Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah…

I stood in a crowded bar this past weekend watching a parade of young, popular bands taking their turns onstage, playing only a few songs each, most of them originals.   Even with my earplugs in the noise level coming from the stage was intermittently so loud that it actually hurt.

I was there because my friend’s band was playing.   He’s part of a large clique of some of the nicest musicians I’ve ever met.   There’s just this whole community of these cool 20-somethings & it seems like every single one of them is in a band.   He, & others of this group, regularly invite me to their gigs but this was the first one I had made it to in a long time.   This is partially because I don’t like to go out to crowded places, & partially because I’m not really into this kind of music.   I’m not even sure what to classify it as.   When I asked, I was told “Rock.”

Hm.

A Little Change of Scenery

We planned a little live music for this past Sunday night instead of the usual karaoke.   When the Beatles Guy suggested it to T a couple of weeks ago, T was actually not sure I would go for it.   But I thought that was a GREAT IDEA.   We were starting to just do the same old crap every Sunday.   I hadn’t heard my old friend, who I will refer to as Sayasu, play in years.   Since Monday was a holiday that meant that we’d probably see some donkeys wander into the bar, which often meant bad, screaming karaoke.

Some live acoustic, especially from skilled guys like these, was an excellent idea.   Since our place already comes with a live set up (we run the karaoke through a Mackie 808M & the music comes out a pair of wall mounted Mackies), all the guys had to do was come & plug in.   Well, & sound check & whatnot, but we already had the mics, mic stands, cords, etc, lying around.   Even spare guitars.   And a Sunday night clientele of people who are just about all either musicians or music enthusiasts.

It was a great idea.

Sing Him Away

Twelve years ago I was sprouting new songs in my head like a vegetable garden on a chicken farm. Whatever that means. I was playing guitar every day, transposing the melodies & lyrics that were practically falling out of my head onto notes. When my future ex-husband crashed my house, the day I was laid up from crashing my bike, he found me sitting on the floor of my living room with my Takamine. I hadn’t eaten all day. I was working on this song.

But when I ended up in a band singing covers, that all changed.   It was like my brain dried up.   Sometimes I think now, if I water it with enough tequila or vodka, it’ll become fecund again.   I know, I should be going for the real stuff.   Coleridge would not be impressed.   Recently I had some hope of cancer, which could be like today’s consumption (TB), but that doesn’t look like it’s going to be anything.

Turkeys.

My neighbors have got, for their Thanksgiving luau next door, a guy playing guitar & singing a combination of old school karaoke bar hits like “Delilah” & “Elvira” & baldly off-pitch renditions of Eagles songs which I’m guessing are actually renditions of the dumbed-down Eagles renditions of local bands, because frankly if this guy had ever heard the Eagles themselves I don’t think he’d dumb their songs down quite this much.

Thank goodness I’m heading over to my parents’ house in a little while.   The hilarity of my situation wore off some time ago.

Karaoke Review 08-10

Welcome to the first post in my new “great idea,” where I review the previous night’s drunken karaoke session.   For those who don’t know, I tend bar at a tiny rock-oriented karaoke bar that aspires to be secret.   People will be referred to by nicknames I make up for them so I don’t get anyone in trouble.   Except for Keola, who’s always in trouble anyway.

Due to being in what I will term “work mode” while I am working, I don’t always remember all events, & I’ve also come to the conclusion that I am incapable of hearing myself accurately while I am singing, so I record a lot of my singing.   The next day I upload the recordings to my computer for review.   Sometimes I’m horrified.   Sometimes I laugh my ass off.   Sometimes I’m horrified & laughing my ass off at the same time.

Someone mentioned this picture

Enjoy.