GrooveLily

Eddie Garcia (sound engineer extraordinaire) and I drove together from our lovely Doubletree hotel in El Segundo to the Pepperdine campus in Malibu.  We were running a little late, and when we phoned Val and Brendan, they told us that there was a bit of a surprise for us when we arrived.  I was driving; it was Eddie who spoke to Brendan.  I asked Eddie if it sounded like a good surprise or a bad surprise, and he said that Brendan sounded a little, shall we say, un-relaxed.  My “oh no … is this venue going to be a total drag?” instincts began to tingle.

As we pulled up to the loading area behind the theater, I notice a giant door open into a very large, very well-appointed set shop.  Well, I thought, that’s a good sign … looks like a real theater.  Brendan and Val greeted Eddie and I as we stepped out of the rental car, along with Kirk, the Assistant Technical Production Manager of the venue.  Brendan said that he had good news and bad news for me.  I asked for the bad news first.

“Because of slow ticket sales, they’re switching venues for our show.  The new place we’re playing is up here (indicating steps leading up to the building across the street).”

uh oh, I thought.  Brendan continued:

“They’re showing a double feature of Lethal Weapon 1 & 2 in the theater and we’re playing up there.”

As we ascended the stairs, I could tell that this was *not* good news.  My fears were realized as we entered what was obviously a medium-size student center.  The first thing I noticed was a *tiny* stage … barely big enough to hold a drum set let alone all three of us.  It was square with a rounded front corner, and completely surrounded by glass (a nightmare for any sound guy … or drummer).  This room was frighteningly reminiscent of several hundred college gigs we did ten years ago … frequently in rooms just like this, with our own sound system, with one or two students sitting there eating their fruit loops or pork rinds with no notice of a band playing.  These shows paid well, and kept us very busy, but also left us totally demoralized.

Brendan continued, doing his best to sound reassuring:

“I’m a little concerned that the drums aren’t here yet … the said they were using them in a battle of the bands somewhere else on campus and that they would be here any minute.  They’re also going to try and get something to cover the windows.”

“Wow” is all I’m able to mutter, trying not to have a hissy fit in front of Kirk, who is looking a little frightened about what my reaction will be. Of course, in my mind I was thinking that this is totally unacceptable.  Poor Eddie was wondering “where’s the PA?”  I looked at Val and she gave me what appeared to be the “can you believe it?  here we go again” look … she seemed to have already resigned to the situation, no doubt, I thought, due to the fact that she and Brendan got here earlier and have already had a chance to adjust.

Before I had much of a chance to formulate any more than my initial 3-letter reaction, Brendan said:

“The good news is that … I’M TOTALLY KIDDING!!”

Val and Brendan break into hysterics, amazed that they were able to keep a straight face for this long.  Eddie is next, clearly relieved and seeing how great the prank is.  Although it takes me one extra beat to realize their awesome gag … I cracked up and told them how much they *totally* nailed it.  They had me hook, line, and sinker.  I never considered that they might be joking.  It was a tremendous relief, and an *amazingly* executed prank.  While both Brendan and Val (and even Kirk, for that matter!) carried it off flawlessly, Brendan deserves the final bow, since he did most of the setup … Val later told me that she couldn’t look at me until that last moment, after we had come up the stairs and I first saw the room, for fear she would lose it.

Brendan then said “can I show you the beautiful theater we’re playing in now?” and we walked down the stairs, across the street, through the gigantic set shop and onto the stage of one of the nicest venues we’ve ever played.  Pepperdine is an unbelievably beautiful campus up on a hill overlooking the pacific … and the Smothers Theater is an equally gorgeous venue.  We had a great time playing there … made even sweeter by what I almost thought it was *going* to be.

It was a nice reminder of how far we’ve come; we just finished three consecutive weekends of gigs in Tulsa OK, Van Buren AR, St. Louis MO, L.A. and Castro Valley CA … all at lovely venues.

Well done V & B … you got me!