Caroline and I circumvented the problem by doing a regular Sunday Brunch gig at a local Inn. Four solid hours of singing every Sunday (except when we were doing other gigs away from home) for over nine years. That took care of our "mellow" repertoire pretty darned well, as we hated to repeat stuff week after week, when a lot of the patrons were there every week. However, the rowdy, the bawdy, the bellicose or angry protest songs had to be worked on for more general programs we were often doing on other days of the week. The kind of stuff that simply wouldn't fit in with a genteel Sunday dining crowd. No one got murdered on Sunday at the Inn, and no workers were seeking to throw the bosses off their backs. Too bad, too, because many of the diners were bosses who could well have used the message.

One good thing about it, though: sometimes, when the audience seemed to be less attentive than usual, we could venture a number or two about which we were less than confident. If we screwed up a verse, or I blew a chord or two, no one was apt to notice! Those were well-paid practice sessions. Kept a lot of songs at performance level.

Isn't that what they say? "If you don't use it, you lose it!"

Sandy