Kim and Andy and the BP Team knocked it out of the park

Thanks to Kim and Andy and Jody and Brad for cooking a memorable feast tonight at the kick off party for the Casey Lee Ball Foundation annual bash.

WE had a really nice evening of food and music. Rodney Crowell did a one man show singing songs and reading from his new and fabulous book Chinaberry Sidewalks and then was joined buy JOhn Ferraro on drums and Me on bass and Joe Bonamassa and Steve Lukather on guitars...It was a blast Thsi was the acoustic night Tomorrow is going to be rocking!

Sterling said it was a memorable feast, but, this event is what was memorable. Hearing Joe and Steve riff behind Rodney... then BP's bass solo was tastier than the food. These guys on acoustic in such a intimate setting, really takes your breath away. The fact that they all band together to support the CLB foundation is a tribute to Sterling and his family, and what great people these artists are as well. While getting some QA on our burnt ends from Rodney, he mentioned that it had been quite a day, and eventually it came out that he was running on 2 hrs sleep. Just shows the dedication these folks have.

Getting to cook again with Brad and Jody was a blast. My bride, didn't miss a beat and dished it out to us, just like we were. The resort took great care of us, letting us take over thier patio, with the new TS250, and the pig/chicken cookers. It was deep in meadow creek gear! (not a pellet pit in sight). It has been a while since I have cooked a full meal on only stick burners with no kitchen/ovens/etc. Everything was cooked in the pits. Working with Jody, (and Sterling) we put together a great menu, everything came together wonderfully!

We did get alot of folks staring in awe. They could smell us in all parts of the resort,(we fired up at 6:00am), so when the drool set in, and they saw where it was coming from, we got lots of interaction with the other guests. Brad and Jody are the real pitmasters, and were the glue that kept everything together. Looking forward to the next cook... But this time it will be leaving 120 degree CA in the middle of summer to come to 80 degree KS

I think we'll share the menu and some pics in another thread tomorrow. I'm still trying to process the whole evening.

Definitely one for the record books here. I'm just glad to have been a very very small part of the machine. Great people, Great cause.

Awesome guys, thanks for sharing! Sounds like an amazing time was had by all for a great cause. Look forward to seeing the pics.

Thanks BP and Andy for sharing, great stuff! What Carter said, bring on the pics!

BP's Bass solo??? Wish I was there to see/hear that! Was any of this recorded for possible posting?

post us a nice clip lol

It is hard to describe the vibe at these events......many many people come together and share their love and support. It is not a common sight these days. When my son was very very sick I did what any father would do...I promised the Doctors that I would work for them for the rest of my life. My son had basically died twice and they brought him back. I could not do it without my wife, kids, friends, and good fortune.

Last night we passed the 8 million dollar mark for research and training. I am proud to say that there are kids all over the world that are on medicines that we helped bring to the market or are seeing doctors that utilize techniques and protocols that our research funded.

Andy and Kim did so well and worked so hard, as did Brad and Jody. I offer my deepest thanks.

As for the bass solo...thats the easy part...last night I had to trade guitar solos with these guys!

i am glad you hit your mark.

It was incredible as usual. We learned a lot from Andy and Kim. They are great people, hard workers and we love cooking with them. The events that Big Poppa puts together, especially the Casey Lee Ball Foundation events are amazing. So many great people getting together for an incredible cause is awesome. I hope we get to cook for the party again next year.

Andy - we will be taking you up on one of those middle of summer cookouts for sure. The summer competitions are pretty hard on us for sure. That 80 degree weather in KS will be a nice break for us!

It's easy to see why they hit the 8M mark this year. Getting to talk with many of the guests, we answered alot of questions about food, talked alot about competition BBQ, and told a few tales. Everyone there was as passionate as BP, so you know when he was trying to break over the $8M mark, it was going to happen. Everyone there was absolutely amazing. We made alot of new friends, and we got to hang out during all the sound check in the afternoon, and enjoy off time antics of the artists as well. There is a whole lot of love in that community of folks. Definitely humbling to see it all in action. It was an honor to be a part of it .

Jody - I will be sending you some weekends I have in mind... I've got all kinds of ideas...

BP - congrats on hitting your 8mm mark. That is very cool

Dont forget me andy!

You know I'd never let you off that easy Couldn't forget you if I tried!!!

Cooking with Andy and his wife at one of Sterling's events was absolutely as fun as it sounds like it would be, i had a great time thanks Sterling.