late in the evening

Another busy night, this time I have the pleasure of sitting in with the Stonehouse Posse at the grand opening of the Pullman Yards......

Locals would know most of the principle players involved here: there is Chris Tinsley ( TINZ ), a former guitar player in 'Follow for Now' which was very popular in the early to mid 90'2. Two other guys:John and Dave who played with 'Hollyfaith' and other well known bands ITP, and Phillip the Plumber, the huge brother with the big voice. It's a big tent and a musical circus!






While I enjoy fronting, it's nice to be able to be a 'sideman' every now and then. Let somebody else do the booking and legwork. Some other guy has to unload the gear at home alone in the dark at 2:30 am..Tonight ,I can walk in with my percussion gear and harps, and when it's over,I can GO! No need to 'settle up' and kiss bartender ass. It's really nice.

The few times I've played overseas on musical tours, that's the best part about it! You get to play and after your done, they usually have a 'hospitality tent' for the artists to hang out in while they get thier transportation ready. No worries about DUI orgetting chewed out for staying out too late. In a word, it's awesome.

Since the arrival of mini me, I haven't been able to do any foreign gigs. American crowds are so predictable, it's not even a challenge anymore. Depending on where you play, the crowd factor is a big one. I posted about the beer festival and the lobster boil last saturday: I could have done any of those gigs in my sleep. Autopilot....

'Couple years ago while playing somewhere outside Milan, we had a gig booked for thier version of the 'Red Cross'. It was a 'blood drive', and while my buddy had to retune his guitar to open tuning, he looked across stage and said 'Fill!' At this point, the annoying,slightly overwweight and flamboyant female sax player started into a very insincere monologue thanking an older group of Italians for thier support. I could see on their faces they could not understand the words coming out of this girls mouth....

When she stopped for air, I quickly piped in with a brief 'Molto Lieto!' ( nice to meetcha ), but the timing was brilliant. The motormouth was just sputtering words, but my well placed greeting brought the house down. They absolutely roared.

I was very proud of myself, having broken the comedy barrier in another language. But fate was to teach me another cruel lesson.

Later in the gig, it was 'Fill Time' again, and this time, I thought I could bring out 'Molto Lieto' again, but it bombed... The promoter laughed, and said 'it only works ONCE here, kid' and I felt humiliated. He meant it in a good way but it was a lesson nonetheless....

The delicate balance in side work is you have to be as entertaining as the frontman, but not any more. It has been a struggle to keep my inner bastard shoved in there sometimes. Day by day, I guess:-)