Holy Crap!! I Need To Learn 41 Songs OVERNIGHT For A 3-Hour Country Gig At A Major Casino TOMORROW -- It's Finally Time To Rock The Crowd Again
It looks like I'm going to be a country rock star tomorrow night!
This will be way the F out of my comfort zone, but my friends are stranded, and it'll be a lot of fun.
Serendipity:
One of my favorite memories from Austin last week was a night at a two-step bar with live music and traditional dancing.
It felt so genuine, respectful, peaceful and happy. You know, older people dancing with younger people who welcomed it with a smile, not a restraining order. The music was positive, soothing, and a fun genre to play for people to dance to. The culture moved me because it's vastly different than where I live - a judgmental and paranoid metropolis filled with immature, shallow and insecure people.
I remember talking that night about how fun it is to play for people live, how it's one of the best feelings I know. I envisioned myself up there drumming...
The Surprise Challenge:
Fast forward to an hour ago when I just got a desperate call from a friend who has a country music band based in my city.
I've only played with him for an hour in a studio once for fun, but we've hung out a few times, and on the baseball diamond in recent months.
Crazy enough, his drummer just broke his elbow and can't play for a while.
He asked if I could bail him out by filling in on a 3-set gig tomorrow night at a country bar in a big casino, as the only act of the night.
Woah...
This means that I'd have to skip the major league baseball game I had a ticket for, change all of my plans, stay over at the casino hotel, and, oh yea...
...learn 41 cover songs overnight to play in front of a crowd that will be dancing to my beats!
It's crazy how the universe's law of attraction works, isn't it?
Let's Do It:
Without committing immediately, I asked for the song list and started listening. I needed to make sure that I got a gist of the style of songs they were playing to know I could play them naturally.
It's all stuff I can play through generally enough by ear since country is a straight forward style. I'll have to play a lot by feel and by reading the 3 guitarists and bassist for their energy and cues. It won't be easy on short notice, but I'm going to have fun with it, and be so happy to have a crowd to play for again. It's been a few years since I felt that rush. Also, instead of the single 35-45 minute sets I was primarily used to, we'll be the only act for 3 hours!!!
After hearing enough of the first set, I called back and committed. I don't want them to get screwed and it'll help me grow as a musician in a new genre. It'll also get me way the heck out of my comfort zone, by not being fully prepared.
I love playing in front of anyone, it's just that I don't know most of these songs yet... That's going to be the biggest fear to overcome... just getting up there and relying on decades of practice and experience to solve each song like a puzzle, on the fly, naturally, and smoothly to make sure people dance and have fun... I can do it. I'll make it happen and have a good story to tell.
The set list (with a few medleys):
- Down On The Farm - Tim McGraw
- Play Something Country - Brooks & Dunn
- Barefoot Blue Jean Night - Jake Owen
- Springsteen - Eric Church
- Take it Easy - Eagles
- Tequila - Dan & Shay
- Living In Fast Forward - Kenny Chesney
- Walking In Memphis - Mark Cohen
- Wish You Were Beer - Phil Vassar
- How Country Feels - Randy Houser
- Castle On A Hill - Ed Sheeran
- Stand By Me/That Summer - Drifters/Garth Brooks
- Boston / Wonderful Tonight - Kenny Chesney/Eric Clapton
- Folsom Prison - Johnny Cash
- Heads Carolina, Tails California - Jo Dee Messina
- Red Dirt Road - Brooks & Dunn
- Somebody Like You - Keith Urban
- Medley - Starts With Shouldʼve Been A Cowboy - Toby Keith
- Johnny B Good - Chuck Berry
- Pick Up Man - Joe Diffie
- Something Like That - Tim McGraw
- Beer Money - Kip Moore
- Bottoms Up - Brantley Gilbert
- Stay A Little Longer - Brothers Osborne
- Suitcase - Steve Moakler
- Drunk Me - Mitchell Tenpenny
- She Got The Best Of Me/Talladega - L. Combs/E. Church
- Time Off For Bad Behavior - David Allen Coe
- We Are Tonight - Billy Currington
- Wagon Wheel - Old Crow
- Cruise - Florida Georgia Line
- Body Like A Backroad - Sam Hunt
- Break Up With Him/Letʼs Get It On - Old Dominion/Marvin Gaye
- When It Rains It Pours - Luke Combs
- Tennessee Whiskey - Chris Stapleton
- Not Over You - Gavin DeGraw
- Boys 'Round Here - Blake Shelton
If only I went cowboy shirt shopping with @aggroed in Austin, I'd be a big step up in the game here.
