Joyfest 2007, Look and be impressed

Joyfest 2007 Once again, the rolling hills of Sutton rolled merrily along as we rolled in ready to play the role of rock and rollers while eating sausage in rolls

	Bruce Reed was there with Lynn, but I think she was there with Bruce, Chris Florio, a composer from Boston and of course, the host of the festivities, Steve. Reagan's hubby Timmeh was there showing off the newest member of the ever expanding Reagan/Tim syndicate, Noah, who I understand has come close to peeing endlessly for 40 days and 40 nights.
	I don't know this little girl's name, but she is one of Reagan's students and she sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". The crowd was awed, as in everyone said Awwwwww
	Everyone took time out to watch little Reyna float on her little orange floaty things. They do the same thing at the playboy mansion, but the floaty things aren't orange.
	Lee Beaudoin was there. Lee was the owner of Union Blues until the city of Worcester once again managed to screw up a good thing. We got him up playing sax before the end of the day though.
	Johnny D was there early, wearing his clean shirt... well, it was clean at ONE time...
	As has become Joyfest Tradition, the fabulous Miles Per Minute boys opened the festivities with their special blend of all original teen angst. Every year they seem older, but of course, just a year ago they were a year younger than they are now.
	This is Matt, doing his best "Peter Frampton as done by a kid who has never heard Peter Frampton" imitation.

Ben was taking pictures of me while I was taking pictures. I hope he had a wide lens

Miles Per Minute continued, apparently not having learned the important "Never play electric instruments barefoot" lesson. They will man, they will...

John, Katie and... umm... Oh yeah, Baldy Greg!!

The crowd was already getting rowdy

And MPM rocked and rocked

The littlest MPM is Mark, he's the one who's in focus here.
	And then Phil, you might notice he is now playing the guitar. He and Matt switch instruments a lot. I do that too, often going from bass to spoons and back even during the same song.

Someone finally moves a mic over the drums, Mark finally has something to smile about.
	Time out for the shiny sax. Man, that's a shiny sax. I don't think I've ever seen such a shiny sax.
	Skip that tapping stuff Phil, it went out when Eddie Van Halen started playing synthesizer and Metallica cut their hair...

	Roger the Grover shows why he's known as the human tripod... or it could just be an optical illusion. Noah, son of Tim attempting to do what Mike Ladd has been doing for years, get the very last drop from an otherwise apparently empty bottle
	The passing of the torch, Reagan and Katie. Reagan gave Katie lots of advice, mostly involving avoiding me and clever ways to make great stage wear using nothing but tablecloths and staplers
	Reagan sang again, that's trombone boy Ben playing bass. He plays bass in another band outside of the Valves, in the background is Tom Choiniere, father of the Miles Per Minute crew, playing guitar

	The jam started taking shape when Chris Florio grabbed a guitar and Greg played some harp. Greg, looking like the model for the Oscar statue, grabbed a harp and decided to start yodeling at the top of his lungs. Yodelleeyheeeehoooooooo

This looks like some great jammin. Of course, if you could hear it, you'd know that everyone was actually playing a different song.
	As soon as the old folks started playing, the kids ran for the hills

	Reyna wouldn't stand still while I took her picture, so I chased her around all day, screaming loudly and waving my arms frantically. I'm not sure why she was afraid of me, after all, I had a big shiny knife in my hand, just in case she tripped and got caught in a rope, or nylon or some kind of viney material. Wait! Stop!

	The jam continued, the band expanded. Steve joined in on B3 Then Mike, ever the iconoclastic narcissist decided to join the rest of the electric instruments with his acoustic classical guitar, which despite his protestations to the contrary sounds like ass at the best of times, but was essentially inaudible the entire time here anyway, so his attempts at being the contrarian failed dismally.
	Katie and Steve's lovely and patiently understanding wife Joy (for whom Joyfest is named) stood and watched the unfolding slow motion train wreck as it hurtled towards the usual mish mash of audible chaos and mayhem. This was, of course, katie's first Joyfest and she was impressed with everyone's ability to play 40 year old classic rock recognizably with no rehearsal and only frantic eye and hand signals passed around the stage, making all the musicians look like base coaches on a minor league baseball team.
	Joy is a good sport about the entire event. It actually began as a celebration of her and Steve's wedding anniversary before becoming an excuse to get drunk, make noise and piss off the neighbors.
	Katie, Greg and Tom discuss body modifications.

