Carry That Weight

Last night I played an outdoor show with my band Peak City Sound. I was originally asked to join the band as a fill in guitarist because the regular guitarist, Hannu, frequently travels the globe with his job thanks to his superpower of speaking a ridiculous number of languages. I once asked him how many languages he spoke and he said “All of them.” I laughed, but I almost believe him. 

When I attended my first practice with the band I had a month to prepare for the first gig I would be filling in for. Which meant I had to learn about 50 songs quickly. I guess it went alright because they asked me to be a permanent part of the band. I agreed and made a great new guitar playing friend. I like playing with another guitar player. We get to do complimentary parts and take turns soloing. Many songs have two guitar parts anyway so it often works out great. Some guitar players aren’t very good at playing with other guitar players, but Hannu and I manage to work together without any problems.

Anyway, Hannu was in the Philippines so I had to carry the guitar weight alone again. My strings were getting a little sticky by the end of the night, but it went well and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. And I got to talk gear with a couple of guys from the audience after the show. But I would rather have had my buddy Hannu there beside me.