Freakswitch goes batty in Jersey



This was a show I was looking forward to as soon as it was booked.  Every musician in an original band wants to get their music out to as many people as they possibly can.  Not to mention it looks good on the rock n roll resume when trying to get other gigs.

So there we were in Dingbatz waiting to get instructions on what, where, and how to do what we gotta do.  Problem was, Dingbatz was closed when we arrived.  So went acrross the street to Dingo’s and had a sip or two of the finest they had to offer.

Fast forward to first band about to play.

20 minutes before showtime and the place was completely empty.  I go to the bathroom and by the time I got out it was packed.  AndI wasn’t in there that long… HONEST!  Which was nice because it was starting to look like it was going to be another one of those shows where you play for other bands and their girls.

The first band is called “New Theory” and this band is very melodic vocally as well as musically with a gothic / hard edge to it. The way the crowd was responding you would’ve thought this was the head lining act. The response they received was off the hiz-ook.

Next up to play…Freakswitch.  I fully expected the crowd to disappear since we have never played in New Jrsey before.  To my surprise everyone stayed and was up close and personal.  Once I saw that people had stayed, I was nervous as well as excited.  The goal is to get people to like our music and enjoy themselves.  With original music it’s usually all in or complete bust.  Very little room for middle ground.

1-2-3-4 we kick off the night with “Once Around” and the people were loving it.  Three songs in and we were getting responses like we were the house band.  THIS WAS AWESOME! People screaming, dancing, head banging and fist pumping.

Until…………………………

Polto’s bass popped out of tune and wouldn’t go stay in tune after that.  Great, just effin great.  Not much you can do except suck it up and move on. We could’ve just thrown in the towel, but to Polito’s credit, he did everything in his power to “eek” his way through the remainder of the songe while trying to fix the problem on the fly.  As it turns out he lost a spring and set screw on his hip shot which means that there is no pressure on the string thus it going out of tune as soon as the sting in plucked.

Thank you goodnight and now its time to belly up to the bar and take out lumps.  The sound man came up and expressed is feelings about the technical situation and look passed it while telling us he loved us and hopes we come back.  After that, it was just a line of people telling us we were great and that they can’t wait to hear more from us.  Now I know us New Yorkers make fun of the way Jersey people drive, but they are some of the nicest people I have had the pleasure of meeting.

This was not how we planned out our first trip to Jersey.  But Jersey liked us so we accomplished what we set out to do.  This venue is a great place to play.  The stage is a good size, the sound system is loud and the sound man knows how to use the equipment.  NOT TO MENTION people that go there expect to see live music.  So they are there for a reason.

Well I’ll talk to you again on Friday because we have a show at the Ace of Clubs in Manhattan on Thursday.  So everyone get your cooleys down to Ace of Clubs and tell them you are there to see FREAKSWITCH!

until next time….
MK