7% Chance Of Precipitation

      Getting this done a little early this week. Our annual camping trip is this weekend. We’re leaving Thursday afternoon, and won’t be back until Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow and Thursday have the chance to be busy days for me, so I thought I’d get this out of the way, while I don’t have much to do. I still had to fight it though. Even though I don’t really have anything going on today, I still wanted to push it. I don’t know why. Oh well, the urge to make sure I don’t miss a week is stronger than my urge to have it done on a particular day. So, here I sit on a Tuesday, trying to think of what to write. It is a little strange, in a cool way, that I have band practice tonight. Usually I do this on Thursday, which is also a band practice night. So, something about this feels regular, because I’m doing this before band practice. I suppose I should fill you in about last Thursday. My nerves were relaxed last Thursday as soon as I walked up to band practice. The guitar player and I hugged it out. We don’t normally do that. It felt as though we both had a sense that the episode was behind us. He also made a comment about having taken what I said to heart, and he’s been thinking about his attentiveness. It really helped me realize that he did hear what I had said. I was sorry about the way that it came out, but I was telling the truth. He saw that. We had a really good practice. We were able to discuss the parts more clearly, and get them to where they should be. The other two in our band don’t know about the episode, at least I don’t think so, and it’s probably best that no one else got involved. It’s hard enough when two people are having a communication dilemma, adding more emotions, and extra voices, would be like adding extra fuel.

     Our gig was awesome! I was a little nervous initially because it started raining Friday afternoon. The news said it would pass by showtime, but you can never really tell. We were going to be playing on a patio, outside, so rain would not necessarily work for us. It was getting close to having to decide, and then I got an email from the venue, asking if we wanted to cancel, or take our chances, because there would be no show if it rained. I contacted my bandmates, and the other band, to see what the consensus was. We were all a bit nervous, but were willing to take the risk. And I’m glad we did. It was questionable even as we were setting up! I couldn’t really relax until it was all over. I couldn’t believe the turn out we got. Even though it may have rained, we still got a bunch of people to show up! It was so rewarding. I think we’re playing something people would like. I know we all like it. It can’t just be us. I know what we’re doing is not for everyone, but one of my core beliefs is that if I like it, other people will probably like it too. And sometimes it feels like they do. I know we’re not going to be rich and famous, but the idea that we may be putting out a product that people enjoy is enough. Sometimes more than enough. Looking out, and realizing that all of these people came to see us, and hear what we’re doing, feels good. Even when there’s a chance of rain! The other aspect which I can see is that perhaps it’s just a chance for our friends to see each other. And I’m okay with that too. Maybe we’re just tolerable, and the actual draw is our friends. I don’t know that I’d care that much, because we’re still creating an environment that people want to be a part of. And it provides the opportunity to show that to others.

     It’s very comforting to hear from people, that we don’t know, how much they appreciated the performance. People generally prefer music they know. We only usually play one cover. And to see the look on their faces when they “have to tell us” how much they enjoyed it says everything. It is like a breath of fresh air for them to see a band they know nothing about, and like it! That’s the shiz. The other band did not have the same effect. The singer from my punk band was there, and said he hadn’t heard a band that bad in a while. Ouch! A lot of people mentioned they didn’t like them. And, a lot of people left. So, I guess I won’t be inviting them back. I’ll take chances, I don’t care. I like to give people a shot. I had seen their bass player at like 3 of our shows, just trying to get an “in.” So, I gave them a shot. Selfishly, it kind of makes us look better if people are there for us. I thought they’d have a draw, but they really didn’t. By about halfway through their set there were only about 7 of us paying any attention. Oh well. They didn’t have a drummer. That didn’t sit well with a lot of people. They played to a drum track, so there was a beat, but people did not seem to like the absence of a drummer. I guess you never know. I was a little surprised that they play out. But hey, we had fun, we accomplished something, and hopefully got a few more people to like us. I wrote the venue back today, hoping we can set something up again a few months from now. I hope we get a response. They did ask us to turn down though, which I hope doesn’t do anything to our chances. We did turn down. I record every performance, and after we turned down, the recording sounded much better, so it worked in our favor! Now it’s time to go not think about any of it.