Soon, in the next couple posts, I will reach the number 400 in the total number of posts I have made here since starting this blog in March of 2010. A lot of water has passed under the bridge in the last five years, and I have had some difficulties, actually longer than five years if you consider this coming February 22 will mark eight years since the beloved mother of my daughters passed away from pancreatic cancer, but nonetheless, life has been getting better for me. I am involved in an amazing relationship with a wonderful woman whom I’ve actually known for 43 years. Bearing down on eight months now, Mary is a fellow musician, great singer – she was formerly in a Heart cover band and also sang in another ’80’s Band, where they performed an entire set of Heart and another of Pat Benatar’s music. She also plays guitar and keyboards. She and I also share so many other mutual interests: good food, wine, Captain and Coke, Dirty Martinis, cooking, photography, good beer, she loves my fly tying and is fascinated by it, nature, she loves to fish, though I will be getting a fly rod in her hands for the first time when the weather warms a bit. It is just amazing and miraculous to find someone this late in life when one might have though the best has already passed by.
My music career, hobby that was more or less given up in ’79 when I dropped out of the rock band I was in (back then we were just a rock band; the term Classic Rock had not yet been invented), has taken off as I’ve been drumming full-time in a Classic Rock Band called Pepper Street. We played fifty-seven gigs last year. It’s great fun, relieves stress, and I’ve met new friends and gotten reacquainted with old ones from back in the day. For not playing at all in thirty-four years, save for the occasional performance in church and a few theater musicals in the ’80’s, I had not played at all. Sadly, the drum kit was just collecting dust.
Here is a shot of me at my vintage Premier drum kit:
Don Bastian – at my vintage Premier 1975 Powerhouse PD2500 drum kit. Taken on my birthday in April 2014 at a local American Legion Post.
The hardware is all new, upgraded to the heavy-duty stuff from the last ten or so years. We play tonight. Another night of fun and music!
Here are a couple more pics of the band in action:
The Pepper Street Band performing July 2014 at the Tiki Bar and Patio at the Pier 87 Bar and Grill near Montoursville, PA. We have five bookings there again this summer.
Pepper Street Band at the New Mountain Tavern, Allenwood, PA.
