Lost my voice the previous Sunday with Last Call at Meehans. What can I say? Apparently, not very much that anybody can discern... I was a bit concerned; as the week inched along, my voice wasn't much better. It was shot. Whispering is bad for it. Falsetto was definitely out. I was supposed to sing the first dance, a tune by Ryan Adams entitled Desire. I hadn't even listened to it as of Tuesday. Okay, I actually had, and found that there wasn't much for me to do other than sing. So I really listened to it on Wednesday after contacting V to warn her of my predicament. I downloaded the studio version and checked out the live youtube cut. It both, Ryan just sang and also played a simple harmonica solo. He exuded the stylings of Dylan, Petty and Young with his casual blowing and drawing, catching double stops and perhaps more - very simple. At some point, I thought I should give it a try just to have a go at it. Here's the interesting part of the story, I think. I waited until Saturday (my day to sleep in as Bin and the boys were at Camp Coleman) to go buy a harmonica. The question was, which key? The song is in G, but typically one plays in "cross harp" or a 5th up in pitch (in this case, a D harmonica). If I'm correct, then that would involve bending the B note to create a B flat for the minor third tonality in G. Fortunately for me, I did not need to get too complicated. I simply needed a G harmonica and had to learn to play a few notes - G, B and D by blowing, E by drawing. It was fairly easy, but I did need to master the one lick of E to D to B to G, and then again, kind of fast and fluid. Fast means remembering to draw and then blow for a few consecutive notes. Also had to master playing one note at a time - yes, you have to put your tongue on the sucker to block unwanted notes from sounding! It's a bit tricky and certainly quite different from the bass. I was able to master this rudimentary little solo - not too shabby. I should've opted for front and center on the microphone. Too shy and I needed the words for reference. Glen helped me by covering the bass on his keyboard. Virginia sang a harmony line that worked out well. I also did get around to singing I Want You To Want Me, with help from V on the chorus and the high "crying". Came out great, with no form screw-ups and a very confident presentation - noteworthy since we had never played it together before.
We were at a rather new facility: Monday Night Brewing, located off of Howell Mill Road. It has a great patio and open air step up, with a nice, long bar to serve the thirsty throngs inside and out through tilt-up windows. It sports the great wall of ties, with a clever logo: Tie One On! Another great slogan they have: Weekends Are Overrated! Only downside, other than no stage, the room being too loud for the band, and the buffet running out of choices before it was our turn to graze, was a lack of air conditioning. Understandable with the open patio step up. I wonder how they combat the bugs and humidity when summer rolls around... Still, a cool vibe that was welcome after playing in so many ballrooms and the like.
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