10/04/23
“Semper GUMBY. Always be flexible.”
Machinist
Hello, hello
holy hell what a weekend! Changes, cancellations, and Murphy’s Law were the name of the game this weekend. Everything that could go wrong honestly kind of did, for all three of us, right out the gate.
Last Saturday we were booked for two shows. Matt was booked for an end of summer show with a big guitar raffle, some vendors, and a solid lineup of bands that was being thrown by B&S Guitar Co. Rhey was scheduled to do a private party show with the Loose Affiliates. Matt’s event was intended to be outdoors, but due to weather conditions it became risky to keep the event at the original location. I don’t know if you’ve ever had to change venues for a fairly large event at the last minute, but it ain’t easy. What is truly astounding about the music community in this area is that there are a lot of really talented and kind hearted people that will step in to help each other when things go wrong. And folks, things almost always go wrong. With the help of a few people close to the event organizer a new venue was secured rather quickly the day before the event. The venue we all seem to orbit around was able to accommodate most of the event relatively comfortably at the last minute, and while the vendors didn’t have the most successful night, the show itself was actually really good. I’m not one to seek out metal shows, but I was actually really into the Desadera and Voting with Bullets sets. I am all about a good stage presence and those two bands have it in spades. Not to leave out anyone else that performed that night. You all kicked major ass, this is just MY personal highlights.
There were still a few bands that had to drop out of the show due to illness, but all things considered there was still an absolutely solid lineup and everyone performed their hearts out. The day started rather slowly and the first few bands didn’t have much in the way of a crowd to play for, but the crowd eventually grew and by the time the last two or three bands went on there were a good number of people showing up and participating.
Meanwhile…. Rhey’s event with the Affiliates was canceled at the last minute due to the cold, moist, windy weather. While it’s always a bummer to have a gig canceled like that, we were stoked that she got to come hangout with the rest of us at the summer jam. What was even more awesome, was that we got asked to stay for the after-show and run sound for the three bands that were playing at the venue after our show ended. Rhey was an absolute champ and stayed to run sound for them while we took the opportunity to eat something, which we hadn’t been able to do since late that morning. Long days are long, and being flexible is the name of the game in this business. If you give into the pressure when things start to go sideways you won’t make it far. That’s why the wise words spoken to me this last week by my partner have resonated so perfectly with the events of the weekend. “Semper Gumby” he said, “Always be flexible.” We did our best Gumby impression and still managed to have a successful show despite all the challenges that arose along the way.
I didn’t actually sell a single thing while my table was set up, unless you count Matt stealing one of my Artist Trading Cards to give to the Marvelous Mr. Dylan. Don’t worry though, he got me back later. While making no sales was absolutely not the goal, the bright side was that I got to spend an evening with a few of my favorite people and see a few bands I wouldn’t have sought out on my own. Because I was “working” I took the opportunity to start the next MaDu cover art concept while enjoying the show. I’m looking forward to the upcoming MaDu releases. I always have a blast doing new art pieces inspired by G’s work. The song titles alone are fun prompts for drawing or painting something when I don’t know what else to do. I do the same with other artists as well. I am planning a series of song inspired record clocks hand-painted in acrylic. If you have any song or artist suggestions feel free to leave them in a comment below. Maybe you will win a clock! Guess we will have to wait and see.
We’ve got a lot of big things coming in the next few weeks from shows in San Diego to Vegas, a Halloween release from MaDu, a ton of new artwork, and possibly even finishing the Procrastinator EP. Stay tuned for next week’s romp into the world of blackhat.
blackhat 