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Friday, on my way home from work, my phone rang and it was my friend Ron, the drummer for local Celtic rock band Mother Grove. I ran sound for them for several years 'til I basically got burned out on having to haul gear around in the middle of the night, and I'm still a fan of the band and friends with a number of the members. I was reasonably sure they weren't playing this weekend, so I was surprised when the first question out of his mouth was "Is your mixing board busy this weekend?"
"Ermmmm... no. Not unless it's been booking gigs without me. Why?"
"Well, this band we know, the Sandcarvers, is in town at Fionn MacCool's this weekend and they forgot to bring their sound board."
Oops. Every time I travel with PA gear, I live with the fear that I've left something critical at home, so I could so sympathize with what they had to be feeling. Here they were in Fishers, Indiana, after driving down from Milwaukee, and speakers just don't do much for you w/out the sound board.
The bar had called Ron, who'd offered his board until he realized that it was an hour away in the rehearsal space in his parents' basement. Oops again. Hence the call to me, in the hopes that my board could get there in a timely fashion. The band was offering their undying gratitude. The bar (which has really really good food) was offering gratitude and dinner (and beer). And my sound board was just sitting, bored and lonely, in my garage.
So I trekked home, grabbed the board and its power supply, tossed them in the Trooper and hauled 'em up to Fionn MacCool's, where I met Tom, the drummer for the Sandcarvers. I gave him a brief rundown on the difference between Mackies and Behringers (the gain structure sets up a little different), made sure all the blinky lights came on, had a Newcastle to decompress from the lack-of-fun which had been my week, and headed home, planning to meet Ron back up there for dinner on Saturday.
Saturday afternoon, the phone rang and it was Ron again. Instead of telling me what time to meet him for dinner, he was standing me up, the bum... some lame excuse about a sinus headache. Hmph. (I'm not really mad, as noisy bands aren't the best recipe for curing a headache!) I really didn't want to go hang out at a table by myself, but I had to at least go make arrangements for the sound gear if I wasn't going to be there to take it home at the end of the night. So off I went to Fionn MacCool's, feeling somewhat grumpy since I'd really been looking forward to good music and good beer. When I got there, the new general manager (Bill, who I've met a couple of times) was there with his wife, so I waved to the band and then sat down with Bill and Veronica at the bar. He's new enough that he'd not heard Wild Mercy, so I took the opportunity to give him a demo disk and talk to him about maybe getting us back in the lineup for some gigs there.
I'd decided to pass on dinner 'til Ron and I could both go, but the pub was once again plying me with free beer... Smithwick's tonight... yum... and since my fear of having to sit alone was unfounded, I hung out and listened to the band for awhile. They're lots of fun... there are six of them and their "specialty instrument" player plays keyboards, a variety of recorders, and a bassoon. I must say I can't remember having seen a bassoon in either a celtic band or a rock band before, but I loved the sound and it made for great schtick! I had lovely chats with the band during their breaks, and they gave me two CDs which have been added to my stack of "new stuff that needs to be listened to" :-)
Tomorrow, I get to go do improv drummy stuff while dancers and the Women's Chorus play around in one of the outdoor spaces at the Eiteljorg Museum. Between that, and this evening's fun, my week is starting to feel salvageable.
Milwaukee-area folks, check out the Sandcarvers if you get a chance. Good music and nice people... I recommend 'em! :-)
And the pub still owes me dinner. Yum. I need remember to go hungry some day so I can do justice to the food there at dinnertime...
"Ermmmm... no. Not unless it's been booking gigs without me. Why?"
"Well, this band we know, the Sandcarvers, is in town at Fionn MacCool's this weekend and they forgot to bring their sound board."
Oops. Every time I travel with PA gear, I live with the fear that I've left something critical at home, so I could so sympathize with what they had to be feeling. Here they were in Fishers, Indiana, after driving down from Milwaukee, and speakers just don't do much for you w/out the sound board.
The bar had called Ron, who'd offered his board until he realized that it was an hour away in the rehearsal space in his parents' basement. Oops again. Hence the call to me, in the hopes that my board could get there in a timely fashion. The band was offering their undying gratitude. The bar (which has really really good food) was offering gratitude and dinner (and beer). And my sound board was just sitting, bored and lonely, in my garage.
So I trekked home, grabbed the board and its power supply, tossed them in the Trooper and hauled 'em up to Fionn MacCool's, where I met Tom, the drummer for the Sandcarvers. I gave him a brief rundown on the difference between Mackies and Behringers (the gain structure sets up a little different), made sure all the blinky lights came on, had a Newcastle to decompress from the lack-of-fun which had been my week, and headed home, planning to meet Ron back up there for dinner on Saturday.
Saturday afternoon, the phone rang and it was Ron again. Instead of telling me what time to meet him for dinner, he was standing me up, the bum... some lame excuse about a sinus headache. Hmph. (I'm not really mad, as noisy bands aren't the best recipe for curing a headache!) I really didn't want to go hang out at a table by myself, but I had to at least go make arrangements for the sound gear if I wasn't going to be there to take it home at the end of the night. So off I went to Fionn MacCool's, feeling somewhat grumpy since I'd really been looking forward to good music and good beer. When I got there, the new general manager (Bill, who I've met a couple of times) was there with his wife, so I waved to the band and then sat down with Bill and Veronica at the bar. He's new enough that he'd not heard Wild Mercy, so I took the opportunity to give him a demo disk and talk to him about maybe getting us back in the lineup for some gigs there.
I'd decided to pass on dinner 'til Ron and I could both go, but the pub was once again plying me with free beer... Smithwick's tonight... yum... and since my fear of having to sit alone was unfounded, I hung out and listened to the band for awhile. They're lots of fun... there are six of them and their "specialty instrument" player plays keyboards, a variety of recorders, and a bassoon. I must say I can't remember having seen a bassoon in either a celtic band or a rock band before, but I loved the sound and it made for great schtick! I had lovely chats with the band during their breaks, and they gave me two CDs which have been added to my stack of "new stuff that needs to be listened to" :-)
Tomorrow, I get to go do improv drummy stuff while dancers and the Women's Chorus play around in one of the outdoor spaces at the Eiteljorg Museum. Between that, and this evening's fun, my week is starting to feel salvageable.
Milwaukee-area folks, check out the Sandcarvers if you get a chance. Good music and nice people... I recommend 'em! :-)
And the pub still owes me dinner. Yum. I need remember to go hungry some day so I can do justice to the food there at dinnertime...
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-03 12:58 pm (UTC)What's this about a "Tullamore Dew" ringtone?
I'm not set up to download such things, so I didn't quite dare click on the link.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-03 05:36 pm (UTC)Once I get it and hear it, I'll report back!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-03 03:40 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-06-03 05:30 pm (UTC)Periodically, I contemplate coming over for a Dub Pub gig, just so I can see everybody. Maybe after I get a more thrifty car for running around in!