Yet Another 10th Anniversary!

The Mules celebrated their 10th anniversary with a big reunion bash last October.  This Oct. 11 they were halfway through their show at the Lagunitas Tap Room when keyboardist Dick Bay suddenly realized that this month marked his own 10th anniversary with the band.  

The date was Oct 22, 2010, just 20 days after the Mules' 1st anniversary.  Duncan Draper was the band's accordion player at the time.  He had been the drummer in Dick's jazz trio, and when he couldn't make the Oct 22 gig he recommended Dick to fill in.  Mules bandleader Geoff Mack popped over to Dick's house the night before the show and did a quick one-on-one rehearsal to introduce him to the band's repertoire.

The gig was at a rally for Oakland mayoral candidate Don Perata, held at the Oakland Uptown Body and Fender shop.  Dick was having a crisis at work that afternoon and spent the whole drive to Oakland on a frantic conference call.  When he arrived at the shop he hung up on the crisis and, trying to mentally shift gears, entered the office.  He explained to the 3 women in the office that he was looking for a band that was supposed to be playing for a political rally.

"Sir," said the serious-looking woman behind the desk, "this is a body shop."  The women allowed the panic on Dick's face to percolate for several seconds before they finally gave in and burst out laughing.  Then one of them mercifully led Dick back into the shop, where the band was already set up and was running through "Hey Good Lookin'," which is still part of the band's repertoire a decade later.  That was the first time Dick heard the Miracle Mule sound.

Dick and the Mules clicked right from the first set.  They promptly signed him on to play candidate Don Perata's victory party a few weeks later (the party happened but the victory, alas, did not).  And then another gig and then another.  The band's uniform was cowboy hats & boots and black western shirts.  Dick already had the hat and boots, and when his wife bought him a black western shirt for Christmas it was universally recognized that he'd become an official member of the band.

"It's been a great 10 years," says Dick.  "so many fun shows, so many wonderful memories."  He went on to say, "I've played in other bands that were just as good musically, but never one where the band members got along so well.  Everyone really cares about each other.  The Mules are like a family."