I woke up early today. My nerves were stirring and my body was still on East Coast time. Today was the big day but I was gonna try not to think about it too much. I couldn’t help it though, I wondered (as I often do) if people were gonna actually show up. Sometimes you show up to a room and it’s empty, just happens that way. Casey decided instead of worrying we should grab breakfast then head to the beach. All excellent ideas. We found a diner and had pancakes then we went and laid on the beach.
It’s easy to make sense of your life watching the waves crash in with guitar in hand. I’m coming up with chord progressions by the buttload, but don’t have any real lyrical direction. For the first time ever I have no idea what I feel the need to say. It’s not officially writers block yet and hopefully I won’t get to that point. We sat for a while and sipped on some beverages and as the sun came in we hit the car and headed towards the hotel. Since it was lunch time we got a split bucket of KFC and watched Die Hard 2. It was around 7:30 and I decided it was time to head over to the venue. Since when I went over there yesterday they forgot I was playing I wanted to be over there early to make sure everything was set up and ready to go.
As Casey and I sat inside of the coffee shop we quickly realized that all of the people in here were basically 16 year old skate punks. I began to wonder why a booker would book me on a show with with these kinds of acts. Even if they stuck around to hear me, they probably wouldn’t like what they heard. Now I’m pretty nervous about playing to an empty room.
This feeling would basically end as my people walked in. Mayte (friend of Bang Camaro) showed up first. She traveled up from San Diego and got lost, so I better be good tonight. She brought friends who thought this was some sort of salsa dancing thing so they were dressed pretty spiffy.
Mayte: Can you explain what kind of music you do to my friends?
Me: Well it’s sort of like if the Police and Prince had a baby…and the baby came out retarded.
They both smile
Funny thing is that’s probably the best way to describe it
Laila and crew rolled in followed by Julie, whom I haven’t seen since she left Philly for Miami last year, not sure why she was on the west coast, but I was glad to see her face. She was always at my shows when she was at home so it was strangely comforting to see her face in the place. It also looked like most of the people that were there for the bulk of the show were going to stick around and give me a shot so when I hit the stage the room was packed
I walked a block and warmed up in a nearby parking lot, came back inside, tuned up as best I could and started playing. I could tell it was going to be a good show I was reaching for notes and they were there my strings weren’t going to break and everyone seemed to be grooving along with the tunes. It was pretty cool to play to all those new people
Set List
Destiny
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
How Can This Be Love
Toxic
Feels So Good
Get me to…
Wasted
Hangover
Breakup
3000 Miles Away
Highway to Hell
Almost as quickly as it began the show was over. It was an awesome experience. Cali is my favorite place to play outside of Philly. I’ve stumbled onto some spots where people like music or at least my music. Turns out I even have a fan or two out here. I’m also getting used to playing by myself. You have to rely on different things playing solo, my loud electric guitar solo’s aren’t there to bail me out. To be effective the songs I’m playing have to be good and my voice has to be in good shape.
After the show was over we hit the pier with Laila, Heather, and crew had a few beers and went back to the hotel. Casey and I drove back to the hotel and hit the bed. Hard to believe we go back to Philly tomorrow night.
Thank you to everyone who came you made this trip an unforgettable experience
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