BAND NOTES

The Lucky Ticket band had a nice run the last year or so.  However, in the last few months it has gotten very difficult to put on the quality performances that we're used to giving.  Until recently, we had a solid core that could do a quality show with a little help from our friends.  This core of two guitar players and a bass player has been together for several years.  But now the core is broken.  Walt, our great friend, bass player and golden voice, is battling cancer.  Walt is the kind looking soul with the white beard.  Please mention him in your prayers.

We'd like to thank all the great singers and musicians who helped us along the way.  In no particular order... Tom and Lynn, Lila Lynn, Laura, Dave, Chris, Karen, Rich, Skip, Scott, Lisa, John, Michele, Stu, Walt, and Tony.  If we forgot anyone, let us know.

You may have noticed that we try to avoid last names on this website.  Sorry, too many spammers and government agencies are auto- scanning the web for names, email addresses, and who knows what else!

GIG NOTES FROM AUGUST 25,  and 28

On Wednesday the 25th, we did the final Halfmoon Celebration Series concert of the season.  Although it threatened to rain, it didn't happen.  We'd like to thank Scott and Karen for filling in on keyboards and drums.  Both did great and can almost be considered band members at this point.  Karen is the drummer of an all female rock band called Babe!  You can find them at www.babe-band.com. 

Due to the weather, our audience was on the smallish side, but they stayed to the end and obviously enjoyed the band!  Thank you Joe for coming and being on standby.  Thank you Freddy and Dianne for stopping by.  Great to see you!   They have a great band called Inky Salad!  www.inkysalad.com.

On Saturday the 28th, Lucky Ticket played it's last scheduled gig.  It took place at Johnny Luc's on Travers Day!  An amazing crowd showed up at Johnny Luc's.  In fact, the entire Caroline St., Maple Ave., district was mobbed!  At 3 am, the street was a sea of party goers.  Saratoga during track season... the place to be when you're young or young at heart.  A dozen  clubs within a football field size area!

Again, thank you Scott for filling in on keyboards.  Also thanks to Dave for filling in on drums, and John for filling in on bass.  You guys did nearly a flawless job.  Let's face it, Michele gets all the attention in any event!  A big voice wrapped in a flawless package!  These people aren't staying all night to look at us guys!

Enjoy the slideshow from Johnny Luc's!  If you'd like to download a single picture, you can find them on our Facebook fan page.  Just search for the Lucky Ticket band.




GIG NOTES FROM JUNE 20

It was a perfect evening for our outdoor concert at Clifton Common... at least for all the great folks who came to enjoy the warm weather and listen to music!  Lucky Ticket, however, had one little problem... our lovely, talented, dancing machine Michele was nowhere to be found for the sound check!  Very unusual for sure!  The rest of us did the sound check and we knew everything was working perfectly... so all she needs to do is make it by show time.

Time was ticking away and then the phone rang.  It was Michele and she wasn't too happy!  Her car broke down miles from the gig!  What a bummer!  We don't have time to go pick her up and get back before show time!  We need a volunteer.  Luckily, Stu's wife Nancy was in attendance with her snazzy hot wheels!  She buzzed out of the parking lot like Mario Andretti!

We knew there was no way Nancy and Michele were going to make it back before our scheduled start, so this was going to be a guy show for at least 20 minutes!  We all sing, so we knew there would be no problem musically... but we're not exactly eye candy compared to what Michele brings to the stage!

Lucky Ticket has other great singers and number one on the list is our bass player Walt!   We believe he is  the best male country vocalist in the area and has the awards to prove it.  He's also very good crossing over to classic rock with Stu and Chris ranking right up there also.  We explained the situation to our audience and then started on schedule.

We warmed the crowd up very nicely for about 20 minutes and then we saw the cloud of dust and knew it had to be Mario with our lovable crowd pleaser Michele!  She was apologetic and gave a short explanation of her ordeal... then tossed it all aside and put on a great show!

It turned out that her car stopped running while traveling at highway speed on I 90.  She managed not to get hit while crossing lanes with a dead motor and came to rest on the right shoulder of the road.  We were relieved that she was OK and that she didn't let the scary incident effect her performance!  She thinks it did, and perhaps she's right, but we're sure our audience didn't notice it at all!  It turned out to be a great show and many people went out of their way to tell us so!

We'd like to thank Scott for filling in with us on keyboards, the sound guys from High Peaks for helping us sound as good as ever, and the folks in charge of the entertainment at Clifton Common for allowing us to perform at their first show of the season!


