Our blues and rock and roll band we named Sedona is making progress. As bad as last week’s practice was, we more than made up for it as every player stepped up and we recorded two tracks. These are songs I wrote and we have several more I have yet to show the boys.
Here are the two clips:
I went to an open mic at a local brewery tonight after practice and secured us a 6:30-7:30 time slot to introduce Sedona to the Miami Valley music scene. It will also serve as our audition for other club and brewery owners who often attend the various talent showcases for possible bookings.
We can’t fuck it up.
You get ONE shot.
I am starting to make progress physically, as well. I have been “in training” every day by standing for hours holding and playing my new guitar. It is a badass PRS SE double-pickup turquoise beauty and I promised myself that if I could pull off putting together one last band and being good enough to perform, well, I am NOT sitting down on stage because of my amputated leg.
Yes, it hurts like hell.
Yes, the stinging never stops.
Yes, the burning is ceaseless.
But you know what?
When I am standing up onstage flashing my cool new electric guitar with my shades on at 8pm and people are drinking and ready to rock, that first power chord of the show makes everything better.
No shit.
It will be nice to move on to different music, but the boredom is natural to us playing the songlist ad infinitum. Actually, the boredom is a very good sign. The next step is to play the song by rote and then you can move on to the next song.
When we have our initial 10-song setlist, I will make the call to Tony, the young charismatic host (and a badass country player in his own right) of the open mic and secure our slot and then try to whip up a mid-week crowd for our debut.
Stoked.
I have a one-hour show to perform tomorrow at 3pm at a local nursing home. I’m a little bummed because my friend has pretty much used up all his personal time to leave work early to help me with these shows, so this will be his last show for a while.
The places we play at don’t have a lot of flexibility with their patients’ schedules, so I am either asked to play at 2 or 3pm.
I am also courting a guy from a prestigious venue in the little town of Yellow Springs, Ohio. I was able to speak with him and ask about playing there. If the name sounds familiar, it is the hometown of one Dave Chappelle, the comedian who is buying up every available piece of real estate in the world. He was very cordial, and I guess I struck a nerve, somehow, and he said I could send him audio links from our practice sessions. I am waiting for a call back.
Fingers crossed.
Stay well.
Mark's Playhouse 