Suck-a-rokie

Some nights you got it and some nights you don't I did NOT have "it" tonight.

But I took some chances, with the live band that lets YOU be the lead singer, "Rockarokie". I was very happy the club was almost empty at the casino. But, maybe the rows and rows of unoccupied seats were part of the reason for my lackluster performance. There was no crowd to "feed off of". I can feel the energy of the audience and am always inspired by it.

Tried out 3 new songs: Alannah Myles' "Black Velvet", Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" and Madonna's "Borderline". Also did a favorite, "Brass in Pocket", by the Pretenders. I was happy with my performance on that one. It is in my key. The other 3 songs are NOT! That is the one big problem with Rockarokie. You MUST do the tune in the key of the recording. In Karaoke, there is a way to manipulate the key, I think. Well, sometimes.

There is this guy, named Dave, who gets up and sings the most AMAZING versions of hard rock and metal tunes. I once heard him do Janis Joplin's Piece of My Heart and was blown away. Tonight, just for fun, he did a Marvin Gaye tune and again - he rocked the house. But mostly, Dave is a world-class rock screamer. He also looks like he's done a good bit of living - in his 50's but still a "looker" - sweet blue eyes compliment his gray hair and teenie weenie "soul patch" under his bottom lip.

I went up to Dave, after his first song tonight and asked if he'd mind chatting for a few minutes. I complimented him and asked if he'd tell me his "story". I knew he had to have been a professional vocalist. Turns out his story is like so many others I've heard lately. He was in a band in Los Angeles in the 1980's. They gigged around town a lot. They opened shows for lots of big name acts at the time - Quiet Riot, etc. The really hard rock stuff. But, all the bands who were making it at the time had an "image" - they dressed in a lot of leather and spandex. Dave's band was not into that - they were a "pre-grunge" jeans-and-t-shirt-wearing group. They never got a recording contract and Dave had a wife to support. So, he left LA and moved to Seattle in 1986. A year later, his old band shed the denim for spandex and got signed to a major label. Not sure what their name is. I don't know if it matters.

Luckily, Dave had a trade to fall back on, doing tile installation. But, after the housing bust, that work vanished and after many months, he now works for the DOT, striping highways. And he sings Rockarokie once or twice a week. He's had his ups and downs, broken marriage, long bouts of unemployment, a son to support. He still has kind eyes, though. And I really liked him - he recognized the good in his life and embraced it. Dave still writes songs and plays the guitar and piano. He writes tunes that lean towards country music and stuff they play on The Mountain. I bet he sounds wonderful singing them. I knew I had a lot to learn from Dave. Plus, he gave me encouragement and good tips on my singing. He could tell my confidence was wavering tonight onstage.

Then, I met Johanna. She is a lovely woman, about my age, with a killer figure and long blond tresses. Johanna works as a hairdresser and she is always one of the best singers of the night, when she performs. She sings every week at her church and also performs music at other area houses of worship. Her husband is a bass player and they met and fell in love when they were in the same band together. I swear I only hear about singers marrying the bass players. Not the lead guitarists or keyboard players or drummers. Always the bass players. Wonder why that is? Maybe the bass players have more time to flirt, because they have fewer notes to play... Johanna has a young child and is frustrated with the duties of motherhood - or that's how it seemed to me.

She and I got up onstage together, actually, and sang Madonna's "Borderline". I wish she would have looked at me while singing. When I do a duet, I like to make eye contact. Nerves, probably. We are both hyper-critical of our performances while singing.

Lesson learned tonight:

When I pursue my passion (in this case, singing) I find what I need. Tonight, connecting with other singers and learning about their lives made me feel better about the state I'm in. I miss hanging out with musicians and singers. Our minds are similar. We communicate in a non-linear fashion.

I'm still broke and now have a nearly empty gas tank but I made connections. I am richer for it.