I had never met any of Nikki's family, or their friends for that matter so i was justified in my nervousness. My hands were clammy, the beer was cold, and everyone was having a good time while i just observed the situation. I finally decided to crack open my beer after we got all of our gear loaded in, and tho it helped calm the nerves, it didn't really do anything to help my racing mind. I gotta tell you, the last show i had played was almost 4 years previous, and at the time i didn't care if we got booed off the stage, or got a standing ovation. Fortunately we got the latter.
So here i am, standing around looking like a dumb ass, when all of a sudden a bunch of my other friends show up. Now im really nervous. No one has heard me play in any sort of live situation, and tho im glad to see them, i realise that i was coming down with a case of the stage frights. That wouldn't last long, as the guys decide its time to do the dew, we plug in, set our volume to face-blasting insanity, and who would have guessed? the powered PA that we rented from guitar center decides to blow out in a shower of white smoke and blue light!
How could this be happening? i thought. of all the things that could go wrong, now we cant be heard as we should be. thankfully it was still functional... well partially. it would shut off and on frequently, and you could hear Brian sing about 30% of the time, but that little event got my mind off of the playing of the music, and had me more worried about the effect of a lack of vox would have. take in mind, that this was all while we were sound checking.
After a few laughs and a few more swigs of my beer, it was time to start. a few inebriated yet apprehensive onlookers waiting to have their ears mutilated by the metal we worked so hard to provide for them. We started off with Bitter Demise, an original composition by Brian, that in practice sounded amazing, but as i realized that most of the band had the same jitters i had, everything was going to be a lot harder than we expected.
We didnt kill the song entirely, but i must admit i was a bit suprised at how bad it sounded. Maybe it was the faulty PA, it could also have been the 12 or so beers we had all just shotgunned, but i was mortified when i heard the actual product. No one seemed to notice, as they started to get into the music, and at that moment a wave of relief washed over me. Maybe it didn't sound that bad. Or quite possibly, the garbage i was hearing was what they wanted to hear. either way, things went pretty smoothly from there except for the occasional added effect of the smoking PA, and the loss mid song of vocals. All in all the performance went well, and the small crowd was excited, and wanted more. the bandmates on the other hand were in a rush to get it over with, and drink themselves into oblivion. And that we Did
A couple of birthday shots later, and i'm feeling quite talkative. I hadn't given myself a chance to really meet any of the people i didn't know, and in my current state, i was ready to break into party mode. So i jumbled around the house talking to the pretty ladies i saw lounging in corners cupping their drinks like they were the last cup of booze on the planet. why people do this i'm not sure, but i always thought that if you're with friends and you're drinking, the last thing you should be doing is standing in a corner twiddling your thumbs around your cup. the mixed tunes of rock, metal and hip hop as they always do made a few people start to dance, and i myself indulged in a few diddys of sort. i'm no dancer, so i probably looked like one of the Charlie Brown dancers.
It was time for a smoke, and as everyone moved to the somewhat frigid backyard, a young lady caught my eye. tho she had more to drink than pretty much everyone else, she was calm reserved, and well composed. i don't know what it was, but i was enamored by her presence. a long few conversations and a few more shots, and i don't exactly remember what happened. all i do remember was being in the bathroom with her, when i hear mike yelling
"Is my life real? someone come talk to me! I just smoked some super strong salvia, and i don't think my life is what it is! Is my kid real? is my girlfriend really with me? someone give me a phone so i can make sure i'm really here!"
Mike was tripping out, and as i realized what i was currently doing, and with a giggle from the beautiful lass i was with, my attentions went elsewhere. shortly after that, still lost in a wave of what, i cant even explain, another yell comes about. "Eric time to go! were gonna leave you if you don't come out and help load up! "
after a few shared, and slightly embarrassed looks from my muse, i regained my composure and thus returned home with my first real adventure as a death metal guitarist. I had fun, but in the back of my head i knew that i and the band had a lot we had to work on. it was time to get truly serious about the music. parties and drunken debauchery aside, the Metal was where it was at.
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