Checker's Acoustic Showcase: Improvisation Gone Wrong

Fox On The Run
Greenback Dollar
Spirit In The Sky
Cinnamon Girl
I Won't Back Down/
Everybody's Talking
Rock Me Baby
Summertime Blues
Bring It On Home/
Bottle Of Wine/
I Fought The Law

Ryan Paul-Percussion
Julie Gordon; Vocals on Spirit In The Sky and Cinnamon Girl

Technical overkill part two.

Ryan Paul let me used his twelve string guitar for this segment.  The first four songs went pretty well. I managed to make Neil Young sound like the New Christi Minstrels   The improvised songs later on didn't work at all.  You know you're in trouble when you yourself know that you're struggling and not helping things by redoing songs.  I heard it from Julie and I heard it when Terry Bainbridge seen the videos.  And even Geoff Redding said the medley added no sense.

I like the 12 string sound.  It's progress to make it through Fox On The Run without no mistakes or tripping over the A chord in the chorus.  However 12 bar blues without any leads just don't cut it if you're playing 12 strings, 6 strings or 2 string.

So far, in a week of improvisation and trying to think of songs I can play without the songbook, I have overextended my tenure on stage.  Perhaps from here on out, I'll just stick with four or five songs and not  hog up the stage time.  I've come a long way from the debut on the very same stage, a bit frightened but managed to get through the songs.  And lately thinking I can just make up songs as I go and not go through them first.  I did attempt Bottle Of Wine at home but that and Bring It On Home suffered a great deal of messed up chords, overconfidence and full of myself.  Even the worthy I Fought The Law suffered from me speeding up the song at the end, trying to get it over with, but at the same time trying to find a sense of humor of doing that.  Which didn't work.

So I went out of the jam, tail tucked between my legs and feeling a sense of defeat.  I'm sure Julie meant well when she pointed out the problems but I was looking her with a bit of disdain.  I thought we would end things with Gold Dust Woman, like we usually do but that didn't happen.  Certainly not after the bombing of the Bring It On Home/Bottle Of Wine/I Fought The Law travesty.  And I basically had to get back to work.

However, there wasn't much going on at work, so I ended grabbing a Chef's Salad at Parlor City and played back what went wrong tonight.  It wasn't all bad, Richard Edward Butler did compliment me on a mostly good performance and a couple other folk as well.  I may have to get out the songbook for future jams.

Or just go back to play just drums only.

In attendance:
PJ and Pam Harrington
Richard Edward Butler
Mike Frederick
Lorie Parker
Donna Jo
Ryan Paul
Julie Gordon