Re: It Made the Mandolin Sound Better
My best story on the subject came up in another thread a couple months ago...
Ever just love the sound of your mandolin?
Well, there was that one time ...
A few years ago, my band had just finished playing an interesting show. We were sort of the background music for a cabaret setting, with ladies and gents dressed pretty snazzily and dancing swing-style to our music, which was varied but we kept it in that era for this event. This was during our band's peak time, which lasted well over a year, during which we were pretty much the toast of the town. All in all, after a long time, life was pretty good for me at the time.
Since things were going so well, I thought it might be a good time to chance it, and succumb to the lead singer's incessant entreaties for me to join them in the indulgence of some smokables. (I hope it's OK to include this mention, as it is a crucial plot element.) I had always demurred, as the stuff doesn't agree with me anymore, although back in the day I couldn't get enough. But about a dozen or so years ago, the stuff started getting me too wigged out, so I stopped doing it. But here we were, I was in a good space and vibe, feeling pretty good about life. So I had a puff or two on our break. The gig went well, even with me getting a bit experimental musically here and there. Some of my band mates had some giggles when I got a bit loose on a lead, but I survived all right.
After the show, we broke down and packed up. Before loading out, we sat down and hung out with the promoter and a few other people, chatting, having a beer or two. I was listening to the acoustics of the room - second floor of an old building, nice aged wood, with a peaked ceiling about 5-6 meters high at the peak. I thought I'd play my mandolin a bit, just to hear how it sounded in that acoustic space. Well, I'll tell you what. That little thing produced a sound that just filled the air, sounding bright but not shrill, bold but not harsh, light but not flimsy - in a word, perfect. I got to playing a melody I'd written, a sort of Calypso with a lively mixture of melody and rhythm. It's sort of self-contained, self-sustaining that way. It sounded so good, I couldn't stop playing. I dropped out of the conversation for the most part, happy to produce this background music, letting that be my contribution to the proceedings.
After a few times around, the lead singer piped up with some mockery - look at you, you're so stoned, that sort of stuff. I thought that was pretty asinine of him, not just letting me be and enjoy myself, especially since he'd been instrumental in producing my state of mind. But he did suffer from professional jealousy, wishing he could play as well as I, even if he couldn't be honest enough to admit it. So I ignored him, because I was enjoying the way my mandolin sounded so much, and also the piece has a way of turning the end into a beginning and starting over. I must have played for ten minutes or more, and didn't stop until my band mates decided it was time to go. I didn't indulge in that stuff again, not for maybe a year, and that was the last time.
I've no idea if it really sounded that good, or my buzz was directing my perceptions. I prefer to believe the former. One of these days, when I'm ready to do some serious recording, I want to go back to that room and check it out, see if I can lay down my lead tracks there.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
Furthering Mandolin Consciousness
Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!
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