Chilling, But Uplifting Gig Story...

[sixway]

I Played a gig last Saturday night (Oct. 20th) at a local bar here in Honolulu, with my six-piece funk band called - what else? - St. Funk. Had a keyboard player sitting in to fill out the horn section, which consists of Trumpet, Alto, and Bari saxes. We like to take blues and rock songs, and simplify and "funk" them up. That allows us to groove and improvise on the original, and tends to get the crowd dancing and participating in the songs with us.

John, our guitar player, and leader of the band, occasionally likes to take songs and change the groove, or segue into other songs that sound similar. During the second set, on the spur of the moment, he calls out some chords, "D"-"G"-"E"-"D", and starts playing the familiar beat and groove to "Higher and Higher" by Jackie Wilson.

The band gets into the groove, and eventually John has the crowd singing along to "your love is lifting me higher, than its ever been lifted before", keeps repeating the phrase, and then calls out "OK, only the audience!" and the band drops out except for the drummer. As the the band and audience are singing the phrase over and over, John playfully begins mimic-ing a gospel preacher, and telling the crowd that if you've had a bad day etc., it's time to come up to the stage and "testify", and let your troubles go.

At first the crowd is laughing and singing along, but no-one comes up right away. But as we continue to sing the phrase a-capella with the crowd, a blue-collar looking guy, who looks to be in his mid 30's, and has been sitting by himself nursing a beer throughout the night, gets up from his table and comes to the stage. John leans down, the guy whispers something in his ear, and John's playful demeanor suddenly takes on a more serious look. He goes to the mic, and announces (can't recall his name, but I'll call him "Randall") that Randall's sister has just passed away that day.

His sister has just passed away that day! Suddenly our playful take on a gospel-like sing-along has just entered reality! John tells the crowd that the song is now dedicated to Randall and his sister, and we start back into the chord changes. Everyone is effected by the news, and as we begin playing, the entire club continues to sing the phrase, and the song takes on a new meaning, and just gets more solid and emotionally powerful. I start flashing on the feelings I've had after losing loved ones, and tears start welling up in my eyes. Now I'm determined to play my bass part the best I can, and the band catches the feeling as well, and the song intensifies and gains a real spirituality to it.

I'm not a religious person, more of a spiritual kind of guy, but times like these make you feel truly "in the moment", and that there is a "force" that we draw on when needed for strength and inspiration. We drew upon it that night, and after the song ended Randall had a quiet and content look on his face that had not been there before. We had honored him and his sister, and through our music, I believe a little healing of a sad heart had taken place.

Randall left the club soon after that, but passed by the stage on his way out and stuffed a wad of bills in the tip jar. After the gig, John told me that as he pulled the tips from the jar, he recognized the clump of bills left behind by Randall. Apparently, as Randall was leaving the club, he had pulled out all of the money he had in his pocket to put in the tip jar. The amount totaled $38! I mention the amount only because I believe it shows how grateful Randall was for the real love the band and the entire club showed him through Jackie Wilson's beautiful song that night.

This will certainly be one of the best memories of my music career...

Peace, and Aloha,

Ian

[bassybill]

Nice story - thanks for that.

[leftyforlife]

good story

[lowendgenerator]

Awesome. The power of music is a beautiful thing.

[fenderhutz]

goosebumps......seriously

[jady]

Originally Posted by bassybill

Nice story - thanks for that.

+1

off topic, Bill you stole my avatar you bastich!!!!!!!

[Dave R]

Music is the language of emotion. You put it to good work. Well done.

[winstonthecat]

Awesome story. It brought tears to my eyes (and I'm not joking here) thinking of the power of the music at that moment.

Thanks for sharing.

[sixway]

Thanks for the kind words, guys. I sent this out to my local gig list, and have been getting the same kind of replies back from friends and musicians all day.

That sure helped me as well, as I had had a stressful week on my jobsite. After that, all of my stress and tiredness melted away, and felt good until I was able to finally fall into bed at 4am.

I'm off to a rehearsal, and then on to a local open mic night... got to keep the feeling going!

Aloha to you all,

Ian

[bassybill]

Originally Posted by jady

+1

off topic, Bill you stole my avatar you bastich!!!!!!!

Yeah, we discussed this at length in the thread about you in the lobby.

I was wondering when you would notice. Don't worry, he's all yours again when you want him back.

[Aaron]

Great story.

Great song too. Even the bass part is a great example of genius (I'm not sure if it is Jamerson's or the arranger's doing). I love how Jamerson plays that D root against the D, G, and E minor, turning the G and E minor into sus chords.

[bassybill]

Originally Posted by Aaron

Great story.

Great song too. Even the bass part is a great example of genius (I'm not sure if it is Jamerson's or the arranger's doing). I love how Jamerson plays that D root against the D, G, and E minor, turning the G and E minor into sus chords.

That's an interesting way of looking at it. Are you saying the presence of the note G (in the G major and Em chords) over the D bass is effectively giving this combination some sort of "suspended" character? Or am I misunderstanding you here?

[Lucas G]

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

goosebumps......seriously

+1, for real!

[misrule]

A great story, well told. It made me want to be there.

Cheers

Mark

[Phantopeth]

That's an incredible story, I got goosebumps myself imagining being a part of it. I used to play in a praise and worship group in church and at youth conferences, and I definately had a handful of experiences like that.

You and your bandmates may have really helped Randall in his grieving process. I can imagine that, on top of the emotional experience itself, it must have been quite rewarding. Kudos!

[fraublugher]

good one ! thanks Ian

[sixway]

Thanks again all for your thoughts and comments.

Aloha,

Ian

[Asa Samuel]

All, i can say is, well done.

I'm sure what you did helped that guy, be happy!


Bass_Junkie.

[srxplayer]

Wow! Great story. I'm glad that you guys were able to move someone like that and be moved yourself by it all.

Music is a powerfull tool...

[buzzbass]

way cool