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| Author | Topic: BIG SHOW TONIGHT |
| Litterbox Louie |
posted 10/12/05 4:14 PM
I hear-tell that FAT FREDDY'S CAT (that most famous of unknown bands) will be playing Wed. (10-12-05) at SOX & CO. at 8:00pm. in Terre Haute. (one block west of the stadium on Schaal Ave.) I also hear-tell that them folks like to play for big crowds of people...so be there to rock out with Fat Freddy's Cat. Look me up at the show and I'll buy you a beer. This is Litterbox Louie signing off. (see you @ the show) |
| Flash |
posted 10/13/05 3:21 AM
Hey, I had a damn good time tonight! Good job, one and all! Don't sweat the little mistakes, look to the bigger picture--everyone had a great time. It's all about rock-n-roll, and rock-n-roll ain't supposed to be Philharmonic-perfect. R-n-r is all about attitude and delivery, and you guys delivered. I've played in there on weekends to virtually no one, with literally no applause. Those folks *loved* you guys! You connected with them! I was watching the other musicians watching you, and I saw many nods of approval. If you have entertained other musos, you know you've done a good job. You guys pulled it off like we all knew you would. Now go out there and book more gigs. |
| see dub ya |
posted 10/15/05 1:26 AM
Thanks for the thumbs-up Flash!!! It's hard to be objective about the show, mainly because we didn't play the show we had planned, or even close to it. A complete power outage in each of the first three songs we attempted really sapped our confidence and enthusiasm. That we played any complete songs at all is a tribute to the powers of persuasion that you and others there exercised to get us back onto the stage. Thanks for convincing us to do so. Initially, I had not planned to comment about the Sox & Co. show. Now, I feel compelled to do so, as there are several "lessons" to be taken from the experience. Regarding how we played, I think our initial enthusiasm and energy were wiped out by the technical glitches. We appreciated all the efforts put out by our hosts, but it was impossible to get back "the edge" after "the three-fer". I am glad that we got to play at least a couple of complete songs for the folks there and equally glad they liked what we did. That was one of the few positives of the evening. Secondly, regarding working from/with other peole's equipment, .... probably a mistake for us. We have a comfort zone of things we expect to hear and be able to do naturally when we play. Most musicians do. We didn't have that Wednesday night. Everything was strained and disjointed. Like you said, we never expect it to be pretty, but we do expect it to be the best we can make it. For myself, I played almost every single keyboard note of the show "by the numbers". (That meaning I couldn't hear myself, so I played the positions of the notes and chords as best as I could remember.) I still have no clue as to how the keys sounded out front, or if anybody could even hear them. Vocally, I could hear pretty well. At least that worked out okay. The stage was cramped, hard to make eye contact with anyone except Al or Pat, occasionally Scott, if i turned around. I also noticed some kind of sub-sonic noise/vibrations that were really distractiong. I know Pat had trouble getting the guitar sound he wanted. I think Scotty did too. Al,... well he said right from the start that he needed to grow a couple of sizes just to reach everything on the set he used. Probably a good lesson to be learned here. Travel with your own stuff as much as you can. Immediate adaptation to unfamiliar gear is not easy. I think the guys in Rock Bottom genuinelly felt our pain and they did the best they could to help us. Mostly, we were victims of things out of our control. Not making excuses, as we made plenty of mistakes from top to bottom. But I know those were amplified in our minds by the nightmarish way we started. In all the years I have played music I cannot remember ever having three songs in a row interrupted by power failures. I've blown amps, lost PAs., endured thunderstorms and blizzards, heat waves and unruly belligerent crowds. Wednesday was a first, and I hope a last occurance of such events. Had a chance to talk to Pat and Phyl after the gig. Haven't had a chance to talk to Al and Scott. Like I told Scott right after the gig, "Hey, it's not all bad. At least we weren't immolated in a nuclear holocaust or earthquake or anything like that." Scott said "Yeah. Hey, we didn't even get beat up either." I plan to take the experience from the show for what it is and was. A flakey screwed-up night of improbable events that snow-balled out of control. If there were folks there that liked what songs we did manage to play and want to hear us play for real, I'm happy! I agree. We should book more jobs, but take with us the things we learned from this one. Flash, many, many thanks for being a friendly voice of informed reason and sticking with us. cw |
| Flash |
posted 10/18/05 4:41 AM
Clearly, Rock Bottom's sound system was not tailored to you guys (but I'm sure it's great for them--Donnie & Co. are all good, talented guys). I think that's what was giving you guys all the problems. Something was overdriving those subs, and those things were just sucking down the power--you could see the par lights dim. If it weren't for all the subwoofer rumble, you woulda heard yourselves well enough, thus eliminating your mistakes--I'm sure you couldn't hear yourselves. The important thing is, you got out and jammed in a bar. Maybe that's not exactly the environment you want to be in, but if you want to gig in TH, that's about all there is. And as a band, you have to gig. You did it, and I knew you could do it, and I'm real proud of you guys. Go book a gig, dial in your own PA, and knock em dead. |
| Flash |
posted 10/20/05 11:17 PM
So, when/where's the next gig? |
| see dub ya |
posted 10/22/05 4:02 PM
Flash, I guess we need to dedicate a formal place to announce our rare gigs. We played last night at Ivy Tech, for a function that Phyllis was involved with. I will have to leave it up to her to explain all the wheretofores and whys of how we got there, but play we did. A small crowd of Ivy Tech employees and their families, a sort of Halloween party. Anyway, we played two pretty full sets of material. The overall sound seemed real good. We got many compliments from the attendees and basically escaped without any major miscues or mistakes. It was refreshing after last week. The show included a number of songs we haven't played a lot lately. That was good for us too. I assumed that somebody would've told you about last night's event, as it was open to the public. Right now, I don't know of any upcoming gigs for us, although Al is working on that. I have to set down and revise our press kits to reflect the new band name and related stuff. Basically, just an update, but these things need a little bit of thought and preparation. As I have said here on the Forum, many times before, Time is my most precious commodity and sometimes my worst enemy. I plan to get that item done sometime this weekend. Flash, we're very glad you are in our corner. I'll try to keep things posted about any new shows that we land/book. I wish I had a more publicly visible means to advertise. As for last night's show, I thought we did very well and it was far more representative of what we are capable of. I only hope our next bar excursion goes as well. Thanks again!!! |
| Flash |
posted 10/24/05 11:10 PM
Well, bummer that I missed it. But it looks like you guys have the ball rolling: there will be other chances for me to catch you. Sooner the better, though! :-D |
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