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excited to meet John. We will play mostly original material. I can’t wait for that show! How did you hook up with Bob Goodman and his radio Show Whole ‘Nuther Thing When I was in North Carolina, I received an email from Bob that said if I would send him a copy of Live without Love he would play it on his show. I think he stumbled upon my website http://www.johnkrogman.com and listened to the song there first. Since then I’ve been on 7 times, the latest being April 2, 2011. If you haven’t listened to Bob Goodman’s webcast Whole ‘Nuther Thing, it’s on every Saturday 6:00pm till 9:00pm out of Mission Viejo, California. All the webcasts are archived. Check it out it’s a great show. There is a link on my homepage to the show. Any last comments? Yes, thanks to you and all the rest of the people who have shown me their support over the years! Rock till you drop! Editor’s Note: Rustbucket will be performing with counterculture icon John Sinclair on Saturday, April 23rd at White’s Bar.
Listening to some of your demos, I’m struck at how adept you are at shifting into different styles and genres. How were you able to incorporate various influences and still be totally original? I like many different genres. Because I write songs, when I get an idea, I don’t listen to anything else until I’m done working on a particular piece. If I am going to the studio I only listen to what I’m going to be working on that day. This stops the “oh it sound like this or that song” syndrome, which can be a big obstacle, because when you write with an acoustic guitar, at first it’s bound to sound like something else until I present it to the band. I don’t dictate to them what to play. I just let them feel it and play what they play. I love your new song Carolina Moon - It has a folksy Harvest Moon vibe with Workingman Dead harmonies but doesn’t sound like Neil Young or The Grateful Dead. It seems to capture the essence of your own unique vision without borrowing too much from those other artists. What do you think? Carolina Moon was inspired by exactly that - when I was in North Carolina. Many great songs are 3 or 4 chord songs. Some come out of nowhere, like a gift from God. The song usually will lead me where I need to go. How would you characterize your music? Good question. Rock, Blues, old Country, Rockabilly, Ska. No boundaries. My music is my music; I do it because I like to write songs, so as long as I’m happy with it that’s all that matters. Songs just happen and it’s not the same every time. Sometimes I will head in a certain direction, and other times I just work with what comes out. I love the nursery rhymes you set to music on the demos. I believe you made them for your grandchildren. This Old Man has incredible charm. Is it something you might keep in your shows or on a future CD? The nursery rhymes are for a new company in Redlands, California, DND English Learners, Consultants and Coaches. They are language professionals and Rustbucket is recording nursery rhymes and original material to help young children (ages 5 to 10) from different foreign countries to learn English. You reworked the incredible Follow Me Down with Rustbucket and it is even better than the original version. Your guitar work is excellent; probably you’re best ever. You were up and down the neck from the E string to the bass strings. Is this one of your shining moments on record? I was in the studio working on something else and just tried it on a big distorted electric guitar and it worked. Yea, probably the best lead work for me. This song has taken on a whole new life. I enjoyed your socio-political themes on Kandahar Is Falling. Is this a new stance for you? When we went into Afghanistan, the reporters just kept on saying Kandahar is falling, so the whole song is built around that phrase. As far as my stance…no comment. Do you have plans on recording a Rustbucket CD? Yes, we are doing that right now, and we have a lot of music to record. You have an upcoming show with legendary Michigan poet John Sinclair. Do you have any special plans for that show? No special plans except to put on one hell of a show for our part. We are very
The Creek Grill
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money the old fashioned way. I want to attract customers through excellent food, keep my overhead low, and cultivate a significant volume.” Another popular item on their menu is the Surf & Turf, which Dean offers at $12.95 and will sell four or five dozen of on any given Friday night. “In most upscale restaurants, for the quality of food that we serve, people would pay $24.00 to $30.00 for something similar. I could charge that, but I would rather sell 40 of them instead of a dozen.” Dean develops a seasonal menu along with Chef Dan James, the former Executive Chef at Molly’s, who came on-board in April of last year. “Dan is a pivotal person in our operation and we designed our menu together. For lunch we have everything from sandwiches to burgers to pastas and all our dishes are homemade, utilizing choice meats and seafood.” “I try to stay with a stable menu, but we will make a few changes three or four times during the year, just to keep the menu interesting. Plus we offer different specials every night.” Another commitment Dean & company has made is to showcasing live local music. “My vision was to offer a sports bar with great food and entertainment,” explains Dean. “What I learned from my time at the Bay City Country Club is that in today’s economy, people have some disposable income, but not that many places to spend it. So the differentiation comes from being a sports bar with upscale food and entertainment that is appropriate for the size of our establishment.” “We bring in artists like Empty Pockets, Honesty & the Liars, Brett Mitchell and Myk Rise. If people want to have some good food, enjoy some music, watch sports, or let the kids play volleyball in the back, then I’m doing something different. If I don’t make a commitment to that, then I’m nothing more than a restaurant or a bar. I’m not interested in traditional bar food or staying open until 2 AM.” “Right now the economy makes it challenging for all restaurants,” continues Dean. “There’s a lot of unemployed people out there and everybody is chasing the dollar. Food costs are going up. So the most challenging thing is to manage food costs and attract customers with a product they want to come back to experience.” “Honestly, the most worthwhile and gratifying thing for me is to have a customer tell me they just experienced the best meal they ever had. And you can see it on their faces.” Dean says the most popular items on his menu for lunch center around the Club Sandwich, the Reuben, and the burgers, especially the Maui Burger and the Bullock Creek House Burger. Popular dinner items include the surf & turf, perch platters (“People in the Great Lakes Bay like perch, what can you say?” laughs Dean) and as with everything on their menu – you guessed it – the price is eminently affordable. If you’re into Ribs & Wings, they are smoked at The Creek for six to eight hours each day. And for Easter, a special menu of Prime Rib, Cooked Ham, and more will be featured on their special holiday menu. If you’ve yet to experience the tasteful, intoxicating, memorable, and affordable delights offered at The Creek Grill, do yourself and the taste buds of your family a huge favor and check them out. As their motto aptly puts it: Good Times Flow at The Creek!
April 14-27, 2011 • Review Magazine • Page 19