Monday, October 13, 2008

boiling blood is now simmering

I went to play bass last night at a church with the same gospel choir and band that had the bass amp turned around the last time. 
As soon as I got there, the director said to turn the bass amp toward the back wall. This sent my blood boiling!

But, after all, he is the director. For 32 years I have been telling the kids to listen to the director and this is the Universes was of having me practice what I preach. I turned the amp around and noticed that the amp was wired to the main sound board in the back.

The up side was that they had a giant PA system and the bass amp was being sent directly to a sound engineer that I trust.

I saw a former teacher friend in the back of the church that came early and was just sitting there. I went over to her and asked if she would let me know if she could hear the bass when the band & choir started practicing. After about 30 seconds, I saw her give me a big "thumbs up" and a smile.

The performance was very nice and the crowd loved it. The director really knows how to get a wonderful sound out of the choir and the band was cooking. 


The drummer never showed, but I saw a guy in the first row during our run-through and he was banging on the pew railing to the beat.
 I asked if he ever played the drums and he said that he was indeed an budding drummer. 

Get up there!  I said. 

I stood right next to him and described the upcoming songs meter and tempo as well as giving him cues on how to play. He did a nice job, although I could tell that he lacked the confidence of a real pro. Still, he kept a nice steady beat and was grinning at his family the entire time. I chalked up this performance as a win-win situation for all of us. 

This Friday I play for the Concert of Prayer for the Lost at a huge church with the same group. I know the PA system will be killer and the same sound-man will be there running everything just right.

more on that next blog.






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