Hi:
What a wonderful surprise to have found this cool web site. I haven't been in Madison since 1979, and this brings back great memories. Thank you.
I would like to mention though, that it was not a guitarist for the Blue Light Band who talked Dave into booking the band, but me, the saxophone
player. I had recently bought a house at 15 N. Baldwin St--just past East Washington and had taken
to getting in a quick game of pool at the Crystal in the evenings. I loved the place because it reminded me of the old
taverns around the steel mills in my home town of Buffalo, NY. When Dick
and Dave bought the place, I was glad they kept the original look and feel.
The Blue Light Band had been playing regularly for a couple of years down the street at the
Wisconsin Inn, the home bar for the CC Riders motorcycle club, but we were always looking for new venues.
One night I was talking to Dave and he was wondering how to get a younger
crowd. I naturally suggested he book the Blue Light. He right away pointed
out that there was not enough room. I suggested he move the two pool tables into the little alcove at the back of the bay and put plywood on
top of them. I said we could play up there. He thought there was no way we could fit a five-piece band on two small pool tables, but I
finally convinced him, and the rest was history. We played there every Thursday for quite some time, and the place was
usually packed. We invariably had a great time, played with some of the
best musicians in the then-thriving blues/country/fusion scene in Madison, and I've never fit more musicians on a
smaller stage since then.
Thanks again for the web site.
Tim Tully