The Soulfinger Diaries #1: Airport Road Cafe, Hartford CT. 12.8 .05

Soulfinger, y'all.

Lula couldn't make this one so it was all me at the mic with "What Is Hip" and "Let's Get It On" and "Shotgun". "You're Still A Young Man". "Back In Love Again". "Will It Go Round". Barry White's immortal ode "The First, The Last, My Everything". The Temptations medley. The Wonder Medley: "I Wish", "Superstition", "Signed, Sealed, Delivered", "Uptight".

I'll be inventing some names now so feel free to be amused. Like "Lula" for example.

So, anyway, Soulfinger is running about a good 10 to 8 ration of great gigs to bassfinger gigs. Tonight is tight and any jamming that occurs is concise and rhythmically happening. They auditioned a couple of drummers who were both pretty good. A brother and a white guy who had it going on with the percolating thing that I like so much.

The guy who runs this band is auditioning players for a bigger show band and the brother's girlfriend does some Stax and she's fine but a little stiff. Mostly I think he's laying a "you can be replaced vibe" on recalcitrant players.

I'm getting a lot more breath support and hence stamina from not having to wear a bass. It's still a long god damn night though vocally. It's really good because there's no way I can be a smoker and do this shit. You have to be a six stroke god damn machine to pull this off ten nights in a row. Even split two ways.

A fear of mine is starting to fade: that I won't be able to drive a band without an instrument. This unit sounds a lot snappier when they come up to tempo and it's easy to push them there. I think Lula pulls them back because she's a blues belter and she likes to lean into her notes real good. So later the bass player Ace McClintock (heh heh) gives me his bass. Thing is- he's a lefty. So I dress left like I always do but I play righty basses and that big E string is staring at me from the top of the neck like some completely alien thing.

Then I borrow a pick from th' guitarist and rock the living crap out of it.

Starting to think about getting to work with the straight stand. Get a nice one with a boat anchor of a base that'll let it snap back real good. Also experimenting with occasional Marvin Gaye three-fingered mic grip. The three fingered mic-grip is good because it makes you sing soft. So instead of traditional mic technique you let go with a couple of fingers and it makes you sing quieter.