Acoustic Jam, More Gigs

Sunday afternoon was October's acoustic jam meetup, and we were prepared with a new song, John Hiatt's "Gone". I'm not sure where she heard it, but Darling Wife recently brought home his "Crossing Muddy Waters" disc, and handed it to me with the comment, "I think you'll like it, it has a lot of mandolin on it."

She's right, I do like it, and it's a nice mix of guitar, slide guitar, and mandolin. We picked "Gone" to take to the jam because it's a fun, simple three-chord song with an opportunity for jamming in the middle.

My favorite song from the disc is "Before I Go", but I thought that might be too much for the meetup. I love it, and have been playing it on both the guitar and mandolin, and if I could sing at all, I'd take this to an open mic myself.

For the second straight month, I took both a guitar and a mandolin to the jam, and switched off depending on the song. Basically, I played mandolin whenever possible, going back to guitar for songs in unusual keys or with non-straightforward chord progressions. It worked out great, and I even accepted a nod to take a lead a few times - nothing fancy, but I can do a rudimentary lead that fits the song and key and sounds okay. I'll be doing this at all meetups to come.

After the jam, a bunch of us decided to continue the festivities at Molly Maguires, a new Irish pub in Downingtown. They have live traditional Irish music on Sunday evenings, and it was fun to have a meal and a cold beverage and listen to some music with good folks. It's been declared a new post-jam tradition.

Acoustic band practice was postponed last week, but we'll gather again this week. We've settled on some new songs to work on - and we have two more gigs confirmed. We have two Saturday nights (11/16 and 12/21) at the West End Alley in Pottstown. We also have some confirmed dates for the St. Peter's Bakery in 2014.

Amusingly, the West End asked for a band picture to put on a promotional poster, and we gave them the cowboy hat pic from the Folk Fest. It's a good pic of everyone (and the best smile you're likely to get out of me), but I hope people don't see it and expect to hear cowboy music!

Going Small

In the aftermath of the acoustic band's St. Peter's Inn gig, we talked about how daunting it was starting to feel to be rehearsing 30+ songs. We talked and exchanged some e-mails, and the idea of "going small" was presented and agreed on. Basically, instead of focusing on gigs and preparing for them as they come up, we'll do more open mics. We'll still take gigs as they come, but the focus will be getting out more often and playing 3-4 songs.

That will let us "play" more (in the "having fun" sense of the word.) We can try out different things, just do some jamming for the fun of it, try different arrangements - and let me play some mandolin. I think it's a good plan, and there are so many regular open mics in the area that we can play as often as we want (here's how to find out where.)

We started the new plan by going to Chaplin's in Spring City last night. We did an open mic there in May, and it's a fantastic venue - it's a real club with a real stage and a real sound system. You get 3 songs or 15 minutes. They supply a drum kit and a bass amp, and you bring your instruments and anything else you need. In our case, the only other thing we need is Sandy's vocalizer (the box that allows her to harmonize with herself.)

We signed up for the fourth slot, and settled in to watch the other acts with a bottle of white wine (BYOB). There were two singer/songwriters and one rapper(!), then it was our turn. We didn't do anything fancy last night, as we hadn't practiced since last Sunday's gig - we just did three songs we know well.

It's exciting to play on a real stage - even if it's only in front of a handful of people, most of whom are either friends or family, or are waiting their turn to get up and do three songs. We were tight and it all went well - Darling Wife (yeah, I know, not exactly the most unbiased observer) said we were head and shoulders above everyone else. But it's not a competition. Oh wait, it actually is a competition - the acts that are judged the best (I'm not sure by who, or over what time period of open mics) will win $300 and a gig at Chaplin's.

In practice, "going small" probably doesn't really change anything. We still have feelers out for more gigs - and if one is offered, we'll happily take it, and will get together as much material as we need. But it's a different mindset, and a good reminder that the real goal is having fun - which we're doing.

Last night was a fun night, and hopefully the start of a number of open mics.

Afternoon on the Deck

After a great (and rocking) time at Eric's wedding on Friday night, we made our way home Saturday morning with the rest of the weekend in front of us. For me, that meant band practice on Saturday night - our final rehearsal before Sunday's gig.

