ZK News

4/17/09

Hello everyone!

        Here we sit halfway thru April….the dreaded Tax Deadline upon us. As always I have waited til the last possible second to do taxes, and have the minimal amount of knowledge of what I am doing! I think one of the things I would change about my life if I could go back about 20 years would have to be how I handled my tax situation. It has been a monster thorn in my side that I created unknowingly….but has festered and continues to drill me whenever possible. My real problem is that I did it all wrong from the get-go…and by the time it was all realized, the hole was simply too huge to just climb out of easily. Fortunately, for the most part, it has been dealt with in the past years…but…I still feel incredibly inept at tax time. Way back in 1985, I started signing the checks when the band would get paid…thinking nothing of it. Early on…there weren’t a lot of checks…but when we went on the road there were! Some weeks we were paid in cash…and others by check. I never thought anything of it. A huge mistake early on had to be when I did my taxes for 1986. I can still remember sitting at my kitchen table, paper bag full of receipts from fuel, food, equipment, essentials…piles upon piles of paperwork. Many hours later as the sun came up, I took it all to the family Taxman…and he just laughed. He just asked a couple questions about how long we had been on the road, and how much we made total…and that was all she wrote. Course, that formulated my laid back attitude…and thus 6 or 7 years I started getting letters from the IRS about my numbers being way off…and how I was not accounting for $60 some thousand dollars in 1987 or 88 or 90… anyway..you get the picture. I would explain how I signed for things…but that it was always split etc… and they told me to rectify it…but you try going to guys you played with in 1986 or 1992 and tell them you need their SS#, and that they will have to file papers to adjust their reported income and may owe money themselves. I suppose I could have been an a$$hole about it…and prolly should… but instead, I have never seen a tax return check ever….why?....because any I might have been getting was applied to the amount owed from band income and penalties over the years. About 3 years back maybe I finally got it all taken care of, and I really hate to think of all the money I personally have lost in the process.   Ahhh but live and learn I guess! I know I am not the only person in the world who has had their battles with the IRS!

This WeeK:

TONIGHT-Wednesday April 15- BD Unplugged at the OLD TOWN TAVERN (Downstairs) 9-1BU

        Well you might as well come out and drown your sorrow with a cold beer at OTT…or perhaps celebrate another successful tax season under your belt!   Note To Self:   Try to get this out before I actually play the show….!

Friday April 17- BD Unplugged at the OLD TOWN TAVERN (Upstairs) 9:30-??

        I make the move up into the executive wing for the weekend. And it’s supposed to be a little warmer and more spring like by then. I may have to resort to special means to get folks to make the move upstairs from downstairs. I am amazed at how many don’t know I am even up there playing!!! I walk down and it’s “Hey man…are you jamming somewhere tonight”… ummmm…… LOL!!! I do have to tear down and load out tonight…so that will be on my mind as well!!! Volunteers accepted!

Saturday April 18- ZERO KINGS at the Main Street Pub- Robinson, IL 8:45-12:45 (9:45-1:45 Indtime)

        It’s been a long long time since ZK played our last gig at the MSP….well over a year. That last gig was one of our best gigs ever at MSP….and it sure would be nice to have a great return gig as well. I was there last week Unplugged…and hope to see a lot of the same faces ready to party this Saturday. We have an additional batch of songs ready to debut this week as well as the several that we’ve added since reforming. I am sure we will head up early enough to snag some Monical’s pizza too!!! This is one of the places that all the bands want to play…because it’s a great place…and even more so because it’s got great people who run it. If you are looking for something to do out of town….Robinson is a mere 30 minute drive from Vinny! If you are from that area…..please help make this a good time for all! I also gotta say…we had a great rehearsal last night to fine tune some new songs we’d worked on…and there will be some surprises in store… Scott is becoming much more involved in the vocal side of ZK, and as a result the already potent 3-part harmonies have evolved into 4-part in some cases.

