Lydon, Eric, Marco, Mark, Joe S., The Cottom Catz (Mike Cottom, Mike Cottom, Chloe Cottom) and Corey Basco. Hanging out and enjoying all the fine music were Victoria, Vern, Katy, Jacqueline, John, Martha, the Dancing Marilyns and the rest of the “Frog” faithful. Congratulations to drawing winners Luke Pernici and Mike Cottom and thanks to ALL of you for coming out!

On to Saturday night and Shady Drive’s show at 42 Eighty. We had a blast partying the night away with Karen, Paul, Steve, George, Tammie, Rachel, Tony, Dave, Tommy, Kathleen, Dave and all of the 42 Eighty gang! We’ll be back there on March 1.

Coming up this week…

The Cleveland Music Club Jam happens every Tuesday at Bullfrog’s Sports Cafe (33137 Center Ridge Rd., N. Ridgeville, 8:30 – 12:30) This week’s guest hosts are G.S. Harper and Kevin “Hollywood” Fancher. Our sponsor each week is Dirty Town Guitar and Amps. Full backline (two guitar amps, bass amp, Sonor drums, Alesis QS6 keyboard and PA) is provided, so bring your favorite axe, sticks or just your party attitude and dancin’ shoes and come join the fun!

On Saturday, Shady Drive takes a break from recording our CD to head out to the fabulous Fairview Tavern (21867 Lorain Rd., Fairview Park, 9:30pm – 1:30am) for our monthly appearance there. Come party with us and enjoy one of the Tavern’s delicious dishes (try the $10 strip steak special!) and some frosty cold beverages while we play your favorite classic rock and blues tunes!

That’s all for this week. We’ll talk soon…

Mike :c)

Hi gang!

Last week’s Tuesday night CMC Jam at Bullfrog’s was fun, in spite of a weather-induced light crowd. Braving the elements to join me and hosts Uncle Steve Smith and Drew Doman were jammers Dale Bally, Insomniac Joe, Doug Bowen, Ron ‘Papa J’ Jackson, Sammy Free, Mike Bally, Greg McGill, Don Lydon, Dan Elliott, Tom King, Hayden Frosti, and Bob Laeng, and our music loving friends Joe, Michelle, Ted, Vince, Cheryl, Vern, Alyssa, Effie, the Dancing Marilyns and the rest of the ‘Frog faithful. Thank to all of you and to our good friends at Dirty Town Guitar and Amps for their continued support of CMC Jam and other events around town.

Friday night’s weather wasn’t ideal either, but Shady Drive’s Aces show was a blast with Sandy, Ken, Kelly, Drew, Kevin, Marsha, Robin, Ellen and the Aces gang. Extra props to Brett for a great job on the sound board. :c)

Coming up this week…

The Cleveland Music Club Jam happens every Tuesday at Bullfrog’s Sports Cafe (33137 Center Ridge Rd., N. Ridgeville, 8:30 – 12:30) This week’s guest hosts are Brian ‘Jimi’ Davidson and Bill March. Our sponsor each week is Dirty Town Guitar and Amps. Full backline (two guitar amps, bass amp, Sonor drums, Alesis QS6 keyboard and PA) is provided, so bring your favorite axe, sticks or just your party attitude and dancin’ shoes and come join the fun!

Shady Drive is off this Friday, but on Saturday we’ll head out to Brunswick for our monthly appearance at 42 Eighty Food and Drink (4280 Shenandoah Pkwy, Brunswick, 9:30pm – 1:30am) for a rockin’ and rollin’ good time with the 42 Eighty gang…and YOU! Great food, awesome service, frosty cold beverages and 4 hours of your favorite classic rock and blues tunes by Shady Drive is the perfect way to kick off February and chase away the winter blahs! Don’t miss it! :c)

That’s all for this week! We’ll talk soon…

Mike :c)

Hi gang!

