Hello friends, Rob here.
So we’re in Charlotte, right? Playing at the Double Door. And these two older gentlemen are like, “hey, we liked your show and whatever.” So I’m talking to these dudes, and I ask them what they do, and it turns out one of them is an actual rocket scientist. As I recall, his area of expertise was chemical engineering, so he makes rocket fuel. For NASA. Well, one thing I think everyone knows about me is that there is nothing in the world I love more than drunk science lectures. Ever the scientifically curious individual, I’m all, “whoa man, like, since you know stuff about rockets and space stuff, can you like, explain to me why we can’t go the speed of light or whatever? I never really understood that.” He grabs a pen and a bar napkin and, while explaining, illustrates:
And that’s the story of why I have to go to a frame store and pay the frame store guy to frame a bar napkin.
DIGRESSION – IMPORTANT BAND TIP:
If you want people to buy your CDs and t-shirts and other assorted crap, have somebody there to sell your CDs and t-shirts and other assorted crap WHILE YOU ARE PLAYING MUSIC. It works. Find somebody you can trust, and pay them if you have to. They’ll end up paying for themselves.
To that end, we enlisted dear friend and burgeoning New Orleans folk heroine Holly Tamale to join us and sell our CDs and t-shirts and other assorted crap when we were playing, and then drink with us when we were not playing. There were a few concerns about bringing a (gasp!) girl on the road with us, but Holly made for excellent company, and took to the smelly van rides, warm tequila shots and filthy locker room talk like a fish to water.
And so, rolling seven deep, we cut a swath across Georgia and the Carolinas. Along the way some cool things happened. In Athens, the opening band, Mochismo (I think, I can’t find them on the internet yet), was playing their first show ever! I found this to be interminably exciting. Then, we stayed with an acquaintance of Andrew’s who, on top of hospitality, offered us honest-to-god peach-flavored moonshine. For how strong it smelled, it was actually pretty damn palatable.
In Charlotte, the day after the show, we were lunching at an Italian restaurant before starting the trip down to Charleston when a woman tentatively approached our table and asked us if we were “in a band? Called The Revivalists?” It turns out she was the mother of William Tousignant, the filmmaker with whom we were randomly paired in last week’s episode. She doesn’t even live in Charlotte. She was just there to visit a friend, she happened to be in the same restaurant as we were, and she recognized us from the video. Between such an astronomically unlikely coincidence, and the previous evening’s physics lecture, my brain was about ready to explode.
Charleston sent me over the edge though. We were sandwiched between two incredible bands, both from Asheville. Jonathan Scales Fourchestra puts an interesting twist on Mahavishnu Orchestra-style hyper-technical progressive fusion by fronting the band on the steel drum (yes, that Jimmy Buffett island music thing). Everything I thought I knew about steel drums was wrong. You can destroy lives with a steel drum, and Mr. Scales does. Vertigo Jazz Project is a trio of killer musicians who play relentless modern jazz-funk and invite saxophonists and pedal steel players from opening acts to sit in with them. Ed and I had a great time trying to keep up for a few numbers, and then I just had to come back onstage when they played that George Michael song.
My only regret is that it did not occur to me to remove my shirt until after the fact.
Anyway, this is getting a little long, so I’m just going to give a quick rundown of this week in Revivalists shows and call it a day:
Wed, 3-23-2011 (Hey, that’s tonight!) – Baton Rouge, LA. Blind Tiger.
Thur, 3-24-2011 – Starkville, MS. Dark Horse Tavern
Fri, 3-25-2011 AND Sat, 3-26-2011 – Pensacola, FL. Bamboo Willie’s (we’re back, baby!)
Sunday evening we’re playing a wedding in New Orleans, but you probably aren’t invited. Sorry! It should be fun though. We have both the distinct honor and terrifying responsibility of playing the song that will be a newlywed couple’s first dance as husband and wife. I hope we don’t screw it up!
Okay bye.
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Hella of a show at the Double Door. Let us know if there is ever a West Coast trip as you would obviously have to stop in Portland, OR.
so what’s the lucky couple’s first dance # ur playing? A Revivalist song or a standard? good luck. know u all can do it without terror. mamakins F
hate those captcha codes as can’t see ‘em. what’s the lucky couple’s first dance #? A Revivalist song or a standard?Mamakins f
Crush by Dave Matthews Band