December 3 Update

Here we are in December again. Just a gentle reminder that Big’uns will be playing one of our once-every-six-weeks happy hours at George’s this Friday at 6 pm.
We got all dressed up and played the annual St. Mary’s Ball this past Saturday under the “respectable” moniker of Big. It was fun, the governor and some of Benton County’s finest were in attendance, and I was happy to see my tux coat still fits.
At the end of October, we played the Mad Hatter’s Ball, a fundraiser for the Eureka Springs School of the Arts. I was late in getting them the contract, and we were inadvertently billed as “The Ed Nicholson Band,” until the error was corrected. Whew! Won’t let that happen again! So just to give everyone else in the band equal time, we’ll be playing with a different name for each of the next five gigs:

1. Fuzz and the Foster Children
2. The VanDerhoof and Mouth Gang
3. Sterling and the Nasty Little Tuckers
4. Carl’s Bad Boys
5. Darren and the Ray Guns
   

We’ve spent a bit of time in my son’s garage working on a few new tunes, and will be playing four of them on Friday. So come on out.

Mad Hatter's Ball--Eureka Springs

Friday the 26th, Big'uns played the 5th annual Mad Hatter's Ball in Eureka Springs, which benefits the Eureka Springs School for the Arts.

Great time was had by all, and there was some incredibly creative headgear. Thanks to our friend, Philly Rains for shooting these photos.

Bikes, Blues and Big'uns

We had a big time doing this. Playing with great production (good job JT Huff and Co) is always fun. Although Darren and Big Bad Bubba were a formidable act to follow, I thought we held our own. It was wonderful seeing a lot of our good friends out there on the front row. Thanks to our buddy Frank Cox for sending this these photos along.

RECALL NOTICE—YOU MIGHT BE AFFECTED

Local music providers Big’uns have recalled their entire three-hour performance from the September 28, Pink Trash Ball at George’s due to defects in the first three songs of the first set.

Apparent temporary faulty connections between the brains and note-triggering mechanisms contributed to the flawed performances.

Although the group is still exploring the cause of the malfunctions, the real reason might never be known. “If it were an Accord and a substandard carburetor, I’d know it immediately,” stated expert auto technician “Fuzz” Foster, the band’s bass player. “But this is baffling. We know it wasn’t alcohol-related, since this was a real paying gig and we weren’t drinking—besides, we’ve been known to play very well under the influence.”

“Man, I’m bummed,” stated singer Darren Ray. “I play in sixteen different musical configurations, and these are the guys who put my reputation on the line.”

“An obvious gap in our Six Sigma program,” according to Carl Thomas, UofA MBA candidate and Big’uns keyboardist. “I can only hope it doesn’t impede our ISO-9000 accreditation attempt.” The band has traditionally prided itself on its Quality Program.

At this point, it appears no injuries or illnesses have resulted from the performances. And while only the first three songs were affected, the entire performance is being recalled out of an abundance of caution.

Consumers who were unknowingly exposed to the faulty performances do not have reason for concern, according to Malice Intonation, paid third-party expert at the Institute for Betterer and Finerer Music. “Millions of people willingly listen to bad music every day; some seem to thrive on an all-clam diet. Nothing to see here. Move along.”

For those in attendance at the event who do feel as though their musical psyches might have been compromised by the performance, a make-up performance will be held at George’s this Friday from 6-8 pm. A minimal cover will be charged.

Good Photos of Pink Trash Ball

Eric Molle took some great photos of the Pink Trash Ball last week. If you have an event for which you need a photographer, this guy can do the job. See the entire gallery here.

Get yer motor runnin'

Big'uns will be on the Main Stage at Bikes Blues and BBQ, Saturday, Oct. 6, at 5:15.

Ride on out and join us.

Pink Trash--That's What We Are (at least for one night)

Good cause. Good venue. Good fun.

For Tickets.

Are you gonna eat that?

