Pickle had a gig last night with our friend-band ..::sunday drive::.. (See that guys? I think I did the logo right.) It was ..::sunday drive::.. CD release at The Cavern on Lower Greenville. Pickle hadn't played The Cavern before, so I was looking forward to playing a new club. The Cavern is a cool place. Small, but cozy. Red faux-leather couches on the walls, nice small tables, an upstairs, a secluded sitting area, and a nice simple sound system for the band. We got there at about 9 for our 10pm slot. The line up was Pickle, Eaton Lake Tonics, and ..::sunday drive::.. headlining.
After getting all the gear on stage, I stepped over to the bar to get a drink and was shocked to see a friend from high school/church, Amanda Lee (now Dean). She had come out with her husband and another face I knew, a guy named Brian Williamson (who after seeing his myspace page appears to be the biggest local music supporter alive). They had come out to see the show, which was really cool of them. At first, I thought Brian and I went to school together. The name was way too familiar, and I recognized him, but we established that Brian went to a different school in Garland. We both were trying to figure out how we knew each other, going over things we had done, places we went to school. We finally discovered that it was two things that connected us. First, friends. My friend Frank Helsley, my high school girlfriend Kelli House, and a variety of other people I spent time with or went to high school with, all grew up with Brian. I knew the name so well from stories I would hear from Frank and Kelli. But in a stranger twist, we also found out we were in All City Boys Choir together in 5 and 6th grade. Now that's a weird connection for someone who shows up at a gig. It was great though, getting to reminisce before the show.
It was also the last show that our friends Collin and Amanda would get to see for awhile. They're moving up to NY in one week. Collin was at the second show Pickle ever did, a gig at The Rock in Deep Ellum. Collin and Amanda as a pair were at one of the earliest Pickle gigs in our current set up, a show at O'Reillys. They even had a private show at Elbow Room when they were the only two people who showed up for our set. We played for 3 hours to just those two. They are hardcore fans, and I was glad they were able to get out to the show before they left. Many other friends also made it out, making a nice little send off gig.
So, we finally had to get on stage and did, what I felt, was a pretty strong show. Good set list, lots of volume, and lots of fun. It was a 45-minute power set, and then we made way for Eaton Lake Tonics. They're a 3 piece group from Fort Worth that ..::sunday drive::.. met doing a show at the Black Dog Tavern. As a strange twist yet again, Black Dog Tavern was where I played some of my first ever gigs with Sean (bass player for Pickle) and my roommate Dre. We hosted an open mic on Wednesday at Black Dog Tavern, got paid in beer (Lonestar), and met some interesting people, including The Whistler, a guy who whistled the blues. (That concept doesn't make anymore sense in practice than it does in theory).
Eaton Lake Tonics did a good set, and I got a copy of their album, which will be reviewed soon. Then ..::sunday drive::.. hit the stage and played quite a bit of material from their new album. (I got the new ..::sunday drive::.. album as well which will show up for review). A good night of friends, beer, memories, and music. Its what makes playing in a band fun. Being a musician is less about the single shows, and more about the collective experience, and incomparable memories.
Comments