After playing in Philadelphia and staying up way too late with friends new and old, we had to get up and out the next morning WAY too early to race up to Putnam, CT for Particle Accelerator. We made it just in time to load on to our stage and were pleasantly surprised to see that Uncle Al was a) our sound guy and b) REPRESENTIN’! Heather’s dancing at Particle Accelerator! Most of the other acts at Particle Accelerator were metal acts but there was another familiar face : Kala Farnham! But in an unfamiliar format! Full band gives a visualization to her music that I’d never really imagined – and she surrounds herself with real pros. Really marvelous performance – I wish we could’ve stuck around longer (especially since White Rose Confession was on later) but we had a pay-the-bills bar gig later that night and we had to get the wheels turning. Heather and I dancing at the partay after our gig at The Village in Providence, RI.
Being a public persona, even on the teeny little level that ilyAIMY’s at, can pretty stressful. It’s not like I get recognized on the street too often, but it happen. And I don’t get CONSTANT emails and facebook messages, phone calls and texts from people that I don’t know, but at least a couple of times a week it happens. We’re not counting the dozens of booking requests, either to play with ilyAIMY or to play at one of my open mics or at Teavolve – that’s a whole other conversation – but the awkward conversations, one-sided and invasive and presumptive – that people engage in when they’ve had some huge conversation with you inside their head before ever bringing it to the keyboard… sometimes simply uncomfortable, sometimes downright frightening. We’ve had our stalkers and obsessed parties…
Before anyone worries too much, this isn’t anything particularly specific at the moment, just ruminating on the topic of messages that follow up tersely answered emails saying something like “if you’re too good to talk to me” or who complain about whether or not we’re giving an individual “a chance” or … or whatever… it’s actually probably a conversation that any moderately self-aware human will acknowledge having been on BOTH sides of at some point or another. Whether trying to think the best of someone who’s edging in on stalking or doing our best to willfully ignore someone who’s politely saying “leave me alone”, being CONSTANTLY available as a self-represented, frequently-performing artist has to be slowly wears down your patience and erodes your ability to think the best of people.
some animal friends at Hank’s – we also got the steady attentions of a chipmunk. Oh – and some people… ilyAIMY performing on the new stage at Hank’s Dairy Bar in Plainfield, CT. a random and Lovely bug! It’s my new friend and reminds me a little bit of Juno.
Driving back home on Monday June 15th – it was a day of mists and rains and crossing over the Tappan Zee we were reminded that a new bridge was on its way. I wonder what the toll for THAT one’s going to be… we made it home just in time for me to run my open mic at Teavolve.
