This week I'll toss the philosophizing aside and recount the week - 'cause it's been strange, and strangely eventful.
We were recently asked by Bruce Gerrish of Vancouver City Limits to play a set at the Railway Club on July 27, which we were happy to do (we've been invited back a few times). We met to rehearse the tunes, and it was...hell. I don't know if I was out of practice, low on sleep, fighting off a bug or what, but I didn't recall any past occasion when it had been so difficult to sing. It felt like I was having to triple my usual effort just to get from sounding abysmal to merely horrible. By the end of the rehearsal I was completely exhausted and wondering if I was getting too old for this kind of music...yet I had little fear that I'd be able to do the gig. Maybe because I knew worry would do me no good, I didn't worry. I practiced over the next couple of days and did marginally better, tho' still nothing close to the sort of performance I'm used to. Luckily, I had a distraction in the meantime.
I got out to see Gene Simmons and family perform a show of sorts at the Red Rock Casino in Richmond. I say a 'show of sorts' because it was more like being in the audience of a talk show, or sitting around shooting the breeze with the Simmons family (aside from the 'look at all the things my empire is doing now' promotional film that started the show). The four of them do in fact come across as being down-to-earth, good-natured and intelligent. It has always bemused me how Gene can alternately be one of the most unrepentantly boastful people in the public eye, and at other times unflinchingly self-effacing, canny and obviously well-meaning. That his kids have grown up to be such bright, substantial and unaffected people suggests that Mr. Boastful 'Buy My Kiss Kasket' is the construct, and Mr. Normal is the real deal. One can always hope.
Weirdly enough, I got to experience life as a pop-culture icon myself, as I was one of two guys at the event dressed head-to-toe as Mr. Simmons, circa 1978. I received a round of applause just for showing up, and I must have posed for over a hundred photographs...and it was a blast! The only folks who seemed completely unfazed by my appearance was the Simmons family themselves. I'm sure they've seen it all before. Unfortunately I missed the meet-and-greet that came afterward (here I thought the pricier tickets were just for better seats...whoops!), but it was well worth the effort and expense.
A few days later, hours before the gig, I was warming up my vocal chords before the gig at the Railway Club, and I felt...invincible. I have no idea what went right (I had caught up on my sleep a little), but when it came time to do the show, and the Railway Club had it's usual excellent sound guy (in this night's case, Johnny) minding the monitors, my voice was back with a vengeance. Consequently, I could relax a little more with the guitar and let the music breathe. Curtis was in especially fine form that night too, and I enjoyed the performance thoroughly. It reminded me why I keep at it.
Meanwhile, I was crazy-busy cobbling together cover images for the new CD. Aside from a little font-tweaking now, it's done! At least the manufacturing part is one thing I don't have to do myself. Just wait til next time ;)
So that's my little slice-of-life for the week. Keep your eyes peeled for a gig announcement regarding Aug 13 - we will be performing, although what, where and exactly when , I do not yet know. Don't you love a mystery? I know I do!
Til next time...
We were recently asked by Bruce Gerrish of Vancouver City Limits to play a set at the Railway Club on July 27, which we were happy to do (we've been invited back a few times). We met to rehearse the tunes, and it was...hell. I don't know if I was out of practice, low on sleep, fighting off a bug or what, but I didn't recall any past occasion when it had been so difficult to sing. It felt like I was having to triple my usual effort just to get from sounding abysmal to merely horrible. By the end of the rehearsal I was completely exhausted and wondering if I was getting too old for this kind of music...yet I had little fear that I'd be able to do the gig. Maybe because I knew worry would do me no good, I didn't worry. I practiced over the next couple of days and did marginally better, tho' still nothing close to the sort of performance I'm used to. Luckily, I had a distraction in the meantime.
I got out to see Gene Simmons and family perform a show of sorts at the Red Rock Casino in Richmond. I say a 'show of sorts' because it was more like being in the audience of a talk show, or sitting around shooting the breeze with the Simmons family (aside from the 'look at all the things my empire is doing now' promotional film that started the show). The four of them do in fact come across as being down-to-earth, good-natured and intelligent. It has always bemused me how Gene can alternately be one of the most unrepentantly boastful people in the public eye, and at other times unflinchingly self-effacing, canny and obviously well-meaning. That his kids have grown up to be such bright, substantial and unaffected people suggests that Mr. Boastful 'Buy My Kiss Kasket' is the construct, and Mr. Normal is the real deal. One can always hope.
Weirdly enough, I got to experience life as a pop-culture icon myself, as I was one of two guys at the event dressed head-to-toe as Mr. Simmons, circa 1978. I received a round of applause just for showing up, and I must have posed for over a hundred photographs...and it was a blast! The only folks who seemed completely unfazed by my appearance was the Simmons family themselves. I'm sure they've seen it all before. Unfortunately I missed the meet-and-greet that came afterward (here I thought the pricier tickets were just for better seats...whoops!), but it was well worth the effort and expense.
A few days later, hours before the gig, I was warming up my vocal chords before the gig at the Railway Club, and I felt...invincible. I have no idea what went right (I had caught up on my sleep a little), but when it came time to do the show, and the Railway Club had it's usual excellent sound guy (in this night's case, Johnny) minding the monitors, my voice was back with a vengeance. Consequently, I could relax a little more with the guitar and let the music breathe. Curtis was in especially fine form that night too, and I enjoyed the performance thoroughly. It reminded me why I keep at it.
Meanwhile, I was crazy-busy cobbling together cover images for the new CD. Aside from a little font-tweaking now, it's done! At least the manufacturing part is one thing I don't have to do myself. Just wait til next time ;)
So that's my little slice-of-life for the week. Keep your eyes peeled for a gig announcement regarding Aug 13 - we will be performing, although what, where and exactly when , I do not yet know. Don't you love a mystery? I know I do!
Til next time...