I almost had ZERO gigs for the week, but over Thanksgiving, I got a phone call from a bass player in New Jersey who needed me for a jazz gig at some house north of Atlanta--someone else passed on the gig and gave him my name. Five hour gig, jazz quintet (quartet plus vocals) with people I don't know, some house in Milton, GA--I'm in! It turned out that I'd played at a jam session with the drummer Jonathan Mills a few years ago, and played with the pianist Mason Margut at a jam session a few months ago, so it wasn't a completely random grouping, but the bass player drove down for the gig, and I'd never met the vocalist even though she is local to the Atlanta area. Here we go!
 |
| please step away from my car |
The setup was in a tent between the house and the garage, and because of the chilly temperatures, they were running heaters (in addition to the lights and the power for the band and the Christmas tree across from us, etc). Unfortunately, the heaters were a bit strong, and the power went out repeatedly, which was kind of funny,since it wasn't my problem.
 |
| Jonathan by iPhone light |
But, they got it back on...
 |
| Jonathan in a tent so bright! |
...and later on, it went out again. It kind of broke up the evening in a nice way. At one point, we were playing some tune (I can't remember which song), but we'd gotten off on a waaaaaay tooooooo faaaast tempo, and during the solo, the vocalist looked at me like, "I don't know how I'm going to sing the last part at this speed," and I said, "Maybe the power will go out again!" and it did, and we were saved. Christmas miracle. Boom.
Eventually, the power thing was resolved well enough that we could keep the amps on and keep playing, and that was it. Fun gig, though! I had a good time trying to hear my way through all of these vocal tunes that I didn't know. The band was swingin', and I felt like a jazz player again!
Side note: sweet puppy dog in his kennel in the break room. Come home with me!
And now, five days later...will I get paid? We'll see. The bass player went back to New Jersey, and I'm hoping to see some action in my PayPal account maybe Saturday, maybe Sunday, maybe Monday. I sent my PayPal address to him via email and got no response, so...hmmm. Let's stay optimistic! (update Dec 15: got paid! no problems)
Sunday was a church gig day, and my face performed about a thousand percent better than the previous week. I wonder why I fall apart so drastically if my daily practice sags? Dunno, but it's a good reminder that I haven't had the flute on my face very much this week, which could spell disaster on Sunday. Watch this space for self loathing next week.
