I got an email a few weeks ago from the booker of The Shrine, a ‘world music’ club in Harlem; she came across our EPK on sonicbids, loved our music, and booked us.
So we ventured up to Harlem last Monday night. Great fun; got to play two hours, including 6 originals, which went over well.
After we took the stage, and I made my introductory remarks, someone in the back yelled “Welcome to Harlem.” The subtext of this, given we were the only white folk in the place, was likely “You think you white boys are gonna impress us?” Or maybe it was just “Welcome to Harlem.”
Without missing a beat, I answered “Thanks; it’s great to be here.” What else is there to say? Then I counted in our first song, our reggae-fied version of our medley of ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood/China Girl’. We had ‘em from the get-go.
This gig was a turning point for STM: for the first time, I used Tom on drums. I knew he could play some from our years of jamming, so I recruited him at rehearsal a few hours before. He was able to dust off his beats, and shine.
It was also the STM debut of Peter Schmidt on bass, who did well.
There was a sequence of about 6 songs where Tom & I switched, and I played drums. Great fun, esp. ‘American Idiot,’ & ‘When I Come Around,’ our two Green Day favorites.
