Topic: Troubadour-playing at parties and family gatherings-funny stories.

I recently played at a hotel room that my cousin booked with his girl.
We started playing and singing at 1.00 pm in the morning-
I really thought thats it, there's going to be a knock on the door soon.
Luckily we got away with it till 3am.
As I was leaving the hotel a guy in a white terri toweling dressing gown asked me to play in his room.
Thanks mate - BUT.......I gotta go -
Anyone one else got performance stories?

"It's all about the Calluses, once you got them, you can't get rid of em!"

2 (edited by last_rebel 2007-11-14 02:35:30)

Re: Troubadour-playing at parties and family gatherings-funny stories.

I've  played in numerous churches across east/southeast texas. Ive also played funerals, done the half time show with the 'family band' at "singin's" and gospel concerts.Met some er interesting people, like I found about the east texas accordian convention in Longview, and a dude named Cobb, ex prison convicts,   a few so called 'big dogs' of the Texas baptist convention, the guy who won the teenage state championship guitar contest thingy,an elvis impersonator, a real descent local country band named 'boomtown'.....
Probly what I'm best known for around here though is the family wide (and here the term 'family' includes cousins, uncles, cousins I call uncle, etc. etc.) jam sessions which take place in our big blue junky dodge van. We ride around in this thing with guitars mandolins, banjos, singin' hank williams and all kinds of stuff. We just roll around town that way, been to the mall, gas stations, even made a trip to lousiana.....
  this last time I was playing at a church in Kirbyville, just past Call, little bitty place with an out of tune piano, but we got that little place hoppin'. The infamous pastor of the ebenezer baptist church was there, and the also infamous "friend" person who I can't call by name. He's dating the mother of a psyco youth camp counsellor who goes by the name 'Momma Donna'. He looked kind of like one of those countin' mules, you know you ask em what four plus plus four is and they stomp that one leg. When he preached he got all worked up and red in the face shake them big cheeks and holler (and i mean holler) and would kick that little stubby leg around and kind of turn back and forth in place. He tore down the whole dern country and everything in it, nearly foamin' at the mouth about how low down no good everybody in the world had become, said queer from the pulpit and accidentally admitted to having gay tendencies, and he finally closed out by walking down from the pulpit hollerin' about the 'unnatural affections of the human body' till he nearly busted a blood vessell..... but I think he forgot to mention Jesus lol
Stubby little fella, but we had that music jumpin' in there I tell you what, its a shame he had to give such a depressin' message (not that he was neccesarily wrong but Lord it'd been nice if he'd give a little bit of hope at the end, open the altar or sumthin'), cuz I thought we did a pretty good job.
My friend was back playin with the sound system remote on the back pew so its a good thing we werent plugged into the microphone. I remember the preacher's cell phone goin' off during the song service "On the road again....."
Anyway it was alot of fun, piled back into our junky blue van and had to drive an hour and a half back home but I was too wore out to have a jam session this time.

All You Need is Love smile

Re: Troubadour-playing at parties and family gatherings-funny stories.

Man that is the funniest thing I have read in a long long while...LOLOLOLOLOL.
I have read many classic books from Orwell to Hunter S Thompson, but what I just read is up there with the best.
When is your book coming out......I want the first signed copy.
Stubby little fella..hahahahaha!Classic
I'm smiling as I write this.
I hope my guitar ventures put me in some southern out of the way places with characters like Mooma Donna.....oops maybe not.LOLOLOL

"It's all about the Calluses, once you got them, you can't get rid of em!"

Re: Troubadour-playing at parties and family gatherings-funny stories.

Well I think it would be kind of strange to write an autobiography at 17 lol, but maybe one day I'll try to put something together, there's plenty to tell.
And no I don't think you'd want to meet momma donna, she's kind of got her eyes set on my dad but I'm sure her standards aren't very high (or at least I don't think they oughta be haha),  no insult intended, but I think she'd chase anything that walks.... well maybe some things that don't big_smile

All You Need is Love smile

Re: Troubadour-playing at parties and family gatherings-funny stories.

Great story LR. 

Here's a quick one.  I was about 17 and playing upright bass in a playhouse orchestra.  This particular playhouse was so far off Broadway that it was in a different state.  The orchestra pit wasn't a pit, it was a loft.  The playhouse itself was a converted barn.  To get to the loft, one had to walk in front of the seating, across the stage, and up a staircase in the Stage Right wing.  Well, our bandleader was also the piano player, and the particular musical we were doing had a lot of honky tonk style piano in it.  He was a little slip of a thing.  Probably about 5'3" and not much more than 110# would be my guess.  And he had purple eyes.  Very unusual. 