GIG NOTES MAY 28

We got a call from Michele today.  We had a hard time recognizing the voice, but it appeared to be saying "I'm very sick, I'm sorry, but I can't make it tonight".  Oh no!  We have a big gig tonight at The Saratoga City Tavern!  The weather is great and it will be packed for sure!  We have one chance to pull this off if she'll fill in tonight.  Let's call Lynn Nicoll.  So we call her number and the voice at the other end says "Yes!  I'd love to do the gig at the Saratoga City Tavern!"  We said "super"!  The gig is a go!

The first floor of The Saratoga City Tavern was packed shoulder to shoulder and they wanted to dance and party right from the start!  The Lucky Ticket band didn't disappoint!  Lynn did fantastic!  She knew so many songs we could have played all night... (if we were robots)!  As if it couldn't get any better, she brought Tom LeCours with her and he also did a couple tunes with us!  But things got even better.  Lynn not only brought Tom, she brought Lila Laguna with her!  She also helped out and belted out a tune!  The crowd is loving all of this!  We start the day wondering how we're going to put a set list together without our talented, lovable, dance machine Michele, to having 3 great lead singers in the house... of course in addition to our own Walt, Stu and Chris.

After more than 4 hours of rock and roll, we had to leave everyone begging for more!  What a great time we had!  Thank you very much Lynn, Tom, and Lila!  BTW, you girls looked great!

Also thanks go to Scott for coming out and playing keyboards for us again!

You can hear Lila perform every Saturday night at Applebee's in Glenmont.  She is a Karaoke DJ!  Tell her Lucky Ticket sent you!

GIG NOTES MAY 26

Good news and bad news!  First the good news!  The Ice House and Johnny Luc's came through with dates this summer!  Now the bad... we're already booked on those dates!  :-(

GIG NOTES FROM APRIL 30 / MAY 1

We lucked out with the weather at The Ice House in Saratoga!  The temperature had been below average for weeks and we were afraid we'd be performing in frigid conditions at our outdoor gig.  However, on that day a warm front finally came through and gave us a big break.  It was still a chilly 55 or so, but way better than 30!

April 30 may be a little early to perform outdoors at night in Saratoga, but we had a good crowd!  Some were there to celebrate Chris' birthday (our new drummer)!  We look forward to some warmer gigs on the patio at The Ice House!

Pinhead Susan's had one of the largest crowds we've ever seen there!  They responded nicely to the Lucky Ticket band!


GIG NOTES FROM APRIL 23

We can add a new venue to our rotation called Johnny Luc's!  They really liked what they heard and are finding dates for us throughout the summer!  Johnny Luc's is in a great location in Saratoga on Caroline St.  It looks small from the outside, but it is very spacious in the back.  You'll find a couple couches, plenty of seating, and a very nice dance floor!

The band was again without it's regular keyboard player and Scott did a great job filling in as usual.

Unfortunately, we lost our drummer Dave :(  He's having a major life change in the near future and needed to depart from the band.  Our new drummer is Chris!  His most recent band was The Accents.  Other bands that he has worked with are Cryin' Out Loud and The Ruddies!  We were very fortunate!

We'd like to thank our friend Ray who did a great job playing Blues Harp in Mustang Sally and Long Train Running!  He is getting to be a regular in our audience and is welcome to jam with us anytime!

When you're out and about in Saratoga, be sure to stop by Johnny Luc's for a drink and tell them Lucky Ticket sent you!



GIG NOTES APRIL 16

Our greatly anticipated debut at the Vapor nightclub has again been delayed.  Due to illness, it had become doubtful that all the Lucky Ticket band members were going to be able to perform on our scheduled date.  We finally faced reality and made the call to Vapor ourselves.  It was important to us that all our regular members be there and that we put on a first class show.  Vapor appreciated the heads up on our situation and will find another date for us.  They have been great with us and we really look forward to performing there in the near future!  The difference between Vapor and our other gigs is that it is a COUNTRY gig.  We have a lot of friends who can help us out when we are performing Classic Rock, but Country is not on their playlists!  Therefore, in this unique situation, the show won't be going on!  Our apologies to our fans who were planning on attending our Vapor gig.

GIG NOTES FROM APRIL 3

It was our first time at the Irish Times Pub (Phila St., Saratoga Springs).  We have to say it is a very classy place targetting an older crowd than some of the other places we've played in Saratoga.  The Irish Times has 2 floors and an outside deck upstairs.  When it is warmer, bands usually perform on the deck.  We were indoors on this night.