When Tuesday’s CMC Jam at Bullfrog’s rolled around this week, I was in Chicago. Erika tells me I missed a great time! Many, many thanks to ‘Furious’ George Hartwig, Gary ‘G Rock’ Stulak and Jon ‘JD’ Darling for guest hosting! Thanks also to Dirty Town Guitar and Amps for being our long time loyal sponsor. Congrats to prize winners Greg McGill, Russell Pace and Luke Pernici. Stopping by this week to make some music for us were John Kerver, Scott Urbas, Tim Warren, Joey Samide, Jimmy Deamiches, Mike Cottom, Russell Pace, Luke Pernici, Tom King, Jason Neitenbach, Gregory McGill, Mike Cottom, Don Lydon, Aimee Bellinger, Katyana Speckman, Joan Skelly-Watts, Patricia Reiter and Jason. Thanks for the great tunes! Just hanging out and having fun were Karen, Vern, John, Ron, Effie, Lisa, Amanda, Mark, Joe S., Pamela, Aron, Nancy, Jacquie, John K., Insomniac Joe, Peanuts, the Dancing Marilyns and the rest of the ‘Frog faithful. Thanks for coming out to help support all of the talent each week!

I was back in town in plenty of time for Friday’s Shady Drive show at Bullfrog’s. It was great to see Lisa, Joe (and their posse), Jacquie, John, Hichem, Don, Tricia, Gerald, Danny, John and Ron out to party with us and kick off the weekend. We’ll head back to Bullfrog’s on March 7.

On Saturday night, Shady Drive’s appearance at The Bier Haus was a blast as always with Sue, Jen, Jeremy, Laura, Gary, Merle, Eddie (who also brought his Mom and Dad) and the rest of the gang rockin’ the ‘Haus’ with us until well after Midnight! We’re back at the Bier Haus on February 15.

Coming up this week…

The Cleveland Music Club Jam happens every Tuesday at Bullfrog’s Sports Cafe (33137 Center Ridge Rd., N. Ridgeville, 8:30 – 12:30) This week’s guest hosts are Drew Doman and ‘Uncle’ Steve Smith. Our sponsor each week is Dirty Town Guitar and Amps. Full backline (two guitar amps, bass amp, Sonor drums, Alesis QS6 keyboard and PA) is provided, so bring your favorite axe, sticks or just your party attitude and dancin’ shoes and come join the fun!

On Friday, Shady Drive will cruise out to Aces Grille (32650 Lorain Rd., North Ridgeville, 10pm – 1:30am) for our first appearance there since 2008! The food is great and so is the service. Add Shady Drive playing your favorite blues and rock tunes all night and you’ve got a party! Let’s rock! :c)

Shady Drive is off this Saturday night due to a club’s booking error, but there are plenty of bands playing around the area. Go see one (or more) and support live music in Cleveland!

That’s all for this week! We’ll talk soon…

Mike :c)

Hi gang!

Tuesday’s CMC Jam Night marked the first of 2014 and our first back at Bullfrog’s. Big thanks to Bob Laeng, John Kerver, Don Lydon, Dan Elliott, Bob DeVries, Steve Kittel SR., Steve Kittel JR., Ming, Rob Hill, Dave Deitke, Hayden Frosti, Russell Pace, Greg McGill, Katyana Speckman, Blake Kniola, Lisa, Joe, Michelle, Vern, Pamela, Erin, Kaitlyn, Ted, Katie, Effie, Justin, the Dancing Marilyns and the Bullfrog’s faithful who braved the cold to make music and hang out with us! Thanks also to Dirty Town Guitar and Amps for sponsoring us each week and to G.S. Harper and Kevin Fancher for hosting.

Friday’s Shady Drive show at Upper Deck was a fun time with Sandy, Ken, Michelle, Joe, Dave, Tricia, Gerald, Debbie, Darrin, Amanda, Bub, Jason, Jimmy, Aron, Jeff, Andrew and the ‘Deck’ gang! Thanks for coming out to party with us! We’re back there on February 14.

