Microphone Check! 1,2,3,4,5!

When I moved to Brooklyn nearly 7 years ago, it was because my girlfriend (now wife) and I realized that we a) we wanted to be with each other all the time, and b) could actually save money by living together and forgoing our weekly traveling odyssey involving New Jersey Transit, no less than two interstate highways, and no less than two bridges and/or tunnels, tolls, gas, etc. But the reason all of my friends, family, and colleagues assumed was driving me toward the "city of homes and churches" was certainly part of the allure as well. Nearly every time I would tell someone I was up and leaving the incredibly comfortable and stable suburban existence that I had carved out for myself in North Jersey, they would hem and haw a bit, but eventually come to terms with it and say something along the lines of, "well, New York City is where all the music is", or "better go now so you can become a rock star before it's too late", or something to that effect. Like I said: Melissa was my main motivation (though I didn't need much as I had fallen in love with Brooklyn on my first trip there a few years prior), but the access, as both a provider and a patron, to the music scene in NYC certainly sweetened the pot. I had had a whiff of it at the time, as my then current band regularly played gigs in the city, but I figured that once I came ashore in the Boro of Kings, I would hit the ground running and be either seeing or playing a show every night in no time! Well... it wasn't all that simple. Sure: I have had a decent couple of years as musician in this city, seeing as I already have a full time day- job. I have played some big name venues like the Knitting Factory, the Mercury Lounge, and the Living Room, but I have also seen my share of shit-holes and basments. I have played for hours on end for no pay, but I have also made some decent bank as part of the backup band for an acrobat in under an hour. It's been a mixed bag to say the least - and I have loved every minute of it.

I really thought I was the busiest I could ever be, musically speaking, a few years back. I was rehearsing once (or twice) a week and playing two gigs a month with the Randy Bandits, rehearsing once a week and playing one or two gigs a month with the Company Picnic, and picked up some freelance singing and bass gigs as well. It was crazy, but fabulous, and my abilities as an all-around musician were more highly-highly developed than they had been to date (but I guess if I can't say that at any point in time, I am doing something wrong). But when grad school rolled around, I needed to cut it back to one regular gig; and for lots of reasons (maybe another post someday), I chose the Randy Bandits. That worked out fine for a while, but, as I have mentioned before, I tend to get antsy. I also don't like to be limited to doing just one thing, so over the last several months my rehearsal/gig calendar has started to fill up quite nicely. And that leads us to this coming week...

Beginning tomorrow, this will be my first full week of living two lives ever. While I don't have anything on Saturday or Sunday, between rehearsals and gigs with three different bands, I am booked every night this week from Monday to Friday. Now, all you pro musicians out there may giggle to yourselves as many of you do 12 or 13 nights in a row and often do doubles (2 gigs in one night) on half of them, but riddle me this: how would you feel if after each gig, you needed to wake up early (and by early I mean 6 or 7 and not "before noon") the next morning in order to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed enough to motivate/contain/inspire/incite/incarcerate several successive groups of 25 to 30 eleven to fourteen year olds? Sound like fun?! Well, I will let you know. I am looking forward to this challenge as it has been my (thanks to this blog, not so) silent 2009 resolution to take my life as a performing musician more seriously, but I think this week is going to be something of a test for me. I forsee the following possible hindrances:

• Illness - lack of sleep + shitty diet inherent in this sort of schedule = better chance of getting sick. sickness = weak/shitty voice. bad voice = bad gigs.
  
• Poor Marital Performance - that sounds more like a symptom that can be cured by Viagra than I intended it to. :) Seriously: despite my warning and her promise of patience, I am nervous that at some point this week, either Melissa or I will crack. We love having quiet down-time together. It is not only restorative, but necessary in keeping both of us sane. this week's schedule will allow for very little time together, let alone its being quiet.
• Poor Day Job Performane - every once in while, my kids at school (who know about my musical life outside of school) ask me about what would happen if I were to somehow become a big famous rock star. Would I still teach them or leave them in a lurch for fortune and fame? My rather lengthy, yet inconclusive, answer tends to unravel as follows: 1) I pity them for having a rather naïve understanding of the way the music industry works on any level below "Jay-Z", 2) I rail against said industry for allowing skinny boys like All-American Rejects hit the big-time while fatsos like me are denied the brass ring based on our waistlines (I know), 3) I tell them that I love them, 4) (and they can never make sense of this one) I try to explain that I probably make more as a teacher than I could as an entertainer as my being featured on a Jay-Z or All-American Rejects (or any other hyphenated musician's) track is not likely this century, and 5) I tell them I don't know because I have never been presented with the opportunity to work as much doing "that" (playing out) as i do "this" (teaching them). It looks like I might have an answer by the end of this week.
• Burnout - all marital, employment, and general well-being aside (whoa), I just might not like this sort of thing. Perish the thought, but this just might be too much.

I hope to see some of you out this week. Teen Vogue will be there on Wednesday (I am not kidding). Perhaps you can buy me drink or some vegetables to help me through my week. Be sure to stop and ask how I am holding up as though a loved one has just passed. And be sure to cheer loudly as this might be your last chance to do so while I am in all my "full-time" glory. For those of you who I don't see: be sure to stay tuned. If I make it to next Saturday, I will write about it then.... wish me luck.