Some gigs are a lot of work. Others are a breeze. Sometimes you have a huge crowd, leaning on your every word. And sometimes, you play to a group of very-attentive hay bales.
Last Saturday, my pal John Cirillo and I provided music at a Rennaisance Faire in Aptos. The event was a fundraiser for Dragonslayers, an organization that does animal therapy with horses, birds, oxen, and donkeys. (They didn’t have mules, but you can’t always get your way.)
You couldn’t ask for a more-deserving charity, and we were glad to play. The kicker, though? We had to leave the demon electricity at home. “This is the Rennaisance”, we were told. I didn’t know any period folk songs, so I just played my oldest stuff (tunes I wrote 4-5 years ago). Best I could do under the circumstances.
So, about them hay bales? We really did have folks strolling by and listening, now and then, but there was heavy competition. I’ve come to realize that it’s important to learn something at every gig you play.
On Saturday, I learned that a guy wearing a peasant shirt and playing a guitar simply cannot compete with minature donkeys and bellydancers.
