This weekend was a whirlwind. A busy, artsy whirlwind filled with lots of music. A busy, artsy whirlwhind culminating with an amazing and neverending Sunday. On the day that people like Deion Sanders, Jimmy Carter, Mary Lou Retton might be known to rest, I was busy running from gig to gig. And, not just seamlessly from show to show. These were pretty different gigs in and of themselves. Let’s just start from the beginnning.
Friday night was the “soft open” for Dreams in Variation, a musical I’ve been lending my synth/keyboard skills to, and will continue to for the next 4 weekends. Saturday was met with apartment hunting for the good part of the day, followed by the official opening night of Dreams in Variation. While the show is an amazing production filled with solid delivery on singing, dancing, and acting, it’s still a 3-ish-hour long show… Regardless, I was excited for Sunday because my mom was in town for a day layover on her way to Dubai. Why Dubai, you ask? Ask her, she has a facebook 🙂 I’m just jealous because I’d love to travel to some more exotic places.
So, Sunday arrives and I wake up to put some good effort into apartment hunting before meeting up with my mom to do lunch. PS: In LA we don’t eat lunch, we do it. Anyhow… after doing a great lunch, I’m off to a 2pm call for the 3pm musical.
Cut to 3-ish hours later, and I’m on my way to my solo-acoustic gig at Room 5. After 3-ish hours of reading sheet music and playing string and keyboard parts for musical theatre tunes (theatre with an “re” because we’re sophisticated), I’m switching gears into my singer/songwriter self. You know that guy who likes to pour his heart out on the stage by way of emo piano-driven pop-rock.
The Room 5 show was so much fun. I think that show was one of my best performances ever. Not only did my voice feel amazing, but I sort of wing-ed my set and felt some of the most comfortable i’ve ever felt in front of an audience (awkward jokes aside). Plus a handful of the cast and producers from the musical came over to see me play, which was great because they got to see a completely different side to the sort-of-quiet synth/keyboardist in the pit band. After hanging out with everyone who came to the show, it was time to head to me third and final show of the night, an improv comedy show.
The only improv group I currently perform with, ELAINE, is comprised of good friends (and a lot of screwing around on stage). We now host an hour of improv on the third Sunday of the month aptly called “theELAINEhour.” We host two teams and perform a set ourselves. Both teams we invited to play really brought their A game and a great crowd, and because of some absences, ELAINE performed a three-person show. Three person shows can be a lot of fun because if you’re not in a scene, you’re waiting anxiously to make a move (mostly because the move is yours to make!). This was maybe one of my favorite improv shows i’ve ever been a part of.
Not only did I get to see my mom, who’s usually 3,000 miles away, but she got to see me perform in two shows where I performed in two very different ways. I had a paying show, an amazing solo gig, and a fun improv show with a ton of laughs.
So, the next time you think about taking that day of rest, you crazy christians, let me tell you that a Sunday can truly be a funday 🙂 But seriously folks, I’m not that interested in a religious debate…it’s just an honest joke.
L’Chaim
Eric
PS: I didn’t arbitrarily come up with those three random christians. I googled “famous christians” and the first result was a website with a hilarious list of famous christians. check it out.
PPS: rocknroll.
Eric Schackne 