Side Door Ten

A big, big "Thanks a lot!" first of all to all the musicians and audience participants who keep coming out and making the Side Door happen. It ain't no party if nobody shows up. Other than the leaky roof and the running out of coffee cups, I think most of the memories will be musical.

The Side Door is fun to put on, but there are a bunch of tasks involved with it. I generally avoid major stress involved with the Side Door by telling myself (reminding myself) that "Hey, this is just a music club and we're here to have a good time, not to see the London Symphony Orchestra.
Ultimately, that's easier said than done and I do fret about the lineups, the sound, the coffee cups, the fire marshal, and most importantly the risk of embarrassing myself by playing terribly. A cycle has developed where this fretting increases through Side Door Saturdays and peaks at near misery at about 5PM on the day of a Side Door. That's that bad part of my cycle.

The great part of the cycle comes next. People start showing up, the room starts filling up, and I feel my mood elevate. Then I have a swing down when I see that real crowd that will demand real entertainment, and then I swing back up when the music starts, and we have an awesome time all around. After the scheduled acts, when only the die-hard jammers remain, I enter the mellow phase of the cycle, where I lurk around the corners of the room, unplugging cables, throwing out dirty paper plates and whatnot as I listen to the open jam. It's always good, and always fun. I might jump in and play one or two, but usually I'm kind of wiped and I really do like to listen to these guys. The last part of the cycle is Sunday, when I am usually pretty beat, when I listen to the tapes from the night before and go through the whole thing again in my head.

Evaluations are subjective, but this SD was a nice one. The sound was good, (or at least not noticeably problematic), the musical menu was a little different, and the turnout was quite nice. I love it when I see new faces-it's very good for the health of the event. Dale did a bang up job taking on the MC-ing. I thought Joe was a real highlight. A big "Thanks!" to Mary and John for bringing the cake. (A big "Bad Dog!" to Dr. Carl's dog who ate the cookies he baked for the show.)

John and Mary Madis made the SD their own, and did what I hope will become a regular practice for audiences - they packed a super gourmet picnic of treats and spread it out on their table. This whole thing is about having a good time, and I'm glad they did and I hope their friends had a fine time and will return as well.
We got some original music from Chris, Casey, and Bill. I hope more musicians will risk an original or two -it's also a good thing for the health of the event.

Who did I see?
Bill and Brian,Chris and Casey, MC Dale,Lewis, Coffee Mill Stephen (getting some bass tips), Slash, all the JBs (good set guys!), local music aficionado Kevin Clack, Sandra and pals, Timmy Mills, Scott and his excellent bass playing singing pal Rodney, the Fryes, Chelsea, Jessica, Wilson and Liz, Laurie, Jim Kern, Dr Carl, Larry, Dave and Ken, Ken Richards and his new camera (and mando!), the Abercrombies, Dave Diesel, Jason and a buncha others!

Thanks again ever'body and we'll see youz again in Feb!