Time to get to work!!
Wish me luck,
@steemmatt
damn son! that looks a lot! but I'm pretty sure you are used to this.
Go get it man! <3
You are fun to follow. So many reasons this will be a night to remember! My advice... remember to breathe. Your new strength should pay off. THREE HOURS!!
Thank you! You're not "following." You're part of the crew. I will remember the breathing advice. Once the songs are underway, I can follow. The starts are what will be tougher since the band tends to have improv intros, but as long as they're gradual openings, I can blend in. Only a few have significant drum intros.
Playing in front of a crowd is always fun. It's been many years since I did it as well. 3 sets is really long... Gonna be a fun night for ya
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What'd you play? Need more info!! It'll be a little tricky during the first few songs, but once I feel out the guitarists' styles, I'll be able to sync up with them more. I'm sort of going in blind here with no rehearsals with them. All I have is the original versions on Spotify... Gulp.
I'm a bassist... Or I'd say I was a bassist. Mostly i play ska, rock and some jazz.. Basically a mix of everything.. Even gospel music 😂😂. Used to session for other bands as well. Got my album up on Spotify but that was almost 2 decades ago.... Haha geeze makes me sound so gawd damn old
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://open.spotify.com/artist/3U9uYoNP6cjwpXoSJuUwgg&ved=2ahUKEwjQnIHQ1t3hAhXF6Y8KHRyBAFQQFjAQegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw0QmGW-OaRJWl1zEu3y67wp
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Let your soul play and improvise!
Have fun and good luck!
That's exactly what I'm going to need to fall back on. Thankfully country music is easy going to allow me to do that more easily than most genres. Thank you for the advice.
Username checks out.
HA. This will delay my tribute post to you, IOU.
Dude, I'm not worthy of a tribute post... look at the amazing people you've covered already... I'm more of a Tier 3 Steemian...
To flag this lie or not, that is the question. It's my personal thank you and you aren't allowed to turn it down. You're getting one and were next on the list.
Haha, flag away, sometimes it's the only way I'll learn.
Well, that is mighty exciting, but of course I'm happy to wait for as long as it takes for you to become the world's most legendary last-minute country drummer.
GOOD LUCK!
Also, as the drummer, the band has to follow your lead... want to play the same song 40 times... you totally can!
The same song 40 times might get a little boring for me. However, I do like this strategy. I'm going to play 4 songs 10 times. So much less work to do now and I can relax! Thanks for your help.
As the drummer, it’s your responsibility to be the coolest one up there. Make sure you wear shades the entire time.
Also, at around the halfway point, you should stand up and rip your shirt off.
And since it’s country, it may not be a bad idea to be chewing tobacco.
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Sound advice, but it's hard for me to wear sunglasses inside when I'll be wearing a sombrero. I need some light to see what I'm doing.
The shirt idea is great at midnight. I can have "Happy Easter" painted on my chest. Add the sombrero and I'll certainly be the coolest one up there if I wasn't already.
I don't chew, but I'll keep a stash of beef jerky inside my cowbell to make sure I keep my energy up.
Thanks for dropping by!
Hope he pays you well in steem. Good luck my Friend!
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Keith Urban - that sounds like a great name for a country singer??
There's some classic rock mixed in with that lineup, Chuck Berry, the Eagles, Clapton & the Boss, it should a great night. I hope you can get some footage of the show.
Hah. After hours of brainwashing myself with mostly country, your dry sense of humor is more than welcome.
Yes, the classics you mentioned will be a nice change of speed although they'll put a country feel to them. The Springsteen song is a trick. It's actually titled that by another artist, not a song by the Boss. @blewitt may be able to make the show so he can grab some footage. Otherwise, I don't think I'll be able to get much. I don't have a video camera to set up, but will ask the guys now just in case. Good idea.
Something similar a couple of times, sitting in with a
Country band, PLAYING BASS (I'm keyboards)
But I did it. I always found that the bass and drums
Held the song together, as long as the bass
And Drums were together.
Break a leg brother man.
Sound advice! I will surely be paying a lot of attention to the bass player to make sure we're tight. His bassline is like a cheat sheet for my bass drum pattern, so he's going to be my best friend.
Glad you can relate! (Knock on wood.)
How about an update - how did it go?
And a video of 1 song.