After the fun of this weekend's stand at The Strand, I was up early Sunday morning.
My first stop was church gig number one. Not too much happened…I don't if it was because I'd played a lot the day before, but it didn't feel like I contributed much. I think part of the problem is that the on stage sound is pretty poor, so it's difficult to cut loose--if I play too much or too loud, I can't hear what else is happening.
When I was putting my clarinet together, the cork in the center joint disintegrated. Great...
While we were on break we were served with a big packet of papers. Beginning next year, we will be considered employees of the church; taxes will be taken! I asked if we'd get health care, but they said we were part timers, so no. We do get background checks and drug tests. It seems like a lot for a hundred bucks a week.
There must be some angle that benefits the church (though they made it sound like this was something they "had" to do). My other church gig isn't doing this; Yacht Rock/Pleaserock isn't doing this, and I make way more money with them. Guess we'll have to wait and see.
When I was packing up, I knocked over my sax stand and messed up my tenor. It still played, but the side of the bell was bent. Ouch and nice going, idiot.
My second stop was at Wonderdog Sounds in Marietta for a recording session for Moontower. Super cool place, super cool music, super cool guys. I played on two tunes--one on soprano and one on alto.
I really suck at recording. I don't know if it's because I'm alone or can't get the headphones quite right or what, but I just can't seem to make it happen by myself. At this session I started fixating on my intonation problems, and it got harder and harder to hear anything else. Then I started screwing up the form and missing landmarks I was trying to hit, and then I had to go in after I'd not quite gotten stuff right and hear it again...I don't know…things I played sounded fine--it wasn't like I played a bunch of wrong notes, but I didn't nail it...it's just difficult for me to kick ass in a studio setting. I feel better about live stuff.
I got to church gig number two a little early, so I fell asleep in my truck for a half hour.
Number two was another non-commital performance by me. It felt like there was no room for me to play, so I laid back a lot and played whole notes. In a related story, my flute playing sucked real bad--another reason to take it easy!
I crashed on the couch.
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