Well, come Saturday's second performance, he was late in coming.  He took a nap between the matinee and the evening performance and he overslept.  Actors had already taken to the stage, so he couldn't get to the loft across the stage.  "The show must go on", you know.  The introductory dialogue was just about done and the first number about to start.  The show took place in a living room setting, with a couch in the center of the stage.  The prop master had borrowed the couch from someone who had a LOT of cats.  The lead was drastically allergic to cats and his voice kept getting more and more raw all week.  We played the opening number in a different key each night trying to accomodate this poor fellows allergies.  Well, we didn't know what key that number was supposed to be in and the bandleader wasn't there.  Just then, he came running up the aisle behind the Stage Right seat stands - full tilt!  Without slowing a lick, he jumped like he was trying to block a Michael Jordan lay-up, grabbed the floor of the loft, pulled with his hands, and fluid as if he had done it a thousand times in practice he just shot through the rails, rolled up on the floor, popped up behind his piano, shouted "G!" and we played that song starting right on time and without a hitch in the key of "G".   I don't think I've ever seen a better athlete than that purple-eyed piano player. 

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude

Re: Troubadour-playing at parties and family gatherings-funny stories.

These are great stories!  I don't have anything, but Rebel, you mentioned Ebenezer Baptist church, and it reminded me of a church with a great name I went to once when we were visiting some of my wife's relitives in North Carolina; Bear Swamp Creek Baptist Church---that's a keeper!

Re: Troubadour-playing at parties and family gatherings-funny stories.

I was asked once to join some friends to help play for a kindergarten class outing.  There were maybe 40 kids plus teachers and parent chaperon people there.

The organizers wanted us to play 'Old Timey' stuff.  We dutifully cranked out several nice old traditional tunes.  However, after a while we noticed that the kids were not really enjoying the tunes (no real surprise).

So, I dug into my binder and yanked out the "Spongebob Squarepants" theme song . . . as soon as I warbled, "Who lives in pineapple under the sea" our audience suddenly came alive.  The children were thoroughly delighted and were hollering along with song.  The organizers of the event were somewhat upset that we had strayed from their theme - but the kids were thrilled.

"That darn Pythagorean Comma thing keeps messing me up!"
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_comma[/url]

Re: Troubadour-playing at parties and family gatherings-funny stories.

James -

I saw Livingston Taylor do something like that once.  He was opening for America at the Bloomsburg County Fair (Pennsylvania  - now a county fair doesn't sound like much but in that part of Pennsylvania at that time, it was a good venue).  Anyway, he was playing a lot of original folk music, and all the farmers were sitting in their overalls giving polite applause.  Well, Mr. Taylor knew his job was to get folks riled up and not to play music and so he said, "OK, if you don't know these songs I'll play some songs I know you can sing along to."  And he started playing the Brady Bunch Theme Song.  Folks started to sing along.  Then he split the audience and did the "who can sing louder" game with the Gilligans Island theme song.  By then, the generally stoic German and Swedish heritage folks were having a good time.  Then he pulled out some old-timey Appalachian classics, some Hank Williams, and even a few German drinking songs and really had folks going. 

When America took to the stage, the audience was almost disappointed.  But that didn't last long.  America's a darned good band.  I had the chance to talk to Mr. Taylor twenty years or so later.  I should have mentioned that night to him and see if he remembered turning that audience around.  I'm not sure I've ever seen a musician enjoy playing for an audience more than Livingston Taylor. 

- Zurf

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude

Re: Troubadour-playing at parties and family gatherings-funny stories.

Lastrebel Pet!

That is one of the funniest discriptive pieces ive read since Ida Mae!

That was a real ole bellyache read.

God i wont be able to sleep now thinking on that one!

Old Doll.

Why Blend in with the Crowd ? When you were made to stand out !

Re: Troubadour-playing at parties and family gatherings-funny stories.

