Facing The Music

In this era of American Idol, I guess I just got voted off the island. Or something. After three solo gigs in about four weeks over at Redmond's, I've been uninvited for my fourth. They're "moving in a different direction."

Part of this bothers me, in that I don't particularly like being bad at things. Which isn't to say that I fell like I'm necessarily bad at these solo gigs, but given my age, ability level and song selection, coupled with the abject lack of crowd on Sunday and Monday nights when I played there, I can see how I might not have fit in with their particular aesthetic over there.

And there's a tangible difference between being bad at singing and playing guitar, and being bad at three-hour solo gigs. I feel like I'm passable at each, but you sorta have to buy into the schtick -- which is to say the song selection -- and I fully realize not everyone will dig it.

At the end of the day -- and most of these gigs were -- I could only barely afford to lose the time that I did to these gigs. I'm overextended and I know it. The slimming of the current musical dance card is one of those things I need to be done for me, anyway, as my inclination is to not turn down any gigs anywhere, because I crave attention love performing so much.

Three or four songs a week at Vaughan's may ultimately be the most appropriate application of my acoustic "act." I'm okay with that.