The past several weeks we’ve been playing spectacular gigs. Audiences large and not-quite-as-large, venues legendary and private. Friday July 29th found me under a tarp watching the storms roll in as we miscalculated and set up to run a band outside at Sandy Spring Museum. It was a learning experience for everyone as we just …. DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO… however, with a moist bass player and an incoming drummer, it was time to direct the shift inside. Good thing I had a whole sound system in the trunk. By this point the museum’s was covered in mud!
And the moment we moved the Josine Francis Trio indoors? Well… you can see what it looks like outside. How do you roll with the entire “audience” wanting to be outside with the food trucks and the beautiful evening sunshine? Nothing can’t be fixed with more speakers and cables my friends…
It’s been such a rollercoaster of emotions and joys and stresses over the course of July. I’ve been Living, not writing. I’ve relied on others to shoot the photos and I’ve just put cameras down and hoped for the best. I’ve hit record and played my heart out. I have only JUST gone back to see what it is that we’ve caught, captured, triumphed over – and of course – it’s time to move on already.
Not literally of course. Nothing’s resolved with the house. That continues to be stressful, terrifying even. (wait, have I even written about the house? I THINK I have… but as above, I’m not going back to check). Long-story-short – Jack’s told us they plan to sell the house. Do WE want to buy it? “No pressure!”
The storms cleared the way for a beautiful Saturday though. A Saturday in which Heather and I had to end the streak of stunning gigs and do the work. Still – a beautiful environment at Avalon Area of Patapsco Valley State Park in Halethorpe, MD. Ironically I’ve never been here before even though it’s only about 3 miles from my house. Part of that is made explicable by the fact that that though it’s only 3 miles from my house, it’s more like 10 miles to get there because of how the river runs and the limited entry points to the park.
Set up for a corporate party in which we’re the background music, true to form we rattle the branches and Heather narrowly-avoided this catastrophe. Also true-to-form, since most people were seated a fair distance from the music we were the only ones who noticed.
Well, we’re still trying to match his breezy tone, but pressure is ON.
And yet – some of my favourite gigs in all memory have been a’foot. They’ve been stressful too, but despite the sheer oppressive HEAT of summer in Maryland, the Refuge was marvelous. Despite the terror of drawing on a Tuesday night in DC at a legendary club in Georgetown, the show at Blues Alley was stunning. I’m neck deep in projects that I’m genuinely excited about, Musikfest is coming, I have so much good footage to mix, remix, use…
After playing in Halethorpe, on a whim we drove out to Hybridoma in Baldwin, MD to check out where we’d be playing in a couple of weeks for 8/13. Butterflies, music, blueberry waffles. We dropped off posters and admired the environs.
Hanging over it all is the potential of a massive Life disruption, but even that, I don’t know… I think I’m more excited about it than scared… that excitement is going to dissolve VERY quickly if we reach a good price on the house and we try to move forward and we’re unable to secure even a miniscule mortgage and it feels like I get a big red “F” in adulting….
I’ll say… “this here green F, that’s for ‘fabulous’ right?”
No. Life will response “No. It’s red. Shame you can’t even figure THAT out you absolute FAILURE.”
And I’ll say “no, the F is for Fuck that… and Figure our way Forward”.
Or something.
Something like that.
We’re figuring our way forward.
Exploring the beautiful Hybridoma Organic Fruit Farm. We’ll be playing here on August 13th.