I once went too a small rural village in norther NSW for the Christmas break, with the family- I was having dinner in this club, when there was a local entertainer there by the name of Jonny T.He was singing away, coming around the tables serenading the woman. He was playing the usual Eagles and country hits, a few other pop songs.Anyway the place we where staying at happened to be in the back of the local Handmade chocolate shop - man if you could only taste these chocolates......well around midnight I gazed across the road to the pub, and the place was jumping, loud acoustic music blaring away - so I left the missus  and joined in with Johnny T who happened to be jamming at the pub(can't keep a good man down) so anyway the publican now kicked us out - damn where to go. back to the chocolate shop garage, man what a night - the chocolatier (my mates wife) was not impressed.The things we do for muzac!

"It's all about the Calluses, once you got them, you can't get rid of em!"

Re: Troubadour-playing at parties and family gatherings-funny stories.

Zurf wrote:

Great story LR. 

Here's a quick one.  I was about 17 and playing upright bass in a playhouse orchestra.  This particular playhouse was so far off Broadway that it was in a different state.  The orchestra pit wasn't a pit, it was a loft.  The playhouse itself was a converted barn.  To get to the loft, one had to walk in front of the seating, across the stage, and up a staircase in the Stage Right wing.  Well, our bandleader was also the piano player, and the particular musical we were doing had a lot of honky tonk style piano in it.  He was a little slip of a thing.  Probably about 5'3" and not much more than 110# would be my guess.  And he had purple eyes.  Very unusual. 

Well, come Saturday's second performance, he was late in coming.  He took a nap between the matinee and the evening performance and he overslept.  Actors had already taken to the stage, so he couldn't get to the loft across the stage.  "The show must go on", you know.  The introductory dialogue was just about done and the first number about to start.  The show took place in a living room setting, with a couch in the center of the stage.  The prop master had borrowed the couch from someone who had a LOT of cats.  The lead was drastically allergic to cats and his voice kept getting more and more raw all week.  We played the opening number in a different key each night trying to accomodate this poor fellows allergies.  Well, we didn't know what key that number was supposed to be in and the bandleader wasn't there.  Just then, he came running up the aisle behind the Stage Right seat stands - full tilt!  Without slowing a lick, he jumped like he was trying to block a Michael Jordan lay-up, grabbed the floor of the loft, pulled with his hands, and fluid as if he had done it a thousand times in practice he just shot through the rails, rolled up on the floor, popped up behind his piano, shouted "G!" and we played that song starting right on time and without a hitch in the key of "G".   I don't think I've ever seen a better athlete than that purple-eyed piano player. 

- Zurf

AHahhaahahahahah!!! That was HILARIOUS!!!

Dm

"Talent instantly recognizes genius,
but mediocrity knows nothing more than itself."

-Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle

Re: Troubadour-playing at parties and family gatherings-funny stories.

Just gigged saturday night at a backyard party with a crowd of about sixty.......well only fifteen people turned up.
Talk about loading your gear up for nothing!
Guess who else didn't turn up ........the drummer!
Anyway, it went alright until the guest guitarists in the crowd decided to join in for a jam.
Let me see.....mmmmm, there was a Neil Young, there was a 14yro starting out Kirk hamett just guitar instrumental ( has anyone heard a metal shredder with no drums and bass?) ? and then there was some dude who sounded like his guitar was being dragged behind a car on a chain.....lol....hilarious - the things we do.

"It's all about the Calluses, once you got them, you can't get rid of em!"

Re: Troubadour-playing at parties and family gatherings-funny stories.

ziggystardust wrote:

I once went too a small rural village in norther NSW for the Christmas break, with the family- I was having dinner in this club, when there was a local entertainer there by the name of Jonny T.He was singing away, coming around the tables serenading the woman. He was playing the usual Eagles and country hits, a few other pop songs.Anyway the place we where staying at happened to be in the back of the local Handmade chocolate shop - man if you could only taste these chocolates......well around midnight I gazed across the road to the pub, and the place was jumping, loud acoustic music blaring away - so I left the missus  and joined in with Johnny T who happened to be jamming at the pub(can't keep a good man down) so anyway the publican now kicked us out - damn where to go. back to the chocolate shop garage, man what a night - the chocolatier (my mates wife) was not impressed.The things we do for muzac!

Which Rural Village was that, I might live nearby.

[url=http://www.myspace.com/rdxfunk]www.myspace.com/rdxfunk[/url]

Re: Troubadour-playing at parties and family gatherings-funny stories.

Altex the rural village is near Macksville called Bowraville.

"It's all about the Calluses, once you got them, you can't get rid of em!"