It didn’t rain. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that for the past year, it has seemed the skies have been holding back until we have a show. Okay, I’m not narcissistic enough to believe in some sort of divine conspiracy, but when it isn’t raining, I take note. It was cold as all holy hell, but you take what you get. And, I suppose you northerners wouldn’t call 50 degrees all that cold.
We made it to Winston-Salem with relative ease. To my surprise, Darby didn’t bring the kitchen sink. She and Kim accused me of shaming them into traveling lighter. I know they were just trying to economize last time. I have just been such a drifter, packing light is second nature. For years, I owned nothing more than what could fit in my car. Durham has settled me a bit. Though, I do wonder if I will ever stop getting the urge to try new places.
We were a bit nervous to play Elliot’s Revue because we had heard they have issues with noise. Knowing that we like it as loud as possible, we lightened the load a little bit more by taking smaller amps. It was really an exercise in self-restraint.
From the moment we walked in, Jack, the bartender, made us feel at home. He immediately gave me the lowdown on the night’s proceedings and handed me a beer. Less than ½ hour after arriving, Mike, the soundman, showed up with a huge smile. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever met such a nice soundperson. He was very conscious of what we needed and really stayed on top of things. Even as we were sound checking, the crowd was talking to us and the majority of those folks stuck around.
It was a new experience in a way that we were the only band playing that night. We had 2 hours to use as we wished. It was also very strange to me because I couldn’t really read the crowd. They seemed like they were hanging out in their living room. At one point, I began to wonder if they were even listening. I really try hard to be involved with the audience, but they seemed happy doing what they were doing and nodding their heads. But, as soon as we finished each set, they really friendly and we unloaded quite a bit of merch. . It’s not often that we play a place and hang out to drink afterwards. Given that we were away from home, it was even more shocking.
Elliot’s Revue, in someway, made us feel as though we were in our living rooms too.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Yo Ho Ho & a Carafe of Coffee
You know how sometimes what seems like the last straw turns out to be the best thing that ever happened to you? In retrospect, that pretty much sums up our recent trip to Wilmington. Colonel Kim decided she wanted to go along on our road trip and we were happy to have her along on the adventure. That’s the beauty of being a three piece. There’s always room for company! Kim insisted on getting a loaner van, but the van showed up with out seats. So we didn’t have the van. Then we did have the van again. Then we had to convince Darby to get into said van.
Wilmington is only about 2 ½ hours from here, but Darby and Kim packed like we were never coming back. I’m serious. Two small coolers with snacks and drinks, a carafe of coffee with accompanying travel cups, many duffle bags of mystery, a toolbox and an industrial electric cord. I silently giggled to myself! However, tropical depression whomever was blowing through that night and the coffee really came in handy when the rain started to pound us. Then once again on the tense return trip.
We were really psyched to play in Wilmington, but it turned bad. Two of the acts on the floor we were playing cancelled which left us playing last. I insisted the “host” band played last, but he wanted to stick to the line-up. Not wanting to be a bad “guest” I went along. We noticed halfway through the set of the band before us, the soundman disappeared. To my horror, when we played not only did our “host” band disappear, but so did half the crowd. We never saw the soundman again that night. Once again, Colonel Kim to the rescue! Despite her efforts, we were playing in a basement and I couldn’t hear anything. On the fly, I reorganized our songs only playing my guitar when Darby had the leads. I was so furious, I pulled, what Gavin calls, an Elvis and just stood there singing with contempt in my eyes and popped off at the mouth once in a while. I never start a set without finishing it, but at that moment, I had had it and was ready to walk off. Still, I finished the set.
The drive back was no picnic. It was cold and rainy. Even worse, as I have said, I felt like I had been pushed over the edge. I lost my temper like I haven’t lost my temper in years. Poor Gavin, Darby, and Kim had to endure 3 hours of me ranting and raving about all things musical. I just could not shut up. It all kept flowing out. I spouted my views on everything from my musical childhood to the current local scene. When we arrived at Darby’s house, I insisted that I didn’t want to do this anymore and left all of our equipment there. I went as far to hand her the picks out of my pocket and say, “I QUIT!”
I spent the next few days in hiding. I was truly embarrassed and thought my friends would never look at me the same way again. I also knew that it was something deeper that caused me to react the way I did to one bad show. I’m used to those by now ;)
So, I did a lot of thinking about the possible cause of my frustration. And luckily, I have the kind of friends who just see me as passionate.
