June 14, 2019

Yesteryear
One year ago today: June 14, 2018, your first view.
Five years ago today: June 14, 2014, the history of Google.
Nine years ago today: June 14, 2010, the slow exodus.
Random years ago today: June 14, 2015, Palomar knots.

           The biggest downside to working for a living has to be not taking a nap when you please. So I kind of walked the dogs, came back, and flaked out until mid afternoon. I’ll make up for it by telling you what happened this evening. The guy from the band called back. Remember that marina we walked the dogs a couple weeks ago? I played there tonight. Here’s a picture of us setting up the equipment in mid-afternoon. With me, the band came to six members, but we did not all play at once. This is normal for this kind of group. Plus, as specialists in this work, they were able to let audience members get up and sing. This is Nashville east, some of them were pretty talented.

           A lot of the female vocalists have bad timing. I don’t mean their singing, but how many of them want to sing because it is their 21st birthday. They are off time by 8 to 10 years. The band consists of drums, bass, lead, keyboards, and chick singer. Guess what? For once I was not the oldest dude on stage. I was probably the only one who didn’t want to cut a record. (Yes, I was surprised to hear it referred to as such in this age of burning CDs.)

           I worked in the yard an hour with the doggies watching me. Moral support, and it keeps the squirrels away. I cut four pieces too short and decided this was not a woodworking day for me. That’s when my e-mail beeped and it was the band manager. He looked over the list I sent him and asked if I could stand in for a few tunes. I prefer this method to auditioning, since those can be outright faked. I’ve been the brunt of many a great audition but the same guitarist is a dud on stage. So, let me tell you about the gig, since such activities are always given at least a cursory analysis from my side.
           While music itself is cooperative, not competitive, the music business is cutthroat. They share my view that let me make a zillion dollars, and then I’ll be the nicest guy you ever met. This band I take to be the guitarist and drummer backing up whoever gets them work. And the Elm Street Marina is not at all the worst place to gig. It’s a well-behaved Friday crowd on Percy Priest Lake. Don’t even think of parking anywhere but a designated spot. Let’s take a close look at how things went.
Picture of the day.
Sadly not illegal.
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           I got the call and was there by 3:30PM to help stack equipment. It’s not bad these days with the capabilities built into small packages and I finally met the manager in person, being that I was the only one who showed. Another guy came by, but he was not a musician. The Sony camera let me down again. It was set for low-light but the flashing overhead LEDs threw it off repeatedly. This is the best still I could get off the video.

           The lady singer is somebody well-known, the keyboardist very talented. He’s got that flash to his playing that some never get, I know I didn’t. It’s a knack and people like Elton John have it. That’s my stunt double on bass way in the background as we play “Liza Jane”, a tune I just half-learned in the previous few days. After this, I’m invited to play any time. But now, I’ll learn the set list and I’ll tell you why.

           Their set list only had 13 tunes that I could call my own. As luck would have it, they played 10 of them in the first set. The bassist they had was good, but averagely good. He did the job, comping with a lot of root-fifths. It’s all most bands need most of the time but it doesn’t add much of a dimension to what is going on. He let me plug into his amp, once he confirmed I did not use any powered equipment. I got up during the second set for around twenty minutes, playing their versions of everything. Some old Clapton, which I know but hardly care for, and finished with a rousing “Folsom Prison”. Here are my thoughts.
           This band could easily work steady. They are not tight but everyone is on top of making it sound good. The stage energy is the two young people shown in this photo, boppin’ and hoppin’. Mercifully, nobody likes new country, so it is not even represented. The chick singer is excellent with harmonies and spent a short while checking me out. She must have decided I was okay, which is always nice. One thing she completely understands there are things that only come with age, the idea is to see if you can find the good ones. The keyboardist has been through the mill, he’s good enough to solo.

           It’s the bass I was watching, since I responded to an ad for a bass player and don’t know the role of the guy they had. He made a lot of bloops but only stuff another bassist might notice. He wants to play in a rock band, but he hardly moves on stage. He plays like a statue, which all too often is normal with bass players. He was also following the band which loses something. My playing “leans into” the music, which gives a better audience experience and has always worked great for me. The manager said if I learn the sets, the gig is mine. I anticipate my influence would be instant, since the lady singer is exactly what I have experience with. A semi-sweet voice with huge range and you can’t beat harmonies.
           Their list has around 20% guitar standards, all over-played, with extended lead solos. This is and sounds like a time-killer, but it is not necessary when I’m on bass. Guitarists quickly learn if they repeat a lead break, they are in for a dynamite exhibition of background bass soloing that undercuts the attempt. I doubt that would be a problem with this band, but guitarists are usually the most change-resistant element present. I quickly detected the chick singer, Amy, I think, would rather be fronting that harmonizing, and I happen to play an awful lot of that stuff.

ADDENDUM
           Look at this pic of me sawing the endless board. It’s here just because I can make these things and it belongs here. Hey guys, how much exercise did you get today?
           None of the above is meant to prophesy a thing. I was there two hours and played only three tunes. Mind you that was more than enough to confirm I can do the job. I’m invited any time. The staff, who are expecting most bands to play about the same, heard the difference when I played, which got me two free quaffs, which people tell me is uncommon in these parts. Be aware at this point it could be the novelty of the situation and not my bass-playing. If the electricity is still there after a bit, then you’ve got something.

           The applause for my stint was smattering. By the time I got up there, the joint was 2/3 empty. It was a family supper crowd out on the deck. Inside the air-conditioned pub part, the band volume was reduced to juke box level. And the regular crowd in there was that conventional heavy-set divorced-looking waitress-leering one table each troop of TV sports addicts. It was a musically undemanding room to get my feet wet. Which could easily happen to anyone since that floating walkways had no guard rails.
           Time for me to knuckle down if I want this. And I do. It’s the sort of group that always winds up downtown, where the tourist ladies are. And Nashville lops a good thirty years off my dating pool. I’m a loyal lap dog, but I’m also free to do as I please. Playing in Nashville pleases me, as it would if Taylor walked in the door. The bottom line here is it beats the hell out of playing crib at Panera or shuffleboard at the old folk’s home.

Last Laugh