THE ARTS CENTER SHOWCASE (&C.)...

Looks like the Arts Center Showcase thing might just work. Got confirmations back from one soloist (and a “maybe” from another), two duos (and a “next month” from another), plus our band will play. Got another soloist to talk to tomorrow at his birthday party and one Sunday at the Rapture Room. Yes, might work. I do think we should be doing something different with these open mike things, and this might be it.

Next step, if we’ve got enough performers, is for me to take mug shots of all of them if I can and turn that into a poster. I already have a photo of our “headliners,” the Tillamook Community Chorus. The rest? Not a single photo that I know of. And I’ll need to do that all in a day or two, too—I have only two weeks for marketing, here.

I am managing slowly but surely to fit more stuff into available times. I got in practice with bass player Clint this afternoon and marimba practice tonight; tomorrow, I cover the Red Hat Ladies’ “Beach Party” conference in the morning for the paper, go meet and review three bands in the afternoon in my role as entertainment coordinator for the summer concert series, and then go to a musician’s birthday party tomorrow night (where I’ll finally get to play music). Sunday is marimba practice in the afternoon (and I have a complicated tenor part to learn before then) and the Rapture Room that night. I don’t know what I’d do if I had a job, too (but I have nonetheless put my name in for a couple of jobs I would really like).

Jim’s recordings from the Tsunami a week ago came out pretty good (as noted before, I would not have wanted to try recording in that environment). Best of the four musically was “The Resurrection Blues,” but I tripped up on some of the words, and wouldn’t want to keep that recording. However, Jim would like to record the song in his shop studio (so he can overlay a drum track—the song does lend itself well to a full rock ‘n’ roll band treatment) and I’m definitely game. We’ve tentatively set that for Wednesday afternoon.

If I had my druthers—and I do not know if I do in this case—I’d make the layers (‘cause Jim will do it in layers) the standard pieces I’d have in a live band: drums (since Jim is a drummer), bass, me on rhythm guitar, a “whiny” lead (ideally Jane’s fiddle) and a “non-whiny” lead (electric guitar, probably). With that instrumentation, my guitar could be way in the background, just loud enough so you know it’s there. It’s not doing anything particularly special except keeping time (I do think that’s one of the main functions of the rhythm guitarist so I try to do that well). I don’t actually know who the other “pieces” on the recording will be—Jim’ll pick ‘em, and he may want to use members of his own band for all I know.

Music at the Tsunami was fun. Ken (who’s the really good guitarist who comes to these things) was sick, and while there were a couple of guitarists there who are significantly better’n me, people seemed to be looking at me to play lead, so I did. I do not think I’m particularly good; I can make a decent stab at it if the music is simple and predictable (like my own songs, in other words)—and even then what I’m really doing is coming up with licks that seem to fit in in strategic places.

There’s another showcase at The Mercantile in Beaver next Saturday night (April 28), and I and the band have been invited. Are we ready for prime time? We have to do it sometime—our 2-hour gig at the 2nd Street Market is May 11.

Joe