Over the course of our time together, I think we’ve played a fair amount of shows. In a year, I lost count at 38 pressless shows. I got sick back in August, and stayed sick for about 6 weeks. I would think I was getting better and it would come right back. I blame this on continuing to play while sick and germy bar mics. Just thinking about whose lips and other punk rock body parts may have touched them makes me cringe! I realized that maybe, just maybe I’ve been pushing myself a little too hard. We haven’t even had time to record a proper album. I’ve been building a database of venues for when we can go further out than NC, booking, playing, juggling drummers, doing all the admin. & graphic Goodness, hosting bands, and let’s not forget working and living a real life. A friend recently told me that it was okay to feel tired. I looked at her like she was insane. But, it’s true. Again in retrospect, I think the cold was my body’s way of telling me something. So for now, and with much restraint, I’m taking it a little lighter on the booking until we finish this recording and grow our set a little bit. I feel that it is a necessity before we go any further. I guess I just feel that working hard is a measure of my drive for all this.
In the meantime, I’m writing lots of new songs and reviving some oldies. Our website is still being tinkered, but it’s live. And, I’m working on a couple of projects with Subdivision 67, which will hit a ledge near you before the end of the year. Wilmington was a great experience. I’m too tough and I mean it too much to quit. Thanks for the reminder.
Wilmington is only about 2 ½ hours from here, but Darby and Kim packed like we were never coming back. I’m serious. Two small coolers with snacks and drinks, a carafe of coffee with accompanying travel cups, many duffle bags of mystery, a toolbox and an industrial electric cord. I silently giggled to myself! However, tropical depression whomever was blowing through that night and the coffee really came in handy when the rain started to pound us. Then once again on the tense return trip.
We were really psyched to play in Wilmington, but it turned bad. Two of the acts on the floor we were playing cancelled which left us playing last. I insisted the “host” band played last, but he wanted to stick to the line-up. Not wanting to be a bad “guest” I went along. We noticed halfway through the set of the band before us, the soundman disappeared. To my horror, when we played not only did our “host” band disappear, but so did half the crowd. We never saw the soundman again that night. Once again, Colonel Kim to the rescue! Despite her efforts, we were playing in a basement and I couldn’t hear anything. On the fly, I reorganized our songs only playing my guitar when Darby had the leads. I was so furious, I pulled, what Gavin calls, an Elvis and just stood there singing with contempt in my eyes and popped off at the mouth once in a while. I never start a set without finishing it, but at that moment, I had had it and was ready to walk off. Still, I finished the set.
The drive back was no picnic. It was cold and rainy. Even worse, as I have said, I felt like I had been pushed over the edge. I lost my temper like I haven’t lost my temper in years. Poor Gavin, Darby, and Kim had to endure 3 hours of me ranting and raving about all things musical. I just could not shut up. It all kept flowing out. I spouted my views on everything from my musical childhood to the current local scene. When we arrived at Darby’s house, I insisted that I didn’t want to do this anymore and left all of our equipment there. I went as far to hand her the picks out of my pocket and say, “I QUIT!”
I spent the next few days in hiding. I was truly embarrassed and thought my friends would never look at me the same way again. I also knew that it was something deeper that caused me to react the way I did to one bad show. I’m used to those by now ;)
So, I did a lot of thinking about the possible cause of my frustration. And luckily, I have the kind of friends who just see me as passionate.
Over the course of our time together, I think we’ve played a fair amount of shows. In a year, I lost count at 38 pressless shows. I got sick back in August, and stayed sick for about 6 weeks. I would think I was getting better and it would come right back. I blame this on continuing to play while sick and germy bar mics. Just thinking about whose lips and other punk rock body parts may have touched them makes me cringe! I realized that maybe, just maybe I’ve been pushing myself a little too hard. We haven’t even had time to record a proper album. I’ve been building a database of venues for when we can go further out than NC, booking, playing, juggling drummers, doing all the admin. & graphic Goodness, hosting bands, and let’s not forget working and living a real life. A friend recently told me that it was okay to feel tired. I looked at her like she was insane. But, it’s true. Again in retrospect, I think the cold was my body’s way of telling me something. So for now, and with much restraint, I’m taking it a little lighter on the booking until we finish this recording and grow our set a little bit. I feel that it is a necessity before we go any further. I guess I just feel that working hard is a measure of my drive for all this.
In the meantime, I’m writing lots of new songs and reviving some oldies. Our website is still being tinkered, but it’s live. And, I’m working on a couple of projects with Subdivision 67, which will hit a ledge near you before the end of the year. Wilmington was a great experience. I’m too tough and I mean it too much to quit. Thanks for the reminder.
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