"NO" FROM THE AUDITION...

Back from southern Oregon… Almost an 11-hour trip, what with stops at the towing company to pick up the Big Yellow Tip Bucket (retrieved from the T-bird before they destroyed it) and buy a couple of spare tires (because I had a blowout on the way), and the audition at the Capitol Coffee House in Portland.

It was a “no” from Capitol Coffee, and I probably should have expected that was going to happen. The reason the owner hadn’t been answering my e-mails was he really wasn’t interested in my playing there; he hadn’t scheduled me for an audition, did give me a perfunctory one because I showed up (and he knew I was from way out of town), but was obviously distracted while I was doing it, and told me after hearing a verse and chorus of three songs that I was a pretty good guitarist (duh) but not what he wanted in his restaurant. I am not sure what he wanted—probably soft rock or jazz (Portlanders like that stuff), and a duo or trio would probably work best in the space he had.

So I thanked him for listening to me (having figured out I was really wasting his time, and he was being nice about it), and wished luck to the duo that had been scheduled to audition. The owner’s goal is to have live music there seven nights a week—paid live music, in fact—and one has to encourage that (and I did). Even if it’s not me. I was just overly excited about the prospect because I have friends who live in the neighborhood, and I was pretty sure they’d come to see me if I was playing there. The lesson (there are always lessons) is to not be so full of myself that I can’t recognize rejection before it happens.

There is plenty to do. The band practices tonight (Wednesday) for Saturday’s “Rocktoberfest” gig; music Friday night (of course), and there will be a cast meeting of the burlesque troupe Sunday to do a post-mortem on the Sept. 26 show (the post-mortem was rescheduled from last Sunday because a lot of the cast couldn’t make it). I do have the Insomnia Coffee Co. gig two weeks from now, on Sat. Oct. 24 (so being rejected by one coffeehouse isn’t a confidence-destroying thing). Rap to work out for the “Rocktoberfest,” and also for Insomnia.

Setlist for the “Rocktoberfest” currently looks like this:

Dead Things in the Shower (fast two-step, no break)
Armadillo on the Interstate (slow & sleazy, half the breaks)
Bluebird on My Windshield (fast bluegrass, maybe keep the break)
Tillamook Railroad Blues (deliberate blues, one break)
Things Are Getting Better Now That Things Are Getting Worse (mod. fast two-step, maybe keep the break)
No Good Songs About the War (slow two-step, maybe keep the break)
When I Jump Off the Cliff I’ll Think of You (fast bluegrass, no breaks)
For Their Own Ends (folk-rock, keep the break)
Duct Tape (mod. fast two-step, one break)
Welcome to Hebo Waltz (fast waltz, no breaks)
Rotten Candy (fast Gospel, keep the break—it’s simple)
Eatin’ Cornflakes from a Hubcap Blues (mod. slow quasi-blues, no break)
Free-Range Person (fast bluegrass, keep the breaks)
Un-Easy Street (mod. two-step, no break)

A fellow at the music store recommended a guitar player, but I don’t know him and haven’t contacted him. At this point, I think it’s too late to inject anything more new. We’ll do the show as a trio.

Joe