Dean’s not a guy to toot his own horn so I’ll do it for him. Usually guys like us like to keep that sort of thing “in the closet” but hey, if we could all toot our own horns we’d never leave home! (wacka wacka).

So Dean entered a contest and won an effects pedal from a company called Modtone. Kewl right? Well not as kewl as trying the pedal out and actually liking it, then having the pedal maker actually check out your music and your projects and give you the big E as they did for Dean. Very nice of them! Check them out, check out Dean’s artist page over there, and if you’re in the market for a pedal or two, know that it’s good quality stuff and sounds great!

Dean Cramer at Modtone Effects

If you’ve been watching Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew lately, you’ll notice a particular notorious drummer guy on there is rather smartly dressed each episode in some rather snappy looking pants and shirts. Marc Vachon is the designer and he makes clothes, very kewl clothes, for very kewl people – and he’ll even make a few threads for guys who aren’t as kewl as Slash, or Duff, or Weiland, or Jacoby - or even Ronnie and Brian, and even use a picture or two. Check out his web site, and search for his name on eBay for some great deals – Marc Vachon – “worn by the fine since 1999.”

Mark Schenker at Marc Vachon

We say Merry Christmas! And we mean it!

Last gig with FM 11/08/08

We had a great time and there was a full house at Sweet Caroline’s in wonderful Winchester, VA. We drank and played sloppy. Well, I didn’t drink, cuz I don’t- but I played sloppy, cuz I do sometimes - see intro to Sickness X-1, right Jimmy? First ever DO OVER !! Let’s have a couple of those next week on Dean’s first day back to throw him a curve ball or two. Just one or two random stops and then - DO OVER! We packed the place so well, the owner was even happy. And owners are hardly ever happy. A drunk guy fell on my pedals and triggered some random bombs. He was happy.

...and the fans go wild for him one last time!

Rob gave a nice heartfelt thanks from the stage to his wife Heather for watching the kids every Saturday night for the past five years. (All the girls sigh in unison now ready? Awwwwww!) Steve gave a speech. We all cried and felt very gay. We spent the last bit of dressing room idiocy we had left with Rob in the ‘dressing room’ type we love so much and see way too often – the kitchen! With the freezers buzzing away busy doing all their freezin’ stuff, the giant jars of mayo staring back at us, listening to all our dumbass jokes that only a mayo jar would laugh at. I don’t know about Steve and Jimmy, but I was very aware that it was ‘the last time’ to be in the little clubhouse that we build each week with Rob. Unfortunately, Rob was just plain unaware! He had a few, Gene lined up four shots of an appropriate whiskey named Jack on his amp and then something happened to them. On Sunday, had a really tough time remembering if he was a blithering idiot or not. He even had to call me and ask!

Rob and Gene - outed by the paparazzi! (all pics by Kosta Tzamalis)

We raised over $1700 for the Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland in my brother Jason’s name. If you didn’t make it this year, you missed a great jam with some really great bands – do try to make it next year.

Here’s the set list Rob, Mark, Jim Foltz and I performed:

Houses Of The Holy – Led Zeppelin
Superstition – Stevie Wonder
Waiting On The Bus – ZZ Top (with Ronnie Younkins joining us)
Jesus Just Left Chicago – ZZ Top (with Ronnie)
Toys In The Attic – Aerosmith (with Ronnie)
Pinball Wizard – The Who
The Real Me – The Who
Space Truckin – Deep Purple

Ronnie and Steve then joined us for a grand finale of a few KIX songs. Check out some video from the Jam.

Houses Of The Holy:

The Real Me:

Space Truckin:

Thanks to all the Funny Money fans for your rabid support over the years, let’s keep rocking!

-Steve

i am so happy to have had the chance to spend the last 5 years as part of the FM family. yes, it’s been 5 years – and yes IT IS a FAMILY through and through from the band and its players and crew to the fans in the clubs and beyond.

so – why am i writing this?

well, the time has come where my FM family happiness turns to a reflective kind of sadness as i realize that it is time for me to say goodbye. my last show with FM will be on 11/8. and after that, FM will turn a new page into the next chapter of its unique brand of music, fun and frolic-o-holic good times.

[is it me or does this seem like some kind of weird political speech? i've been watching too much presidential politics i guess!!]

so, why am i leaving? to be concise about it… my OTHER family calls!! my family responsibilities and stuff have grown recently as we have added another mouth to feed, butt to wipe, tears to dry, games to cheer, bus to make, homework to do… you get the idea.

his name is JACK and he likes tractors.

Tractor Jack Galpin!

so yeah… my last FM gig will be 11/8 – i hope you can come out and harrass me sometime before that.

my stuff with the baby is too much to do with FM crazy weekends every week. gotta make a break for it.

wanted to let you know – hope to see ya soon.

-RG

The Delmar Inn
16715 National Pike
Hagerstown, MD

We ask for a $10 donation and we have t-shirts for $15. All the money collected goes to The Living Legacy Foundation – Donor Family Fund. They facilitate organ donations in the state of Maryland, and helped us when Jason passed and saved 5 lives with his organ donation.

We will have someone from The Living Legacy Foundation at the jam to speak about organ and tissue donation and how one person can make such a difference in many lives.

I could go on and on about this, but I won’t do that here. If you want to be an organ and tissue donor, please talk to your friends and family to let them know. Just putting it on your driver’s license won’t make it so. Your family still has to sign off on it.

The line up for the jam is:

3:00 – THE JACKSON BROTHERS W/ VAN SHOWE
4:15 – FLAT STANLEY
5:30 – LINDA COE
6:45 – RUDY AND THE BLUEFISH
8:00 – JESTER
9:15 – MARK, ROB, JIM AND JIMMY

All these bands are VERY talented. If you haven’t been to a Jason Jam before, you owe it to yourself to come out and check these bands out. I feel so fortunate to know these musicians AND I’m honored that they are willing to donate their time to help me remember my brother Jason.

This event is a BIG HIGHLIGHT of my year. I don’t get to go out and see bands very often and this event fills that void in a big way. These bands range from jazz, R&B, blues to hard rock. There is a wide variety here all in one day, and they’re all amazing.

And then, you have Mark, Rob and Me playing some songs we always liked and never got to play back in the day. We get together with an old friend, Jim Foltz to have some fun. And, this year we have a very special guest. Ronnie Younkins will join us to play a couple songs.

So, I hope you can come out to enjoy some GREAT music and learn a little bit about the importance of organ and tissue donation. If you can’t make it, please just think about donation and if you decide to be an organ and tissue donor, make sure your family knows your decision.

Jimmy