The Post-Gig Debrief

So, in short, Erica and I felt great about the gig last night.

I want to thank everyone who came out to support us, and if there are any of you here reading this who heard us for the first time last night, welcome! This is our little corner of the internet to share our thoughts and news and any or all things that should cross our minds.

We arrived very early last night. I had never been to the Foundation Room at the House of Blues, so we wanted to allow plenty of time to scope it out, load in, hang out, etc. We parked on Sunset, right in front, and proceeded to unload. Now, for a gig, I schlep a pretty hefty piece of gear, a vintage 1974 Fender Suitcase Rhodes. If you follow the preceding link, you should scroll down to the picture of the one sitting on the amp… that one’s similar to mine. (I mean yours, Michael Lee.)

The keyboard section alone weighs about 80 pounds and requires 2 people to carry, or one person who doesn’t need an intact spine afterwards. The amp is not as heavy, but just as awkward to move. After we had unloaded, we returned to find a parking ticket on our car. Turns out we were in a taxi zone, despite a clear lack of signage. Whatever. We are rock stars. We shall not be thwarted by a meter maid with a bad attitude.

We parked, legally this time, and went in to get a bite to eat. The Foundation Room looks something like this, although I think that particular picture is from the Chicago HOB. There was a small area roped off with monitors and mic stands. Adjacent to the Foundation Room is The Parish Room. There was also a sound system ready in that room, so we were a little confused as to where we were actually playing. We ordered a salad and soup and waited for the gal who worked for the promotion company to arrive and tell us what was up. Corey arrived not long after, and the three of us had some time to just chill out and enjoy the pre-gig energy that was mounting.

Turns out that the way they run these things is that BOTH rooms have bands and solo artists going at the same time. We found out we were up 2nd in the Foundation Room. The people started to filter in, the room filled up, and it was game time. The first act began, a solo singer-songwriter by the name of Judson McKinney. By the time he was through with his set, most of our people had arrived, and the room was actually quite full. He finished, and we were off. We didn’t have a sound check, so much as a line check.

“Can you hear anything?”
“Sorta.”
“Good enough, play music.”

For years now, I’ve been coaching singers and musicians. I always attempt to get them to understand that the breath before the first note is as important as the note itself. The hard thing about a gig like this is that there’s no breath before the first note. So, we just sang without breathing. It’s a learned skill.

With a high noise floor in the room, I’d say we amped up the overall energy level 25-30% from where we rehearsed it. Several smaller nuances just went straight out the window. Call it adrenaline, call it nerves, but I’d like to call it adjusting to the room.

The room responded. Considering that this was, in essence, a bar gig, a surprising number of people turned their attention our way. The set felt tight. The changes in position and instrumentation(described in this post) worked beautifully, and felt like they propelled the set forward, and before we knew it, we had come to the end.

So how did it feel? Well… it felt great, honestly. I think the main thing we needed to confirm was this: if we play music, people respond, in any context. The cool thing was that we had people from college age to my parent’s age talking to us after the set, telling us how much they had enjoyed our tunes. I hope that we can appeal to people of all stripes, as I believe good songs should just transcend age and stage.

Do we love playing bars? Not really, to be honest. Don’t get me wrong, we were to grateful for the experience, and the opportunity to sing for new people, and we’ll keep playing for anyone who wants to listen, just about anywhere. We had a great time. A great time playing music, a great time with friends, and a great time making new friends. I want to specifically thank our friend Richard Busch for hooking us up with this gig. You’re a cool cat, Richard, if you read this.

If any of you met us for the first time last night, hit us with a comment here. We’d be curious to hear from you.

As for the rest of you… see you next time!

Oh, I almost forgot. We put up 2 new tunes at our Myspace Page. They’re unmastered, but they are the final mixes. Enjoy!