Sparky's Got the BLUES

Sarasota, FL     High:  79    Low:  61

David Smash

Sparky's got the blues because of this darn sinus /cold/cough that has been hanging on for a week now...arrrrggggghhh! Yes, she is resting, yes, she is taking over the counter medication, but not seen the doctor yet. She's going to battle another week and if isn't better in a few more days, she will head to a doctor somewhere.  But life goes on, and when after the drum circle Eldo suggested we go to Ocean Blues for pizza on the way home, Sparky needed a lift to her spirits, so she said, "SURE!" Sunday nights are JAM nights and one of our favorite guitarists, David Smash, an up and coming excellent musician, is often there on Sundays for the JAM session. Music heals the soul, don't ya know! Sparky was hoping it would help her sinus misery. It did!

Ocean Blues is a great venue for live entertainment. It's located on Hillview Street in downtown Sarastoa. Sparky and Eldo love it for its cozy atmosphere and great bar food. The owner, Scott, always has a warm welcome for his customers. Scott came up to Eldy and remembered his name from last year, the last time we were there. He remembered that we were RVers and we chatted for a bit. That always makes you feel good when people remember you.

We had a great pizza--thin crust with LOTS of cheese and toppings. It was delicious! The fish dip is great, too....They have lots of food choices from appetizers to steaks...

We stayed for awhile and listened to David play along with some great guest guitarists, a trombone player, a trumpet player, a harmonica player and a couple of bass players. It's really fun to see the musicians work out arrangements that maybe they haven't tried before, or to see them just wing it with their instrument of choice.

When we met David last year, he had only been in the U.S. for a few weeks, he was borrowing equipment to play and trying to find a place to stay. His English was very broken, but he was VERY charming, sincere, and wow, could he play the slide guitar! He told a local newspaper that although he learned some English in school, he got the slang and lingo by downloading all six seasons of the Fresh Prince of Bel Aire! He can throw around words like "homie" and "you can dig it!" with the best of them.  :-)

We teased him about being his #1 fans, because he wasn't very well known yet. He was well known in his own country, Lithuania, but not encouraged there. So he hoped to make it big in America. Another one of our favorite performers, Steve Arvey, saw David's videos on Youtube and thru Facebook, got David to come to Sarasota. He has come a long way. He has his own band now, his own guitar, and  is making CDs....He came over and talked to us for awhile, and was delighted to see us again.....

We had a great time at Ocean Blues and after we both get to feeling better, we'll be back to see the jam sessions again....or one of the other regularly scheduled entertainer events. It's that good!

Until next time.....