In an effort to continually add value (why can’t we all just contribute?) to what might be otherwise annoying notifications of the periodic Big’uns George’s appearances, I offer just a few of the things I’ve learned in my many years as an amateur gardener. I seem to relearn them each year, so maybe you can benefit from my experience:

• Crabgrass can actually make an interesting and (depending on one’s attitude about it) attractive ground cover. It's beats the heck out of bluegrass for durable. As my dad, Jim Nicholson so wisely said, pretty is as pretty does.
• A huge ripe tomato is no obstacle for a half-inch worm. Said worms taste like hell. Homegrown tomatoes are God’s own food. Growing them well can be the devil's work.
• Don’t fool yourself into thinking your friends want your extra zucchini.
• Mint, as prolific as it is, and as much as it might resemble basil, does not make good pesto.
• One can rent a backhoe without any specialized knowledge or license to operate it. There probably should be a license required to drive one into your yard. But they can be really fun to play with. If you can live with the consequences.
• Poison ivy will grow in an urban environment. Dead poison ivy is still poison ivy. You can develop an allergy to it, even after a lifetime of immunity. God only knows how, but it can get into places on your body normally protected by elastic.
• Bamboo is like 20-foot-tall Bermuda grass. Left unchecked, it would probably spread to and thrive on your roof. Unless you plan on setting up your house as a base for a paramilitary organization, beware the seemingly innocent, smiling older Asian lady who tells you it’s great for landscaping.
• Roundup™ won’t kill bamboo. It will, however, do very interesting things to your neighbor’s prize peonies. The best time to futilely spray Roundup on your bamboo is on Sunday morning. The worst time is Friday evening after a few cocktails. Whiskey and Roundup don’t mix.
  

But Friday evening—notably this Friday evening--is a great time to go to the George’s happy hour. Big’uns will be there this week, along with our best friends. 6-8pm. So put up the garden sprayer and get yourself on out. All that yard stuff will wait ‘til Sunday (or Monday this week).

"Hey you. Git-tar player. You ugly, too"

Okay, it’s getting late in the week, and I can’t think of anything to amuse even myself (and I'm easily amused) to put in my “Big’uns at George’s” announcement.
It’s coming up this Friday (the 20th). 6-8.
Come on out. The good thing about the Big’uns George’s happy hours is that you’re pretty well guaranteed to see someone older and uglier than you are (this coming from someone who is both beauty and age-challenged) probably doing something or wearing something that would have inhibited you when you were sixteen. In other words, you can let your guard down without being noticed.
Oh, and at this one, you can stay for the whole thing and still be home with enough light left to water the tomatoes.

Who are these guys?

Sterling says it looks like paparazzi caught us at a funeral.

This was at the Lefler/Cross wedding at Pinnacle Country Club this past Saturday, where we showed that we could be bastions of decorum, down to Pinnacle's rule of absolute temperance for the band.

This was actually a lot of fun. It was great to see my long-time friends from the Lefler family. The hosts and guests were all fun to work for.

If you need a wedding band, we can clean up and act nice.

Best wishes Erin and T.J. Live long and prosper.

What time is it?

Geez, it’s Thursday afternoon already. Time flies when you’re giving away chicken. I’ve been out in California this week celebrating Hunger Awareness Day by doing just that. I feel like Michael Anthony must have felt. It’s a job that doesn’t suck. Anyway, enough about me.
That’s a long way of saying this is a little bit shorter notice than you usually get, but Big’uns is back at George’s for happy hour tomorrow (June 8).
Then it’s off to the weddings—including Darren’s! So this is the last time we’ll be playing in public with a member who’s never, ever, been married. Gosh, I hope that doesn’t adversely affect our sex appeal.

Party in the Park--let's try again

Well, we had a little precip throw a monkey wrench in Thursday's performance at Gulley Park. At 4:30, it looked like that line of T-storms was going to slam Washington Co. at about 6:00, so the powers-that-be postponed. About an hour later, it all dissipated. Can't stop the rain. Sometimes you can't predict it. WTH.
The good news is that we're back on the schedule for this Thursday, the 31st.
So, we'll be hoping the weather gods smile upon us this week.
If not, at least the adults can join us at the George's HH on June 8.

