head games
billy didn't get home from his gig until 5:30am
and i didn't get to bed until 4am
because of some bizarre extenuating circumstances
maybe i'll tell the tale someday but right now
i can't bring myself to do it!
anyway
b.h. and s.n. were both a couple of sorry
worn out middle aged rock dudes today
i had low expectations for what we would accomplish
that's for sure
we kicked it off with a 12-string electric snippet
i had for "don't mind me"
then i played a little bass
after that billy added some nice juno-60 keyboard pads
and then sang some really high airy harmonies
on the chorus
we fiddled around with the mix some more
and took out the bass and drums entirely
we weren't blazing any tracking trails but considering
our previous night's experiences with lack of sleep
i'd still say we did ok
billy had another show tonight with bob schneider
this one at gruene hall
about an hour south of austin
we split at 6:30 to go to dinner
we had a fair amount of time to kill
'cause he didn't need to be at gruene until 10
he wanted to hit this mexican place across from mother's
but when we sat down he figured it wasn't gonna take long enough
it was more like a fast food joint
so we just went across the street to mother's
i wasn't protesting
that's for sure
i had a veggie burger
the menu said "voted austin's best"
it was really good but phil's has got them beat by a mile
(sorry mother!)
after dinner we went back across the street
to a coffee shop
we sat outside while a dj spun soul records
and pathetically scratched
to an odd assortment of hippie beatniks
billy gingerly sipped his black expresso
'cause i think it was a little strong for even him
at 8:30 we headed to gruene
i gotta say when we pulled into this small texas town
crawling with frat boys and their girlies
i started having flashbacks
way back to the old M.F. days when i had last traversed
this part of texas in my rock'n'roll band
to say the least it never really worked out for me
and i've been sheltered in my little pleasantry lane
bubble ever since
i remembered for the first time in many years
2 terrible trips to san marcos
at our 1st gig tommy and i were threatened in the bathroom
of the club by a bunch of 15 year old's
pissed off by the fact that our long haired rock band
was crashing their quinsenera
then at the end of our terrible gig
the elderly club owner (who looked a lot like santa)
begged us to take a check for our $500 guarantee
i thought to myself "there's no way this kind old man is a crook!"
man i was wrong
his check bounced higher than the empire state building
once we got back to big D
turns out he'd also rooked foghat reo speedwagon and triumph
we were in dubious company for sure
our next trip to san marcos we loaded all our gear up
3 flights of stairs
to then have the bar manager ask us if we'd take $80
to go back home to because it was spring break and no one was
actually left in town to attend the show
the 80 bucks barely covered our gas and we didn't get to denton until 3am
we ended up driving almost 10 hours round trip
for absolutely nothing
anyway gruene brought back a flood of these poignant memories for me
actually making me feel really good about where i am now
and thankful beyond words for the fact that i have jayme and gavin
in my life
i also thought about how truly out of touch i am
with playing music for college kids who just want to suck
down miller lites and party all night
i have absolutely zero interest in trying to appeal to that
kind of audience and even find it hard to be in the same place
despite these feelings
i actually enjoyed watching bob and co. play
they steamrolled through an impressive set
that worked the crowd into a sweat soaked frenzy
the band rolled into each song without a moments hesitation
they were like a musical iron fist
no b.s. in-between song banter
just hit after hit
it was fun
it sounded great
billy bob and the band all looked like they were having a great time
and i was proud of my friends
proud of bob for what he's accomplished over the years
he's worked harder than just about anyone i know
to get what he's got
by the end of the night his set actually stopped me from disappearing into
my own head space
which is a very tricky feat
and i was very thankful for that too
and i didn't get to bed until 4am
because of some bizarre extenuating circumstances
maybe i'll tell the tale someday but right now
i can't bring myself to do it!
anyway
b.h. and s.n. were both a couple of sorry
worn out middle aged rock dudes today
i had low expectations for what we would accomplish
that's for sure
we kicked it off with a 12-string electric snippet
i had for "don't mind me"
then i played a little bass
after that billy added some nice juno-60 keyboard pads
and then sang some really high airy harmonies
on the chorus
we fiddled around with the mix some more
and took out the bass and drums entirely
we weren't blazing any tracking trails but considering
our previous night's experiences with lack of sleep
i'd still say we did ok
billy had another show tonight with bob schneider
this one at gruene hall
about an hour south of austin
we split at 6:30 to go to dinner
we had a fair amount of time to kill
'cause he didn't need to be at gruene until 10
he wanted to hit this mexican place across from mother's
but when we sat down he figured it wasn't gonna take long enough
it was more like a fast food joint
so we just went across the street to mother's
i wasn't protesting
that's for sure
i had a veggie burger
the menu said "voted austin's best"
it was really good but phil's has got them beat by a mile
(sorry mother!)
after dinner we went back across the street
to a coffee shop
we sat outside while a dj spun soul records
and pathetically scratched
to an odd assortment of hippie beatniks
billy gingerly sipped his black expresso
'cause i think it was a little strong for even him
at 8:30 we headed to gruene
i gotta say when we pulled into this small texas town
crawling with frat boys and their girlies
i started having flashbacks
way back to the old M.F. days when i had last traversed
this part of texas in my rock'n'roll band
to say the least it never really worked out for me
and i've been sheltered in my little pleasantry lane
bubble ever since
i remembered for the first time in many years
2 terrible trips to san marcos
at our 1st gig tommy and i were threatened in the bathroom
of the club by a bunch of 15 year old's
pissed off by the fact that our long haired rock band
was crashing their quinsenera
then at the end of our terrible gig
the elderly club owner (who looked a lot like santa)
begged us to take a check for our $500 guarantee
i thought to myself "there's no way this kind old man is a crook!"
man i was wrong
his check bounced higher than the empire state building
once we got back to big D
turns out he'd also rooked foghat reo speedwagon and triumph
we were in dubious company for sure
our next trip to san marcos we loaded all our gear up
3 flights of stairs
to then have the bar manager ask us if we'd take $80
to go back home to because it was spring break and no one was
actually left in town to attend the show
the 80 bucks barely covered our gas and we didn't get to denton until 3am
we ended up driving almost 10 hours round trip
for absolutely nothing
anyway gruene brought back a flood of these poignant memories for me
actually making me feel really good about where i am now
and thankful beyond words for the fact that i have jayme and gavin
in my life
i also thought about how truly out of touch i am
with playing music for college kids who just want to suck
down miller lites and party all night
i have absolutely zero interest in trying to appeal to that
kind of audience and even find it hard to be in the same place
despite these feelings
i actually enjoyed watching bob and co. play
they steamrolled through an impressive set
that worked the crowd into a sweat soaked frenzy
the band rolled into each song without a moments hesitation
they were like a musical iron fist
no b.s. in-between song banter
just hit after hit
it was fun
it sounded great
billy bob and the band all looked like they were having a great time
and i was proud of my friends
proud of bob for what he's accomplished over the years
he's worked harder than just about anyone i know
to get what he's got
by the end of the night his set actually stopped me from disappearing into
my own head space
which is a very tricky feat
and i was very thankful for that too
posted by salim nourallah at 11:42 PM
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