Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The Accidental Satanic Ritual!
Ok first up, I once had this little lump thing on the inside of my right thumb, about the size of a match head; had been there for ages, never thought anything of it.
Secondly, I'm in a part time band, we play retro, a lot of Pink Floyd, early Zep and stuff - for fun, not money. Fundraisers usually, for PTA's.
Anyway, the family of a friend of a friend asked us to play Stairway to Heaven at a memorial service for a young guy who had died overseas. Stairway is a pain really - as it is such an overplayed song, plus if you don't do it note perfect, you look like a dick. Anyway, me and the other guitarist opted to do a 2 guitar semi accoustic arrangement, with Michelle the keyboardist doing flute and angel choir chords on the keys. We also used a trained female opera singer to do the vocals. It was a cool arangement and very in keeping with the church setting - we also all dressed in white tops and black bottoms for a bit of a look.
So, it comes off really well - and about 3 minutes in - I can see looks of awe and surprise, not just from the pews but also from the other players and I figure, crikey we are nailing this, really really well, this crowd is blown away - and on we go until I look down at my fretboard to set my fingers up up for the guitar solo. And that's when I saw it.
Blood.
Heaps and heaps of blood - still splattering all over my guitar and all over my white shirt. It looked like a massacre!
(Yep, when my bottom g string severed that little lump off - man, did it ever bleed).
Had no option but to play on and get to the end and the blood still flowed - but the atmosphere was a bit... awkward. At the end I decided a few words would be prudent, just to ensure everyone knew it wasn't a bad taste gimmick and then this lovely old woman about 60 came up with a hanky and took me to the bathroom out the back. So it was cool in the end, kind of, with a bit of strained laughter about how the deceased would appreciate it blah blah. And at the drinks later it did become a good conversation starter. From memory, I think I may have scored with some Goth chicky who had a thing for blood.
But yes, spraying blood in a church did have a certain satanic flavour to it for sure!
Secondly, I'm in a part time band, we play retro, a lot of Pink Floyd, early Zep and stuff - for fun, not money. Fundraisers usually, for PTA's.
Anyway, the family of a friend of a friend asked us to play Stairway to Heaven at a memorial service for a young guy who had died overseas. Stairway is a pain really - as it is such an overplayed song, plus if you don't do it note perfect, you look like a dick. Anyway, me and the other guitarist opted to do a 2 guitar semi accoustic arrangement, with Michelle the keyboardist doing flute and angel choir chords on the keys. We also used a trained female opera singer to do the vocals. It was a cool arangement and very in keeping with the church setting - we also all dressed in white tops and black bottoms for a bit of a look.
So, it comes off really well - and about 3 minutes in - I can see looks of awe and surprise, not just from the pews but also from the other players and I figure, crikey we are nailing this, really really well, this crowd is blown away - and on we go until I look down at my fretboard to set my fingers up up for the guitar solo. And that's when I saw it.
Blood.
Heaps and heaps of blood - still splattering all over my guitar and all over my white shirt. It looked like a massacre!
(Yep, when my bottom g string severed that little lump off - man, did it ever bleed).
Had no option but to play on and get to the end and the blood still flowed - but the atmosphere was a bit... awkward. At the end I decided a few words would be prudent, just to ensure everyone knew it wasn't a bad taste gimmick and then this lovely old woman about 60 came up with a hanky and took me to the bathroom out the back. So it was cool in the end, kind of, with a bit of strained laughter about how the deceased would appreciate it blah blah. And at the drinks later it did become a good conversation starter. From memory, I think I may have scored with some Goth chicky who had a thing for blood.
But yes, spraying blood in a church did have a certain satanic flavour to it for sure!
Labels: stairway to heaven
