A rare Monday evening gig in early Autumn. Cator Woolford Gardens is on S. Ponce de Leon Ave., in the same vicinity as Fernbank, on the opposite side of Ponce. The weather was perfect for this outdoor event. The only catch is this facility is very close to a volume-sensitive subdivision. The complaints over noise are legendary with this spot. We were hired on the stipulation that we would perform completely acoustic. The detail on the contract was no amplifiers. None. I imagined I would play my acoustic bass guitar (The Johnson). Mark had called me about these details back when my upright was in a couple of disjointed pieces. We were going to have a dude playing guitar and violin (or is it fiddle?) as well, but he opted out for a very sad reason. In my head, I pictured Mark with a washboard or bongos between his knees on this as well! So, as things turn out, I brought my mended upright and the Johnson, and a combo amp. I was just worried that the upright is so quiet it needed a bit of help. My fingers would need the option to relax a bit and not struggle to get the volume out. Keith Hicks was a last minute fill-in on guitar and he brought his Fishman Loudbox. Mark brought his kit. Only Chris played completely acoustically, although he sang through a powered speaker. We kept our volume way low. So low. It went over well. Keith fit in perfectly. It's a whole new thing.
We feasted on some scrumptious barbecue and other vittles. The food was superb. The client liked us so much she offered to tip us through paypal. It was a fine night for the AJQ (Acoustic Junction Quartet).
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