Jackshit The Band at McCabe’s

Yesterday was long. I got up early to participate in the Roadrunners LA Marathon training run (the race will happen on Valentine’s Day this…hopefully it will be cooler than the last couple of years). By this time in the schedule the groups are running 14-16 miles. I really struggle to keep myself moving but yesterday I had the juice and ran for almost 3 hours. There are water and fuel stops along the way but I was very happy with a long slow run (14.38 miles at 12 min/mile). I haven’t abandoned my quest to complete a marathon in less than 5 hours.

Following a run of that duration, I need a good breakfast and some serious rest, which I got once I returned home. Charlie had put in 5 miles at Will Rogers State Park with my wife, so he needed some down time as well. We both took a late morning nap. So I missed the couple of calls from my friend Alan Kanter. He’s one of the long-standing audio engineers at the local guitar store/music venue. It was almost 1:30 pm when I retrieved his message. He wanted to let me know that he had a couple of tickets to last evening performance by Jackshit: The Band and wanted to know if I was interested in attending the show. The message also included a “get right back to me” because the window of opportunity was narrow. I was sure I was too late. He left the message at about 10:30 am. But after a quick conversation, the tickets were mine.

You may not know much about Jackshit: The Band, but let me tell you that I’ve seen them play McCabe’s before. The band is a fantasy outlet for so fabulously talented guys. You can visit their web site and read their “story” about how they’re from a town south ninety miles south of Bakersfield called Cochtotan. The three go by Beau Shit, Pete Shit, and Shorty Shit and they dress and talk the part of bumpkins. In reality, these guys are the real deal.

Beau is actually Val McCallum and is currently a member of Jackson Browne’s band. He’s has also toured or recorded with such notables as Shelby Lynne, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow, Natalie Merchant, Seal, The Wallflowers, Joan Osborne, Ron Sexsmith and many more. The guy can play guitar like he’s “ringing a bell”. Very impressive talent from the perspective of a wanna be guitar player.

Alan called me because the band is loud and smoking but also because Richard Thompson and Albert Lee would be sharing the stage as guest artists. The previous night Jackson was the surprise guest. As you can expect, it was quite a show. Despite my weary body, these guys engaged me for almost three hours.

Thanks Alan!