Awkward Moments

      It’s hard not to think about the fires right now. I know LA has been in the news for the past couple of weeks, but now it’s starting down here. While I was eating lunch, the news broke into the show I was watching. There are 2 fires burning right now, one a little bigger than the other. They aren’t near me, but still, it’s spooky. I’m sure we all kind of take personal inventory when we hear about things like this. Now, all of a sudden, I’m super concerned about some dead brush I have in my backyard. We all live in a fire prone area, so that doesn’t help. The only thing that gives me a little solace, is that we live kind of close to the desert, so there’s not much to burn. But you never know. With the wind speeds, almost anything can happen. I feel so bad every time I see the devastation on the news. I hope the recovery takes as little time as possible. Alright, that’s enough, I just had to get that out, I had no intention of writing you about the fires. But, it is part of life, especially on the west coast, and it is what I was thinking about. It’s also kind of a trip that Florida just got snow! Places that almost never get snow, just got some! That’s weird. We’re out here dry and on fire, and they’re sledding on the beach in Florida! Crazy shit! I’m sure if you were able to look back at the entirety of our history, not just since we’ve been keeping track, that you’d see ebbs and flows, where the weather did some anomalous stuff. However, I do not see how people can deny that things are changing? Last year, this week, we got so much rain that parts of the county flooded! This year we’re at 4% humidity! We usually get Santa Anas in October, not January! Man-made or not, weather patterns are changing!

     Alright, now that’s enough. But seriously, it’s been so dry, I feel like my lips have been chapped this whole year! Sorry for all the exclamation points, but I really would say it to you like that. Where to start, where to start, where to start? I guess I’ll start with the Heartbreak Hustlers. The show went well. There was some awkwardness detected. I’m not sure if they were worried that I hadn’t been practicing, or worried that I would cause a scene. They may not have been worried at all, but there was some weirdness. I talked to the fiddle player, he’s the one that got me in, I’ve known him the longest. We just talked about regular stuff. He seemed fine. Except he kept making negative comments about the guitar player, which made me wonder whether he was “just saying that,” or not. The singer talked to us for a bit, she seemed okay. That was in the beginning. After we played, I was told “thank you,” “we sounded great,” and other comments like that. But nothing of real substance. Then, the next day, kind of early, I got a text from the singer. She said they’ve been working with another bass player, and he’s just about ready, and I can play this Friday’s show if I want to, but I am no longer obligated. I wrote back: If you don’t need me, I’m out. Then I never heard another word. I thought that seemed so odd. These people are text fiends! They “love,” or “thumbs up,” everything. They’ve even “emphasized” a few things. But nothing! Wow. Most of the time when the group text was going, I’d get the same message 5 times, because of all the “love.” But, nothing. Weird. It almost made me wonder: This guy was only one practice from being able to play a show? He could’ve played that show! Oh well, I had fun. It was a little awkward, but I like performing. So, it was a win!

     The next day we had the Eruption’s show. It was awesome! The place was packed. We only knew about a third of the people. People were there to watch the football game, and the basketball game too, we started as soon as they were done, and people stayed! It was so awesome! I was a little nervous because, as I mentioned earlier, the dryness has been affecting my vocals. Plus, at the show on Friday, I developed a blood blister on my middle finger, which is the finger I play the bass with. It hurt like a (insert colorful metaphor here)! I thought I was over that kind of stuff. But no. I had to play through the pain. I think it was because of my wrist pain. I may have been playing a little differently than I normally do, due to my wrist. So, wrist, finger, and vocals, all making me nervous. But, I played through. And, as mentioned earlier, it was awesome! It was full ‘til the end. Also, there was some nervousness that the neighbors would complain about the noise. But we did not get shut down! Another win! After we were done, the owner asked to use the mic, he thanked us, then rallied the people, asking if we should come back, and the response was deafening! It was so cool. I recorded the performance, and have listened to it a few times now, we really killed it! People seemed to really enjoy it. We were getting praise from all kinds of people. It was better than could’ve been expected. I’ve only recently stopped smiling. We did it! The next day was my wife’s birthday, and we went to brunch with our parents. We were surprised when our daughter showed up! We had no idea. My wife teared up instantly. That was the best present she could’ve gotten. We also got to meet my mother-in-law’s boyfriend’s mother. I thought that was a weird addition, but we had a good time nonetheless.