Sunday, April 19: BD Unplugged- Knox County March Of Dimes- Vincennes Univ Recreation Center 1:00-?
        This all started several years ago when my friend Terri Chambers…now Armstrong…and now living out of town… called me to ask for help providing entertainment for the event. I don’t even know the year now…but it has to have been 5 or 6. I am happy to do my part to help in any way for such a good cause. All I really do is set up my great and provide music while all the teams gather for pictures and then head out on the Walk… and then when they come back I provide more tunes while they eat and have drawings for prizes. As anyone knows who plays music…it’s hard to be able to do all the benefits you are asked to do…and fiscally impossible… but I am pleased to help the March of Dimes each year. I will be outside…weather permitting…on the Red Skelton Boul. Side of the VU Recreation building..in the parking lot. There is lots of food and drink available as well. I did just get a call that they are expecting rain…so I very well may be inside the Recreation center!

Last Week:

Last Friday-Cutter’s Way: As always…regardless if it’s a packed house or just a couple table of friends…I have a great time at Cutters. Ted & Steph, Brady, Turk, Dan, Bridget, family Heuby, Evelyn, Mikey D, Jon and Pama, Richard & Mary, Amy, Cable Dave, The Lincoln crowd, Amy-home from Tennessee for Easter Eggs, some folks from Bridgeport who partied it up and sang along…and a phone call from Kid Boy LOL! I also recall another big table piled high with beverages…Dave was in town, and it seems like I saw Dani too. Marc was out for a bit…Tony too and it’s always great to hear Abba as I head out the door to home! I know Debbie loves it!

Last Saturday-BDu at MSP in Robinson: a warm up for the upcoming weekend with ZK. What can I say about the MSP crew. It started out like it might be only a hand ful of folk out…and within a half hour it got to be pretty solid for the unplugged show.   Big thanks to MIkey D for making the trip with me and helping set up and tear down… and a big thank you to Deanna and Erik for showing up and kicking the party into another gear…and help as well. I was also pleased to see the Love Machine..aka Alan, and Zero Queen Corbert in the house along with her daughter Ashley celebrating a birthday..of which we had to shoot the birthday shot! The BDu show owes a lot to the support Eric & Sherry have shown in having me play…and Eric in particular brings a group or two…even had his mom out last Saturday. George as always…is one of my favorite bartenders of all time…and it was great to see some familiar faces…and a lot of new faces to the BDu adventure.    The trip home was fun darting in and out of Deer on 33…but it keeps me awake!!! Hopefully I will be back with the Unplugged gig at MSP soon enough.

Last Sunday-BDu EasterFest at Cutter’s Way: A long day culminating with some tunage alacoustic on Sunday Night… with Turk as your host! Mikey D…as I….was feeling the after effects of not only Saturday in Robby…but a full 3 night BDu session with Cutters on Friday. We ain’t getting any younger are we?!?! Dan, Bridget,Laif, a few songs from the Brown Dog himself, Dave & Debbie, Ted & Steph, John, Dave, Amy….and of course the Easter Bunny… and actually there were many others out as well…. Course the next Acoustic Sunday happens to be Mother’s Day… so make your plans now….Mom needs a night out!

So there you have it… another week down….another week ahead…. And it would not be possible without the support and friendship of so many of you all thru the years. I had a conversation just last week with some folks about how it amazes me how long I have been doing this, and how many people I have played for over those years. I have been so lucky to have had packs of friends who have stuck with me… times change, faces change, venues change, bars close…People grow up, people move on, get married, have kids, get jobs…lifestyles change…locations change… When I close my eyes and think of all the people I have come to know over the years of playing music…it is mind boggling..and always highly satisfying to see someone back in town for a visit and popping in for a night…or have someone come in for the first time because he’s been told I am an icon in this town…. There was a time when I was just a junior high kid with a cheap 12-string dreaming of playing music for anyone other than my cats and dogs…oh and my loyal Mom and Dad. And a time when I moved to Vincennes back in 1985 knowing nobody and being on the outside of the whole music ‘scene’ as it were…and it was a scene back then my friends! It has made all those hard times worthwhile….even if it is only Vincennes and a small pond in the ocean of humanity.…it’s my small pond dammit lol!!

Remember…please… ZERO KINGS--- The Diamond, Sullivan- Sat April 25, and in Vincennes on May 2 at Cutter’s Way. Continue to support live Local Musicians….and the places that have them.

Remember Yesterday, Dream Tomorrow, Live Today

BD