2.7.03 - okay samurai @ brass monkey
Yesterday was a surreal, fast, and entertaining day. Nick woke me up in the morning to say that school had been cancelled due to the 6 inches of snow Baltimore received. After sleeping in until 11, I saw we had a phone message from the promoter for the upcoming February 27 Brass Monkey show. A band had cancelled because of the snow, and she wanted us to fill in. I said sure and thanks, hung up, and then realized a few things. a) Mike (roommate and drummer) was nowhere to be found, having gone to the bars the previous night at 12:30 after banking on school being cancelled. b) Our newest addition, Andrew Jennings (bass), had never played with Mike and I before and didn't know any of our songs. c) We had to report to the venue at 8:00 PM.
Nick immediately became our manager, grabbing the TFA directory and calling anyone and everyone about the show. Mike eventually showed up, Andrew came over, and we practiced for about 4 hours nonstop. We ate a quick dinner, loaded the band equipment into two cars and made our way about 20 blocks away to the Brass Monkey.
The Brass Monkey is a smaller venue that seems like a house that was converted into a bar. We brought our stuff up a narrow staircase and left it in a crowded room on the second floor. We were playing with three other bands, so if you can imagine four bands' worth of drums, guitars, amps, and people, you get the idea of the glamourous backstage room (although a monkey made out of neon lights hanging on the wall was a nice touch). Finally, we went down to the bar and began to wait for our 11:00 spot.
Now here's where things get interesting. As Tragedy of the Wicked (highlights included Hypocrite, Infected, and mom videotaping the show) and Catalyst ("I didn't know Silverchair/Creed was opening for you guys," someone told me) played their sets, our TFA friends slowly began to trickle in. Pretty soon TFA had basically taken over the bar, with about 35 people enjoying themselves and even a few people dancing to the heavy music. And then Mike brought over one of the members of Let It Die, the fourth band scheduled that night. He asked if they could switch spots with us, saying something about the singer having to go home or work or something that I couldn't hear very well over the music. I was talking to Mike about it, but Manager Nick stepped in and said we'd do it if the guy bought us a round of beers. I actually agreed to it, but Nick was chastised the entire night for "selling out Okay Samurai for five beers." So the hardcore metal continued with Let It Die, and our friends were nice enough to stick around even though we were now starting at 12:30. The set ended, we quickly moved our stuff onstage, and the show began.
For three hours' practice, we played surprisingly well together. A very easy selection of music included old Dave and Russ songs like Forgot About Dre and Straight Up, as well as the TFA Baltimore anthem Akshay151, an original song by Andrew called The Robber, and an acoustic Hawaiian Treehouse. It was a fun, fast-paced set that we played well considering that Andrew learned the bass parts that afternoon. We even got paid, received two cases of beer (one which an inebriated Kurt dropped on the way home) and an offer to play at a Mardi Gras show. Not bad for a snow day. A few people crashed at our house afterwards, and between Kurt dropping a jar of olives on our kitchen floor and Nick eating snow, it was just as entertaining as the rest of the night.
Don and Jeff are visiting me tonight, so the partying continues. Thanks again to everyone who showed up last night. Have a good weekend.
"Chick Magnet" (MXPX), "All I Want Is You" (U2), "Big Yellow Taxi" (the new Counting Crows / Vanessa Carlton version), "You Really Got Me" (The Kinks)
Saturday, February 8 at 10:31 AM
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