You say it's your birthday!? We're gonna have a GOOD time!

As if the SketchCrawl wasn't enough fun for one day, I spent Saturday evening (and on into the night) in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains at Fall City's Raging River Saloon to hear the wonderful keyboard player Lauralee Smith in a band called Free Rain. Despite their name they can NOT be blamed for the floodwaters just down the road. I did dance, I did drink some beer, I did stay up way past my bedtime. My hotel room was just up the street at the Fall City Inn, which apparently found fame in the tv show "Twin Peaks."

I kept trying to leave but the band kept breaking into great dance tunes and I had to stay: keyboard (piano, synth, accordian) player Lauralee, singer Tom, guitarist Dale, bass player Tim (hey Ballard!), singer P.A., guest singer Debbie from Chrome Molly, drummer Donn and a guest drummer whose name I could not hear above the ambient sounds. That was WITH the earplugs, gracefully provided by Lauralee; there is a reason she can still hear after playing in bands since forever.

The best reason for a party was to celebrate the 65th birthday of L's other half, the estimable Mr. Smith. Dick is now "officially the world's oldest 18-year-old." Ever so true. Note his shirt: Lauralee's turquoise accordian had its public debut in a classic version of "Twist and Shout." So we did -- although I was briefly expecting her to play "All Along the Watchtower" and I still hope she will.

Definitely a weekend for old friends. Beth (SketchCrawl) and I were locker partners in 8th grade. Lauralee and I go back nearly that far --


She remembers, if I don't, that I took this picture of her band Rock Kandy on the Seattle Art Museum camels in Volunteer Park in 1968. And somewhere I probably still have the negative for a picture of Lauralee and Dick on New Year's Eve 1970.