I went to Temple last weekend...
There was something inspiring and illuminating about the experience three San Antonio bands shared this past weekend.
Myself, bass player for the band Pop Pistol, and thirteen fellow San Anto natives trekked northward to Temple, TX Saturday afternoon. That night, Heather Go Psycho, Pop Pistol, and Ledaswan shared the stage at O’Briens Irish Pub in Temple’s historic downtown district.
The sleepy town proved ideal for the hopes of any musician aspiring to tour throughout the country. Luckily for us, it was only two hours away.
But, it wasn’t just the fact that this clean, comfortable watering hole was stocked with an enormous selection of ales, stouts, and lagers, or that the staff members were some of the most personable smiling strangers I’ve met outside SAy-town, or that the stage was the perfect set-up for dream-rock quintet Ledaswan, or that the overall live sound in the space was just as amazingly enjoyable from the main floor as it was from the balcony no matter which band was playing, or that the sound guy was really paying attention, or even that the sound guy’s name was Squirrel; it wasn’t the built in crowd thoroughly enjoying themselves with attentive ears fixed on every band, or even the locals that weren’t afraid to get up and dance, or the complimentary food, or bar tab, or the well-worth-the-trip payout.
The night started with a bang, or bust rather, as Jackie of Heather Go Psycho proved too powerful to play the first note of their opener before one of her strings exploded off it’s perch. The show surprisingly went off without a hitch from that moment and ended with laughing embrace between us all, strengthened in bond and personal drive. The experience we shared stands as affirmation to the link between opportunity and community; our unity as peers created the success of the night.
Regardless of difference in style, background, experience, or any other factor, it feels like our mutual support and respect for each other bred the enjoyable atmosphere that night. We went up there, as a team, with one full drum kit (snares, thrones, and cymbals to spare), one bass amp, four guitar amps, and a slew of guitars and pedals as per everyone’s fancy. This was all planned in advance through simple communication and willing generosity. We arrived at O’Briens two hours prior to playing, and had the stage set within 30 minutes, allowing us all time to relax and sit in anticipation. The sight of our collective merch section, walls adorned with various color shirts from all three bands, made it apparent that our bands are serious about being accessible for hungry fans wherever we can find them.
The entire experience planted a seed in my brain asking how to recreate the moment. It’d be great to see more bands traveling together, sharing equipment, making an effort to show the venues respect by showing up as early as possible to set up, with a dedication to display and tend their merch tables, representing their collective bond by making the night about the entire show. It’d be great for those bands to ensure positive experiences at every show by doing all they can on their part to promote and build a base before heading out using all the resources they had from local media outlets (college radio, alt weeklies, social networking) so that shows are not hit or miss .
Then I think about Local 782 and how the ideal behind our org had a lot to do with my experience in Temple.
…And it makes me excited for the future.