On Saturday, the Fairview Tavern was rockin’ with Sandy, Randy, Marilyn, Vern, Jen, Rob, Katy, Mary, Jon, Gerald and the Tavern gang all in attendance right up until our last note was played at 1:30am. We had a great time and hope you did too! We’ll appear there next on February 8.

Coming up this week…

The CMC Jam happens every Tuesday at Bullfrog’s Sports Cafe (33137 Center Ridge Rd., N. Ridgeville, 8:30 – 12:30) This week’s guest hosts are ‘Furious’ George Hartwig, Gary ‘G Rock’ Stulak and special guest, Jon ‘JD’ Darling on drums. Our sponsor each week is Dirty Town Guitar and Amps. Full backline (two guitar amps, bass amp, Sonor drums, Alesis QS6 keyboard and PA) is provided, so bring your favorite axe, sticks or just your party attitude and dancin’ shoes and come join the fun!

On Friday, Shady Drive heads out to Bullfrog’s Sports Cafe (33137 Center Ridge Rd., N. Ridgeville, 9pm – 1am) to kick off the weekend! Bullfrog’s is a great room with a spacious dance floor. They feature 30 beers on tap, friendly service and a menu full of yummy things for your tummy!

Saturday will find Shady Drive back at The Bier Haus (17692 Pearl Rd., Strongsville, 8:30pm – Midnight). The food there is amazing and they feature dozens of craft beers. Not to mention that Bob, Michelle and staff rock the house in their own right with service that can’t be beat. Come join us! You’ll be glad you did!

That’s all for this week! We’ll talk soon…

Mike :c)

Hi gang!

Apologies that this is late! I hope you’re all staying warm during this cold spell. :c)

Last Friday’s Shady Drive Unplugged show at The Blue Turtle was a blast, thanks to Sandy, Ken, Bob, Silas, Danielle, Mary, Jon, Katy, Marilyn, Vern, Peanuts and everyone who came to hang out and party with us. We’ll be bringing the Shady Drive Unplugged show back to the Blue Turtle real soon!

Coming up this week…

We’re back! The CMC Jam resumes tonight at Bullfrog’s Sports Cafe (33137 Center Ridge Rd., N. Ridgeville, 8:30 – 12:30) Our guest hosts are G.S. Harper and Kevin Fancher and sponsoring each week is Dirty Town Guitar and Amps. Full backline (two guitar amps, bass amp, Sonor drums, Alesis QS6 keyboard and PA) is provided, so bring your favorite axe, sticks or just your party attitude and dancin’ shoes and come join the fun!

On Friday Shady Drive will head to The Upper Deck (375 W. Bagley Rd., Berea, 9pm – 1am) for our first appearance there in 2014. Great food, great service and a very comfy room with plenty of parking are the order of the day at Upper Deck. C’mon out and party with us this Friday night!

Saturday will find Shady Drive back at the fabulous Fairview Tavern (21867 Lorain Rd., Fairview Park, 9:30pm-1:30am) for our monthly appearance there. Come party with us and enjoy one of the Tavern’s delicious dishes (try the $10 strip steak special!) and some frosty cold beverages while we play your favorite classic rock and blues tunes!

That’s it for this week! We’ll talk soon…

Mike :c)

Hi gang!

Wow! What a great turnout for our show at Vosh on Friday night! It’s always fun when Chris Hanna joins us on keys and the North Coast Horns (Al, Darrin and Mark) are on board. But seeing Dan E., Marilyn K., Cathy A., Dave, Nancy Y., Katy P., Mary, Jon and Brian F., Effie, Erika and Don L., Eric, Linda, Chris and Daryl S., Dave S., Gerald H. and Tricia out for our debut at Vosh made it just that much better. Our thanks to everyone who came out for helping to make our first show at Vosh a success!

Coming up this week…

Happy New Year!

