I played the with John Skinner's B band on their first Christmas job of the year. First discovery: all the Christmas tunes were missing from the piano book. I played them off the bass part, some of which didn't have the chords included. "I play it better without the chords!" I told Rick Baker, the leader. His brother John played drums, as he often does. But until tonight I never realized that you could call them the Fabulous Baker Boys. "When do I get Michelle Pfeiffer?"
Usually Kathryn Skinner sings with the B band, but tonight it was Melissa Collard. She is a super singer. She also knows a number of cartoonists. During one of my solos tonight, she said, "Mark Stivers, famous cartoonist... and piano player."