So anyway...rewind to last weekend:
Friday: we drove to Charleston. Driving there is a little strange--it seems like it should be interstate all the way, but instead you drive to Augusta, cross into South Carolina, and then wander through the cotton fields on two lane roads for a good while before you get on another interstate and resume your quest for signs of civilization.
The cotton is about ready.
I tried to persuade an uncollared dog at a gas station to get into our van, but once again to no avail.
We played Music Farm in Charleston. My favorite part about this gig is walking down the street to the Thai restaurant-Basil--on the corner. Good stuff. Anything served with white rice has a good chance of making me happy. It's genetic.
I went with these guys.
So...Music Farm. Looks cool, sounds ok. It's really loud in a nondescript, washy kind of way. About halfway through the gig I realized that it was loud back where I was because of all the sound coming through the vocal mics out front. Turning my monitor feed off made the rest of the gig less deafening. They say they're getting a whole new PA early next year, and I'll be interested to see if it improves things.
The crew helped us load in and out--a huge plus. I always like that. We brought Zach (Kip's understudy) with us for both these gigs, and he ran sound out front, so I'm comfortable thinking that he made it sound as good as it could.
Thai food is good food. I'd play here again just to hit Basil's again.
Saturday: We played a wedding at a plantation on the north side of Charleston. The reception was at the cotton dock--I assume since we were at the water's edge that it's where the bales were carried away by boat.
The ceremony was on site, so that meant an early load in and then hours of down time before we played. We took a walk around to see the sites.
I was a little disappointed to find out that this was not the original house.
The gig...pretty easy. In spite of a horrible Elton John song that we had to perform, this gig was better than the night before. The sound was good, and I thought the three Marks (Dannells, Bencuya, and Cobb) all played some pretty hip shit.
Strange crowd--they were small in numbers to begin with, but the ebb and flow on and off the dance floor was at times extreme.
Check out this awesome getaway car at the reception! A 1950 Dodge something. Super cool.
Sunday: We drove home. Another long and boring ride that began much too early.
Service with a...
I made it home with enough time for a nap before my church gig. Evidently there's some kind of gripe brewing about how much (or little) pushing of faders I'm doing on the gig. Difficult to say--on Sunday, there were no solos (only group singing) with piano and djembe accompaniment. Exactly what am I within the group am I supposed to be turning up and down? I'm not a great sound man by any means, but after setting the gain for each microphone and balancing the voices with the instruments, what else is there to do?
No gigs during the week, so the next show is Friday night in Nashville at the Cannery Ballroom. Thriller and a set of Yacht Rock (with a special local guest). As Walter would say, close your eyes and it's 1978 all over again. Stay tuned...