Just don’t order at the location on Federal, you’ll be waiting for breakfast when lunch time rolls around. Not really, but they are the second slowest service I’ve ever seen, the worst being the Denny’s on Federal in downtown Miami. Literally, one hour to get your meal, even if you managed to order in Spanglish. Here’s something, let’s call it today’s trivia. You’ve seen those charts of major languages that show English is spoken by less people that Mandarin (Chinese). Like many statistics, that is misleading. I’ve seen the world. Those charts are headcounts of populations who speak English as a first language. But did you know 60% of Finns and 70% of all Dutch can speak English? If you include those for whom English is a second or third language, English beats all others hands-down. That’s not even counting cab drivers in New York or Mexico City. They've tried counting them, you know.
Y’day Jag was over for an outdoor practice, the kind that uses minimal electricity. I fear Theresa the Cave Woman may realize the patio is not her exclusive turf. No problem, not for me, anyway. Jag is catching on and it is diverting to notice his recognition of some of the classics comes around as theme songs for cartoons and popular movies, including “Shrek” and “Toy Story”.
But the musical apex of the day was Pat-B dropping over. He needed to hear somebody play a real version of the bass line to “Volcano” and I needed to impress upon him that I’m the one who can do it. The rehearsal was a success and at his offer, we went up to the infamous Mr. Laff’s. I word it so, as my acquaintance with Laff’s has been via the loudmouths and critics concerning their open mic. Hey, if you guys don’t like playing for free, don’t, but you can’t stop others.
Pat-B has a paying gig there and was enthused enough about our sound to invite me along, free ride and all. Many thanks, guy, the location is way out of my usual territory. It is your typical Florida bar with attached restaurant, the type of place too many musicians mistake for a club whose purpose is to promote their personal tastes in guitar music. To a mostly empty house, we played a credible hour of music.
There is more to this than first glance. Stage work has too many variables that can only be ironed out by putting everything to the test. This includes everything from Pat-B’s awareness of what I can follow to my assessment of the strengths of his presentation. Otherwise, we would not know the subtle balances in volume or the tiny degree of time lag when one party is unsure of the next note. All I can say, is we passed this test with flying colors.
On the way home, we stopped at Jimbos, where he saw my over-elaborate equipment setup. He’s got a dandy little battery powered bass amp, by Roland, retails for $250. The last time I looked, there was no such thing as a bass amp that could last a full gig from that source, and since I have not heard of any breakthroughs in battery technology, I looked no further until he brought his unit here. It actually has two small amps, each driving two small speakers. The volume is bastante for most any room I’d play, which brings up the next issue.
Both of us are keen on working the beach, particularly the same named clubs you are familiar with here. The Riptide, Toucan’s, The Walkabout. Either of us are around 4/5ths ready but lack the final “oomph” to ensure success. I’m working on a guitarist, Pat-B didn’t say his plans. But no bones about it, together we are a dynamite beach show and as a duo, could easily price ourselves into the marketplace. My guess is we already know half the necessary material for a schtick right now.
Thus, I put forward that we should at least try without any commitment to permanency. It took me a while to understand I have a greater financial view to music than most musicians, but we all have to pay much the same dues. I see that playing the circuit would expose us to three major aspects unassailable any other way: the beach club management, other beach musicians, and the steady beach regular customers. And that translates into a lot of cash between now and Xmas, if nothing else. Always remember, Pat-B is still a soloist and that is hard to change into a band.
The alternative “Key to Success” is, as Arnold Schwarzenegger put it: Work hard, stay focused, marry a Kennedy.”
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