Wedding Gig


By: Daniel Date: Mar 5, 2007 - 03:31 PM

Well, it wasn't so much a gig as heartfelt participation in the wedding of two good friends.

Last weekend, March 3, 2007, I attended my friends' wedding [yes that's plural both the bride and groom are my friends] at a spot in the nearly wild unincorporated portions of Tuolumne County CA at an elevation of 4000ft above sea level. Two feet of snow covered the ground from a storm that blew through on the previous Tuesday and Wednesday, and even though the temperatures were in the low 50's(f) during the day, sturdy shoes were required equipment for simply walking.

Musical Equipment:

· Epiphone Mandobird

o Digital Stereo Chorus/Flanger

o 2 cables

o 1 6 watt amp

· Alvarez-Yairi 12 string guitar

· Vessel blackface F5 mandolin

Friday:

Arrived for dinner at 8pm

Jam started directly after and lasted until 11pm, when everyone faded out. (It was a long drive to get there. Mandobird was rendered unusable when my little practice amp died 4 songs into the jam.

Saturday Ceremony:

Lounged around the cabin for most of the morning. Had coffee with the wedding party just before lunch. Dressed and grabbed the mandolin for the ceremony that afternoon. Played for the gathered group prior to the ceremony. Played 3 songs with the bride and groom during the ceremony (and a beautiful one it was!)

Saturday Reception:

After dinner, the reception was a huge jam. Almost half of the people in attendance play one or more instruments and we went around the room calling tunes and singing songs. A portion of the jam was the performance of a love song chosen by each musician for the occasion. This ran from roughly 6pm to roughly midnight when we all finally caved in to fatigue, overeating, and drinking (wine, beer, port, spirits, etc)

Impressions:

It felt wonderful to contribute to the wedding ceremony in a meaningful way. The groom’s voice failed him for the last song, so I helped out by singing behind him just enough to carry the lyrics to the back of the room.

Was given an immense compliment by a couple whom I had not previously met. They said (of the Friday night jam) that it appeared to them that I was brought in to make everyone else sound more professional! That was a deeply “aw, shucks” kind of moment.

By Saturday night my hands felt supple and my fingers quick. I was throwing licks off the mandolin that I hadn’t attempted before. My mind must have been in good form too because I was able to take advantage of blues scales in the moments where they were appropriate and the key of G minor was no sweat!

My mandolin got lots of compliments too.

The importance of music?

Emotional communication, relaxation, and comraderie. What is a celebration without music?
Daniel

Posted: Fri - May 4, 2007 at 10:27 AM          

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