A band from long ago.
I’ve been in bands for a long time. I’ve loved my various band mates, hated them, and hidden with them when fights broke out in scary places we played. I’ve been hit on and heckled by drunks. Women have threatened to kick my ass because their boyfriends liked my singing.
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I’ve met lifelong friends. People have stopped to tell me how much they want to be on stage doing what I do but they’re scared. Some of them say they could do it better. No doubt some of them could.
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Today’s story is about a gig where I went home with a snarky attitude.
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From my diary: The bar owner let his liquor license lapse. Everyone seemed dis-spirited and wanted a drink badly. People kept coming in and leaving. There were excise cops in the audience who stayed all night. One of them smiled a lot, tapping his foot to the music. Best stake out ever, I guess.
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We had 25 people all night and six of those were in the host band. No alcohol didn’t stop the bad service though. The wait people disappeared for long periods of time. Maybe they were smart and went to the package store across the street. Or the alley to light one up. At one point during the jam, Ben (the bass player), Shelly (the keyboard player) and I were all shouting and waving our arms to get the waitress’s attention. Finally, the bored bartender pointed her our way.
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High point of the evening was the drummer who Shelly said looked like the first alien from Men in Black. For the rest of the night that’s all I could see when I looked at him. By god, he did too! I could barely sing for laughing. He did a fair job but played everything too fast.
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Finally, Ben told him not to try to follow Tim’s rhythm guitar and that helped some (sadly, Tim has no rhythm but we love him anyway).
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Silly Boy Sam was particularly obnoxious. When I called him up to sing “background” vocals with me he was so happy he completely lost it, overpowering me and even the alien drummer on speed. Plus, Silly Boy sang out of key and spit in the microphone.
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I’m tempted to claim this as volunteer hours at my day job. We gave up at 10:30pm and went home regretfully sober. We each made $12 from the door. We found out later the door guy had been skimming cash at every gig.
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I try hard to be positive and the good times have far overshadowed the bad in my life. It’s tempting to be frustrated about situations like this. But remember: your attitude is up to you. What you say and how you act impacts people deeply. You’re no exception.
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When you feel like someone else is ruining your day, keep these words of wisdom from a two-year-old in your heart:
You’re not the boss of me.
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Yep you’re the boss of you and you call the shots. Good or bad, you decide how you feel even when it’s hard to stay positive. Life coaching is all about helping you get from where you are now to where you want to be. Plans are crafted, accountability keeps you on track and there’s a fair amount of pep talk. Curious? Let’s chat. Find me here: Work with me
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