I looked across my drums at the dance floor and watched a young man toss a young woman what seemed to be about twenty feet in the air and he then caught her with the same kind of ease that a major league shortstop would field an easy grounder.

Heart pounding, I thought, "Oh man, I was scared that was going to be next week’s headline."

As we finished playing Chuck Berry’s Johnny B. Goode, the young dancers took a bow and the crowd at Jerry B’s rewarded them with a standing ovation.

Just a typical night at Jerry B’s?

Well, Saturday night was a little more exciting than average, I think.

Because of the holidays, I think everyone was in a real festive mood.

It was a night of guest stars for the Jerry B’s Band at the pre-New Year’s Eve celebration and the wide variety of entertainers made for a great night, but first let me backtrack a little.

A few months ago, a friend asked me if I was interested in playing drums for the Jerry B’s Band. The new restaurant wanted to start a house band that would play on the first Saturday of each month, and maybe could also play some additional Saturdays here and there.

"Well," I told him, "let’s try it once and see how it goes. I might decide it’s not my cup of tea and you fellas might decide I’m not the right drummer for you."

That first performance was a little rough, but we decided to try again, and with each show, we got a little better and before we knew it, we really started having fun.

Three months and more than a dozen shows behind us, I can honestly say it’s been one of the most enjoyable musical experiences I’ve ever had – even better than when I was playing in clubs in Austin, Houston and Dallas back in the late 80s and early 90s.

Most of the time, the Jerry B’s Band backs up vocalist Sean O’Brien who trades off as lead singer with vocalist and guitarist Tobe Ricks. I play drums, James Linder plays bass and Andy Morgan plays lead guitar and occasionally takes the role of lead singer. Sometimes, as was the case Saturday night, Bil Homeyer joins us as a vocalist and guitarist. We play country, blues, rock and roll and just about everything in between. It can be quite a crowd on a small stage, sometimes, but it is great fun when the dance floor also gets crowded in front of us.

We often have guests join us on stage, like we did this past Saturday night. Among them were Steve Sellers who brought along his guitar virtuoso son for a few blues and "old school" rock and roll tunes. Bobby Morgan sang a couple of oldies with the band and Connie O’Brien performed a Patsy Cline song for the crowd.

But the highlight, for me, had to be the performance of the young dancers from Texas A&M who just happened to be in the audience and dazzled the crowd with their unique death-defying acrobatic style of dance. They were just awesome.

I think it is just great that Karnes County now has a restaurant that also doubles as a smoke-free, family-oriented venue for live music where folks can come to dance, or just sit and socialize and listen to the music.

Steve Sellers wondered aloud what kind of review the band would receive in the local paper, with the editor back there playing the drums.

Well Steve, I’ll have to give the band a "thumbs up" with the possible exception of the oddball drummer. That guy needs to practice!