This past weekend, I played an incredible show with country artist Ryan Trotti. We performed in a cool venue known as the Fennec in Birmingham, Alabama. If you are not familiar with what a fennec is, a fennec is the world’s smallest fox. It roams the deserts in Africa. It is known for it's big ears and personality. (It's kinda cute!) Along with it's personality, it lives a lively social life in the night time. The venue embodies the characteristics of the fox. The Fennec offers nightly live music, an intimate stage setting, and an incredible food and cocktail menu making it a one of its kind oasis in Birmingham.
I had never been to Alabama prior to this gig. I found it neat that I was able to perform and visit a new state all at once. The more I thought about it, it was more like a pass through. Due to being in a time crunch, I only had time to set up my gear and get something to eat. Immediately after unloading my gear from the car, I chilled in the Fennec's green room. From the picture on the right, you can see it was actually a red room 😉 (horrible dad joke)! Since the Fennec had a drum kit in house, I only brought my stick bag, snare drum, cymbals, and kick pedal.
After setting up the drum kit and getting a quick bite to eat, we ran a quick sound check. It only took about 10 minutes. It was the smoothest sound check I have experienced. To get the final levels adjusted in house, the sound engineer needed us to run through a song. Keep in mind, we never rehearsed together for this show. Technically, our sound check was our first rehearsal. Since I was a fill-in for this show, I had to learn Ryan's material beforehand. I only had three days to learn and rehearse his setlist. It was nerve racking for sure, but thankfully I managed. I have a method that I use to learn songs in a short time span. I would be happy to share my it but today is not the day! When we finished running through the song, the four of us knew we were going to be locked in for the rest of the night.
Throughout the night, we were constantly looking out for one another. Our show at the Fennec was a success not just because of our playing abilities, but because of our communication skills. Communication is the key to success in almost anything you do. For example, a relationship tends to do better if there is healthy communication between both partners. An athlete knows when to pass the ball if his/her teammates calls out for the ball. The same applies to musicians. Communicating in music can be both verbal and nonverbal. Nonverbal cues can be discreet. You have to be on a lookout for them. It is hard to explain but when you are a musician, you understand where the music is “taking you”. You simply follow it. However, it is easier to follow the music when you communicate as a band. At the end of the day, you are a team and you must work together.
We played so well, that it seemed as if we had been playing together for years. Our performance lasted for a little over two hours. As the night progressed, the crowd got bigger. It was also graduation week for the University of Birmingham at Alabama. Due to this, the Fennec was booming! I am extremely thankful to have played alongside a new group of people. I was also thrilled to have been part of a fun show. I look forward to drumming in Birmingham again (hopefully with more leeway to explore)! Overall, my first time in Bama was a success! 🥁 👊🏼
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