Pictures
Bill kicking off a tune
Pete laying down the rhythm on the "Pete-O-Caster"
The trio hits a chorus while Bill plays backup
Freeman laying into a break
Mike sings it high and lonesome
Mike, Neil and Pete sing a trio
Bill sings a lead
Freeman does an instrumental
Bill switches to Dobro
Hitting those high harmonies
Mike sings lead while Bill does backup
Freeman intent on his playing
Neil plays a break
Pete plays some hot licks
The whole band
Mike focuses on keeping the rhythm rock solid
A closeup of Mike's fretting hand
Bill looking pensive
Neil hits a break
Pete laying down the rhythm
The boys hitting those high harmonies
Bill introduces the next song
Neil doing the lead on one of the band's originals
Bill playing Dobro backup
Neil and Pete
Mike sings lead
Freeman fiddles an instrumental
Mike gets a surprise birthday cake while we all sing "Happy Birthday"
Pete really getting into the lyrics
Neil takes a mandolin break
Mike, Neil and Bill doing a trio
Mike playing pensively
Pete in profile
Bill takes a break
The boys doing a pedal-to-the-metal instrumental
Bill tells a funny story.
Mike sings one, with Bill on Dobro
Two fiddles, no waiting!
Fan Thomas Weber from Switzerland models a Big Spike cap in an old Swiss castle called Lenzburg. (Thomas is the one on the left!) He gets the prize for the most well-travelled cap. Thomas says, By the way, I always listen to your CDs in my car. They are really great!
The trio sings a chorus.
Bill backs up a verse on Dobro.
The quartet sings a capella.
Check out the matching shirts!
Freeman solos.
Bill sings lead.
Mike is channeling Charlie Mingus.
Neil sings lead on a tune.
Pete sings one of his original songs.
Mike sings while Bill plays Dobro.
The band on stage, taken from the back of the house.
The quartet sings a capella.
With Gopher Broke, jamming on stage at evening's end.
Bill takes a banjo break.
Neil and Pete sing a duet.
Freeman fiddling up a storm.
Pete takes a guitar solo.
The trio sings their hearts out, while Mike holds down the rhythm.
Mike joins Neil and Pete on a trio. This was Mike's first gig with us.
Freeman solos
Bill takes the lead on "Shuckin' The Corn".
A fan approached us at the April, 2006 show at the Lincoln Inn with a wonderful story. They live in a small town, and had been troubled with feral animals getting into a dumpster near their house, making a lot of noise while foraging for food. Nothing they had been able to do had kept the animals out of the dumpster. Finally, they put some humane traps in the dumpster, but didn't have much success. They came out to see us in January at the Lincoln Inn, baiting the trap before they left, and asking a neighbor to keep an ear out for activity around the dumpster.
When they got home, they had a phone message from their neighbor saying they had better check their traps because something was making a lot of noise.
Opening the dumpster, they found a feral cat inside the trap
making his displeasure known. It being cold, they brought him into the house where he
proceeded to make himself at home. He turned out to be such a pleasant animal that
they decided to keep him. When it came to naming him, they agreed that there was really
only one choice. So say hello to...
Big Spike, the cat
Here's a photo from deep within the Big Spike archives, dating back to around 1971. This is a shot from a stage show by the Spark Gap Wonder Boys, a group Neil played with for many years which had recorded the first album for Rounder Records.
Pictured are (l-r), George Nelson (guitar), Dave Doubilet (banjo), and Neil Rossi (fiddle) on stage at Sanders Theatre, Cambridge, Mass. You have to look really hard to find any grey hair here. Check out the bell-bottom trousers. Thanks to Dennis Satterlee for making this classic photo available.
Spark Gap Wonder Boys, 1971
(Photo by Bob Hammond)