Beauty queen judge...

This post is a bit overdue, but I think it's interesting.  

A few months ago, I got an email from my friend Kirk.  In addition to playing bass in a great jazz/ RnB band called Jazz Me, his "day job" (man I hate that term) is promoting racing events.  Specifically a genre known as "dirt trackin".  Yep, it's just what you think.  Cars racing in a track covered with dirt.  Now, I've never been a big fan of any kind of racing.  Nascar, Formula 1, whatever.  But Kirk is a buddy and is very supportive of my work so I said I would work his event.  It was a whole weekend at the York Fairgrounds called Dirt Trackin' Expo.  I wasn't really sure what to expect.  There were local commercials running around the clock.  I had many friends call me and ask "Are you performing at some kind of tractor pull?"  "Yeah, something like that" I said.  I really had no idea.  It turns out it was sort of a trade show for dirt trackin enthusiasts.  There was plenty of memorabilia, cars, photos, and other stuff.  Of course, it was widely advertised that I would be strolling during the show.  A few days after we agreed I would perform at the show, Kirk drops me another email asking me to appear Friday night to be a judge.  I tell him sure, but I'm not really that much into racing; but whatever he wants.  "You're not judging cars dummy, you'll be judging the Miss Dirt Trackin' competition" he says. "Oh, THAT I can judge!"  It was actually a lot of fun.  Even though racing still isn't my thing, (I actually have a funny NASCAR joke) all the people were great.  The photo above shows me performing for the winner of the Miss Dirt Trackin' competition, Lindsay Krug and family.  Check out Kirk's band at www.jazzmeband.com

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, was my gig at the Hershey Country Club last Saturday night.  (Well La Di freakin' Da!)  I got to perform for about 60 heart surgeons from the Hershey Medical Center.  Shows like this are special to me for a few reasons.  One, I grew up right down the road, and I still love my hometown of Hershey, PA.  Two, I really have so much respect for medical professionals.  Having had my share of problems when I was younger that were dealt with at that same hospital made this important to me.  I told them to go easy on me if I ever wind up on their table.  A special thanks to all my new friends in the vascular surgery dept. at the Hershey Med Center.