After you’ve rung in the New Year and had some time to recover, c’mon out to The Blue Turtle Tavern (29352 Lorain Rd., N. Olmsted, 9pm – 1am) this Friday night as we unveil yet another configuation of Shady Drive, the “unplugged” version. We’ve been playing certain private events as an acoustic trio for some time now and the Turtle is the perfect venue for rolling it out in a public show. OSU will be playing Clemson in the Orange Bowl at 8pm that night, so we’ll play a bit at halftime and then crank out the tunes after the game is over. The food is delicious, the drinks are frosty, the Buckeyes are on TV and Shady Drive Unplugged is rolling out in public for the first time! Come join us!

On Saturday, Erika and I are headed to the Cleveland House of Blues for the annual Wish You Were Here Holiday show. If you haven’t seen this band, you’re missing an amazing experience. Get your tickets now!

That’s all for this week! We’ll talk soon….

Mike :c)

Hi gang!

Friday night’s Shady Drive show at Sassy’s didn’t break any attendance records, but we sure raised the bar on fun. Thanks to Lisa, Joe and their posse for coming out to party with us. Extra special thanks to Rachel for taking such great care of us! Rachel, you need to come out of that kitchen more often! We’re back at Sassy’s on February 21.

On Saturday, Shady Drive headed to The Bier Haus for our monthly appearance there. We had a great night rockin’ the ‘Haus’ with Chris, Daryl, Erika, Sandy, Ken and their gang, Sue, Martin and THEIR gang, Donna, Pat and all the rest of the Bier Haus gang! Fun times! We head back to The Bier Haus next on January 18.

Coming up this week…

Okay gang, this is it. This is your last chance to see Shady Drive in 2013, and it’s gonna be a blast! This Friday, December 27th, Shady Drive will debut at Vosh (1414 Riverside Dr., Lakewood, 9pm – 1am), Cleveland’s newest night club! If that’s not enough, we’re taking along keyboard wizard Chris Hanna and the fabulous North Coast Horns! Make plans now to come out and party with us one last time in 2013 as we light up the dance floor at Vosh!

That’s all for this week! We’ll talk soon…

Mike :c)

Hi gang!

Our last Tuesday jam at Doc and Louie’s was a magical evening. It was great to see so many of Cleveland’s finest musicians turn out to wish Doc well. Doc, I can’t thank you enough for giving the CMC Jam a home and also for providing a great venue for live music for over 18 years. We know you’ll be back before long. :c) Thanks also to all of the co-hosts, jammers and music lovers who made it a night to remember, including Drew Doman, Uncle Steve Smith, Hayden Frosti, Bob Laeng, Luke Pernici, Scott Urbas, Russell Pace, John Kerver, Tim Hamman, Jim Belanger, Jaime Flores, Patricia Reiter, Katy Speckman, Carla Funk, Ray Varga, Lenna Pauley, Brent Lane, Jay Smith, Blake Kniola, Kevin Fancher, Rich Gross, Efrain Hernandez, Tom King, Greg McGill, Rick Strah, Sean Cortimilia, Greg Lapsevich, Mike Binder, Priscilla Zietlow, John Horvath, Ken Porter, Dave Deitke, G.S. Harper, George Hartwig, Gary Stulak, Dick, Kaitlyn, Joey, Dan, Ro, Ron, Lisa, Cathy, Jimmy, Wes, Karen, Alyssa, Vern, Joe S., Amanda, Jason, Joe D., Brian, Tony, Bill, Rob, Heidi, Gerald, Pam, Mark, Mark P., Peanuts, Dancin’ Tommy, the Dancing Marilyns and the rest of Doc’s patrons.

Next, Shady Drive played a private event on Thursday evening. Our most sincere thanks to Theresia and her staff for making it a show we look forward to every year! :c)

On to the weekend, when Shady Drive appeared at 42Eighty (Friday) and the Fairview Tavern (Saturday)! The weekend’s weather seemed to keep a lot of folks home, but it was great to see Janet, Bob, Dale, Katy, Laura, Gary, Merle, George, Vern, Missy, Josh, Jim, Sandy, Randy and Gerald! Thanks to all of you for braving the storm to come out and see us!

