Strike a Pose

Preparations for gigs vary from band to band…... and band member to band member. I'd imagine that a really established band that have a set or a set of sets and songs they always play and on a regular three nights a week basis just go into automatic mode and are so used to gigging it's not given a second thought. This is a shame really as although Spriggan Mist seem to be more in demand recently our proffessions and to a certain extent our type of music means we get a steady stream of gigs as oposed to the torrent that some bands have . This however for us means each gig is an event at lease it is for me….so there is certain rituals I go through before the gig. One of which is the trying on of stage attire…..an alien event for our guitarist violinist…gurning boy aka gizmo kid…Bless him he really isn't sure about the whole stage dressing up thing…..which is cool and he probably will wear something enigmatic and low key…but I'm sure he is going to shock me one day and turn up dressed like Adam Ant thrusting his pelvis forward, wrists crossed above his head shouting prince charming ! Through a contorted lipstick streaked face!!!!!!.....now there's a vision.

On this particular mirror hogging session I was trying on the black combats , white pirate shirt and burgundy waistcoat complete with spriggan hat……I even grabbed the bass from it's rack pranced around the bedroom playing, pouting in a Posh Spice kind of way and generally did the rockstar thing…..You see I have had years of practice at this …..As a martial artist who went up through the grades to second dan every new grade achieved, a posing session was soon to follow. (usually in some strange Van damme pose which bore no resemblance to any martial arts stance I had been studying) It was last week when I was in the full throws of a self indulgent posing session…..almost as lost in myself as brother dearest the Dark Marge was circa 1981 when I caught him in front of the mirror dancing in a madness type way to Baggy Trousers complete with trilby and Fred Perry..when the door bell went ….poo poo poo I thought …ditch the hat …ditch the waist coat …ah no! the caller is the parcel man can't let him go so I raced to the door quite hot and bothered in a white pirate shirt complete with puffy arms laces and cords and black combats . The parcel man looked at me as if it was quite normal ……although I could see his eyes looking me up and down as I signed for the parcel…then our new neighbours went by ….nearly walking into the nearest bush as they saw their madcap neighbour dressed like blackbeard…..The parcel man walked off as if nothing untoward had happened ..although i'm sure I heard him say under his breath …….arrghh Cap'n!!!! As he sniggered to himself up the path….

So as our gig Mission for Rwanda looms on 25/11/2009 I will begin the other ritual…ironing the attire..not so cool but the risk assessment for embarassment is significantly lower