What's So Amazing That Keeps Us Stargazing, etc.

Today has been quite full, boys and girls. I'm still in that mode, a little bit.

December 4, 2004 -- Tank Annex, Manhattan
So we play La Suprette, this big (well, not as big as it sounds) cheap art bazaar sort of deal. We played ridiculously early, for us anyway. A full twelve hours before we are used to performing, in fact. So there was a dearth of drinking, which we are not entirely used to. As the whole event was advertised as being kid friendly, we played a set the consisted entirely of childrens songs and christmas tunes. We are playing christmas tunes all of this month, after all. Kevin was really into the idea, and who I am to argue with genius? Kevin, of course, turned up at the last possible second. The high art dance troupe was getting uptight with us, as they were scheduled to go on at 2:30pm on the dot and could not deal with any possible delays; they were not at all concerned with certain drummers forgetting their wallets at home and thus turning up later than they were supposed to. We were allowed to perform, and were in fact allowed to play more songs than we intially intended. I guess our songs aren't actually all that long, despite the fact that jingle bells has far more verses than you could possibly imagine. The kids seemed a bit perplexed, but didn't seem to be having a bad time. The parents especially seemed to enjoy it, as it was a set that was friendly to children of all ages. I only wish that I knew the songs a bit better, you'd be surprised how little of these songs you know beside the chorus, and we only had one practice to get it straight. Towards the end of the set Todd comes up to me and whispers "You know you're playing for Bjork right now, right?" So the first show we ever played for anyone famous was early in the afternoon and consisted of songs we didn't know very well, tis the season or otherwise. We were not daunted, and I didn't even inform Kevin of the fact until later. He very quickly embellished the story, apparently. Bjork will be sitting in with us before you know it. Here is how I see the exchange:

"Hey. We're in this band that you totally dig already. How would you feel about sitting in with us? We can't pay you or anything, and we need, like, two rehearsals. We can maybe split subway fare or something with you, if you need it."
"Cool. I've been wanting to play at Tommy's Tavern at 2am super bad, so that sounds great."

That wasn't really how it went. I don't think she walked over and watched us at all, but she couldn't help but hear us. We would be less excited if we were used to pop stars being at our shows, but that really hasn't happened so much. We don't get a lot of press. But we do have fun. I tried dancing with one of the little girls up front during one of our songs and apparently scared the shit out of her. She wasn't quite ready for it, I suppose. She seemed to warm up a bit when I was rolling around on the ground, reputedly she was even laughing. I'm that easily amused, as well. Todd talked us into doing one of our regular tunes, which I introduced as being a part of our regular nightclub act, like we are professionals or something. I mean, we are pretty good at what we do, but being professional implies that you make some amount of money off it. We have not so far, according to my accounting anyway. In fact, Puttin' On The Ritz still owes me $15. But I had the great pleasure of getting to sing Rainbow Connection, which might be my favorite song right now. It seemed to go over well with children and parents alike. You can't really fuck with Kermit the Frog, methinks.

After our set we went and recorded our christmas album. It is totally killer. It will not be widely available, so get in touch if you want one. Happy Christmas from Puttin' On The Ritz, indeed. Sleep well, my friends.