Posted by seamus on October 08, 2002 at 17:04:31:
In Reply to: Re: Always glad to hear of success? posted by Weekend Bender on October 07, 2002 at 05:17:52:
Hi guys
That was me who posted that message. I had a few pints on me that night and I spelled my name wrong, I even thought I posted it on a different board, Sorry about the confusion, my fault.
The first chance that I had to play didnât work out and I didnât get to play. But a few nights later in one of my locals was a different story.
A little background info would be good at this time. The only times that I play harp in this pub is usually at the end of the night when I have had a few pints. People find it entertaining the first few times but usually tire of it quickly, particularly the pub owner who would be trying to get us to go home at this stage. A few weeks ago there was a band called Mann playing, some of their stuff sounded bluesy so I was talking to them at the end of the night. I was telling them about harp and offering harp lessons to some of the band members.
Last weekend they happened to be there again and they provided a great nights entertainment. They had finished playing and some of the members were starting to tidy up when the lead singer started strumming out some twelve bar blues. This caught my attention and when I looked up he was beckoning me to the stage. And then the nerves set in, but at this stage they were somewhat dulled by the Guinness so decided to bite the bullet and go up
Apart from a few talent competitions this was the first time I have been asked to play by a real band. Andrew (lead singer/guitar) asked me what key I wanted and I told him G was the only one I could do as I only had one harp. It was a bit rough at first until I found my place and then it really started to rock. Andrew was even able to find a few words to go with this jam. I went into a few wailing solos that got everybodyâs attention and by the end there was a resounding round of applause and cheering.
Guys, Itâs an amazing feeling when it works out well, you get people you donât know shaking hands and wanting to talk about harmonica. Even the land lady (pub owner) was impressed with my playing for a change.
I was probably a bit over enthusiastic because looking back I tended to hog the mic, but then again it was my first chance to get some attention and the band didnât seem to mind.
Well there you go, thanks for the encouragement