Take a look at the Yamaha speakers in the back of my car. Everything is planned so that no single item weighs more than 35 pounds. The story follows later but we are planning on playing a gig by the end of the month. That is excellent news for me, if somebody else does the chasing around, I’ll gladly kick in the road gear for no extra charge. There is plenty of good news here, so stick around.
Very high sales at the Thrift today, at least for my shift. It is a good situation because when it is not busy but I have to stay behind the counter, I can do small tasks on the Internet. Alas, it is always just busy enough that no larger projects are possible. For instance, I wanted to list the peppermills but there was just no time. A few of the clients have figured out that it is no coincidence that I can be more talkative than they are.The doggie wig place called, and the first big shipment is in. Everybody forgot it has been a year and I was back at the Thrift. That’s okay, there will be plenty to do keeping the younger staff getting everything set up into inventory. I can’t get there until next week, but you know, I may go in on Monday to write all the thank you notes and make sure the right kind of records are being kept. People around this town tend to keep lousy records.
Wallace has been in touch. If I make it out west in the next few months, he will bring his car across on the ferry or drive over to get me around town. That will be a great savings as I don’t like renting or taking taxis. I will likely crash at Marion’s and commute from there. It is a telling situation that the last person from my old crowd in Seattle moved away over ten years ago. I do not know a single person left in that town.
Cowbody Mike showed up for rehearsal and we had a great three hour Blues jam. At least it was a jam for me as I did not recognize more than maybe a tenth of the material. I must write that he stated repeatedly how well organized everything was. High quality gear, all matched and suited to playing a small combo situation.
Actually, this tells me that locally the standards are quite low, but it also reminds those who want to listen for a change that yes, I really was a band manager and know exactly how to do it right. We ran through a dozen songs with the drum machine and without incident. I don’t know what he was expecting, but he is clearly pleased with the equipment and setup. It turns out he may even have considered buying the same PA head but found it too expensive. Guess I won’t tell him I got it for half price.
We have fifteen tunes we can do now. Mike is out of practice and said so, but also that he is motivated to get underway again. He plays a very early type of Blues, what you would hear live prior to the 50’s. For that reason partly, it surprises me that he wanted a guitar player. If you listen to the old Blues, the 12-bar pattern was mainly used to comp when there were no vocals, I suppose to keep everybody doing the same thing.
Therefore, I say we do not need a guitar player, and remember I am the King of firing guitar players. Cowboy Mike was quite surprised when I showed him that most of what we did could easily be accomplished without any help. At first he did not feel right stopping for a verse while he set down the Dobro and picked up the harmonica. That is, until I showed him that not only could it be done effectively, but that it is how the original Blues must have been played. He was noticeably impressed and surprised how effective the bass-drum box combination is at laying down all the groove that is required for most Blues period and certainly everything we do. It is supposed to be a little loose all the time, hey, I lived in New Orleans a while.
In related news, my top students have chosen two Dixie Chicks songs for their first set, “Wide Open Spaces” and “Traveling Soldier”. I recognize that soldier song from way back. I listen to these arrangements and realize how little progress there has been since Rock was invented. To me that explains why Rock has endured so long: nothing has come along with enough quality to replace it. My problem is staying awake during these “hit tunes” because they sound computer-generated. I got all the words and music ready for next Wednesday.
