Looking forward with optimism

. . . not the easist thing in today's world.

But last Friday's gig--our first with Janice--was very promising indeed. She sang All of Me, Jazzman (at this point we turned up her mic), then in the next set "every bridesmaid's favorite song," I Will Survive, Son of a Preacher Man -- at this point she was really belting it out, but I wan't prepared for what was to come, the third set, where she did the one-two punch of You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman and Respect. She knocked 'em dead. Altogether a few thousand notes, every one of them in tune. Beautifully musical.

We're still a little shaky on a couple endings, but right now we sound as good as any band out there in our neck fo the woods. It's coming on faster than I ever thought it would. And I am convinced that every gig is the WORST we will ever sound.

Added a few new charts: At Last, Rock Steady, Squib Cakes, 25 or 6 to Four, She Caught the Katy, At This Moment, Higher & Higher . . . Most were trades, but all I had to rewrite.

This Friday we'll be up there again in Lago Vista. Jimmy'll be there on drums, Janice again, Shortell on trumpet, Monty Mann on bass, Javi, Leroy, Kapral, and a trombonist to be named later. Should be a great big fun thing!

Gearing up again

Friday we'll be back at Cabo Loco.

Janice is going to be the canary. Don't ask about the other gal. Janice is a pro.

We've got a few more new charts coming into the book, but due to the weird scheduling--beginning of school mostly--we're not able to rehearse before the gig. But when we DO rehearse we'll have Shaker Song by Manhattan Transfer and What You Won't Do For Love by Bobby Caldwell. I did a quick and dirty on Night Train that we could do. Hmmmm.

My brother is seeing the light and cutting back on the lesser cover bands. It's a lesson we all have to learn, even if we learn it in our mid-forties. You got to pick 'em.

Welcome home.

We have to start working at Pato's on happy hours, which I see as an alternative to rehearsals. That's why I like working with pros. Every one of us will do this rehearsing for beer stuff for a few weeks. When it builds (not "IF if builds") we'll be asking for dough. And they will be selling a lot over the bar.

We're THIS close!

Being ethnically identified Irish, I have a rough time looking success in the eye. Family, friends, Fitchburg (our home town in Massachusetts): I feel the breath of them on my neck and they're accusing me of high-hatting them, of not knowing well my station in life, So many of my colleagues and peers lack this circuitry. The just charge on ahead until they feel bricks.

All this is to say that we had a great rhythm section rehearsal on Sunday which left us all convinced that something good is well within our reach,

First of all, we started about 40 minutes late because Marty had plumbing trouble at his house. AND Leroy accidentally fell asleep at his house. Not very encouraging, We had Janice sitting on Jimmy's couch chatting, wondering what was up I'm sure. Javi tried but didn't make it. I had just driven down from Dallas. Jimmy and Leroy just barely got out of a gig at Cabo Loco.

If I were her I would have walked. But we all managed to convene and it was good. Very good.

Janice was splendid in every way, tackling even the hardest tune we threw her way (Midnight Train to Georgia) with class and aplomb. She has a great voice that can make it up to soprano range without losing pitch or support. It's so nice to play with someone with a trained voice (as my brother has) because they make a connection with the instruments. Anyway, suitably impressive, she had something else to get to, but hung around a few extra minutes she didn't really have because it was a kick for her too.

Marty and Jimmy was an easy thing to see coming. They're both groove players who don't bother with virtuosic displays to make their point. (Not that either of them is not capable . . . they just choose not to clog up the tunes with them.) Find the groove, lock onto it.

A couple things came out of rehearsal Sunday. We're going to pursue Pato's to make a paid rehearsal midweek. It may pay just beer, but hey, I've worked for less, with less. And we'll be getting together Thursday night to work out 8 tunes, which I burned to cds and distributed at the end of the rehearsal. Thank you, Steve Jobs.

That's how close we are. Close enough to feel the hairs on my neck rising to meet the challenge.

Two Essential Movies

Everybody in the cover band business ought to immediately rent these two movies: The Commitments and The Blues Brothers.

The bleak landscape of North Dublin produces some great music. Soul covers without pretense, just kind of taking Motown and Memphis and running them through the Irish boys. All of the interpersonal and personnel stuff is TRUE in this movie. I may cringe when they cut to the alto player and the sound track is playing a bari, but every musician I know can relate to the early rehearsals and the time they caught the trumpet player beneath the stairs with one of the singers.

Ray Charles' appearance as a pawnbroker with unexpected sight is alone worth the price of renting The Blues Brothers. That and his stirring rendition of "Shake Your Tailfeather" which has some altogether proloterian choreography.

We'll be convening this Sunday at my brothers house to work some canary tunes with the lovely and talented Janice Jean and a couple of new things I have up my sleeve. Just the rhythm section, the singers and me.

Meanwhile, I've Tivoed these two movies.