Day 217 - October 15th 2009
My cruel overlord aka my cell phone alarm woke me up at 9 on the dot. It took me a split second to realize why. I’m rejoining bang Camaro this evening for a show at Santo’s Party House the sight of my first show with them. I have to admit I was excited about performing with them again. But first I had to find my winter hat cause frankly cause it was nasty outside. I was unsuccessful.
I braved the cold and the rain, headed to the Megabus and it pulled off headed for New York, a city short on positive experiences for me. Seems like every time I go to New York something bad happens although lately it’s gone from having a horrible time to just not having a good time. Hopefully this will finally turn it around. I’m meeting up with Claire first then I head over to Santos for sound check. So many thoughts running through my head on the way up, mainly whether or not I was in Camaro shape or not. We generally go really hard so I was worried about my general physical condition as well as the ankle. I wondered which singers were gonna be there and which movie they would show on a bus…it was twilight which meant it was Ipod time.
A few hours and a convo with my mom later there it was…New York City. Regardless how I feel about the city and the people that live there it’s a wondrous city at first glance. Everything is bigger, faster, louder. It has an energy that can only be achieved when a crap load of people are packed in tightly together, everyone has somewhere to be. I got off the bus and it was colder and more rainy here than it was back home, of this I wasn’t pleased. Claire found me though and we started walking.
For almost a two year period Claire and I were inseparable, the very best of friends, we used to talk or see each other everyday for like two hours, I still feel like we’re close but living our own lives in two different cities we’re not as locked into each other’s lives as we once were. I don’t talk to her as much as I should but I was definitely happy to see her. She looked good, happy, which is what we all want for our friends. We took a train to get lunch and of course I screw up going through the turnstile. She had to open a door to let my dumb ass in so that I could take the train.
We stopped at a Uno and ate pizza. I got a chance to listen to some of her new music and it’s dope. Just her and a guitar. She even played me a tune that she wrote completely on her own. A far cry from the days of she and I cooking up tracks in my house for her first album. I’m very proud of my friend who is just scratching the surface of her musical abilities
After we were done she graciously accompanied me to Santos Party house and as I opened the door and walked inside there they were…Bang Camaro.
Every memory, every show, every cramped van ride, comes rushing back to me as I look around and see 11 guys that I had become extremely close with over a two month period No matter what I do with my life and career from this point forward, I will never have another experience like the one I had with them. They greet me warmly as I introduce some of them to Claire. I hug lots of dudes as we all catch up. I hear about new projects several of them are working on, all sound pretty damn intriguing. They ask about the mini tour, they still read the blog, the internet’s an awesome thing. There’s pizza so I eat it and then I hear Pete checking his bass drum and it all really comes back. It’s just like every other show and now I’m just waiting to check my mic.
In a few short moments the opening act played by That Handsome Devil kills it just before we are due to come out. I see Angie and Vanessa Boyd and I talk to them before rejoining the army in the back they’re writing a new set list on Pizza Boxes, no chance to go on autopilot tonight, which I was actually hoping for seeing as though I haven’t done this since May. That Handsome Devil is finished and the guys hit the stage
After Thunderclap we hit the stage to do our thing.
Set List
Thunderclap
Swallow The Razor
Pleasure Pleasure
Blood Red Rock
Rock Rebellion
Rock of Mages
Out on The Streets
Revolution
Push Push (Lady Lightning)
Encore
F.Y.T.F.O
As we move though these songs I spot a blonde in the crowd. I know her from another life, one where I was a flim maker and a Superhero (don’t ask) she can’t be there to see me, she didn’t know I was coming but there she was anyway. My friend Zoe doesn’t notice me at first. Then she looks up, it’s hard not to notice the lone black guy on stage she runs to the stage I look up and wink at her it was quite a moment. I’m not used to my friends seeing me singing and dancing on stage, no guitar in hand. I’ve been claiming I don’t dance for close to ten years, and now too many of my friends know better. My ankle also feels better the more I move on it.
The shows over, we play an encore, and there I am again in a bathroom with a towel trying to wipe myself off so I don’t get sick. I’ve got a show tomorrow and a mini tour next week so me being hoarse isn’t an option. I hit the city with Ange. She prefers my work to Camaro’s…I wouldn’t expect the woman who produced my last album to say anything less. We talk about the future, we had such a great time making that record and I would love to work with her again. I gotta write some songs first. We hit a few bars she puts me in a cab and I hit the Megabus to go home. This may be the first great time I’ve ever had in New York.
Lickety tomorrow.
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