Unwinding.

It's been one hell of an October. I get back from the East Coast tour and not three days later my sister is getting married. It was a beautiful wedding- short, classy, and optimistic. I was one of Blake's (the groom's) groomsmen. Hours of photographs, shoddy Men's Warehouse tuxedos, and frequent alcohol consumption.

At 10:15, Think Big! and the Bulletproof Brass took a break, the cake was cut, and The Frontier Brothers stepped on stage for a few moments of rock.


This was my gift for Alyson and Blake and I didn't want to let them down. Being in a rock band is the only thing I'm good at, so I felt like this was the perfect way to show how much I care for them.

But. . .

I don't think Think Big! and the Bulletproof Brass like sharing the stage. Our mix was ludicrous- no drums, no lead vocals- just keys and backups. In fact, the lead vocal mic didn't even function during Starry Globes and Stereos. We begged the sound-guy to fix our mix and received all the assistance of an icy glare. Brent, the band leader, even threatened to take us off the stage if we couldn't "get it together." Of course, we're professionals- we play over a hundred shows a year- I've NEVER dealt with a more difficult mix / stage setup. In other words, it wasn't really our fault. Thankfully- we got into the groove after the first 2 songs. I kept rhythm to the vibrations of Travis' kick drum and Marshall kept an eye on my hands. By the end of the set, we had the entire reception (300+) rocking out to Jump Blues. Even my grandmother, ladies and gentlemen. The post-show reviews revealed the fact that we actually sounded good to the crowd. In fact, I may go so far as to say we sounded fantastic. All this touring has gotten us in good shape and we are prepared to rock even in the rockiest of settings.

And what about that tour?
I'll be back with a post-tour round-up tomorrow. Stay tuned.

- Brett

ADDENDUM: I don't necessarily want to indite Brent's wedding band. They are VERY good at what they do. I just feel that they weren't even a little bit helpful when it came time to share the stage. I had a conversation with someone this morning who has worked with Think Big! in the past- he expressed a similar level of discomfort with the band (in terms of helpfulness).