November 21, 2005
The Last Jam came off at 11:30. My old bandmate Mike Torres, formerly in the Surf Men and the Dimensions, got to our offices around 11 this morning. He called me en route and asked me if I minded if he brought along Wayne Rutcshman. This was an inside joke. Wayne was our saxophone player in the Exits (1963-67, and rivals of the Dimensions). Actually Mike was referring to Bryne Donaldson a sax player extraordinaire who Mike knows from gigging around the Valley. Bryne lives close to here and showed up at about 11:30. As he soaked his reed, we kicked into “Walk, Don’t Run” by the Ventures and never looked back. Mike probably knows 5,000 songs so he kept the hits coming and Gus Walker, Bryne and I tagged along, whipping out some blistering licks that shut down the phones and rattled the walls of the real estate business three doors down.

Here’s a photo of the four of us basking in the post show glow after the performance.

After a break of pizza and pop (Carole went to Barro’s Pizza for takeout), we finished with three songs for Gus. He sang "Take It Easy" by the Eagles and "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash. And then just for grins, Mike thundered into "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC and that pretty much cleared out the parking lot.

Fun times and ringing ear drums at the True West offices. And FYI: it’s safe to call again.

"Things have never been more like the way they are today in history."
—Dwight David Eisenhower