AT LAST!! A NAME ACT! I was on a roll … I had never heard of this band but since they officially had a top 10 hit (from the sixties), I was going somewhere. Sort of. There were parts to learn – medleys, dance steps, costume changes – COSTUMES, for pete’s sake!! At least I was on my way up and not down. WOW. I was psyched.
They were all professionals – all at least six or seven years older than me, they had been road-seasoned. They’d seen it all. There was Daz on drums, the eldest of the crew – his face was like stone. He never made a facial expression. I don’t think I ever saw his teeth… even when he talked. He was a good guy, though – he looked after us and was the big decision maker of the group. Then there was Dick on lead guitar: experienced and versatile, Dick also sang lead vocals, wrote the band’s parts out and over time, would show me just how much I had to learn when it came to absolutely everything. Fortunately having a funny guy like bass player Mario in the band made me not think about The Dick (adding the word ‘The’ to his name was my nickname for him – so fitting). Mario’s preacher man impersonation and his crazy gay stylist alter ego were good enough for me – I loved this band! They were serious about the music, serious about rehearsing and with The Dick running the rehearsals, I was more than prepared for the first gig.
Much to my chagrin, the very first gig I was to do with this name act big show band was at a place called the House of Seafood. In the Poconos. Ugh. I wasn’t feeling real good about this. Did I get into another downward spiral of a music situation here? When Daz gave me the name of the place, I went, ‘uhhhhhh…..whaaat?’ … I’m ready to ink in casino names, hotels, clubs – you know – where NAME ACTS work. I guess he sensed my unease and said, ‘oh, this place is right off the turnpike – everybody plays there … they pay pretty good.’ That was good enough for me.
We were to play there for five nights and we all showed up around 4:30 with the equipment. I was surprised by the clogged parking lot on a late Tuesday afternoon. It was happy hour at the bar and there wasn’t an empty seat. This explained the parking lot. The stage was large and elevated with a semi-circular mirrored base – frankly pretty weird and surprisingly glitzy for a restaurant named House of Seafood. Whatever. This whole ‘name act’ circuit was new to me – I didn’t know who or what could be around the corner. How exhilarating (except for the House of Seafood thing). And I was getting really good pay. Not bad at all…
For the first time I was around real professionals and everyone had a task. There was a system in place: there was a lightman, a soundman, equipment that had its own backup equipment – this band was prepared. I was prepared. I helped set up, plug in cords, adjust stands, move lights, run duct tape… I felt like I belonged even before the first note of music that night. The sound check went perfectly. The folks at the bar took notice and ordered another round. We all went to change into our costumes.
On this opening night, Dick informed us it would be a ‘Blue night’. This meant that the gig outfit had to be primarily blue. Not light blue – but a royal blue. (This, too, had been part of The Dick’s teachings to me … the color scheme was critical for the showband’s look. He had presented fabric colors to me so when I went out to buy my outfits, I would be getting the right shades. I decided to wear a low cut slinky blue dress for this opening night -it fit beautifully, the blue was sanctioned by The Dick, and this was showbiz! Yeah! It’s gonna be amazing!
At 9pm, we assembled on stage to begin our first set: a medley of popular standards showcasing three and four part harmonies. We started with The Five Satins’ ‘In the Still of the Night.’ It was pitch perfect. Wow, I was in a smoking group. Everyone was on key, and the music was spot on. People meandered onto the dance floor … and then more people … and even more.
I observed how this place was alive with excitement: all the flashing lights, the people at the bar, the busy waitresses, the lobster tank … it was still just a…a restaurant. A House Of Seafood. Aren’t I supposed to be in a band that is taking me places? This felt like it was the same as my rock band. Different music, different musicians, different venue… with the same vibe. But since it was my very first gig with them, I was confident my future would just have to get brighter. As we ended the medley, singing those words from the Marcels’ beautiful song, ‘Blue Moon’:
Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own
Blue Moon, you knew just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for do wah wah wah …
I just smiled and let all of that Seafood House negativity go and enjoyed the rest of that opening set.
As I basked in my thoughts of pending stardom on that first break, I glanced around and noticed I was getting a lot of stares – primarily from men. It was all working for me that night. I sounded good and looked good. Maybe one of these guys was an agent or a dealmaker.
I couldn’t help but notice a diminutive man with thick horn-rimmed glasses gazing at me from across the dance floor. Dressed in a white button down shirt with suspenders and a bow tie, he stood out. ‘Maybe he was an agent .. or he could be my first groupie’, I thought. ‘Fanfreakingtastic! I might have groupies! A following… all part of the big time showbiz thing….wheee!!!’ I was really hoping he was some type of music biz honcho…he just could be with that outfit on…. I was tripping on the thoughts of all of those possibilities …
He eventually musters from his side of the bar and moseys on over, nervously poking the center of his glasses. I acknowledge him with a nod, graciously smiling and preparing myself for my first fan club member conversation or for my pending recording contract and he utters a line I will never forget:
“So how long have you been playing with the Orchestra?”
With that sentence, like a good punch to the gut, the wind went out of my sails and I was brought back to reality: I was in a House of Seafood in the Poconos. I was competing with drink specials, dinner specials and a colorful lobster tank. There were no movers or shakers – there were plenty of geeks, though.
And then I heard Steve Winwood’s ‘Roll With It’ come on over the house’s sound system:
When life is too much, roll with it, baby
Don’t stop and lose your touch, oh no, baby
Hard times knocking on your door, I’ll tell them you ain’t there no more
Get on through it, roll with it, baby
Luck’ll come and then slip away, you’ve gotta move, bring it back to stay
You just roll with it, baby, come on and just roll with it, baby
You and me, roll with it, baby, hang on and just roll with it, baby
Steve’s words made a lot of sense to me at that moment. And that’s exactly what I did… I just rolled with it, baby.
theclubsinger 