Practice actually went well - our pattern to this point has been rocky final practices (followed by gigs that go wonderfully.) We were a little stressed with the realization sinking in that 30 songs (which is what we were planning to play for a 2:00-6:00 gig) is a lot of material. We had considered dropping a few songs from the set, depending on how Saturday's practice went - but they all went well and stayed in the set.

I decided, and all agreed, that my mandolin playing had to be dropped for this gig. We were scrambling to get 30 songs ready to play, and didn't need the additional work of figuring out new arrangements for anything. But that's something we'll do after this gig.

We left the rehearsal feeling ready, so the only remaining question was the weather. The forecast called for a cloudy day with a 20% chance of rain. Even though we were playing under a canopy, a heavy rain would force us to cancel - the canopy wasn't enclosed on all sides, and we have all those electrical cords running around (mics, amps, PA, etc.)

Sunday dawned cloudy/foggy, but the weather gods smiled on us. By noon it was sunny with blue skies - a gorgeous early fall day - and it stayed that way for the rest of the day. I arrived at the Inn around 1:30, with Darling Wife and brother Chris. We had a niche at the corner of the deck to set up, and we were ready to go shortly after 2:00.

The playing itself went by in a blur. I think we sounded good, and we got a number of nice compliments, not only from people on the deck at the Inn, but also from people walking by on the street. There were no major malfunctions in any of the songs - not even the ones we felt shaky on right up until the last practice. We didn't have any of the tempo issues that we've had occasionally at other gigs (with the adrenaline flowing, it's easy to play songs faster than they should be played!)

My set list, with annotations from Saturday's practice, is at right. We didn't do things exactly in this order, and we skipped a few songs in the interest of time. But it's a rough approximation of what we played.

I probably say this on every post about the acoustic band, but I can't help saying it again. It is *such* a pleasure to be playing with such professional-sounding people. I can hardly believe my good fortune. And to actually be out and playing gigs? Just wow....

We finished up around 5:30, and Darling Wife had a bottle of wine waiting for us. We toasted a very fun and successful day, and then Sandy shocked me by putting actual green money in my hand. I didn't know it was a paying gig! Not that it really matters...I won't be quitting my day job (sadly.) But it's very cool to walk away with enough cash to take a supportive spouse to dinner - or think about new gear. :-)

All in all, pretty much a perfect day.

Brother Eric's take on the day is here. I'm also stealing his pics from that post. He's become pretty much the official band photographer - his shots from the polo club gig are fantastic, and we're all looking forward to seeing his pics from this gig. Keep an eye on the band's FB page for more pics.

Rocking the Reception

As I mentioned a few posts ago, there were two gigs scheduled for this past weekend. The first was Friday night, when my friend Eric got married. His ex-girlfriend (and current wife) wanted us to play a set at their reception, and we were happy to.

We're still missing a lead guitar player, but we picked some songs that sound good as a threesome. The wedding was small and beautiful, and the Stirling Guest Hotel is gorgeous. After the dinner and the toasts and the obligatory first dances, we got ready to roll.

I was wondering about the acoustics and how we'd sound. What made the place so beautiful is that it was an old home with high ceilings and hardwood floors - so I wondered if the sound would bounce around like crazy?

We launched into our set, and the sound seemed fine. People seemed to enjoy it, and were up and dancing at those songs that allowed it. We're not exactly a dance/wedding band, but we did the best we could. There was a lot of dancing to Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love", and we do a nice version of that, so we extended it for a while.

The official photographer took loads of pictures of us, and maybe we'll get to see some of those pics one day. For now, all I have is an iPhone pic, which will have to do. Note my bow tie - it's the first, and maybe also the last, time I've worn one. Eric is a noted bow tie-wearer, and Darling Wife suggested a bow tie for me for his wedding, which was a wonderful idea.

We played our set, and got many requests for more, so we took a quick break to visit the bar, then played a second set. It was a pleasure to be part of a good friend's wedding. We had a great time, and got many very nice comments - most of which boiled down to "you guys are really tight, you should be out gigging." We are tight, and if we can get a lead guitar player on board, who knows....

(And of course the weekend was just beginning. Stay tuned.)