The Squid Jiggers

Dave and I have been on the radio in our separate capacities with the Dave Row Trio and the Half Moon Jug Band, but yesterday we got our first spin on the airwaves as the Squid Jiggers. The honor came from folk DJ Ron Olesko on his “Traditions” show on WFDU at Fairleigh Dickinson University in the Northern New Jersey/NYC listening area. Ron played “The Squid Jigging Ground” from our forthcoming, first album “Greatest Hits.” The disc ships from the manufacturer on Wednesday. We should have it in our squiddy little hands after Labor Day.

- TROY.

Our regularly-scheduled, folk-music-fueled evening of fine food and drink was horribly marred Friday night when the Guinness tap broke in the middle of the festivities. Women screamed, children cried and dogs were heard howling a mile away in the cool, late summer night in Naples. We were just about to call in a priest to give last rites when owner John Bohill called in a specialist known only as….

Axe.

Lickety-split, wham-bam and faster than it actually takes to properly pour a pint of Guinness, Axe was in the door, wielding a brand-spanking new tap. It was a thing of beauty for sure. With a few quick turns of his wrench he had the bar back in business and the dark, sweet nectar flowing.

Thanks man. Really. Thanks.

The brand new gazebo was like a palace. The duck pond was lovely and full of ducks. The folks came out with their lawn chairs and blankets. They clapped, they sang along and they looked darned good doing it. Troy kicked a soccer ball around with a kid while Dave toiled away, setting up all the wires and speakers. Then the sky graced us with late summer pinks and oranges. The show ended. It got dark and Dave and Troy were carried away by bloodthirsty, vampire skeeters. If you see them, please help them find their way to the next show.

The Black Bear Cafe: An Irish Pub in Naples, Maine is our new home on Friday nights. John and Susan Bohill run a great place serving breakfast, lunch and dinner — as well as a great pint of Guinness. They opened the cafe in 2006 and the food is incredible. We’re going to have fun working our way through the menu!

John, had been in the restaurant business in Massachusetts in the 70’s and 80’s, and before that in Ireland. Susan’s father had a restaurant in Miami, Florida, the Big Fish, and while she only ate the food there, was always inspired and nourished by the hospitality and fine food.

While playing for the good folks at the Newfie Picnic, Troy and Dave were “Screeched In” by the ex-patriot Newfoundlaners. It was a surprise and a great honor. Thanks folks!

The many-tentacled splendor of patch cables and electrical cords that make a Squid Jiggers show hum.

The show in Danvers got rained-out on the 19th, but we tried again on the 20th and had a great show. It was at the bandstand in front of the pond on the grounds of the Peabody Institute Library. The grounds are beautiful there — nice and shady under the leafy canopy of oaks and maples.

The bandstand at the Peabody Institute Library in Danvers, MA.

Dave and Troy talk to the folks after the show in Danvers.

A Canadian couple enjoy the pond at sunset.

Troy and Dave check their watches while Hook waits for an update.

The June deadline has come and gone. July is rolling mightily along. Now it looks like August is the target. All Tracks are done. All the mixing is mostly, maybe done. Mastering comes next. Photos have been taken and chosen. The jacket design has been started. A working title has been agreed upon. It won’t be long now, it won’t be long now, it won’t be long now. We promise.

Dave and I will be back in the studio Wednesday to work on our new (first) album. We’ve got most of the basic tracks laid down already, but sometimes a funny thing happens on the way to the record store. By the time you’re almost done, some of the early-recorded songs start to take on a slightly different arrangement when you play them live. They sound better, fresher the way you do them now. You get the urge to record them again. After all, you want your best work immortalized on a disc. Right?

I guess that’s a good sign. It means we’re evolving and getting better as we go. We’re growing as a musical act. But it doesn’t help us get the CD finished and out to the folks who, we hope, are itching to buy one.

So, we’ll get some fresh coffee brewed, have a seat in the studio and have a good listen to what we’ve done so far. Then we’ll have to decide what’s good to go, and what can be done better — what’s got room to grow and what has reached its potential.

Then there’s the songs we haven’t even laid down for a first time!

TRB