After driving for hours, we finally arrived at the destination; Gulf Shores.
As I stepped out of the car, perspiration had drenched my clothes and I felt like I had been through a car-wash. The Alabama summer was in full swing, the heat stifling with barely a whiff of a breeze to cool the air. As we started to unpack the cars and unload our music equipment, I had dizzy spells and I started to wonder if I was even going to be able to play at all. My hands were clammy, sticky, and felt like they were on fire, drips of perspiration trickled down my forehead into my eyes, down my nose, and then finally leapt for freedom off my chin. Slowly but surely I got the electric piano on its stand, connected all the leads to the amp and mixer, plugged in the sustain pedal, and then discovered that I had forgotten to bring the stool to sit on...... Now this was a bit of a dilemma, because this gig, was an out-door gig in a park with no spare chairs or stools about, so before we had even started to play a note, I had to start improvising. As a jazz musician, improvising is what one does, so I started to walk around the park searching for something I could use as a stool...nada.
The drummer however, had a light bulb moment and told me I could use one of his drum cases to sit on. Phew!! Disaster averted.....well, not for long.
This gig was the first trio gig (piano/bass/drums) that I was doing since arriving in the States and both the drummer and bass player were very respected and well known musicians, so me forgetting the piano stool was not a good beginning. I was sweating bullets. Doing trio gigs means that the pianist has to carry both the melody and harmony, so this was an important gig for me, but it was also an opportunity to prove my worth, so to speak. Finally, all the gear was set up, an audience had started to form, and it was time for us to start playing. I counted us in, and hit the first chord.......nothing, not a sound.
Frantically I ran my fingers up and down the keys only to discover that all the keys in the middle of the keyboard didn't work. Panic. The middle of the keyboard is where all chords are made, how was I going to be able to play the tunes with only the bass and treble register to work with?
Did we stop playing? No. This was jazz after all...... Usually, the melody is played with the right hand, and the chords with the left, but since this was not possible, I had to swap and do the opposite.
Here I am, playing with one of Duke Ellington's bass players and the darn keyboard stops working..!
All my solos had to be done in the bass register and all the harmonies in the treble, geez....but
much to my surprise, the bass player and drummer loved it!
They both had big grins on their faces, and seeing that made me brave and very adventurous. Two years of practicing the piano six hours a day in preparation for my stint in the USA, paid off......
We didn't have a big audience, but the people who were there seemed to really enjoy the performance we gave them, and we certainly had a lot of fun performing for them. Three hours flew by, and then it was over.... As I turned around to say thanks to Cleve (the bass player), he stretched out a hand and and with a big smile on his face said: "I knew you could really play when you adapted to playing without a mid register, and this, without dropping a single beat or note." I shook his hand, thanked him, and could finally exhale.
As a musician, my stint in the USA was my longest, and by far the scariest, most exciting, and educational, "on the road" experience. For a musician, touring is often something that comes with the job, but for those of us who are not mega stars with mega budgets, more often than not, touring often means one non-descript motel after the other, un-healthy food, far too much bitter coffee, too little sleep, late payments (we'll send you the check), etc. etc.
Jack Kerouac, author of the book "On the Road" writes: "Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road."
This novel, in broad-strokes about freedom and longing, has inspired many of its readers ever since first published in 1957, although, in my view, it does at times tend to "romanticize" the reality of what a life on the road may actually entail. Many of us have probably had moments when we have felt like we just wanted to hop in our cars and take off on the "open road" and leave it "all" behind. Perhaps at times that may seem like our best option to a tricky situation, and perhaps sometimes it is, but more often than not, whatever problem we may want to escape, we often take with us "on the inside" and unless we somehow manage to resolve the problem, we may end up mere shifting locations.
On the other hand, going on a "road trip" at times can help us to change and widen our perspectives, have new experiences, meet new people, and discover things about ourselves previously unknown.
Traveling is often encouraged as a way of broadening one's mind, running away?....not so much.
But, who decides what is what?
You.
If you are feeling "antsy", is it because you want to get away from something, or because you want to expand your experience as a human being, expand your horizon, so to speak?
Walk away from, or walk towards?
You decide.
"Wherever you go, there you are! You can't run away from yourself, or the underlying situation, no matter where you go. You won't find happiness anywhere, unless it's already there in your heart, and therefore you have carried it with you." (Andrew James Pritchard)
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