YorkshireYankee, Oh, I'm sorry that I didn't get back with you sooner!..Yeah, I was supposed to do a gig, to a show(a play), in which I normally don't do. It was for before the play, while people mulled around in the lobby, and yakked, and socialized a bit. First of all, I usually WILL NOT do 'background music', for such events, but normally will only, at present, do concerts, but the owners of the Arts Counsel, asked me if I would. So, I told them 'OK'.
Now when they 'proposed' it, they told me that the gig was at 7:00 Friday night...but in the course of my conversation with her, she changed it to Saturday...but then corrected herself again, and said Sunday. I'm figuring, 'Jeez, what a dingbat!'...but then she went onto say that the show was running a week, and she had her days mixed up, being as she had another musician scheduled for Friday. (An internationally known pianist with a PhD in music, who I've heard before, even done another gig, that he and I were both playing, but separately).
Now a lot of times I would play guitar, but as of recent, I've been concentrating on keyboards, and have composed a somewhat 'major piece, which in it's short form, runs about a half an hour. Normally I use my own keyboards, being as they have the voices I use, which is a combination of mallets and strings...and being as my keyboards is a pain in the ass to move up from the basement studio(it weighs about 300 pounds), I reluctantly said I'd do it...though, inside me, I wasn't that thrilled....
So, Sunday, during the day, I was en route to my son's house, to refinish his dining-room table, and was wearing, my work clothes, which were all dusty and dirty, for doing that kind of work, and on the way, I had to pass the Arts Counsel building, because its right on the way....While I'm driving up the hill(highway), I'm deciding whether or not to stop in, and check out their piano,, which was a grand, being as I wasn't going to be bringing my own...So, I figured, why not, at least I could, tell them that I would be back later, just in case I was interrupting them, because they weren't really expecting me, at this time. I decided that the courteous thing to do was set up a time for me to come back, on the way from my son's, to check out their piano.
When I got to the door, this was the conversation, verbatim.

Me: " Hi, I just stopped by on the way to my son's to check out the piano for tonight, and thought, rather than just popping in to play it, perhaps I'd let you know that I can be back within the hour..if that's OK?"

"Are You here to play"

"You mean right now?...I just thought I'd check it out"

"You're playing aren't you?"

"Well, yeah, I figured that I'd check it out first, is that OK?"

"Do you know what time it is?"

No, not right now, but I was coming back at 7:00"

"Seven??...today the show starts at one"

"One??!!??..what time is it now???"

"One thirty."

"Holy shit!..i was told seven..."

That was Friday, and Saturday"

Jeez...umm..OK"....

And at that, dusty cloths and all I went to the piano, and started 'noodling' (a term I use for just playing nothing in particular, but just improving)...then 'noodling' off my normal piece...then playing ferociously,..then flat out SMOKING!! I cannot recall playing with that kind of energy on the piano(maybe on guitar) in my life!!..So much, that some 'well-to-do' person came up while I was playing, and wanted to talk to me right then and there...but I wasn't going to stop, and told here, "Later, when I'm done..I'm playing". I think that person was being blown away, and wanted to talk to me about more gigs.
Anyway, there were times, I was feeling like outside my own body, just observing stuff, that frankly, I didn't know I could do!!...So smokin' hot was it, that the Arts Counsel people held up the play's 'start time', while a crowd just was gathered around amazed(as was I).

Later in the week, a lady came up to me, and said she had no idea, that I played like that..that she had heard me before, but this not like this!....

Moral of the story: I blew in cold, and smoked beyond belief, because of....you guess it;... practice, practice, practice!!!

You just would have had to been there....runs..long runs, of 64ths...AND 128s!!!..and not one 'clam'!

When I think about it now, it may not seem like such an amazing story, but, in a semi-formal, to formal setting, this person, in dusty work clothes blew the lid off!!!!!..and smoked their asses!

You just had to be there!!!

GfS