IF YOU’RE GONNA BOOK A ROCK BAND…

If you’re gonna book a rock band…don’t expect Peter Paul & Mary, okay?

When you’re competing with a very live-sounding room as well as glass and other variables, the sound will bounce all around. This is physics 101. Blame It On The Girl was supposed to play outside but it was considered “too hot” so things were moved inside but not totally. Yes the bay door was open, there was a nice breeze flowing, but seeing people cover their ears and then being told “You’re too piercingly loud, cut it in half” is not the most inspiring thing to hear.

I simply will never understand what people want when seeing and hearing loud rock music. Granted, some acts are purposely too loud, going for Manowar-like levels which is silly. Ah well…onto the good stuff.

This was my first sub gig with BIOTG and it was a lot of fun. Parking sucked though! I forgot how difficult it was to find a spot in Jersey City, especially the Heights. I was lucky to find a space half a block away. Got my exercise! Once inside, we set up shop, and started going through the songs. Yes I loused some things but in the past I would have thrown a fit. Now I laugh it off. I simply stopped caring what people think of me, at least musically. I held my own, played the songs as best as possible, and nobody in the band complained. So I did something right.

I tell you what, “Jolene” is a BITCH to play but once I got it going, it was fine. Definitely one of the hardest songs I ever learned, next to “Sultans Of Swing”. I am not kidding. And…gulp…I had to use a capo for the very first time ever live. My grandfather used to say “Capos are for sissies” and I learned not to like them. But some songs that I teach need a capo, so one of my students got one for me last Christmas. And now I had to use it for “Jolene”, and yes it was a relief of my fretting hand. But I can picture my grandfather up there saying “Oh no” LOL! (It was only the one tune!)

Other tunes I played for the first time ranged from “Pink Pony Club” (you read that right), “Raise Your Glass”, to “Locked Out Of Heaven”, “Home Sweet Home” and “Ring Of Fire”. Many I was quite familiar with but didn’t rely on my memory. I re-learned the parts to be safe. Even my own aging brain can betray me at times.

It was a good first time sub gig for me, and if more happen, then I will be more prepared. I think back to my first gig with Supernova back in December 2022 (!) and every show since then has been better and better. All about finding the groove and locking in.

I need a nap now.