Bayside Tavern
C and I decided to hit the Bayside Tavern tonight. The Bayside is a bar in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. It is a lot like small town bars all over the Midwest. Neon beer signs on the wall,game schedules on the walls and a few large screen TVs so the patrons can watch the game. (Whatever happens to be on). It was also very smoky,but now that Wisconsin has a restaurant smoking ban the nicotine addicts have to go elsewhere for their fix.
It is also a place to get the best pizza in the county. We wouldn't have ever gone there except for the the advice of Mark, the innkeeper, several years ago. We have been enjoying it ever since.
The game that is on all of the big screen TVs is the Texas/Yankees playoff game. Texas is ahead by one game. I'm hoping that Texas spanks the Yankees as it would be nice to see someone else playing.
We like to sit in a corner booth so both of us can see the TV. A Yankee player had just scored a run and it was under review. They showed the hit from several views and it was clearly foul. The run was called back and the player came back up to bat. The guy came over with menus, but we don't need them. We know what we are having. We are having a sausage and green pepper medium pizza. He takes the order and leaves.
We watch the game some more. I marvel at the players, most of them are pretty big guys. They don't look like they would be able to run the bases. C and I discuss the game a bit. We are both having a good time and C is probably thanking God that he has a wife that likes to watch sports. I like baseball because it is a lot easier to follow. Football has so many rules it's sort of difficult.
The pizza arrives and we both help ourselves to several pieces. It's really good, better than the pizza that we settled for on Sunday night. I decide to change the subject. I ask C, "Who do you consider to be the best guitar player of all time?"
He had to think about this for a minute or two. "Living ones", I said, hoping to be helpful.
" I can't of just one", he finally said.
"Top five then"
"Well...There's Steve Vai, John Mayer, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley and that guy that was married to Valerie Bertinelli."
"Eddie Van Halen?!" I'm a little shocked by this one. I didn't think C listened to Van Halen or even knew about them.
"Yup."
"There are so many though, " he continued. "There's any of the guys that played 'Cluster Pluck' (a song on Brad Paisley's CD 'Play') Stevie Ray Vaughn,Jeff Beck Lindsay Buckingham...he is a really good one, really good." I'm amazed again. Most people who listen to Fleetwood Mac think of Stevie Nicks.
There were a few he didn't mention. "I said living ones,otherwise I'm sure you would have mentioned Jimi Hendrix."
"Actually, no", he said.
"Why not? I thought he was all that."
C leaned over the table to make his point. "Anyone who needs to get hopped up on drugs to play is not that good. It's cheating."
"Sort of like an athlete using anabolic steroids?"
"Yes." He helped himself to another piece.
"What make s a guitar player great in your eyes?"
"The kind of sound he makes, the way he bends the strings and makes the guitar sing."
This is a very interesting conversation to me. We don't talk about music that much. I'm interested in the ones he didn't name. He didn't name Clapton,Keith Richards or James Taylor, guys that I thought would make the cut. They are all very good, but not great.
There are a few others that he likes, Leo Kottke, Django Reinhart, Segovia, Montonya and Silva. He saw Silva once.
"How about Lee Ritneour", I asked. I like Lee Ritenour, who has the nickname 'Captain Fingers'.
"Also good"
I took two pieces off the platter and poured some pepper flakes on it. We've never had a talk like this. I'm having a really good time. I always knew that his role models were James Taylor and John Denver, but didn't realise his taste was so varied.
I think I need to buy a few CDs
It is also a place to get the best pizza in the county. We wouldn't have ever gone there except for the the advice of Mark, the innkeeper, several years ago. We have been enjoying it ever since.
The game that is on all of the big screen TVs is the Texas/Yankees playoff game. Texas is ahead by one game. I'm hoping that Texas spanks the Yankees as it would be nice to see someone else playing.
We like to sit in a corner booth so both of us can see the TV. A Yankee player had just scored a run and it was under review. They showed the hit from several views and it was clearly foul. The run was called back and the player came back up to bat. The guy came over with menus, but we don't need them. We know what we are having. We are having a sausage and green pepper medium pizza. He takes the order and leaves.
We watch the game some more. I marvel at the players, most of them are pretty big guys. They don't look like they would be able to run the bases. C and I discuss the game a bit. We are both having a good time and C is probably thanking God that he has a wife that likes to watch sports. I like baseball because it is a lot easier to follow. Football has so many rules it's sort of difficult.
The pizza arrives and we both help ourselves to several pieces. It's really good, better than the pizza that we settled for on Sunday night. I decide to change the subject. I ask C, "Who do you consider to be the best guitar player of all time?"
He had to think about this for a minute or two. "Living ones", I said, hoping to be helpful.
" I can't of just one", he finally said.
"Top five then"
"Well...There's Steve Vai, John Mayer, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley and that guy that was married to Valerie Bertinelli."
"Eddie Van Halen?!" I'm a little shocked by this one. I didn't think C listened to Van Halen or even knew about them.
"Yup."
"There are so many though, " he continued. "There's any of the guys that played 'Cluster Pluck' (a song on Brad Paisley's CD 'Play') Stevie Ray Vaughn,Jeff Beck Lindsay Buckingham...he is a really good one, really good." I'm amazed again. Most people who listen to Fleetwood Mac think of Stevie Nicks.
There were a few he didn't mention. "I said living ones,otherwise I'm sure you would have mentioned Jimi Hendrix."
"Actually, no", he said.
"Why not? I thought he was all that."
C leaned over the table to make his point. "Anyone who needs to get hopped up on drugs to play is not that good. It's cheating."
"Sort of like an athlete using anabolic steroids?"
"Yes." He helped himself to another piece.
"What make s a guitar player great in your eyes?"
"The kind of sound he makes, the way he bends the strings and makes the guitar sing."
This is a very interesting conversation to me. We don't talk about music that much. I'm interested in the ones he didn't name. He didn't name Clapton,Keith Richards or James Taylor, guys that I thought would make the cut. They are all very good, but not great.
There are a few others that he likes, Leo Kottke, Django Reinhart, Segovia, Montonya and Silva. He saw Silva once.
"How about Lee Ritneour", I asked. I like Lee Ritenour, who has the nickname 'Captain Fingers'.
"Also good"
I took two pieces off the platter and poured some pepper flakes on it. We've never had a talk like this. I'm having a really good time. I always knew that his role models were James Taylor and John Denver, but didn't realise his taste was so varied.
I think I need to buy a few CDs
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