Posted on Tue Aug 5, 09:08 PM in Music
Impressions…. and pictures.
I didn’t get as many chances with the camera as I hoped, but here are a few to gander.
So, I have to say, touring overall was a lot of fun. The only non-fun things were: pulling some boners during the sets (no show-stoppers, but dumb none-the-less), bodily stress culminating in early onset of the monthlies, and inter-band relationships. Traveling for the most part with these guys was entertaining and not stressful. Dealing with all the stuff surrounding a performance (load in, set up, sound check, load out) was new to me, but wasn’t anything I didn’t imagine… although sound check in DC revealed the reason why I want to pack a pair of headphones for the keyboard: a small p.a. and one monitor didn’t allow me to hear myself, so luckily Dave (one of the DJ’s that night) allowed me to use his pair, bless his heart. Working the merch table wasn’t hard. Being on the stage and doing the set was really fun (even with my screwups).
This weekend is making me realize that I need to find a constructive way to deal with people who drink excessively. I usually am able to just walk away or remove myself from a situation. But I can’t do that with the band. I have to find a way that keeps the team together and removes drama. I fight with the belief that not doing anything just condones the behavior, but as Dan pointed out, people who drink don’t really care what you think and will drink anyway. And in Luke’s case, there are some very clear upsides to our band relationship: he is always dependable on stage, and when he is not drinking, he is great to be around. If the relationship is going to work, I have to find a way to get around the differences in opinion about how a tour should operate and what our roles should be.
I also have to find a way to mitigate the energy level one experiences when onstage and in front of an audience. Our last batch of practices were really good, but when I got out there in front of people, something about the interaction made me flub parts. Maybe that’s something that wears away after time. I can hope.
The live mistakes decrease in time (with more shows and more practice of course), but I still get major butterflies before every show…even after all of these years.
Once the music gets going, I just roll with it, and it’s fine. Even if you flub here or there, if you have the live energy and some confidence, no one in the audience should be the wiser.