Guess who? Note the open area behind her. This is the forest, and before we hacked back the jungle, it would have been a solid mass of tangled branches. Pudding-Tat is perched on one of the seven or eight brick posts along the west side. I’m watching to see if she molests the birds. So far, she seems to ignore them as if they were other pets.
That was the Hippie on the line. I called him concerning Xmas gigs and he’s in the same boat. Single acts don’t go over much any more except in a limited spectrum of upscale restaurants. That’s a venue for third rate violin players. Sorry gang, I like women to pay attention to me, not some plate of spaghetti. I was listening between his sentences, and I detect some progress. My act is entirely backing tracks, where he would (previously) never tolerate such a thing. He has since looked around and surmised that without tracks, you don’t get hired. Now he is ready. (Gee, who’d of thunk it?) There is another major difference. This time around, I have my own show, and it fits in a small suitcase. If things don’t work out, I’m no worse off than before. (I eventually dropped these backing tracks when I discovered crowds could follow just my bass playing.)
We discussed some preliminaries. The major hurdle is that he is still stuck on the big band concept. To me, big band equals big headache. I view the backing tracks as a permanent replacement for unnecessary instruments and even more unnecessary musicians, such as drummers and lead guitar players. But the Hippie sees the tracks as temporary until he finds musicians (usually without consulting existing members). There may be a solution in here if I’m thinking clearly. Okay, read on.
If he wants to do a big band gig, just enable the bass track. I’ll be at Jimbo’s. When a duo situation arises, then I’ll show up. With three and four piece groups, moving equipment or even learning a new tune becomes a major task. Well, now they could do it on their own time, I won’t be there. Plus, I am used to the rigidity of backing tracks. Tracks that don’t let the guitarist play it a little different each time around, know what I’m saying? Of course, the temptation will still be there for the Hippie to play the gig as a solo, but he also knows soloing is not his strongest stage act.
My head feels twice the size from this cold. I puttered around all day cleaning around the place which gave me a chance to meet many neighbors. Even if I can’t understand a word they are saying except, “aujour d’hui”. The big tree at the south end of Forest Wally has exploded in red flowers in the last two days. It is also shedding those flowers all over the patio at the same rate. Dang, just when Wallace was beginning to enjoy yard work. I might add that Pudding-Tat likes to watch me work. Seriously, she follows me around and finds a vantage point to keep an eye on me. She used to do that but I forgot about it while Millie-Belle was here.
Purposely leaving my bass at home, I went up to see Arnel’s show at Boston’s. He’s got the Sunday 7-10 slot which should be better for tips. I was just not up to playing. Interestingly, the small crowd knew exactly what tunes we weren’t playing as soon as they saw us in the building. I got some housewife out on the dance floor for a quick exhibition. She must have been 5 foot 10, wearing a t-shirt with a guitar logo at exactly the right height for me.
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