Whiskey Dicks, Columbus Ohio

(November 23rd) I woke up Sunday morning in Indianapolis with barely enough time to get out of the hotel and get a seat at a local bar & grill for the kick off of the Titans' game. I was the ONLY person in Titans' apparel and routing for my (at the time) undefeated team. I was a confident and unwavering fan even in the mist of their jeers and taunting. As my luck would have it we lost for the first time all season. UGH!

From there I headed to Columbus, Ohio to meet Greg Leffel at Whiskey Disks. I knew that visiting on a Sunday night was not going to be the best time to see the true colors of the club but I thought I could at least use the time to get to know Greg and the staff at Whiskey Dicks.

As I was coming into town I decided to swing by one of our other Columbus Country clubs, Screamin' Willie's. Unfortunately they are not open on Sundays so I was unable to meet my contact DJ Lunatik.

Though it was a Sunday night and the bar was no where near max capacity, I think it was one of my more successful visits. I was able to sit down and actually become friends with the staff and hand out CDs, hats and T-shirts to bar guests. Here is a picture of Greg Leffel and I chatting over a beer.

I really liked the feel of the club. It wasn't a significantly large venue and didn't have room for much organized dancing but it had a very friendly and country/rock n' roll feel to it. When you walk in the bar is immediately in front of you and the stage is down a step and over to the right. Behind the bar is a mini tattoo parlor. I was floored by this because in my experience combining tattoos and alcohol is not a good idea but Greg reassured me that intoxicated patrons are not permitted to go in the tattoo parlor. Good Call!

My intention was to stop in the club, sit and talk with Greg for about an hour or two and head back to the hotel. Well I made a few friends and two hours turned into four or five! Check out some of the people I met while I was there.

Thank you Greg, Adam, Anna and Dave for a very entertaining and memorable trip to Columbus. Please come and see me in Nashville soon!

JJ Jam 2008 and 8 Seconds Saloon in Indianapolis

(November 22nd) After a great night in Fort Wayne, I headed back down to Indianapolis for the 2008 JJ Jam. I made it there just after their lunch break and had just enough time to take a few dance lessons. Below is a clip of Karen Hedges teaching STEP RIGHT UP, a dance written by Dancin' Dean. The music is "Step Right Up" by Cactus Choir.

Next I stopped in to Junior Willis's class to learn his line dance to Matt Steel's song "Back To Me". Matt Steel was scheduled to perform for the group later that night and decided to stop in and learn the line dance with us.
Below is a clip of a different intermediate/advanced dance written by Junior Willis. DANCE ALL NITE was choreographed to "All Nite (Don't Stop)" by Janet Jackson.

Other choreographers there were Jamie Marshall, John Robinson and Joanne Brady. Thank you for letting me stop in and say hello! For more line dance events, but sure to check out the events section of the Club Connection website.

When the dancers took a break for dinner I met up with my old roommate, Caroline, who drove down from Michigan to meet me. We went to dinner and then headed over to 8 Seconds Saloon.
From the outside of the club, Caroline and I were taking bets on whether is used to be a bowling alley or ice skating rink. Upon further investigation, he found that it was in fact a bowling alley years ago. The inside was tiered down from the DJ booth to the large dance floor and then down to the stage. Below is the floor plan of the club, notice the massive dance floor!













Tremors is a Hip Hop Club behind 8 Seconds



Caroline and I settled to the left hand side of the dance floor ready to jump on the floor when we were compelled to learn a dance (which was often). We were so impressed with how wonderful everyone was. Caroline and I would not call ourselves dancers, so us on the dance floor may not have been a great idea, but everyone was so patient. I've been to a number of clubs now where regulars seem annoyed when new dancers get in the way but I never saw one dirty look or eye roll.
Here is a clip of dancers enjoying our new single "Cheater Cheater" by Joey + Rory.


When DJ Justin Meitl wasn't too busy, I met him at the DJ booth for a few pictures.






Here are a couple of pictures of Caroline and I with a few new friends! Thank you for making us feel so welcome!