Playing on the Big Stage

One of the true joys of playing music is performing for an appreciative audience.   Over my short musical career I've enjoyed playing for all types of audiences, including those gigs where the music is just wallpaper for whatever event happens to be going on.    By far the most fun is when the crowd is actively involved.  

It happens a lot in smaller settings like coffeehouses, libraries, and house concerts where the folks are coming there just to listen.   But many other venues don't give a musician that type of feedback, and you tend to play for your own enjoyment.

Becky, Susan, me, Wayne - the Flophouse String Band

Last week, my good friends in the Flophouse String Band came to town to open for Rhonda Vincent at the Capitol Theater in Rome.    By far, our biggest gig ever, and a privilege to open for such a talented group.   The big stage!!!!    A great venue, a large crowd coming to listen, and the pressure to play well for the folks coming on  next.   All the things you hope for in a gig rolled into one incredible half hour.  

The Capitol is an old 20's moviehouse that has recently been undergoing restoration and now a lively and active community center for movies and the performing arts.   The director, Art Pierce, and his team have brought in a wide variety of local, regional, and National Acts as well as some pretty cool flicks.   The building is a perfect setting for a concert, with the original silent movie organ built in, it was made for sound.    It's become one of the best stages in the region to play.

The Flophouse String Band has been together since 2006, and we enjoy playing a gig every year.    The Band got together to play the Mohawk Valley Bluegrass Association Festival that year, and has been going since.   We've had a lot of fun and also some great experiences like recording our CD, release in 2010.   But we've never played a big stage.    The band consists of Becky and Wayne Kelly from Hattiesburg MS, and Susan Donohue from New Jersey respectively on Appalachian Dulcimer, Guitar and Mandolin and Fiddle.    I play a bit of mandolin and Guitar and we all help out with vocals.   The stuff we play is American Roots - Cajun, Old Time, Celtic,  and Country Blues, along with a few more modern songs in the genres.   Good stuff and a lot of fun to play.

Practicing for the show was fun, but it did carry a bit of an edge.   We knew we would all have to be at our best to show well.    And we did put in a lot of good practice hours honing the 6 songs and tunes we would play on stage.   My goal, when I hit that stage, was not to be thinking about what I was playing, but to be totally in the moment and to put out my best performance.   After 2 1/2 days of it I think we were ready to roll.

Leading up, and perhaps adding to the pressure, were the promos in the newspaper highlighting our group, and the countdown as we got closer to the show.   Now all the little things started to get bigger - what to wear, what to say, what if a string breaks, etc.   I usually don't get too anxious before a show but was feeling it for this one.

The day of the show went so fast it was a blur - I know we practiced, went for a walk to get some air, and maybe ate some food - but the minds were focused on what was coming.   Sound check at 4PM - performance at 7:30.    We got there in plenty of time for the sound check, and the volunteers from the Capitol, Ed and Ray were great.   We also have to thank Rhonda for letting us use her equipment, which was great.   As soon as we played our first song through the system into the empty theater I knew we would be fine - the band sounded great, and the sound team and system made it doubly so.   It felt really good to be up on that stage and playing music.   After a quick run through of our set, it was time to relax and get ready to for the show.

Can't say I really relaxed though, and I don't think the rest of the band was.   It was more like anticipation building and building.   It felt pretty good actually knowing what was coming.    We went out for a quick bite with our roadie, Miss Claire (my lovely bride), and got back to the theater to get ready to go on.  

Milling around backstage before a show is big fun - noodlin on the instruments, run through of the set,  tuning, talking to the folks - all the while knowing the clock is ticking.    A few minutes before goin on you get up in the wings and the emcee goes out to introduce you (the great Bill Knowlton) and its a blur as you walk out.

We knew our spots, but its different when the room is alive with people - you feel it!   The lights are blinding, but you can make out the shapes of people in the first few rows, and now it's time to deliver the first song as you settle into the stage.   It felt really good delivering it, the band was tight, but you don't know until you stop how it's going to be received.    Then the applause hits you like a wave and any anxiety that was left disappears.   The tightness goes away.    The hands move easily around the neck of the guitar.    Hey, this is fun!!!!

The set was short, and was over before we knew it.   Got a lot of nice applause, and it was cool to have Rhonda's Band in the wings telling us how they enjoyed our set and naming some of the stuff they liked.    Talk about feeling and being alive and in the moment - this is it - it doesn't get an better than this.

We then got to watch Rhonda and her band perform - what pro's - you know there is still another level or two or three to get where they are musically, but that's cool.   I may never get there, but at least I know we can stand up and deliver on the big stage when the time comes.  

And to put a cap on  a great evening we got to spend some time with Rhonda and her band - I guess it can always get a little better......

Black River Road Trip (Quebec)

Music and being a performing musician has opened up some interesting doors and taken me to a lot of places that I probably would never have heard of, let alone visit, over the last 15 years.    Went to another one this past weekend - the Black River, up in Quebec, near the town of Fort Coulogne.

John Brett, former SailCat, and Current member of Rattlin Bog and  the infamous Thumpwhackers, used to have a cottage up in that area, and still has many friends who are up there.   The place is about 90 minutes or so from Ottawa, and the cottage where we stayed with John's friend Bob Davis, about 12 miles in on a dirt road right along the River.

The idea was to go up to Bob's cottage on a Friday nite, play music till we dropped, have a few drinks, then get up and do a jam/concert with some local musicians at the Black River Hotel down the road Saturday afternoon, then play at a party in Michel Pouliot's (who operates "Expeditions River Noire) Garage/Barn for the locals till we dropped.    In between there would be drinking, plenty of bad jokes, a lot of stories, unhealthy food, a dip or two in the river, and a lot of jammin.   A perfect guys weekend.