We'd like to thank Karen for sitting in on drums and Scott on keyboards!  Great job as usual! 

If you're looking for a place to eat in Saratoga, consider the Irish Times Pub!  Easy parking right next door on the roof of the parking garage!  The roof will give you the easiest access to the Irish Times Pub!

GIG NOTES FROM MARCH 27

The band would like to thank Scott for sitting in on keyboards and Mark for sitting in on drums at Dee Dee's!  Great job guys!  Lucky Ticket has a large pool of musician friends who know our material and it's never a problem when a band member cannot make it to a gig.  Other bands may have to cancel, but with Lucky Ticket, the show will go on!

GIG NOTES FROM MARCH 13

Saturday wasn't officially St. Patrick's Day, but that's the day most people preferred to celebrate the holiday!  What better places to do it than Pinhead Susan's Annual Block Party and Clancy's Tavern!  We started the day at 4 PM in Pinhead Susan's "heated" tent.  People showed up in droves ready to party in spite of the cold weather.  People had a blast in the tent and many wore green costumes for the occasion.

Many thanks to Karen for filling in on drums and Lisa for filling in on keyboards.  They had some pretty big shoes to fill, but they came through for us again with an excellent show!

Michele and Walt did great while both were fighting colds while Tony and Stu rocked the place with their guitar work in spite of their cold numb fingers.

But the day wasn't over for Lucky Ticket!  We packed our stuff and made it up to Saratoga in time for our late gig at Clancy's Tavern.  Same day, new party!

When we arrived, Mark already had his drums set up.  Mark?  Yes Mark on drums.  Mark is the new guy on the block.  He had nothing better to do Saturday night, so what the heck, he did a gig with Lucky Ticket!  We heard him play a few days earlier and were so impressed, we asked him to do the gig with us!  Mark did great just like we anticipated!

Lisa also tagged along with us for the second gig and did great as usually.  We weren't planning to use a keyboard for the night time gig, but she was the healthiest one in the group.  Let's call it insurance.  She may be the last person standing at the end of the day!  Not only was she playing great, but as an added bonus, she impressed everyone doing the vocals on Bobby McGee!  Very cool.

The day was long, but we had to add another hour to it as Saturday was also "Spring ahead" day.  We thought we were playing to 2 AM....  but suddenly we were told it was 3:30 AM!!  Wow... way past our bedtimes!  What fun it was to pack up again and try to get home before daylight!  Let's do the math, we started setting up for our first gig at 2 PM on Saturday, and finished packing up about 4:30 AM on Sunday.  Maybe we won't do the math on second thought!

They were both great gigs and we have no regrets... however, we have this coming weekend off and nobody's complaining yet!

GIG NOTES FROM MARCH 5

The Saratoga City Tavern was the "happening spot" on Caroline St. on Friday night.  As usual, the partiers came late to Caroline St., but come 10 o'clock, the entire block is rockin'.

When the room got crowded, The Lucky Ticket band hit them with "Smoke On The Water".  The crowd responded big to this old Deep Purple classic.  One of the easiest riffs for a beginning guitar player until you get to Ritchie Blackmore's lead, and that's where The Lucky Ticket band "smokes" the competition.  Does any other band even attempt it?  Combine this with Dave's fine lead vocal, and it's way over the top!

To hear this tune, and many other classics done the right way, come party with Lucky Ticket!

GIG NOTES FROM FEBRUARY 20

Michele's birthday is on the 23rd, so her friends decided to celebrate at The Saratoga City Tavern!  A very attractive group of girls who know how to have fun!  So glad to see all of you there!

Thanks go out to Larry for filling in on keyboards!  He was familiar with almost all of our tunes and was terrific!

Also terrific was Wayne filling in on bass!  The regular bass player for "Backdraft", Wayne is the first guy we call when we need some help!  Walt has a severe cold and needed the night off.  Get well soon Walt!  We should also thank Dave for singing some of our "Walt" tunes.  Dave is our talented drummer / singer who loves any challenge!

Also thanks go to Ray for showing up with his harmonica and helping out on a few tunes.  A really nice guy who knows how to play that thing!

On the camera was good friend of the band Mike.  Thanks for all the great shots.  Most of them are on our Facebook fan page.  We'll get some up here eventually.  Just go to Facebook and search for Lucky Ticket.  It pops right up!  While you're there, become a fan of the band!

