I’ll be putting on my second concert in the creek by my house this Saturday the 11th at sunset on Sunset Ln. The first one – this Spring – was a wonderful new experiment born from my frustration at playing way too many crappy gigs. After years of leading myself straight into many playing situations where my lyrics were drowned out and songs buried, playing over bad sound systems, no sound guy or bad sound guy, competing with noise of all sorts, in stinky, cramped, rushed situations…I got wise.
I created my own drudgery because I thought I had to, was supposed to, was paying my dues somehow and that I would someday rise up out of these shitty gigs if I just did enough of them. No more slavery to that fallacy! I realized that I was not doing myself or my fans any favors by facilitating these less-than-ideal venues and that my real job was to do it differently, my way, showcasing what I do in the best light, in the most enjoyable way possible for me and my listeners.
For years I’ve spied many wonderfully secret stages: natural little amphitheaters all around Austin, where I’ve often dreampt of setting up a gig. Usually these are open settings, by a creek or river, the bank or hillside wrapping around, where you can imagine a little play occurring in the most refreshing and intimate light.
There are many such stages around Austin where I would still like to play, but to begin with I realized I need look no further than right under my nose, to the creek across the street from my house, where I take my dog exploring most evenings, and often take my guitar to sit and play in the magic-hour light. In the last cool evenings of this past Spring, I held my first concert in the creek and it was a wonderfully fulfilling experience. See Javi’s pics above and below.
I’ll be refining my new formula again this Saturday. This time I won’t lead the group on the trek around Little Stacy Park to three separate spots; we’ll stick to the one that is easy and more mine, right beside my house, where we ended last time. Please come out and join us for the show and the after-party at my place. If you’d like more information, email me: j at jasonmolin dot net.
jason – a good cover for you tonight should be king of the road. you can introduce yourself as a former wall street tycoon who now is homeless living under the bridge you are playing at. invite everybody to sing along with you at the “Im a man of means by no means” part — enjoy rob
I like this idea a lot, are you still experimenting with this? One of my favorite (non-crappy bar gigs) of all time was doing one of my CD release parties at the planetarium at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. I had the professor for astronomy class and we had a natural tie-in since our album was called “Livin’ in the Milky Way.” They had a stellar sound system and it was a unique experience for everyone, plus we had decent sales in the lobby afterward.