Coming up this week…

The CMC Tuesday Jam is off until January 7 for the holidays and to get situated in our new home at Bullfrog’s. We hope to see you all out for our first night there!

This Friday, Shady Drive will head south and east to appear at Sassy’s Bar and Grill (10755 Ravenna Rd., Twinsburg, 9pm – 1am). This is a great venue and the staff is super fast and friendly. C’mon out and join us for an evening of blues and classic rock played the Shady Drive way!

On Saturday, we head back to the west side for Shady Drive’s monthly appearance at The Bier Haus (17692 Pearl Rd., Strongsville, 8:30pm – Midnight). The food there is amazing and they feature dozens of craft beers. Not to mention that Bob, Michelle and staff rock the house in their own right with service that can’t be beat. Come join us! You’ll be glad you did!

That’s all for this week! We’ll talk soon…

Mike :c)

Hi gang!

Last week’s CMC Jam at Doc and Louie’s was loads of fun, thanks to guest hosts G.S. Harper and Kevin Fancher; sponsor Dirty Town Guitar and Amps (congrats to this week’s prize winner Tom King); music makers Bob Laeng, Dave Poirier, Hayden Frosti, T.J. Plechaty, Jim Monica, Joey Samide, Hichem Ferrah, Joan (fiddle), Sammy Free, Tim Hamman, Tom King, Don Lydon, Dan Elliott, Greg McGill, Jeff, Dave and Brent and all of Doc’s music loving patrons, including Cheri, Jimmy, Amanda, Pattie, Alyssa, Mark, Dave, Vern, Susan, Barb, Bob, Effie, Heide, Eric, Peanuts and the Dancing Marilyns. Finally, thank you to Sherri and Doc for keeping the drinks poured all night!

Friday night’s Cactus Jack show was a bit ‘under the weather’ crowd-wise, but we still had a ton of fun playing classic country hits for those in attendance, including John, Mark, Chris, Daryl, Katy, Gerald and Laura. Thanks for coming out, y’all!

Speaking of being under the weather, Shady Drive guitarist Rob Hayes was hit with a pretty nasty bug late in the week, so Saturday’s Shady Drive performance at the Blue Turtle Tavern was canceled. I hope you’re feeling better very soon, Rob!

Coming up this week…

This Tuesday’s CMC Jam at Doc and Louie’s (24280 Lorain Rd., N. Olmsted, 7pm – 11pm) will unfortunately be our last at that venue, as Doc and Louie’s is closing after over 18 years at that location. This week’s guest hosts are Drew Doman and Uncle Steve Smith. Our sponsor each week is Dirty Town Guitar and Amps. Doc’s amazing burgers (w/fries) are $4.95 all night and margaritas are $3 until 9pm. There’s plenty of parking in Doc’s front and back lots, O’Reilly’s back lot and their front lot after they close at 9pm. Full backline (two guitar amps, bass amp, Sonor drums, Alesis QS6 keyboard and PA) is provided. This is a special night, folks. Doc has provided a great home for the CMC Jam for over two years and we have a lot of great memories of our time there. Come out and join us in thanking Doc for his support of live music and say goodbye to a great venue!

On Friday, Shady Drive heads out to 42 Eighty Food and Drink (4280 Shenandoah Pkwy, Brunswick, 9:30pm – 1:30am) for our monthly appearance there. C’mon out and have a bite to eat (the food rocks) and an adult beverage (Christmas Ale on tap and it’s frosty cold!) and help us rock the house!

From there, Shady Drive will head north to Fairview Park on Saturday for our monthly appearance at the fabulous Fairview Tavern (21867 Lorain Rd., Fairview Park, 9:30pm-1:30am). Come party with us and enjoy one of the Tavern’s delicious dishes (try the $10 strip steak special!) and some frosty cold beverages while we play your favorite classic rock and blues tunes!

That’s all for this week. We’ll talk soon…

Mike :c)