As most of y'all know, I'm a "weekend warrior bar band musician type". We've got a pretty good 4-piece band (guitar, bass, drums, and me on keys) called Element 1044. Here in Jacksonville, there are what seems to be 100 bands for every club willing to pay enough to make it worth the while to haul all the gear, so we've been beating down doors (and our heads against the wall) trying to find a couple of gigs a month that pay more than "free beer".
I woke up yesterday morning to a message at 8:30am on our band's Facebook page. A band had cancelled a 2-6pm Christmas party gig at a bar at the last minute due to illness. The organizer of the party had heard us back in the spring, liked us enough to remember she'd "liked" us on FB, and so she sent us the panic call. It took me a little bit to rally the troops, and but we confirmed by 10am. We played the gig to rave reviews and got paid as agreed, but it doesn't stop there.
A former bandmate with whom I'd parted company in a not so amicable fashion showed up and we finally made our peace after many years. We realized life is too damn short, and he got up and blew some of the best blues harp you'll ever want to hear. We even wound up talking about working together again on a little side project. Our band made a lot of new connections, and re-opened a couple that were thought to be otherwise dead due to this, that, or the other thing.
And the band that cancelled? Turns out I know them and they thanked us profusely for coming to the rescue. They're pros like us and wouldn't cancel unless someone was seriously sick. Now we have their recommendation if someone calls them and they're already booked.
And the best part? I was home and in bed by 10pm.
So how was your Saturday?