Many bands would struggle missing two key members of the band, but the Lucky Ticket band has a great pool of musicians to pull from when needed.  Thanks to them, the gig was very successful!

Temperatures are still below freezing, but not as severe as our past 4 or 5 gigs!  We're looking forward to Spring!


GIG NOTES FROM FEBRUARY 13

Thanks go out  to Lisa for sitting in on keyboards at Pinhead Susan's!  Awesome job!

We had a great crowd as usual at Pinhead's.  It's a classy place and friends like to catch the band when we play there!  Comfortable seating, and good food.

Still pretty damn cold out!  With such low temperatures, it won't snow.  At least that's good.


GIG NOTES FROM FEBRUARY 6

The bitter cold winter continues!  However, once we were inside Clancy's, we were cozy warm!

We learn something new everyday.  At this gig we discovered that the Goat Brothers were actually a man and a woman!  A pair of motorcycle enthusiasts.  The Goat Brothers along with many other motorcycle enthusiasts have a really nice event on May 8th which everyone should think about attending.  It is a fundraiser for cancer research which will take place under the pavilion at the Eagles Club near Lake Lonely in Saratoga.  You'll find a link to this event on our "Links" page.  All the details will be there for this event and others!  This annual event has raised $35,000 over the years for cancer programs!  No motorcycle required!

Our hostess with the mostest... Miss Debbie... showed up on the dance floor with one high heeled shoe and one flat shoe.  Very entertaining to watch.  Luckily no one was injured!

A great crowd always at Clancy's.  They come to hear the music, dance, drink, and be merry!  Everyone is Irish at Clancy's!  They have the best Beer Pong table in the area!  A schedule for all Beer Pong events is on their webpage (use the "links" page).

GIG NOTES FROM JANUARY 30

Brrrrrrr... so cold!  Dee Dee's is a friendly little bar in Latham that is big on live music.  Every Saturday night, with few exceptions, you'll see a live band playing your favorite classic rock.  Every seat in the house is only few feet from the band!  Lucky Ticket is good at downsizing and lowering the volume, so venues like Dee Dee's are no problem for the band!

Lots of friends were on hand for Dee Dee's!  A special thanks to Mike for taking many pictures... mostly of Michele of course!  Also thanks To Wayne (Backdraft band) for visiting and sitting in on bass for a couple tunes!  Thanks also to Rosetta for teaching everyone the correct way to dance to Play That Funky Music.  You're a very hot lady!!  The Italian lesson was fun also!

You'll never go hungry at Dee Dee's!  The lovely bartender Laurie will be happy to give you a menu anytime of the night.  Visit us when we return to Dee Dee's on March 27th!

GIG NOTES FROM JANUARY 29

The temperature was well below zero, but the Saratoga City Tavern warmed up quickly when Lucky Ticket started playing!  Happy Birthday to Tom and Trish!  Special hello's to George and Ilene and John and Amy.  Party goers included 5 people visiting from Florida for Tom and Trish's birthdays.  Tom and Trish are a married couple whose birthdays happen to fall in the same week. After experiencing the bitter cold, next years celebration may move to Florida!

GIG NOTES FROM JANUARY 23

With only two rehearsals with our new vocalist Michele, Lucky Ticket took its show to the City Sports Grille in Clifton Park.  Many friends and family members came to witness Michele's debut with the band and were not disappointed.  Michele impressed everyone over and over with her powerful voice and dance moves!  One of the tunes that stood out was All Jacked Up... a rockin' country tune by Gretchen Wilson.  Michele also got an extra big crowd response for the Tina Turner version of Proud Mary.

Also in the house was Karen, our former drummer and vocalist.  She did a great job sitting in for I Love Rock and Roll and Black Magic Woman.  Yes... the very difficult Black Magic Woman.  Karen is not your ordinary drummer!

Thanks also to Nadine, Lori, and Joyce... the winners of some lottery tickets for being the first ones on the dance floor!  Hopefully they'll win big in Tuesday's drawing and share it with the band!

BAND NEWS

Opportunity came knocking on Lucky Ticket's door and the band decided to let her in.  Come meet Michele at our next gig!  The former vocalist for Cryin' Out Loud and Marlowe and Company is now singing for us!  She's sure to entertain you!  Check out her Bio and picture on the next page!