The expedition party included most of the band Rattlin Bog - Rick Kincaid, Joe Rowlands, Mike Carroll, and Brett - and me and the King of Kazoo Dwight Putnam.   The six hour drive up there was fairly uneventful, and John introduced us to a Canadian institution on the ride up - the Chip wagon - down here we would call em Roach Coaches - where we stopped to eat and pick up a case of heartburn.   The only local cultural site we passed was the home of James Naismith, founder of Basketball - which ironically did not have a hoop on the property.

We arrived at Bob's place near dark on friday, but could see the accommodations would be among the best the Black River had to offer, and we settled in to have a few cocktails, pull out the instruments, and play our asses off till about 2AM.   Being an old friend of John, Bob was able to tell a few Brett stories, and we also learned about some Canadian gymnastic move called the "Four Leaf Clover".    Bob's place would probably hold 4 people comfortably, so the 7 of us started to get settled in for a few hours of sleep.


Bob  and John didn't have enough music so they kept going, despite our shouting encouragement to "Shut  up!  Stop!  It's Over!"  We gave up and enjoyed their one hour or so bedtime concert, and the snoring started for some.  It finally ended and we all got to have a quick nites sleep, though the cottage sounded like a chain saw test lab and I really didn't get a lot of nap time.

Next morning Bob made a few pots of great black coffee, a big camp breakfast of bacon and egg, and we were ready to face the day.    The indoor plumbing was also a treat, though with 7 guys shuttling back and forth to the outhouse it was good no women were around.     We hung out for the rest of the morning, enjoying the surroundings, grilled some hot dogs, jamming and jokin around till it was time to head down to the Black River Hotel.

Black River near Bob's Camp

This area of the Black River was very sparsely populated and of course off the grid for all services.    Has been a long time since I've been away from all the day to day noise and it felt real good.    We were looking forward to meet some of the locals at the hotel, and get  a chance to play some music for em.    There was also word that Rob Daginea, the fiddle champion of Canada, was coming to join us, so we were looking forward to a chance to play with someone of that caliber.   

The Black River Hotel

The Black River Hotel was empty when we got there at 2, but at least it was open.   The owners gave us a very warm welcome, and we set up our instruments and got ready to play.   It was nice to sit in with the Bog guys, as they are really good musicians and they have a ton of songs they perform, so all I had to do was take an occasional break and pick a harmony.   Plus we worked in some of the stuff Mike and I do with Craobh Dugan, and I threw in few Bluegrass songs.   Brett was ready to go with songs like Dead Skunk that were sure to be crowd pleasers.

L-R - Bob Davis, Bob Thompson, Dwight, Joe

 

It was a while before anyone came in so we had a few beers and enjoyed all the amenities of the hotel - beer and conversation.    Finally a few folks came in and we stared into playing.    It was a blast playing with the guys and we had a whole bunch of songs and tunes for the folks - a pretty interesting and eclectic set really.  The room was pretty good for unamplified sound - perfect for the setting.   After a while the room started filling up and pretty soon it was packed.    Rob showed up with his fiddle, but didn't join us right away - seemed like he wanted to check us out first - or maybe wait for the invite.



 

L-R  Dwight, Me Joe, Brett, and Rick

When Rob did join us we found a lot of tunes in common, and played a though a pretty good set, which the folks there seemed to enjoy.   Playin rythym with him was a treat when he threw out some of his stuff, and we played jigs, reels, a rag, a waltz, and a some swing.   He also let Mike and I pick some of our stuff and was happy to join in.    I was soaked when we finished.   After a spaghetti dinner compliments of our hosts at the hotel we went back down to Bob's to regroup.   Really just enough time for a coffee or a drink, and then down to set up again for Michel's party.

 



 The party was also a big local event, and many more folks came out to for the evening.   There were folks there 90 years old, a pair of 2 year old twins, and every age in between.   Rob came by again and joined us and it was another enjoyable show to play.  Over the course of the evening I got to play mandolin, guitar, tenor banjo, and bass so it was fun swappin around.   And the folks seemed to be havin fun and most stuck around till 1 am or so.

I'll leave the stories for another time, suffice to say we me some interesting folks, and had a lot of fun getting to know them.     By 2 AM it was over and time to crash - Michel had a cottage for Brett, Rick, Mike and I and took us over.    It was spectacular to see the stars from there - the night was so black with no interfering light - never saw them that clear and bright before.   We stayed up till 3? or so talking and crashed.



Mike and Brett

I got up first and enjoyed the view and walked down to the river to find a perfect swimming hole.    Last year some of the locals had told the boys that the water's had magical properties, and if you went in you would enjoy a long life, or some crap like that.   The water was crystal clear, not like the rivers around me.   I could see 6 feet down and see fish swimming around - had to grab my suit and a bar of soap and get in.    Bob said the water was safe to drink, and it was tasty.   Also, after two days of sweating and playin music in 90 heat it felt so good to stand up to my neck in the rivers waters.   The fish didn't seem to like me in his hole and took a few runs at my toes before giving up.   The water moved fast enough to sooth, and it was cool, not cold.   I stayed in for about 45 minutes, swam a ways upstream, and finally got out cause I could hear the guys getting ready to leave.   I could have spent the day in there.  When I got out of the river I believed the locals - it was total rejuvenation!

We stopped at Michel's and Bob's to say our thank you's and goodbyes and we all really wanted to tack on another day to enjoy the river and get to know the area a lot better.   And we started planning next years trip - I can't wait to go back to the Riviere Noire!!!