We set up in a long, narrow tent on a plateau in their backyard. The first year, the gig took place in early December (night of the SEC championship). It was so cold that might EWI froze up and stopped working. Since then, it's been a few weeks earlier, and therefore not nearly as cold. It's a weird set up due to the space; drums all the way in the back, then the two keyboard rigs facing each other (Dustin subbing for Bencuya tonight), and then the Nick and Pete flanked by Greg and Monkey across the front.
Here's some more craziness: they made t shirts for us (and wrapped them in a bottle of vodka, but I gave that to Monkey). This takes Yacht Rock fandom to a whole new level. These people are way cool.
We're already looking forward to next year's party! The diet begins tomorrow--I love the bacon.
Sunday morning was ye olde church gig. I played on a new soprano piece I got from CE Winds. I'd finally reached the breaking point with my old mouthpiece (which I customized/destroyed with files and sandpaper over the years). If only I'd known what I was doing, my old one would play like this one does. I think the tip opening is a bit bigger--I may have to change to a softer reed.
Tonight is another really relaxed gig at the kickoff party for Stewart Cink's Cink It Challenge. Please stay tuned for an essay comparing and contrasting our scalps.