Katie's new, unfinished tattoo drew oohs and ahhs from the crowd.

	However, Tom's plans for breast implants drew nothing but scorn and ridicule, as it should. In answer to his question though, no, it's not true that if you get implants and then get your nipples pierced, you can't then squirt salt water at will. Ben playing my beautiful bass. The whole fretless thing can throw people off quite a bit but Ben was doing ok. Damn that's a gorgeous bass though.

Embarrassed at having been humiliated by admitting to the whole fake boobs plan, Tom spent the rest of the afternoon walking around posing and asking if anyone wanted to see the trick he can do with his "Awesome Pecs". Here he performs "Flight of the Bumblebee" for Katie's dad

	Katie giving me a dirty look. Obviously this picture came AFTER her little talk with Reagan. You can actually see my reflection in her glasses, but since they are like funhouse mirrors, they make me look fat. Lauren, Steve's lovely daughter was there and playing drums periodically. This was also her first chance to drink with dad, something every father looks forward to.
	Katie ignores the evil tractors keeping their distance in the background and wishes she had worn shorts

First jam over, time to eat. Tom is still setting up his drums 2 hours into the jam, this would continue on and off throughout the afternoon.

Rick King, Lee, Greg and Steve discuss politics and religion, just to tempt fate.

	Tom and Chris talk shop about being a guitar player in this crazy mixed up world. Speaking of crazy and mixed up, the person in the white shirt with the "Kathryn Hepburn, circa: 1958" hairdo is in fact Mike Look, there he is now. Time to dye that beard to match the hair mikey, looks too much like you're wearin a piece. Drapes and Carpet and all that.
	Speaking of hairstyles. For some reason no one but he and his psychiatrist understand, Greg pulled a Brittney Spears and shaved his head in a fit of psychotic glee. As someone who has suffered from male pattern baldness since the womb, I can only intimate how much we naturally balding types hate with a seething passion guys with a full head of hair who then shave it all off. They might as well cut it off in front of us and rub it on our heads, saying "Nyah Nyah, I can grow so much hair so fast, I can even shave it all off". I await the first time he spends too much time in the sun forgetting a hat and sunblock right after a fresh shaving with great anticipation.
	Speaking of comb overs, JD lets me know how much he's enjoying the festivities. And he put his good shirt on for this? I see he at least picked a scenic place to sit.
	Michael, once again proving there is no song the rest of us can play that he can't play entirely different chords to while dancing on his own private imaginary dance floor to a drummer only he can hear.

This is Jim Heffernan. Jim is a really good keyboard player who we've been trying to recruit for the Valves ever since Paul P had to leave the band (And where the hell was Paul P, or Lowboy, Joe Reidy, Bart McCracken or Rick Murphy anyway? Ungrateful bastards). Anyway, Jim is really good and we want him in the band, but like most of Mike and Tom's jokes, he's hard to get.

It's the pastiest legs in the biz. If only Steve had also worn shorts, they would have officially been the whitest horn section since the KKKs aborted Parade and Oompah Band Battalion, Kilt wearing division.

	Can't keep Reagan's dad Ace off them drums. I mean it, we really can't, we tried... Ben ready to grant anyone a wish who can answer he these questions 5* *Gratuitous Monty Python and the Holy Grail reference

After the eating and sundry jamming, it was time for Some of Big Dawg to take the stage. Unfortunately, Dawg Drummer John Riley was in the hospital and unable to attend, but they found a fill in moping around the dessert table and proceeded to bring it like it aint nevah been broughten.

	Greg is also in Big Dawg, as is the Sultan of Soul Bruce Reed.Dave Kendarian had a gorgeous Fender fretless. Made me wish I had brought my Fender too. Bruce actually broke that Tambourine. He's like Pete Townsend with those things, watch out for flying metal disks when Bruce is onstage.

