Saxy vs. Cactus

STORIES

SAXY

As you may already know, I tend to get caught up in the moment while playing...sometimes literally. 

In 2013, Scarlet Roads was booked to play a show in Arizona for the Gootter Foundation, a non-profit that works to find a cure for sudden cardiac death. The organization was holding a fundraising event in Tucson that was centered around a tennis tournament. Kaylee, Frank, Peter, James, Claudio, roadie Scotty, and our manager loaded in the official Scarlet Roads tour/school bus, and we headed off into the desert. 

Our first performance was held during the dinner ceremony in the Grand Ballroom of the Westin Hotel. After goofing off for most of the soundcheck, we came back later that evening to perform during a banquet dinner. 

From the start of the first song, it was apparent that we were entirely too loud for the setting. The organizers were looking for light dinner music rather than heavy-hitting Funk/R&B tunes. A few songs in, I noticed our manager, Peter Bergin, in a heated discussion with one of the event managers off-stage, which eventually culminated in Peter giving a baseball umpire-like ejection to our drummer (Peter Bergin Jr.) in an effort to bring down our volume. This left the remaining musicians on stage staring at each other wondering what in the world we were supposed to do to keep time. Unfortunately for me, I was the one standing in front of a full bongo/conga set that I was given to play, but never bothered to learn.

My novice playing was met with frowns from the rest of the band while I struggled mightily to keep even basic time. We managed, but only just. Needless to say, we all ended up buried in drinks in the hotel lobby bar at the end of that experience.

The following day we were scheduled to play for an afternoon reception in an outdoor space directly in front of what looked to be a civic building. Despite the blistering heat, we were having much better luck this time with the audience than the previous night. People were dancing, making requests, and even starting to join us on stage. 

At one point, two identical twins came up and asked if they could play a song with us, only to find out that they were the Bryan Brothers - the most successful tennis duo of all time! 

We played until nightfall as people continued to party. Near the end of our last set, I became aware of a crowd of people gathering on a balcony in the civic building behind our stage. As I never like to leave any member of the audience feeling left out, I could not stop myself from running over to pay a visit. 

in doing so, I marched headlong towards a pile of rocks on the other side of a row of tall plants with the intent of standing on them to get as high up as possible. As I did, I began to feel sharp pains on my arms and legs as I heard the words “no” and “don’t” being shouted. 

Freddy, our band photographer, was there to capture the moment while also informing me from behind his camera that I was “in a cactus!” I only then started to connect the stinging sensations along my arms and legs with the plants all around me. 

At this point, I was already halfway up the rocks and so I pressed forward until I was through the briars and stood triumphantly on the high rocks. I played the rest of my solo to a combination of cheers and laughs from the balcony audience. 

This impromptu form of all-natural acupuncture certainly hurt later that night and into the next day, but I wore my wounds as a badge of pride. Though I spent the evening plucking out the needles, I am proud to say I held my own in this game of chicken. 

Given how possessed I tend to get during these times, I neglected to really pay much attention to where I was going in the dark. I was fully committed to getting as close to the people on the balcony, and 

                                         in doing so, I began marching headlong towards a pile of rocks on the other side of a row of tall plants with the intent of standing on them to get as high up as possible. As I did, I began to feel sharp pains on my arms and legs as I heard the words “no” and “don’t” being shouted. 

Freddy, our band photographer, was there to capture the moment while also informing me from behind his camera that I was “in a cactus!” I only then started to connect the stinging sensations along my arms and legs with the plants all around me.