Great Time At Bonefish!

Last Monday night's gig at the Bonefish in Mishawaka, IN was an absolute blast! The room was alive and exhilarating, too, for lots of reasons. First, as I've said before, the great staff responsible for placing this particular Bonefish Restaurant on the map are consistently professional and accommodating. The moment I arrived, two young ladies, Stacey and Emily, greeted me with characteristic Bonefish enthusiasm. (I had not met them before Monday). Of course, the night manager, Chris, and Stephanie the bartender, can't do enough for us and are always so helpful.

A second reason the evening was so much fun was that we were surprised by some special friends who took time from their busy schedules to come support us. (It's the people we get to play for that often adds so much energy to the music). Many underestimate the contribution they make by simply BEING there in the audience! Several friends came out to whom we are so grateful: Pam and Roark, Mark, Jan, David and Matthew. Their enthusiastic applause not only helped light the room up, but fueled the band, too! Thank-you so much guys!

One final element that contributed to the uniqueness of the evening was the inclusion of two very talented musicians who joined Jim (piano) and me (bass)---- David Hilliker (drums) and Laura Darnell (vocals). They were gracious enough to lend us their talent the entire evening. Though it was David's second time with us at the Bonefish (read his bio at tomhilliker.blogspot.com), for Laura, it was her very first time singing with us. I've known Laura for a long time. Over the years we have talked about the possibility of including her on some of our jazz gigs, but nothing ever came of it. Finally, however, it happened, and there were certainly some special musical moments.

I don't mean to end this on a less than happy note, but we just received word from the corporate headquarters of the Bonefish restaurant chain that live music will be discontinued until the economy picks up. Dinner sales are down and I understand the need to minimize expenses. So, here's my challenge to you: please support Tim Zentz and his outstanding staff at the Bonefish in Mishawaka. Tim very much wishes to see live music return to his establishment. (And that makes me happy). Additionally, he is committed to the music of Tom Hilliker Jazz and assures me that once midweek sales pick up, he wants us back right away. (Now that makes me VERY happy)! So, please support Tim. How? By making midweek dinner reservations ASAP. Who to bring along with you? Your sweetie, your mother-in-law, your boss, your next door neighbor, friends, enemies, your dog - ANYBODY!!

OK---so, there will no longer be live music when you arrive on a Monday night. But the food is still out of this world. (If you haven't had it yet, you MUST try the Bang-Bang Shrimp. You'll be talking about it for weeks!) Tim and his staff will take outstanding care of you and your party. And by supporting Tim, you help Tom, too, by inching us closer to playing there again.

Thanks in advance for doing you part to bring live jazz back to the Bonefish in Mishawaka. We look forward to seeing you there again soon!