Uh oh...
Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2009 8:17 amThat's what I said when we began playing our first song tonight at our gig. First of all I invited about 25 people, and really more than that because I announced it on the disc golf website, there's hundreds of people who have heard me play. Second, I invited about four musicians to come out and jam with us, they usually bring their friends or wives. TWO people who knew me showed up, friggin TWO. None of the jammers. Our new guitarist didn't have anybody he knows show up. Our new harmonica player didn't have anybody he knows show up except his girlfriend (more on that angel later). Our drummer had his wife and sister with him. So between the four band members all of FIVE other people show.
This place we played at is a COUNTRY bar first, a ROCK bar second and THAT'S IT. I look out in the crowd, which wasn't really bad, and I see cowboy hats galore. I'm thinking we're cooked. So we start playing. The bar owner is there, and I was told by THE bartender (that's how small this place was) that she usually goes home after a set or two. Well we start playing Pride and Joy and the crowd GOES CRAZY. About halfway through the first set we started getting a very annoying mid-range feedback. Not having a sound man I scramble right in the middle of one of the songs and make a bunch of adjustments on the fly. Relief, I fix it MID SONG. First set ends well, we finish it with Roadhouse Blues by the Doors, gives everybody a song they at least know, I talk during the end of the song (usual bit tell everybody to tip THE bartender and THE waitress.)
Second set starts out great, lots more people show up, still nobody anybody in the band invites. It got packed, they said it would. People start dancing, always a good sign. We do some recognizeable tunes, but a LOT of obscure tunes, AND we always play originals, now NOBODY there ever heard them before. THEY ARE DANCING TO THE ORIGINALS.
This is a good thing. After the set ends I notice the bar owner is still there.
Third and fourth sets go very smooth, nearly 100% of the audience never heard of us before, hell I never heard of the lead guitarist and harmonica player more than three months ago. We have a bunch of new fans, woo-hoo!
Now the harmoninca player's girlfriend is going around with a tip jar for the band. At the end of the night we make an additional $40 from a tiny bar's audience. Plus the bar owner stays the entire night, she thoroughly enjoyed us and wants us back, perhaps a New Years Eve gig. Some of the audience people are veteran musicians themselves, they want us back.
What started out as a big uh oh finished as a big oh yeah! Hopefully put some gig pics on here, there was at least one gal taking pics, hope they turned out okay. Now I'm exhausted but it's WAY past my sleep cycle. All the years I've gigged I never can get to sleep when I get home this late. Therefore I'm posting this at 3:26am.
This place we played at is a COUNTRY bar first, a ROCK bar second and THAT'S IT. I look out in the crowd, which wasn't really bad, and I see cowboy hats galore. I'm thinking we're cooked. So we start playing. The bar owner is there, and I was told by THE bartender (that's how small this place was) that she usually goes home after a set or two. Well we start playing Pride and Joy and the crowd GOES CRAZY. About halfway through the first set we started getting a very annoying mid-range feedback. Not having a sound man I scramble right in the middle of one of the songs and make a bunch of adjustments on the fly. Relief, I fix it MID SONG. First set ends well, we finish it with Roadhouse Blues by the Doors, gives everybody a song they at least know, I talk during the end of the song (usual bit tell everybody to tip THE bartender and THE waitress.)
Second set starts out great, lots more people show up, still nobody anybody in the band invites. It got packed, they said it would. People start dancing, always a good sign. We do some recognizeable tunes, but a LOT of obscure tunes, AND we always play originals, now NOBODY there ever heard them before. THEY ARE DANCING TO THE ORIGINALS.
This is a good thing. After the set ends I notice the bar owner is still there.
Third and fourth sets go very smooth, nearly 100% of the audience never heard of us before, hell I never heard of the lead guitarist and harmonica player more than three months ago. We have a bunch of new fans, woo-hoo!
Now the harmoninca player's girlfriend is going around with a tip jar for the band. At the end of the night we make an additional $40 from a tiny bar's audience. Plus the bar owner stays the entire night, she thoroughly enjoyed us and wants us back, perhaps a New Years Eve gig. Some of the audience people are veteran musicians themselves, they want us back.
What started out as a big uh oh finished as a big oh yeah! Hopefully put some gig pics on here, there was at least one gal taking pics, hope they turned out okay. Now I'm exhausted but it's WAY past my sleep cycle. All the years I've gigged I never can get to sleep when I get home this late. Therefore I'm posting this at 3:26am.
