I received a call earlier today from one of my former bandmates, the lead guitarist whose first name is Matt, and the conversation went as follows:
Matt: I had this idea that we could do a show and cover some 90’s stuff, no particular genre, just stuff we like.
146: That’s not bad, you could do pop songs, but good pop songs. Call it something like, “A Reminder of the Songs You Just Forgot.”
Matt: That’s not bad, but I said, ‘we.’
146: When?
Matt: I was thinking New Year’s Eve.
146: I can’t help you man, I don’t have the time to prepare for that right now.
Matt: Dude, it’s almost three months away. Are you forgetting about that wedding show that I helped you with on such short notice last year?
146: You seem pretty set on that date, why?
Matt: I may have…well…I might have already booked us.
146: WHAT!?
Matt: It’s at (Bar Name) remember? It’s still the same owner, that guy loved us!
146: What’s the pay?
Matt: Six-Hundred, or 10% of the bar’s revenue that night, greater of the two.
146: Six-Hundred dollars on New Year’s Eve!? See, that’s why I always handled that kind of shit, I’d have kicked you out of the band for that!
Matt: We haven’t played a paid gig in nearly seven years.
146: Why not get someone else? Just advertise it as the band name featuring Matt (Last Name) from Dethstryke.
Matt: Dude said he wants you to do it. It seemed like he just misses bullshitting with you than really wanting you to sing, but he said that we played all those shows there and then he never saw you again.
146: Maybe not. I was in there a few times after we disbanded. Maybe I saw him, maybe I didn’t. You already told him I agreed to it, didn’t you?
Matt: I may have. Jessica’s in.
146: My wife will like that.
Matt: Don’t bullshit me. Jessica told me your wife met her and thinks she’s great.
146: Fine, how long is the set?
Matt: Three hours, 10:30-2:00, there’s a DJ opening for us. Half hour intermission from 12:15-12:45.
146: Fine, given a half hour intermission, and some bullshitting and stalling, we’ll need 30-35 songs. You had better hope my voice holds up and I have something left to give post-intermission. You’re going to need to slide a few instrumentals in there, ‘Call of Ktulu,’ by Metallica, something like that, or you could just do an instrumental version of one of our songs and come up with a four to eight measure lead-in to a cover.
Matt: Shouldn’t be tough.
146: Two more conditions.
Matt: Okay.
146: I can’t practice weekly. I can find two hours every other week just to make sure we get the timing where it needs to be. I’ll take care of my end of the deal, you know that, I’ll know these songs. You, Jessica and whoever else you get probably needs to practice weekly. I’ve also got a family, so this is a one-off thing for me, at most I’ll do something like this twice a year, so if you want to seriously continue after this, you’ll need another singer.
Matt: What else?
146: I get half the setlist.
Matt: Deal.
See next post for setlist.