(Dave Williams from 2013)
I’m a bass player in a jug band. Ain’t that what the jug supposed to do? I’m not sure there is enough bottom to go around. Too much bottom can’t be good for the universe…….or good for anything.
The jug and the bass might be occupying the same space but we make it work. That’s why we call it the Breathing Machine. Both of us are grandfathered into the band at this point although I have been fired 3 or 4 times in the past, it’s not going to happen again… I’m pretty sure.
I’m telling you all this so I can let you know our band The Amazing Dr. Zarcon’s Breathing Machine is playing this Sunday at 9:00AM on the main stage at GOF. Just to be clear, we’re not doing a gospel set but rather if you catch our set, you will get a full dose of the breathing machine…warts and all. I expect we got that slot because most folks will need some breath after jamming all night on Saturday.
I am guessing (and also very hopeful) that the Sunday morning set will be the only set I play this summer where the temperature is under 90°. My bluegrass band played a 4 hour farmers market in Campbell two weeks ago and the average temperature for the day was about 93°. Two weeks before we played a BBQ at a Senior Center in Los Altos in the very hot sun at high noon.
Last Friday the jug band played 2 sets at a brewery in San Jose in the late afternoon mid 90’s and the week after GOF we play at a festival in Sutter Creek, CA with a forecast in the 100’s.
It used to be that I was only worried about how my bass would hold up. I still do worry about that, a lot, but I am more worried about me these days. I’m too old for this kind of stuff. My Kay bass is 10 years older than I am and seems to do better than I do at these furnace gigs. She needs a little more tuning than usual but that is about it.
As for me, I need a lot more tuning during the heat wave. Water and then some more water followed by more water helps a lot. That works for farmers markets or Senior Centers but if you are playing two sets at a brewery on a Friday afternoon that is advertised as National IPA day, you can get past the water quickly, particularly when beer is a large part of your compensation.
Here’s the equation:
(95° + hot sun + 2 glasses of freshly brewed IPA at ~7.5% abv + a band of social security eligible musicians + 2 sets of music) x (a couple of tugs on a flask of tequila) = 3 full days of recovery in air conditioned surroundings and getting back to the water, more water routine. Absolutely no hair of the dog or coffee either until all the fluids are replenished.
I exaggerate some as usual. We had a good time playing at the event and had a pretty good audience who were equally as hot as we were.
Part of my training to be a gigging bass player was to make sure that all the necessary accessories were in my kit and available at the gig. There are the obvious ones like my amp and chords but also especially for the hot weather performances you need a good clean towel or two for your hands and for your bass.
As this month’s tip, I’d like to share my method for procuring towels that are perfect for musicians. Depending on whether you want the top of the line terry cloth or you can settle for some less expensive (more worn) terry cloth, you check into a hotel or motel, for the good towels it would be a Marriott or a Hilton and for the others you can use Motel 6 or any motel off of a freeway exit. The next step is (and this is the critical part) to check out of the hotel of your choice and pack one of the hand towels from the bathroom in your luggage. It is important to only take one as if you get called on it by the hotel management you can claim it was a mistake. It helps if you had a real reason for staying at a hotel instead of just “procuring” towels as this can get expensive if “acquiring” towels is your primary reason. Anyhow for me a couple of hotel visits a year and I’m set. Ask me on Sunday and I’ll show you a couple of my finest towels.
At this point most months, I would remind you of the Santa Clara Valley Fiddlers Jam but that was last weekend. So I guess I’ll have to hope to see you at GOF this weekend. I’ll be hanging around in my motorhome preparing for Sunday morning. The tequila will be there as well. Stop by and have a beer and a sip.
See you in September.
