So, it’s been quite a day today. Mainly because, for the first time since getting here, I hit a challenge.

I went to bed at 4am last night, and woke up at 1pm. (Yes, the Lost In Translation jetlag/insomnia is still at work, but no, that wasn’t the challenge.) I woke up to an alarm - because I had my first rehearsal with the band at 3pm.

They are really nice guys: L on drums, D on piano and Y on bass. They’re all in their 50s, and all very sweet. Y doesn’t speak much English; D is quiet in his own way; and I thought L might be a bit too pushy, but in fact he turns out to be the best musician of the lot, and so I’m happy for him to be pushy.

We ran through standards to do on the gig, playing for three hours in total and putting in another rehearsal for tomorrow. But I left feeling rather low, because music-wise I fear this gig might not be very fulfilling.

I knew that this would probably be the case. I have been spoiled rotten by the standard of players in London, and take it for granted that people will a) know tunes, and b) play them wonderfully; and knew that of course it wouldn’t be quite the same in Penang. But still, it’s taken a little adjustment; and after the rehearsal today I just felt very deflated.

But two things hit me as a result.

Firstly, that there was someone I wanted to call immediately after this rehearsal; who I know would ‘get’ exactly how I was feeling. And yet I couldn’t call him. And that made me sad. So I had to get through it, and over it, alone. But you know what? I managed to. I wish I could have called him - and still do - but ultimately, it was OK. I could manage alone perfectly well; and as I came out of it, realised that this down was just a part of life’s normal ebb and flow, and would indeed pass.

And secondly I realised that - just as I had told myself before this trip - I need to get what I can out of this gig, if music-wise it’s less than completely satisfying. As I’ve already told myself, this means things like being a really good performer, in terms of putting on a good ’show’; and using this opportunity to learn lots of new tunes. I’m going to be singing six nights a week, and so I need to keep that fresh and have a happy time doing it, and making it a great night for people to come down to. And both of those goals will help me to do that.

I spoke to T after the rehearsal, and voiced my concerns. He was great, and very understanding (it probably helps that he is a musician, too). I hope I can get there with the band… That I can assert myself about how I want things to be; that we will grow and come together as a unit and make the best music we can possibly make, both for ourselves and the audience.

And in the meantime, I’ll hold onto my experience this evening, which took place just hours after the above rehearsal. Namely, going to the jazz lounge to photograph another band and chatting to them and their friends; and generally having a really great night, enjoying some good live music and meeting some very nice people.

In the words of Billy Joel… well, look at the title*.

*NB. Those aren’t Billy Joel’s words. The title is.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 30th, 2008 at 11.55pm and is filed under The actual music stuff, The people. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.