The Unbearable Heaviness of Holidays

I want a dog, plain and simple. But, for now and because of the holiday season crunch, work schedules and the joy of responsibilities, singing about "Old Blue" and playing with the neighborhood canines will have to suffice.

It seems my current musical partners will insist on doing Christmas songs at the jams and upcoming party gigs. This is a new turn of events. In the past none of my partners made such outrageous and difficult musical demands. As a result last night, Rudy and Bill "forced" me to rehearse "The Little St. Nick, Jingle Bell Rock, and Jingle Bells." Actually, "The Little St. Nick" is a Beach Boys song, and therefore at least somewhat enjoyable to play and sing with the background parts and extra unusual chords. Thinking the worst might be over (at least until Friday's sing-along) I settled into the Math lesson this morning only to hear, wafting through the thin classroom wall, the sounds of neighbor teacher Warren leading the fifth graders in Xmas carols. So we paused and sang along since it would have been futile to resist. Ok, maybe it was a little bit enjoyable....

On Sunday we started a little later at the Junction, but the players turned out in good numbers once again and we played until nearly 12:30 AM. This was after our gig at the "Flotation Device" in Gig Harbor where we barely arrived on time having fought the snowstorm that ravaged the region over the weekend. Rudy, who recently moved here from Oakland, CA, was a little nervous about the white stuff, but we told him to consider it an adventure. Peer pressure sometimes works but we did see lots of vehicles in the ditch between Port Angeles and Bremerton.

Saturday, Mike and I played at the Ajax Cafe in Port Hadlock. What a treat! Music, good audience, funny hats on the diners and a halibut dinner, too.

Guitar Instruction Tip #16: Never change your guitar strings right before a performance. The strings will inevitably stretch and you will spend time either tuning or playing out of tune.