Anticipation

The Lava Lords keep evolving. Our buddy Mitch has been promoted from:
“Lava Lamp Technician / Sound Tech Wannabee”
to
“Lava Lamp Technician / Sound Tech / Roadie”
In other words since Mitch goes to most of our gigs he may as well be put to work!!
Mitch fits right in as he has the same Rock mentality that we do.

We’ve had a bunch of great WED eve practices…..working on some new material that we are going to call ”Set Four” If we are at a gig and we get to “Set Four” look out these could also be called “train wreck” or “not ready for prime time”. Isn’t that all part of Rock n Roll? Even as it is now we have performed “LIVE” a couple songs that just ”came out” in the passion of the moment. Ted Nugent’s “Great White Buffalo” is one that comes to mind and also Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Good”.
People should not expect perfection from:

A) Live Rock n Roll
B) hobby band

Kinger just went out and bought himself a new Tama drum set !!!
Cuz and Pete always seem to be buying new toys too.
(except the bass player who needs a new bass guitar)

Have you ever had the sensation of anticipation when you have something looming ahead on the calendar that has a hard fast immovable deadline? Something like your “friend” is trying to help you get over your “fear of public speaking” and you joined ToastMasters and now you have to get up in front of 150 people (not NAKED) and give a speech? On the one hand you welcome the challenge. On the other hand you kind of dread it. Not that we would EVER dread playing a gig...especially the Shortstop but there are lots of mental gymnastics that go on.

A couple of weeks ago we played the May 7th ShortStop gig.

We knew that come that day we would need to show up, do our thing, have some fun and be as entertaining as possible. We practiced as many times as we could prior to the gig of course but did not really have any time to work on new material. Once the gig starts you pretty much go with what you have and the show must go on. Doesn’t matter if you had a fight with the wife that day, or the bill collectors are banging on your door, or you can’t get your stupid lawn mower working and your grass is 3 feet high, or your car muffler just fell off, or you really got hammered all week at work, or your allergies have kicked in and you can’t even breathe through your nose, or the fact that it seems the whole world is going to hell in a hand basket….you pretty much have to suck it up, leave it all behind and ROCK n ROLL!! Obviously the pro musicians do gigs and recording for a living. A lot of bands play every weekend and a couple nights every week. As time goes by it just becomes second nature. We are still trying to figure this out.

For a hobby band the day of a gig is like this:

“Honey, I’m going up on the roof to replace that one shingle that blew off during that last
storm” DOH !! Better not go up on the roof. What if I fall off and break my arm? How am I going to explain that one to the bar owner and the rest of the band????

“Honey, forget that one…I am going to go out and finish building the dog house”

DOH !! What if I smash my finger and it swells up the size of a grapefruit?
How am I going to explain that one to the bar owner and the rest of the band????

“Honey, forget that one…I’m going out to do some lawn mowing”
DOH!! Better not mow…might kick up to much dust and the allergies will kick in,
won’t be able to breathe tonight. How am I going to explain that one to the bar owner and the rest of the band????

“Honey, forget that one….I’ll be downstairs watching TV and drinking beer”
DOH !! Nothing getting done at home PLUS what if I show up to the gig DRUNK?
How am I going to explain that one to the bar owner and the rest of the band????

OK, I guess I will just practice / review a few of the songs that need attention.
DOH!! I already got blisters on my fingers from the last practice. What if my fingers start bleeding and hurt so bad I can’t perform?
How am I going to explain that one to the bar owner and the rest of the band????

OK, I may as well head over to Kinger’s and start loading up gear.
DOH!! It’s only 8:30 in the morning !!