As the snow falls outside my window, I sit here realizing that I had completed my very first Penny Racer outing with my first-ever Open Mic Night Tour.
It was truly an interesting experience, playing all these places that I've never really been to before, performing in front of people I didn't really know, sharing the stage with fellow musicians/performers/town eccentrics. I had some pretty good nights (The Basement in Kingston, Oasis Cafe and The Muddy Cup in New Paltz), some pretty bad nights (Pawling, Snug Harbor in New Paltz), and one damn scary one (The Muddy Cup in Kingston). But, in the end, I've gained some significant experience. I know which places work and which places fall flat, and I've come to meet some pretty neat people (check out Honeybody Moonbee, for instance).
In addition, I began to understand the life of a traveling musician. Certainly, I was lucky; I got to go to my house every night after a performance and sleep in my own bed. But, driving late at night has this strange loneliness that I've never really felt before. It was strange to walk into an empty convenience store in the wee hours of the evening just to get a snack/drink for the drive home. The drive to the venue is always fun, but the drive home is always a mixed bag. I dunno.
For now, I get to rest from the stages/carpets/broken stools of the open mike scene. But, after next week, it's time to rehearse some A Song A Day I songs I haven't performed yet, and prepare myself for another 10-11 shows that make up my second Open Mike outing, filled with both familiar places and new, faraway ones.
And I can't wait.
-Tyler
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