How many elephants fit inside a volkswagen beetle?
A 1966 Volkswagen bug holds more musical equipment than you might think. A fact I learned on the way to my first ever gig. My dad and I loaded a rented P.A. speakers into the back seat, the stands diagonally across the passenger seat, and cables and mics in the trunk (which used to be at the front) and finally my guitar shoved into the foot-well and neck leaning across my shoulder. I had successfully booked my first show at the Empire, Belfast in September 1989. I showed up and unloaded all the gear and began to carry it into the venue only to discover that someone else was already setting up.
I had failed to make an important follow up call to confirm the booking, and so the manager had reached out to one of his regulars. When I showed up they were incredulous. Who was this eighteen year old idiot that doesnt even know how to book a show? They explained everything and said sorry, but I wouldn’t be playing that night. At the time I thought they treated me like crap, but now that I'm older I realize that they were pretty decent about explaining what had went wrong and probably felt a little sorry for a guy learning his first mistake.
They chose the other (reliable) guy and so my dad and I packed up the VW bug again and headed home.
My mum was furious. To her, she had listened to her son work hard everyday to learn the songs and get this, frankly inadequate, set together for weeks. She knew I had spent good money on renting equipment and had tried to put my best foot forward. She got on the phone to the Empire.
She spoke to the manager.
She gave him a piece of her mind.
This time she made my dad and I pack up the car again and drove me there herself. Another thirty minutes later we were at the Empire a second time, but before we unloaded the car again, she went in to speak to the manager in person.
I got the gig.
The rest of the night isnt quite so clear. but in the end both acts played.
I set up my gear and opened the night. I know I had a bunch of my own songs but all I remember is playing Love Will Tear us Apart about five or Six times. At one point there were two Eastern European girls that not only kept requesting Joy Division but also one of my own songs, Second Port of Call. I thought that I was awful. I even broke a string. Plus I had to get the other act to help me figure out the sound as I kept creating ear numbing feedback at first. The Empire never booked me again. I played there many times all the way up to my emigration in 2004, but it was always a show that some other band or promoter had booked. The Empire themselves though, had blackballed me.
The thing is, it was a start. It might be a mistake. It might be, like at was for me, cringingly embarrassing, but you cant go anywhere if you're standing still. You cant steer a parked car. You have to move in some direction.
Now, thirty three years later, I have learned I can roll with anything a gig throws my way - Sick bandmates, having a cold, broken strings or a glitchy guitar, or amp. I'm really thankful for that awful, awful first show (That the Empire still hasn't forgave me for!), because it's brought me here and give me the ability to manage any situation.
The next show for us in at the Turf Club in Saint Paul. Its the first time this band has had the opportunity to play that stage. I still don't take it lightly. I'll be working on that set from now until the 18th and I'll be tweaking my equipment, warming up my voice, and making sure my guitar has a fresh set of strings. We're going to kill it... and maybe I'll even crack out a little Joy Division in honor of that night a lifetime ago.
The Rocket Soul Choir open for McKinley James at the Turf Club, June 18th @ 8pm