Down in the Gulley

This week (Thursday, May 24), the family-friendly edition of Big'uns (we've been trying to call it "Big," but the name just won't seem to stick) kicks off the summer music series in Fayetteville's Gulley Park.
We'll be playing from 7-9pm.
If history is an indicator, there will be local TV news teams there (for about 15 minutes), ready to tape the first kids that even act like they're dancing. Parents, this could be the initial monumental step in sending your child down that grueling path to the American Idol finals.
So round up the young'uns, rinse the winter dust out of the cooler, dig out the Jarts set, pack up the pickup and head on out for an idyllic spring's evening of music wrought Big'uns style.

Heads up for your calendar: Next George's happy hour sighting will be June 8.

It's wedding season

Before we go into a busy two months of weddings and events, Big'uns will be playing a more casual happy hour at George's this Friday from 6-8.
If you've been there before, you know what a party this can turn into.
The next gig will be this happy couple's reception. If you'd like to send a gift, they're registered at Rod's Mobile Home Supply and the Tobacco Superstore in Farmington.


Actually, we will be playing some REAL weddings, in addition to some respectable engagements where we feel compelled to dress and behave nicely. So we'll need to get our ya-yas out on Friday. Come on out and help us. (We promise to behave better than we did on Sterling's birthday)

Big'uns Comix

Our pal, Gio got a new Photoshop filter and created this image from one of our old shots.

Pretty cool, huh?!

Thanks, Gio!

Put April 27 on your radar screen. We'll be back at George's for Happy Hour.

It was just that kind of a night

Every once in a while--even when you pass the half-century mark--you gotta paint your hair green and turn into a giant, happy Leprechan.
We can only hope that those who consider themselves otherwise musically discerning were approaching the same state of consciousness as ours at eight o'clock on Friday. If not, we apologize, and promise never to do that again. 'Til next St. Pat's Day/Sterling's Birthday, of course.

We're told we've been bringing record crowds to George's happy hour.

We just want to thank you all for supporting us.

You can't have this much fun playing golf.

An Important Announcement

To my valued constituency—

I’d like to use this occasion to announce, with regrets, that I am formally discontinuing my campaign for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2008. I know there are people out there who are quite convinced I could be an effective president (thanks, Mom), but it has become painfully obvious that the field is entirely too crowded. Plus, securing a major party nomination is now more about raising money and good looks (best of luck, Hillary) than it is about candidates with great ideas and ironclad principles. I know Tom Vilsack beat me to the distinction of being the first candidate to drop out of the race, but I figure I'm a much better candidate to likely lose (even though I'm pretty certain that little thing with the LRPD in 1972 has long been expunged).
On a positive note, I did have the good sense not to give up playing in the band, so I’m pleased to announce that Big’uns will be back at George’s this Friday, during our normal happy hour slot. While you can’t write the $3 cover off as a political donation, at least it’s cheap. And the experience, while fun, is not extremely time-consuming.
Friday is also Sterling’s birthday (please excuse his behavior in advance—we don’t act like that at real paying gigs), in addition to kicking off a gala St. Paddy’s Day weekend.
And as the old saying goes, on St. Patrick’s Day, everyone’s a Big’un.

Jeez, has it been two months since New Year's Eve?

Sterling ran across this photo he took onstage at our Fayetteville, Arkansas First Night performance. Ever tried moving your fingers accurately for an extended period in freezing weather? As uncomfortable as that sounds (and was!), it was lots of fun. Gave some young people a chance to hear the old guys. Some of them really seemed to enjoy it.

New Stuff

On Saturday, Feb. 24, we'll be playing the annual Arts Center of the Ozarks Ball at the Mall.
This is a gala affair, featuring great food, and perhaps the largest charity silent auction in Northwest Arkansas.
Usually 600-700 people there at the NW Arkansas Mall.

Following that, we'll be back at George's for our annual St. Patrick's Day/ Sterling's Birthday party, at happy hour on March 16.