Thanks!! We had a great time. It was funny - we were the "weakest" band on the bill.....a lot of the death metal bands that got passed over were NOT understanding WHY we got the gig. Before our set I was mingling in the crowd (good sized show, had to be 600 people) and talking to the people up front. They were asking what we sounded like. That's always a tough one for me. I joked with one guy about us being a hair band. You should have seen his face!!!! He was repping Deicide and was a scary looking dude. After a couple seconds of his perplexed gaze, I laughed and said we were more like a combo of Priest, Maiden and Sabbath. He was digging that.
The dudes (and chick - HOT metal chick....semi-goth - all pasty white, stacked....YIKES!!) were digging it. Lots of headbanging and fist bumping between tunes. The crowd kept getting bigger as we played - which was nice, considering we were first on the bill - nobody left the room. Often at the Mug, when people aren't digging the band, they'll head out onto the deck and socialize. Not this time!! YAY!!
After the set people were snapping pictures with me (odd but fun). A LOT of dudes (obviously guitar players) were asking about the guitar. It was a night of Jackson and Dean - what's that weird guitar with birds on the neck???? Is that a PRS????? Dude, you play a PRS???? WHY do you gig with a PRS?!?!?! LOL...I get that a lot anyway, but the metal dudes were VERY perplexed. Dean HQ is right down the street, and my area is FILLED with Dean guys....and they LOVE their Deans!!! As an aside, a friend of mine - one of the guitarists in Tickle - builds Michael Schenker's personal guitars!! Pretty cool - Schenker is a HUGE influence....ok, back on topic....So, the guitarists were all curious about the PRS and WHY I would use one live. Most of the comments were centered around never having seen one that looks "so old school" like my S2 SC Standard. It's always a good time talking gear with other guitarists....and it's fun to be repping PRS when I am out. The S2 creates just as much conversation as when I gig the MC58 - thought those comments are often based on the expense of the guitar....
While we play a lot, and do national shows often, it's still an AMAZING high when you are SO well received. This one was a worry - having been a part of the early Death Metal scene in Tampa I know HOW loyal those fans can be to the music. We joked leading up to the show about needing chicken wire to protect us from the beer bottles. We joked around "practicing" our bottle dodging moves - you know....silly, fun stuff. In the end the GREAT elation isn't so much that we did the show, but that we won that crowd over. I mean, I look more like a blues/jazz guy these days than a metal dude.....shoot I didn't even wear my Venom band shirt this time!!
