-Well, that certainly was an experience! This was the 1st time I have ever done a solo acoustic thing and I got thru it! Let me give you a small recap of what led up to this...

-Originally, the show was booked with Stix & Stonz going on at 10 PM and CAROLINE BLUE going on at Midnight. Then, Johnny left the band (see the blog entry on that for more details). Cancellation was considered, but our drummer-Joe Boyle-told me of a friend of his who plays bass. Joe was sure he would be able to fill in. I was alittle apprehensive about doing that cause of the time frame involved-especially since half the songs were originals. Joe told me he felt his friend could pull it off, so things continued on.


-Then comes the day of the show. Joe tells me that the bassist has decided not to play the show cause he can't be ready in time (!!!). On top of that, Joe-who doesn't have a car-tells me he has no ride to the show (!!!).If it was just me & Joe we could've done the set as normal-it would just be like the bass was low in the mix. But without even a drummer, I had a choice to make-either do a solo acoustic thing or cancel out-leaving S & S less than 24 hours to find another band. After talking with Tim from S & S, I decided to do the solo thing.
Talk about being thrown into the lion's den!

-Actually, it wasn't that bad. I've never been to the Checkpoint Tavern, but it was a nice little place. The staff was very cool-one of them even went on their show board and crossed out "Caroline" so it was just "Blue" that was playing :) I have to admit I was nervous-more than I have been in awhile, but I did it. I played for alittle over an hour. Here's the list...

-Deuce (KISS)
-I've Seen the Light Tonight
-Sex Type Thing (Stone Temple Pilots)
-Far Away From Home
-Lick it Up (KISS)
-The Queen of Pleasure
-Wicked Game (Him/Chris Issak)
-Slave to the Hourglass
-See You Tonight (Gene Simmons)
-Too Late
-Is That You (KISS)
-Inertia
-How You Remind Me (Nickelback)
-Won't Be Home Tonight
-Stay

-I actually had another 8-12 songs I could've done-including "Hard Life", "Mine,Mine,Mine""Love Me or Leave Me" and mor-, but the crowd was expecting 2 rock bands to be there-not a solo acoustic thing.
I have to admit, I wanted to play "Pain" (it was on the list)-that would've been interesting to hear acoustically!

-I actually got a very nice response for the most part-which was very flattering. There were a few hecklers, but that was because of what I mentioned before. Most of the people there knew what had happened earlier and the thing I heard the most tonight was "Man-you've got balls!" My reply was "Being a guy, I better have!" (HA!) My voice cracked a few times and I blew some chords, but that was at a minimum. No distortion or other instruments to hide behind though and I have a new respect for acoustic players that go out there and bare themselves like that. As I said onstage "I'll never take distortion for granted ever again" (HA!).


-Most people said they liked what I was doing-even the originals-and wanted to hear the full band. A few people got some "Not For The Innocent" CDs. One guy told me his favorite song from my performance was, believe it or not, "Won't Be Home Tonight". That's so cool-I've actually heard from a number of people about how much they like that song. This was actually my 1st time playing it live. Likewise, this was the 1st-and probably last-time I played "Inertia" live.
I did what it was suppost to though-give people time to go smoke/take a piss/get a drink/wonder what the hell is going on up there (HA!)

-I've actually been toying with the idea of doing a side solo acoustic thing for awhile now.One of the reasons I did what I did last night was to see if I could pull it off. Course, I would've preferred not being thrown into the deep end of the pool so to speak, but sometimes that's what has to happen. You get thrown in and see if you either sink or swim. Sometimes you just have to go up there and do it. I will say that, for future acoustic gigs, I really need an acoustic guitar. An electric guitar w/ some chorus on it just doesn't cut it.


-Strangeland Audio was doing sound and they did an awesome job. I could've used alittle more light though :) Course, me having my hair down was a factor and, even though I wasn't moving around, I was still getting hair in my eyes. Oh well. Stix & Stonz did a good job with their mix of covers & originals. There was a decent crowd here and S & S even got 2-3 encores. I have to admit that I did feel a tad disappointed that things didn't go as originally planned. I've been working a certain plan for awhile and the stuff with Johnny/Joe happened right when the plan was being initiated. And, at least this night, it would've proved that the plan was working.


-I was very happy with all the encouragement I received this night. I was also happy to see Ria, Crystal & Terri there for support-as well as those goofy pics. :) Those should be up soon. By my standards, my performance could've been better, but for the 1st time and w/ the circumstances surrounding it, I think I did ok. I have to admit, it didn't suck when I got paid tonight. Since I didn't have to divide it 3 ways, I got it all myself.
And I have to say I've never walked out of a show with this much money-that always helps!

-Now onto the next one....wish me luck!
 

I was looking forward to hearing how it all sounded acoustically... and I have to say, I was quite impressed. Taking into consideration the fact that you had such short notice from the rest of the band.... I think it was FABULOUS! There WAS however, an emptiness and lack of the infamous "Sniper-Malmsteen stretch"... Although I think I was a pretty good substitute with my "imposter stretch".... LOL!!! Sticks and Stonz was a good band that had a decent sound. They had a nice variety of songs. I had a blast hanging with Ria and Terri... and was sore from laughing so much!
All in all, I had a wonderful night, and spent it with good music, and good company!!!!
And it was a riot to see that Frosted Lucky Charms has mastered the art of the pee-pee dance..... ;-)

Glad I came, it was great to see ya again! :-)

Cristel ~
 

-Thanks Cristel! It was great seeing you there. Hope to see you at more CB shows. You can help keep Ria out of trouble (HA!). I'll be sending you a pic from my camera of that JS pose you did soon.
PS-like the way you snuck "you know what" in your post! :) Thanks!

WAYNE
CAROLINE BLUE
CAROLINE BLUE My Space Page
 

i could tell you were nervous last night but of course you pulled it off. hope you like the pictures and make sure i get copies of the ones y'all forced me to be in...lol.


kisses,
terri
 

-Thanks Terri! I appreciate you being there. Thanks also for the pics-now I definately know never to wear lose fitting pants on stage again-as well as motivation to hit the gym again (HA!). Glad we had our talk & keep in touch. TTYS & take care.


WAYNE
CAROLINE BLUE
CAROLINE BLUE My Space Page
 

VERY cool, Wayne! A very classy way to handle a tough situation. Most people in that situation would have just said "forget it" and gone home.
You are obviously from The Show Must Go On school of thought, a rarity these days, to be sure!
 

-Thanks Dave! I appreciate the encouragement. I have to admit it was definately something out of my comfort zone, but it was also a chance for me to stretch out a bit and see if I could do something I'd been toying around with. We have to get you to a show Dave! Thanks & wishing you the best. Take care.


WAYNE
CAROLINE BLUE
CAROLINE BLUE My Space Page