Survey the damage here:

(video courtesy of Paul and Storm)

This video sums up my current state of mind. Notice the Casio VL-tone’s rhythm track as the basis of this song. Kinda makes your head want to explode, doesn’t it. And does anyone else think the singer looks like our president-elect?

Visit http://www.morecowbell.dj/ and upload any song.

Then add more cowbell. And Christopher Walken.

Amazing!
(thanks to listenerd)

 http://pribek.net/2008/09/07/god-is-a-song-plugger/#comment-6974

Jack-”I appreciate you taking time to see me God”.

God-”I see all”.

Jack-”Uhmmm…well…as you know, I have this great new ballad. It would be perfect for Jessica Simpson”.

God places the hand lettered, mastered demo in to the portable CD player sitting amidst the stacks of hand lettered, mastered demo CDs, on top of his His mahogany desk, presses play and closes his eyes. After fifteen seconds, barely making it through the intro and well before the first hook, God abruptly presses stop and says in a tone that is serious yet somehow conveys empathy in the face of failure and says; “I’m not feeling it”.

 

In other news,  I found this crazy band:

Does it remind anyone of the  ”Dani California” video  from the RHCP?

Yesterday I played a wedding and reception at Pavilion of the Oaks just south of Montgomery.  There’s no piano or organ at the hall, but that would have done us little good, since the couple wanted their wedding to be outside.  Unfortunately, Hurricane Fay had other ideas for the poor couple.  About 24 hours prior to the wedding the rain started and never let up until midnight on Saturday.  Needless to say, the families and the wedding planner hastily made room for the wedding to take place indoors.  As I unloaded my keyboard rig and amp, I was soaked within 30 seconds of exiting my car.  I found the corner where the musicians were set up and someone was nice enough to find some paper towels to dry things off before I plugged into the electrical outlets.   I took 15 years of applied music lessons for this?

There were probably 100 people present, despite the downpour and high winds.  The hall where the couple wedded had one wall which was filled with big windows and french doors.  As we played the wedding inside, the wind whistled and shook the doors so violently, that no one could really hear what was going on. 

I often remember my own wedding while I watch and listen to these ceremonies.  Liturgical churches have the best weddings ’cause the ceremony is stuffed right in there with a regular communion service.  I was thinking that it’s a good thing that this one was more of a civil-style, meaning that was gonna be short and sweet (15 minutes).  Then the unity candle moment arrived and the flute player stood and nodded for me.  What?!  There’s nothing in the program about music here…     Well, it seems that someone’s mother decided that Panis Angelicus was needed here, but neglected to tell the piano player.  Crap!   About the time I dug through my book and found the page, it was too late and the couple was already getting blessed.  When the last strains of the Purcell recessional faded, the other musicians (trumpet, flute, and violin) bundled up their gear and got the heck out of there.   I had another 2 hours to play.

For the reception, they wanted me set up in another room (near the groom’s cake, which looked tasty, but I’ll never know for sure).  The challenge of lugging the stage piano and amp while dodging the crowd managed to throw my back out;  –OUCH!!  Grimacing through the pain, I played Chopin, Strauss, Beethoven, Liszt, and Brahms for about 45 minutes and 2 people came over to make nice comments.  Sensing that perhaps they were tired of classics, I played a little “West Side Story”, then reached for the Scott Joplin book.  Ragtime is a magnet for small children and soon I had a half dozen dancing audience members.   I was feeling pretty good (except for that lower back pain) and had almost dried out. 

Finally, my 2 hour reception gig was over and I packed it up and loaded it into the car.  I was sure hoping that Ampeg speakers are water-resistant because I was soaking wet again and the winds and rain were as savage as ever.  Did I mention that I had to drive another hour to get home?  Poor visibility and tumbling tree parts meant that I couldn’t “put the pedal to the metal”,  so I soggily limped home behind some trucker whose rig parted the water in the road like Moses at the Red Sea. 

Somewhere, I hope there’s a happy pair of newlyweds laughing about a love that endures hurricane-force trama.  For a certain waterlogged musician, it’s a bit harder to laugh sometimes, but I do wish them well.  The things we do for love….

So….does anyone have any similar gig stories to share?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT-CgYPE2y0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDKsmGw-7Rc

Pink Tentacle via Listenerd