Spent this morning embarrassingly stressed out. One of my clients (Hell, ALL of my clients) seem to have an unerring instinct for having things that NEED TO BE DONE right NOW at moments when I’ve got zero time and all my cycles are already consumed. For example: On my way to last night’s bar gig (Firestone’s, you know… hour drive out, set up, play for three hours, drive back… I’m generally home at around 2.30am) I start receiving a number of emails about press information for a last-minute replacement show that one of my clients is doing. This is on the heels of ANOTHER client saying “hey, I know you said you were busy, but can you make me a poster for the show I’m playing on Monday?” (!?!?!?) – no – no I cannot. I ignored the latter because I’d already informed her I was going to be out of commission, working on the Takoma Park Folk Festival – I gave her a specific date on which I’d be accepting work again and if I don’t stick to stuff like that, people will run me ragged.
In any case, THIS show involves people that I really like, really admire, plus the client frankly makes up a LOT of my income during slow months, but that means that this morning, after getting to bed at 4am, after falling asleep around 6am, sees me on the phone at around 10 trying to wrangle photographs and press blurbs from the artists involved, concert details from the organizer – just a lot of stuff that should’ve been done months ago but is now being done a mere three weeks before the show – it involves coding a website, setting up ticket purchasing, generating graphics, more emails, generating a Facebook event… and while I’m at it I receive requests for updates on other items, changes on other items… and I suck at switching gears between communicating in Human and communicating in CSS – so when Kristen came downstairs to talk to me about running merch for her show tonight at the Kennedy Center (I know, I know – way to bury the lead, rob) my brain just sort of… locked.
I pretend like I’m good in a crisis – and in the past that may even have been true – level-headed and good at putting one thing after another in order to solve immediate problems – but I wonder if that’s still the case because I was just stammering and unable to get my sleep-deprived brain around the idea of even just TALKING to my wife. Stuttering and awkward, I couldn’t get words out of my mouth.
At this point – several hours later, Kristen driving us down I-95 South towards Washington DC, all the mischief that is going to be managed is managed – and indeed, I think all the mischief that NEEDS to be managed has been managed – and sometimes I even impress myself with what I can buckle down and get DONE – but I hate those moments when I’m pretty sure I can literally feel my blood pressure rise, pounding into my eyeballs, pressing on my neck. The next two days really need to be 100% Takoma Park Folk Festival – and it seems like fires have been springing up left and right with that (personal havoc, family chaos, a lost stool, missing tech sheets) – worse than normal… not due to mismanagement on my part I’d like to STRESS! (or anyone’s part) we’re talking about pretty hefty family emergencies, deaths and more – I THOUGHT I was running at capacity, but it turns out I’ve got a couple more cycles that can be used to schedule this and replace that.
I don’t have a spare stool though.
About the Kennedy Center:
Kristen’s other band, Lulu’s Fate, got a last-minute (ha! they don’t KNOW about last minute!!!) call from the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center to come play, and it’s a huge deal. I’m excited to see my wife play on one of the most prestigious stages in the nation – and I’m glad the timing wasn’t any more awkward than it was! My wife – frankly – is bad-ass, and HOT, and Lulu’s Fate is a stunning trio and maybe, just maybe this is one of those phenomenal breaks that can really level their career up! Well… probably not, but it certainly won’t hurt. I’m glad I’m able to come and see!
Lulu’s Fate loading in… 
… and playing to a full house… … which DAMN they can clear out fast!!!! Sunset in DC.
About last night’s bar gig:
Firestone’s. I don’t have much to say about it. Thank you to our regulars that like to come out and hang out on the late shift with us out in Frederick, MD every first Thursday! We can talk gaming and geekery, Skeksis anatomy and politics, and you guys really make the difference between these shows being work and play. I can’t thank you enough! Last night they got to witness something untoward however : the sundering of my ax, the sundering of my OX!
Those of you who have followed us for more than… three years? Probably know that my pre-Peavey carbon fiber Composite Acoustics OX has failed me once before. I literally can’t talk TOO much about the circumstances because of the venue involved, but that time the entire bridge came off, stabbing me in the wrist and causing much consternation in a rather highly-strung environment. This time there was just a gentle snapping sound as the epoxy on the upper portion of my bridge snapped free. It wasn’t even bad enough to really effect playability of intonation and we finished the last 45 minutes or so sans further incident, but it’s just one more thing on a laundry list of them. (where does that expression come from? Does anyone really LIST their laundry? I mean – I don’t even separate lights from darks – I have given up on having whites because they’re all pinks because incautious – but even separating new red items and stuff doesn’t count as a LIST – ahem – I digress)
Steve Carmody, my luthier for… shit… 20 years? will get a chance to look at it on Monday afternoon. It’s a simple matter of shooting some epoxy in there and clamping it down – I’d do it myself except – well, as above – time is at something of a premium for me right now! But it was all-in-all an unwelcome addition to my LAUNDRY LIST of things to worry about.
Going back in time for a sec for Monday’s Teavolve open mic : a very underpopulated evening. Austin Antoine from LA was my featured artist and he is gloriously charismatic. Great to have him in the house.
