A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

Oh yes, there is a less glamorous side to being a gigging musician.

Take for instance a show I had last week at a private party. I was doubled booked that day, playing a brewery in the afternoon and the 50th birthday party of this guy in the evening. I thought we were going over very well. It was a blue collar, rural North Carolina, family crowd, and our Skynyrd, Zeppelin, Hank Jr., and Waylon tunes were getting a great response. There were lots of kids there, from very young to teens. About halfway through the show a little girl walked up to me with a note on a piece of folded paper. Opening it up I saw that it said, scribbled in crayon,

"Nice music."

Now that was sweet. After the next song another little girl walked up to me with a second note. Flushed with feeling of smug self-satifaction over the adoring fan mail and growing accolades of my admirers, I excitedly open the folded paper to see that it said,

"Play rap music."

Well, let me tell ya, that burst my bubble. Those damn kids were just messing with me!

In retrospect I consider it karma for that time in elementary school when a group of senior citizens performed Benny Goodman songs in our auditorium and my friends and I kept yelling, "Play Van Halen!"

And then there was last nights gig. After the show I dumped the tip bucket out on the table and a triangle shaped pill in foil and bubble cap spilled out with the cash. Good Lord, somebody tipped us with drugs. Now that was funny! Everybody at the table had a good laugh. Then one of them, let's just say somebody who has "expertise in the identification of pharmaceuticals," took a close look at it. He promptly informed us that it was Sildenafil, which is generic Viagra. So then everybody at the table laughed even harder, because, ya know, what were they trying to imply? Somebody even videod the incident and posted it to snapchat.

Sometimes I do feel like I'm living in a scene from Spinal Tap.

But tonight might really be crazy. I just have a feeling about it. I'll let ya'll know tomorrow.

Well that's funny, but it sucks. Embrace the suck. I can't play, let alone live, these people are probably worse off than I am as far as talent.
But I try to see the good. Whoever gave you the generic viagra probably liked you and tipped you with the only thing of value they had. Momma probably spent some time with the sonic toothbrush that night because daddy wanted to complement your playing.
On the rap side, embrace it. There are a few, very few, rappy things that I like. Maybe have a half set in the pocket that you can bring out for childish requests. Put your instruments down and put in a tape and do some Public Enemy, NWA, or Eminem. Or Anthrax, or Body Count. I would think Kid Rock would at least get you some hallucinogens or weed, probably not a cocaine crowd.
I ain't telling you what to do. I am encouraging your adventurers.

That's hilarious TMC we never received a pill in a bucket for a tip but once at a bar in Bryson City called Across The Tracks there were a bunch of River Rats from NOC partying on a Saturday night and one of them gave us a plastic cup filled with some very tasty bud errrr........ not that I'd know what tasty bud tastes like.

Maybe the pill was from a female fan who wanted you to love her long time...or at least preferred that her husband didn’t!

Sorry, this is what you get when you play bi-polar roulette.

I forgot about Hammer (MC Hammer), yes, you must learn some of that, they'll love it.

You laughed even harder, eh?


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So just to give an update, that gig on Monday night was wild. For you to comprehend what it's like working with Allen Ward, just try to imagine being partnered in a creative endeavor with John Belushi around 1980. I'm in awe of his talent, though not always completely prepared for the wild ride. The guy puts on a rock show in the truest sense of the word, and I respect the hell out of him for that. Let's just say that I was watching beer bottles being hurled across the parking lot before I drove away from the venue, and though the night was over for me, it was just getting started for him.

Tonight is another gig, and no doubt it will be a more subdued show, though just as entertaining in a different fashion. You may notice that I'm being billed as "Wizard," which wasn't my idea, though I'm sort of running with it at this point. The way I see it, if it worked for Sting, Bono, Cher, Slash, Madonna, Prince, etc., then I may as well be a mononymous person too.

If you want to be truly mononymous, you need to politely ask him to drop the “the”

Chocol8 wrote: ↑Wed May 26, 2021 3:26 pm If you want to be truly mononymous, you need to politely ask him to drop the “the”

Right, who says The Wizard? I mean, Ivana might say it, like "The Donald," but it just sounds off to me.

@toomanycats This can be your theme song