I COULD GET USED TO THIS…

Day two of my fake tour continued yesterday afternoon with the first of 15 shows with Supernova.

I could get used to this.

Let me start off by saying The Jefferson House is a GREAT place!! Playing by (or on?) the lake was a thrill, seeing people on their boats and some were jet-skiing…at a rock show? Hey, stranger gigs have happened but the vibes and the weather were so friggin’ amazing…I could get used to this (again).

As people filtered in, I was greeted by friends with “Welcome to the band” and “About time you were part of this.” To be fair, neither the band nor myself ever said I was in. I consider myself “temporarily permanent” but will say that I was greeted very warmly by everyone. Have I finally fit somewhere? I could get used to this (but am being realistic about things too). Though the guys said “You can stick around as long as you want.” So maybe I’m the new guy? Haven’t felt like that in eons. After years of being a bandleader, maybe it’s finally time I took a step back and enjoyed playing music again. Seems to agree with me.

We did three sets, started with the mainstays but then added new tunes to the mix that I picked (!) I finally got to do “Rock You Like A Hurricane” by Scorpions when other bands would turn it down. Why did I want to do that? Because it was the first song I ever learned on guitar from start to finish when I was 14. And playing it live for the first time brought me back to when I sat on the couch in my old house, jamming on a Guild Madiera Strat-copy through a tiny red amp. I felt 10 feet tall that day.

Other newbies were “Panama” by Van Halen, which was a LOT of fun to play, as well as…you guessed it, “Cult Of Personality” by Living Colour. I did that one with Rock Hard three years ago and got to do it again with these guys. Oh it sounded so good!! The whole band were firing on all sixes, and the crowd were dancing and singing and groovin’ to the music…wait, I hear a hit single! Even honored some crowd requests in the form of “Honky Tonk Women” by the Stones, and “Rockin In The Free World” by Neil Young. I enjoyed playing a tuneless solo for that one.

Some asked me why I wore a blue finger cot on my index finger. Well, I wish I could say something cool like I saved someone from a bear attack. But no, I tripped up my steps last Saturday on the concrete. Lame. But only the index finger of my fretting hand was scraped?! I took care of it with liquid bandage, and minimized playing the guitar aside from giving lessons. In the past, I would have freaked out. Now I was like “Shit happens” and I rolled with it. A couple of people asked me “Were you going to cancel?” For a SCRAPE?! Hell no!! I remember a gig that TM Stevens did in the 90s where he sliced his fretting hand finger and still did the show. Unless I stop breathing, the show must go on.

Onto the next gig at Mason Street Grille, Saturday June 13!

I could get used to this…