I can’t believe it’s been ten years since the Mike Farley Band released their album Halfaworldaway.

Around that time I was playing keys in the Tony Lang Band, playing guitar and producing music with Tom Smith, and writing and performing with the nascent version of drunkdude69.  The TLB split a number of shows with the Mike Farley Band, and I was friends with Jeff Beam who played bass in both projects, so I was frequently in attendance when they played to great crowds at the Odeon concert club and elsewhere.

It seems like yesterday that I watched their CD release performance at the Odeon.  I remember wanting to smash my hands with a hammer as I watched Jeff Nagel play guitar like a rock star.  Mike’s songs were amazing, and Jeff Beam and Joe Rohan held down a pounding rhythm on bass and drums.

So on Sunday night it was like stepping into a Cleveland music time machine.

The show was excellent – lots of fun and energy, a room full of people who were psyched to enjoy some original music, and a great venue in Brothers Lounge on Cleveland’s west side.

It was fantastic to see some folks I hadn’t caught up with in a long time, and to meet some new friends as well.  I got goosebumps while listening to the band play their set, which included a guest appearance on bass and vocals by Brian Dossa, who replaced Jeff Beam on bass after Jeff headed to Nashville.

It made me remember the excitement of playing original music for an appreciative crowd.  There was some talk about the band putting some new material together despite the guys living in different areas of the country.  I think the tools exist for that collaboration, and I hope they do it (um, I’ll throw down some Hammond tracks if anybody’s interested).

Whatever they come up with I’ll be in line to get a copy (along with lots of other folks).

We had an amazing studio night last night, due in part to some special guests.  Jeff Beam, who we’ve known for years, and who is an amazing bass player, joined us for part of the evening.  He brought along his muse Natalie as well, and we caught up for a bit before we settled into making some music.

The jamming was extra special because K Billy and Jeff played in a Cleveland band in the ’90s called Qynne’s Horse.  This marked the first time that they were writing together in years!

It was a blast.  Prior to Jeff’s arrival Mike, KB and I had written a bridge for an upcoming song called “Today Special”.  We were pretty happy with our efforts, but after Jeff showed up we gave the whole thing another shot and came up with what could be an even better idea.

The idea juice was working last night, I’ll tell you!

BTW, if you’re in Cleveland you can catch Jeff playing out with Calabash, the GeezeCats, Alan Greene and more.  And he’ll be playing in the Mike Farley Band reuinion show at Brother’s Lounge on Sunday July 25.