May 24, 2013

By:  Karen Hefter
Photos by:  Bob Nelson

It was a gorgeous day in Walnut Creek and it was perfectly suited for a fabulous playout at the Walnut Creek Senior Center monthly luncheon.  A big thanks goes to our set up crew, who arrived an hour and a half early to set up.   We all joined the seniors for a luncheon of soup, hot dogs, and sides before our performance.

Jack Convery was our leader for the performance and he started off the show with the “Marines Hymn,” since the performance kicked off Memorial Day weekend.  We played several other patriotic songs, which roused the 65+ member audience and got their toes tapping.  Jack honored veterans from the various armed services.  Then, Jack went up and down the rows of the band and introduced each player individually and asked them to select a song for us to play.  We ended up with a great variety of songs this way and the audience was very appreciative.  They sang along from time to time and there were reports of a woman in a wheelchair dancing on the side.

We had a nice turnout of players for this show, including:  Guy Black, Tom Brunetti, Jack Convery, Bill Dowling, Don Granberg, Karen Hefter, Terry Horner, Ardie Jarrett, Chris Lardge, Bob Malucelli, Diane Malucelli, Mickey McDonald, Herb Moore, Linda Myers, Phil Myers, Kit Nelson, Bud Pearce, and Sheila Welt.  Terry and Don were featured on their washboards in “Coney Island Washboard,” which was a real crowd pleaser, and Terry even sang!  One of the interesting things about this playout was that it featured so many of our talented singers.  Jack, Terry, Chris, Mickey, Herb, Kit, Bud, and Sheila all sang during the playout.  Loyal club members Jim Abele, Dorothy Cahill, and Bob Nelson were in the audience supporting the performers.

All in all, it was a great playout and it’s hard to tell who had more fun – the band or the audience!