The Moxie Festival 2013 and UnCharted @ Skips July 19th

Last weekend I had the chance to play music on a float supporting a local nonprofit at the Moxie Festival in Lisbon, ME. Lisbon has the claim to fame of introducing the world to Moxie-- a gentian root soda with a strong root beer taste and burnt rubber aftertaste (trust me). It was originally toted as a medicine, but this was also when Poland Spring water was promoted the same way.

Anyways...I was on the float for Hope4nogo (https://www.facebook.com/Hope4NoGo), and I was accompanying Brandi (of UnCharted) as we sweat our way down Lisbon street.

On the way to the site I had to wait behind such floats as this.

Here is the float where I was stationed-- it looked like a garden with real flowers, bails of hay, a fence and a mini rock wall in the back. I actually wore a farmer's straw hat (by mistake), so I fit right in.

I looked ahead and saw this for 2 hours.

I looked behind and saw this-- kids, mothers and expectations.

When it was all finished and traffic resumed, I continued to play music while at the stop lights. It just felt funny.

It was all for a good cause and it may have done some promotion for the band. We did play a few very sad songs on the float, but we were working from our usual setlist (in the club you either cry or grind). Next year they want the entire band. I hope they have a better way to get electricity-- the only major problem we had was in finding a converter for the truck to power my keys and amp. I even downgraded my equipment to make the wattage barrier. The lesson: electricity is not always easy to come by!

The last week a few things music related also happened. I was asked to join another hip hop band (to one-up an earlier established hip hop band I had auditioned for previously), I played with the Tina Kelly band again and they offered me a spot for upcoming gigs, and UnCharted played at Skip's Lounge in Buxton again. My answer to these happenings:

--Told the new hip hop outfit that I was too busy (and I doubt their ability to find enough well-paying gigs).
--I told Tina Kelly band that I would help out when I could. The band seems fun and they all work hard to setup and manage the group. The group is so diverse-- I feel like I am part of the Village People because everyone brings a different background.
--At Skip's we lost power 3 times in the first set because of improper setup-- I had to play a few solos with Brandi while outlets were changed and power conditioners were reset. This is the 2nd time this has happened to us here. Our singer was also 30 min late to the gig-- that didn't help the mood of the night. Will we ever go back?

Of course we will!

This month will end slow but next month will be the busiest I may have ever been with gigs.

Keep in touch...