SassyBlonde

So D and DanP and I just got done playing a gig with a great group a couple of hours west of home, and seriously, it was probably one of the best musical experiences I've had in a long friggin' time.

D and I have been playing at the theater where we work for a long time. It's not a terrible gig, by a long shot: by and large the people are pretty decent and it's fun to play the shows for sure, and I'm grateful to my bosses there for not firing my ass when I was still cutting my teeth on flute and sax. That being said, it's kind of become an untenable situation for us-- it pays too little to have to drive so far, and the interpersonal bullshit factor has gotten to be a whole lot to deal with lately. More to the point, we've come to the decision that the way we feel when we leave that building isn't worth any amount of money anymore, for more reasons than I've talked about here. Gigs like the one we played tonight are a good wake up call and a reminder to stick to our guns: we left tonight feeling like that was the kind of experience we aspired to have as musicians when we started out on this path.

We got called a couple of months ago to fill in for the horn section with this band on a gig a few hours away from home, and we negotiated a deal and planned it out-- a full day of driving and playing. We showed up this afternoon to read down the books with the rhythm section, and frankly my head was completely turned around from beating myself up about my theater gig for two weeks. I was nervous as shit that I was going to embarrass myself and DanP and going to have to sell my horns and go into insurance sales or ditch digging or something.

Well, we started the rehearsal and from the outset totally exceeded the director's expectations, no exaggeration. I'm not gonna lie, I love it when my playing blows somebody's mind enough that their jaw drops. We read down the book with them, including totally owning a couple of section licks that the director had no clue we had in the pocket. I believe the quote at the end of the night included the word fantastic, and the best thank you that can ever come from a musical director: "You made my job easy."

For that, I'd like to formally give all those assholes that make me hate my job the finger. You guys suck, and I'm worth more than you think. And no matter how much you'd like me to think I suck, it's you who gets the raspberry once I break out of that little box.

And I do know, in fact, that this feeling is better than ice cream because that was my reward afterwards-- a heaping bowl of the fresh Mom and Pop store frozen mint chocolate chip custard they left for us in the green room. Damn. It's a good feeling.

And now I'm gonna go home, take a Lactaid and P.T.F.O. (definition one, and thanks to DanP for reminding me of that phrase) until tomorrow, when I get to go back to hell for two shows. And they can officially eat my musical dust. Bitches.