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I still clearly remember a very tired Steve Grams turning to me after a tune and saying "yeah, man"
with as much enthusiasm as a bass player can muster while auditioning drummers.
The leader, Mike Hebert [Presents the Kings of Pleasure], came up to me afterwards and said that
although he knew I already had a gig, this one was mine if I wanted it. It didn't take much math
(but it was surprising to calculate) to figure that the opportunity for a real life on land beat the
coffin-like comfort and potential I endured at sea.
[I'll leave out the details of my foiled plans to finish off the ship contract to make enough bread to
make relocating smoother. You've probably caught my vibe that ship life can be a little dreary.
Drop me a line sometime and I'll fill you in on the fun and exotic side of cruising infrastructure.]
Okay, so I'm in Tucson working with KOP. Brenden gradually phases himself out (more on his
swing-fatigue later) and Steve gets fired for being "hard-headed" and "negative". I doubt Steve
himself could honestly deny these allegations if pressed, but it's not like it was any kind of
development. Anyhow, it stops being fun very shortly thereafter, and the local swing community
is kind of hungry for more of what we want to do, so the three of us form a trio. Steve's idea.
We have more than a built-in audience from KOP: There's a real desire for the jazzier
stuff that KOP never did -- three-part-harmony, lots of novelty tunes, dance tempos first
and foremost -- and the "KGB Trio", as they call us, very quickly becomes an underground favorite.
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