Here is something I’ve just received and it’s making me VERY HAPPY. Because it’s SO WEIRD!
Subject: Impending musical disaster
“Hi friends. I probably already sent you this flier about my Oct 23 gig. This is a reminder, but I have to mention something.
When I booked the gig, I did not yet have an accompanist. My first 2 choices for guitarists were both already booked for the evening, so I sent out an E-mail to every guitar player I know, offering them the gig, and saying that it would go to the first person who responded and said they wanted to do it……
The guy who did that is the nicest guy in the world. He has a terrific attitude, and he’s working really hard to learn the tunes I intend to play. But his forté is rock and blues, and while he’s really good at that, the music I’m doing is way out of his comfort zone. He’s trying, but he’s not getting it. The rehearsals are not going well. As of this point, he is still unable to play even one song from start to finish without losing it somewhere along the way. And when he makes a mistake, it throws me off, and I also screw up.
The only thing I can do at this point is change the repertoire, and throw out all the more complicated songs, and stick to the simplest, easiest (and for me the most boring) ones, and hope that he can play those.
I’m really afraid that this gig is going to be one train wreck after another. And when things go wrong, nobody is going to say the guitar player was out of his element, they’re going to say I screwed up. I guess I did, by not vetting the guy before I gave him the gig.
Unfortunately, it’s too late to cancel, and even if I found a more appropriate guitarist at this point, (which I have not done,) I can’t replace this guy without hurting his feelings and losing his friendship. I just have to slog this out and hope it’s not going to be the disaster I’m anticipating.
So, if you want to come by and lend me moral support, please do so. But don’t expect a great performance. And to those of you who have never heard me play before: please do not judge my abilities on the basis of what will happen that evening. ”
Sincerely,
“Name Withheld”
