This makes sense, the only things on the road at that time are, well, Florida bars close at 4:00 AM, so do the math. The FEC are very socially conscious and have only your best interests at heart. While too far inland and above sea level to open drawbridges at rush hour, they are doing their landlocked equivalent to keep condo prices below the magic half-million mark. A lot of people in this town need not be told that twice.
So I will start the day going to a Cuban café, something most Cubans cannot do. I read that their government only allows family members to be hired, thus all Cuban restaurants are family owned. Vicious rumors abound that Florida has the same law.
Sun up at 6:23 AM. I’m out the door, having successfully avoided practicing any music since y’day. Guitar Jeff called, we have rehearsal scheduled here at mid-afternoon, giving me hours to idle away and you know I can use it. I’ve been shopping around for PA systems again. No luck, but I’ve learned a lot more concerning the galaxy of knobs and slide-controls that clutter the front panel. Features that I am absolutely positive get used by somebody, somewhere.I was impressed by one thing, a clever outfit has designed a combination XLR and phono plug. Not sure what that is? Most PA systems have two input jacks (plugs), one for guitar style cords, the other for a larger “studio” type. This company put the smaller one in the center of the larger. Anyway, that is neat as far as I am concerned.
Desperate for readership, I placed ads on Criagslist. along the lines that anyone “middle-class” may want to take a peak [at my blog]. I have attracted the wrath of too many deadbeat Arts majors. You know, the ones who hang around Starbucks. Myself, the word “deadbeat” is interchangeable.
Guitar Jeff showed up on time (insert boatload of Florida jokes here). We commenced to jamming through everything we could think of that we both knew. Twenty-two songs, enough for a gig somewhere. Since everyone is dying to know what it sounds like, I shall accommodate you. Guitar Jeff is a country musician and yes, it does show in his chording. He really does have 500 tunes in several large binders. Most of it is photocopied, not word-processed. Ouch!
Thus, while he definitely plays the country version, many of which I never knew existed, I tend to add the best bass line I can copy. Good example is Six Days on the Road. I believe I’ve already told everyone I do the bass line from the Charlie Pride version. The bass riff has thrown off every guitarist I’ve done it with, however, it is an indicator that they are definitely into the groove by the time I spring it on them.
It went 90% well, we need only work on the intros, outros and chops. The tune selection is a suitable country-rock feel, even on the outright hillbilly songs (such as “Momma Tried” by the Hag [Merle Haggard]). Guitar Jeff is not the worlds best musician, but that is precisely the sound I am marketing. No matter how you perform, some bonehead will claim he can do better, so cash in on that.
To make one thing clear, however, I have never had a bass player say they could do better than I. Most of them cannot do what I do, and today it had the desired effect. (This is not bragging, but a restatement of the fact that most bass players have a background in guitar and play less thirds and sixths than I do, eventually leaving them out.) Guitar Jeff was swinging to the beat even when trying to concentrate on the words and chords. Most definitely a good sign. My favorite new tune from today was Yoakum’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”.
The non-music side is beginning to gear up. He drove a van all the way from Commercial, around twenty miles. He has an 8-channel PA system with good sized speakers. He has quality equipment and it looks good as new. Thus, I e-mailed him later about setting the PA up at his place for five scheduled rehearsals over eleven days, beginning next Wednesday (March 14, 2007), and I will travel there in the Taurus.
I will also need time to set some initial bookings up, which Guitar Jeff understands have to be in this area for now. I’ll offset his mileage with gas money and maybe the guilt that I am actually doing most of the traveling. Again, I am set up for all these things, you might say I have a musical mini-bureacracy. It covers everything from pirated music to a database of club contacts.
In all, I would rate the rehearsal a solid success. He is 47, lived in the same house 26 years, and plays in a larger group. My mission is to turn the duo, always a more viable option when I am involved, into a little financial powerhouse where he makes better money per gig than with “them”. Money talks. Trust me, in that group he is a background member, with me he is co-star.
So, I just heard some people like the way my bicycle has evolved into a good substitute work truck. Here’s another photo of the rig, loaded up with gear for the trip home. Yes, the saddlebags do allow me to carry up to 80 pounds of material, as long as it is of the right size. Weight distribution hardly matters, you adjust instantly when you begin riding and often forget there is a load. It does make a difference in stopping distance. Remember that if you are drunk at 5:30 on some morning where I got an early start.
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