“Saw Donald play last night.”
“Tux or ducks?”

***

Donald Fowler leads two lives. On Saturday nights, he slicks his hair into a D.A., shines his black-and-white suede shoes (OK, so you can’t really shine suede), and thump-thumps on a stand-up bass to swing and rockabilly covers as a member of The Nephews, house band at the Walter Hotel. There, he rasps and scats and slaps like a sultan.

On Thursdays throughout the indoor concert season—plus the occasional matinee, Pops show or park gig, Fowler is the bassist for an even more retro, even more roaring combo—The Barks Memorial Hall Symphony Orchestra. Here, he’s a more sanguine, more even-tempered, capable of fading into the background, though no less bombastic when needs be.
Sometimes you’ll find both Fowlers in a single night, undoing the bowtie after a classical rave-up to join the Thursday “Gearloose Jam” at Huey’s Diner. Last week he even brought a violinist and a clarinetist with him.

Didn’t know Huey’s even had a jam? It’s largely an after-hours thing, since assistant manager Bruce Spiegel, aka “Beagle” of The Beagle Boys, keeps his keyboards in a kitchen closet there and is always itching to play after the last round of dishwashing. Sometimes, when it’s OK with the customers, they kick in early.

And that’s how a couple dozen patrons last Thursday got treated to a mad mash of rockabilly tinged with Renaissance interludes as a sidedish to their meatloaf:

“The Mummy’s Ring,” interrupted with the second movement of “The Fabulous Philosopher’s Stone.”
A jam which included snippets from the jukebox gem “Christmas for Shacktown” and the song cycle “Christmas on Bear Mountain.”
A “golden” medley of “The Golden Fleecing,” “The Golden Helmet,” “The Golden River” and “Pirate Gold.” (Two are pop tunes, two are symphonic works; you guess which.)

There was barking and wailing and sincere polite appreciation. In other words, a lot of the crowd didn’t know what to think. But a band was born, and a more cohesive concert/gig is planned. Band names already being bandied around: John D. Rockerduck
There’ll be plenty of notice next time, since this is a project that needs a prepared audience to be properly appreciative.
Hey, can we write the illuminating, footnote-laden program notes?

In less rarefied climes this wintry Wednesday, Dollaire’s gets historical with San Diego Inkpots and Hall of Famers Eisner & WR-H (who had a home in our fair state for a time) at Dollaire’s, CBG and Disney Legends at Hamiltons , while the frolicsome Flintheart Glomgold and the Ganders hold down the fort at the fabled Bullfinch…