Thursday: I played a gig in a band centered around local celebrity chef Ford Fry. Mark Cobb has played multiple shows in Ford's band, and he pulled me in to be the utility guy, playing a little bit of saxophone, a little bit of keyboard, and a little bit of miscellaneous percussion. A dozen songs were picked (four Beatles, four Zeppelin, and four Stones).
The event was some sort of private party for car people, and Ford was doing the catering. We were set up on stage at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta. Sweet! I've never been on stage at the Fox.
For me, this gig was all about playing keyboard with a great band (other than Ford and the lead singer, everybody else in the group was a professional musician--Mike Lemond, Benjy Shanks, Mark Cobb, and Kevin Spencer) something I would not normally be privileged to do, and if I had to play Brown Sugar to get there, so be it. Maracas on Jumpin' Jack Flash? Done. They let me play the keyboard solos on Get Back and Revolution, and I must say I got pretty close on both of them! I even played the banging piano part in Rock and Roll, and I was so thrilled that it sounded so good until my arm started getting tired and my eighth notes died a slow death. But...whatever! I was almost The Great Bencuya for a few minutes!
Friday: The Talking Heads Stop Making Sense at Venkman's. The songs are long and repetitive, but it was a fun deviation from Yacht Rock nonetheless. Also, we killed it (especially on our first show). I think it appeals to the bands' collectively off center approach to music. This one will be back. Super fun.
You'll want to jump around seventeen minutes in for the beginning of the show.
Saturday: The Greg Lee Band hopped on I-20 East, headed to Covington to some upstairs listening room on the square. We opened for a singer/songwriter and her band from Nashville. We played ok, had a good time, and (most of us) ran out the door as soon as our set was over. Home before midnight. Passed out on the couch.
The next two weeks are NUTS!: Tuesday rehearsal for Purple Rain, Wednesday with the Schooner in Charlotte, Thursday with the Revue in Chicago, Friday in Indianapolis, Saturday in Chattanooga, Sunday church gig back in Atlanta. Then, Tuesday in Miami, Wednesday back in Indy, Thursday in Atlanta, Friday is our Purple Rain show in Atlanta, and Saturday is Savannah, and Sunday I'm back on the church gig in Atlanta. As Skip Caray once said, "We'll either bond or never speak again."