	Mike and his Lovely and Forgiving wife Laura enjoying the Dawgs and discussing which evil underground semi-covert agency is responsible for planting the mold growing in his basement in an attempt to distract them from the coming One World Order in which the government will force people like Mike to work a 42 hour work week with no paid coffee breaks, cuz the government is always trying to screw ya!. Tom played with the Dawgs along with the fill in guy (who literally was someone who happened to be at the party, see? You just never know). I don't know his name though.

	Dave Kendarian was really good, and of course as a fretless player he instantly showed his superiority to all the pussy bass players who need little metal things to tell them where the right note is. His one odd quirk was looking as if he were constantly blowing out the candles on a birthday cake while playing, but at least he doesn't look like he's done nothing but EAT birthday cakes every day of his life like some bass players I could mention.
	Roger, a majestic sight from the rear. Of course, the fluorescent green OP on his pants stands for "Old Person" and is used to identify him should he accidentally wander away at night, hence the bright highly visible color.

Yes, the crowd literally filled the yard. Well, part of it, a little of it. Some of it. A bit. A bit....

	Jim really knew how to use those drawbars. He's a snappy dresser too and I've heard he's great with the ladies and a virtual genius at practically anything he attempts. I'm not kissing up, it's true, I swear! Once again, drum fill in guy, who was actually very good, especially since he apparently just wandered in from parts unknown and played unknown parts.
	Steve played a few songs with the dawgs. Uh oh Steve, time to go on a diet there bud, when you're shirt pops up in front like that, it means you're putting on a few. Take it from me, if I didn't have specially made shirts, the front of mine would be up so high it would be in another dimension.
	oooh oooh ooooh ooooh

He's a handsome guy too, looks sort of like Christopher Reeves in Superman.
	Greg has the "Holocaust Survivor Plays the Blues" niche all to himself
	Come back here!! I just want to take your picture!! I swear the net is so I can go fishing later after I take your picture!! I only took my pants off to go swimming! Hello?
	Speaking of hot babes. Why do I not have a picture of Laura in a Valves shirt? or Valves Lingerie? Or a Valves Tattoo just above her... ooops, she heard me. Hi Laura, You're cute =)
I took all of the above pictures (That means I get to say © 2007 Joe Miglionico), but I didn't take the rest of these, and I don't know who did. I'm sure someone will tell me though, until then, credit for the remaining pics goes to whoever took them.

Joy dances with her and Steve's son Ben while a guy lounges in a chair.

This is it, the big one, the Big Jam. Look at that stage, it's fuller than a ship's knothole on Pirate Party Night.


This is Bob Largess, who owns the Hotel Vernon, a landmark in Worcester that Babe Ruth lived in back before Worcester had sunk completely into urban decay.

Ben and Joy continue dancing, ignoring the perils of the Forest of Fangorn behind them, where the Ents are plotting revenge upon the evil Saruman!!* *Gratuitous Lord of the Rings reference

This girl was another of Reagan's students. She was pretty good, but I forgot her name.

Backing her was a pseudo band that included Jay Defeudis and myself. Looking at the pants I'm wearing, I realize all I really need is some make up and red floppy shoes and I could be a rodeo clown.

She got the full horn treatment.

As the darkness moved in and the lights came on, the number of people on stage started to outnumber the people watching.

Steve's brother John took drums for a while along with his daughter Lauren.

Quick, is it a band? or people waiting on a subway platform for a late train?

Steve doing his Mr. Entertainment Shtick. The guy in the white shirt playing guitar on the left is Katie's dad who some of you may remember from a band called Calamity Jane in the 1970s or from 8 is Enough in the 1980s. I think he played the dad.

Katie and Reagan sang together while Katie tried in vain to get the hang of the whole "tambourine thing ". Steve is giving everyone the universal "Turn it down" gesture. I'm sure he meant well.

Once it was too late for electric instruments, like all the sane people, I left. But apparently the part went on without me and involved torching things. I see Mike is almost ready to throw in his acoustic ass guitar.

Silly me, it was jammin at the fire time. Funny how long exposure makes it look less like a fire and more like the exhaust from the Space Shuttle

And all watched in silence as the fire consumed the logs, unaware that the Ents were sneaking up behind them ready to kill them all for torching their friends the precious trees. The next morning little remained except a smoking pit. Second Gratuitous Lord of the Rings refence