GIG NOTES FROM NEW YEAR'S EVE

We were cancelled at the last minute due to Meka's landlord changing his mind about allowing live music.  A couple of us stopped in anyways.  It's a very nice place in Troy's Historic River Front District.  It's located at 407 River St.  In addition to tables and chairs, they have many couches to lounge in with your friends.  They call themselves a wine and martini bar.  Stop in and tell them Lucky Ticket sent you.  Friends of the band operate the place!  Hopefully things will get straightened out with the landlord so that we can make it a regular stop!

GIG NOTES FROM DECEMBER 26

A snowy slushy night, but Pinhead Susan's was packed.  We weren't expecting that the day after Christmas.  It appeared that lots of kids were home from college and decided to meet at Pinhead Susan's.  Karen did a great job filling in for Lynn... who got stranded north of Saratoga by freezing rain.  Dave came up front a couple times while Karen drummed surprising some of the folks in attendance.  As a former member of the band, Karen knew the material very well and pulled it off flawlessly!  Thanks kiddo!

GIG NOTES FROM DECEMBER 19

It was Lucky Ticket's first gig at Clancy's Tavern... although a few of us have played there before in other bands.  We saw some very cool changes to the place.  The two most notible changes are the flat screen TV's along the wall with all the games on them and Bobbi the bartender.  Take our word for it, you'll like her!

Lynn is back with the band after some time off!  She fit right in like she was never gone!  Lynn's kids Kurt, Jack, and Aubrey showed up to support mom!  Also our good friend and former band member Tom was in the house and performed a couple tunes with us.  It was all fun and everyone did great!

Thanks go out  to Andrew and Angie who stayed to watch the band all night after planning to stay for only one drink.  Our song selection kept them in their seats waiting to see what we would do next!!  La Grange guys... do we nail it or what!!

Also thanks to Debbie for being the best Bar Manager / hostess ever!  See you again on February 6th!

GIG NOTES FROM NOVEMBER 21

We meet a lot of nice folks at the Saratoga City Tavern and Saturday night was no exception.  Joe and Josey were there with some friends celebrating Joe's 40th birthday.  You guys really know how to make a band feel appreciated!  Thank you!

Other things going on at the Saratoga City Tavern was a party upstairs for US Navy servicemen.  When their party ended, many of them decided to stay and dance with the ladies.  It was obvious they were having a great time!

It was nice to see Jack and Aubrey.  Thanks for stopping by!

As usual, the gig ended late with a packed house that didn't want to stop dancing!  This has gotten to be a regular occurance at our gigs, especially at the Saratoga City Tavern.   We always try to give a little extra when its clear that the party isn't ready to end.

We managed to snap a few pictures.  Here is a slide show!



GIG NOTES FROM OCTOBER 31

As expected, Caroline St. and The Saratoga City Tavern were party central on Halloween!  The party didn't really start until after 10.  When midnight hit, it was wall to wall with colorful costumes!  We had a visit from Santa, Elvis, Peggy Sue, Miss Bopeep, Britney Spears and her rockstar friends, Transylvannia Vampires, Tranvestites, Barbary Pirates, lots of convicts, lots of police officers in short skirts, some nurses with almost no skirts, and cleavage galore!!  The band didn't look that bad either, especially our own Buccaneer Lila Lynn.  See her costume and others on our "Picture" page!

GIG NOTES FROM OCTOBER 24

Lots of things going on at Pinhead Susan's to make it an extra fun gig!  Former Lucky Ticket drummer Karen was in the house and sat in for two numbers.  Not surprising was the huge crowd response!  Let's face it, guys on drums, guitars, bass... every band pretty much has one.  However, a girl banging on stage... hey we just gotta watch!  All kidding aside, Karen is a great talent and earned every bit of the applause!

We had another surprise guest on Saturday, and her name was Joyce.  She is from San Diego and a cousin of band member Tony.  She just happens to be a singer in a band called The Earth Movers and she also did two numbers with the band.  She rocked the house even though she got the lyrics wrong to Johnny B Goode.  It didn't seem to bother the crowd that she kept saying Tony B Goode.  Who the hell is that?  The young people from Union College went totally bonkers during her performance!

Also a hello to Mike from Arlington Virginia who was traveling with Joyce.  Nice to see you again!

Thanks to Bob for celebrating his birthday with us!  Also thanks for bringing the gang with you which included Joyce (not the cousin), Terry, Lillian, Nadine, and Lori!

Also in the house was Joe from the great Bluegrass Band Sweet Cider!  It was great to talk to you and thanks for stopping in!