Blog Post

News from us
25 July 2010

The Festival

Only 3 gigs in and I have sooo much to tell you about. (and it’s really hard on my iPhone)

So the first gig was really nice. We played at a ski station, off season of course so the crowd was small. Maybe 30 people? But the owner, Christian, is a blues lover (and damn fine guitar player) so he really enjoyed the night. So much so that he offered to put us all up for a week during the winter if we come and play again. That includes pay, food, skiing, etc…

The second show was for the fest in the southern France, but the night before the “real” festival. There were 4 bands, but we were the only band that would play both days. The organizer, Jean Louis, was kind enough to give us both days so we could make more money. However, that night was a little rough. We, the band, were a little cold with each other. The night before we were much more like a unit. This day we played more with our heads than our souls. The crowd seemed sufficiently pleased, be we were not. I worried well into the next day. I asked the guys if we could rehearse after sound check and they agreed it was a good idea.

Later, Yaume, Eli (a friend of Yaume who ran sound for us the first 3 days) and I ran errands. Eli (pronounced “Ellie”) gave me some great advise that lifted a huge weight off my shoulders.

So, our job for the big festival was to play the smaller stage in-between the bands on the slightly larger stage, which was really cool. We got to play 20-30 min sets then chill and watch the acts.

I must say with all humbleness, I think we really impressed the audience, organizers and other bands. When it came time for us to play each time, just about the entire crowd made their way to our stage. Estimated attendance somewhere around 2000 people!

Since you could hear our stage from the other side of the field, the headlining band (some Brits named Dr. Feelgood) Went out of their way to complement us. In fact, the bassist came to our stage and asked me if I would like to join them for their encore. Of course I did.

So before our final set, which ended the night, I dragged my gear about 150 yards to the big stage, threw it on stage when told to, and played my guitar with a big smile on my face. All of this was captured in HD video by the company hired to do so. I hope to have a copy when it’s ready, but I think it will be online too. Also, I took my little HD camera on the big stage with me to capture the moment. Haven’t seen it yet, but I’m sure it’s very shaky. =)

Oh, I just remembered another cool thing. The videographer hired to interview the musicians wanted to interview me too. At the end he asked if I would play a song on an acoustic guitar he had with him. I asked if he wanted something new or on the CD…? He said he wanted “this song”, and he began to play my song, So Excited. I couldn’t believe it – not only did he like my music, he was learning it! Crazy…

Below are the photos from that day:

[cincopa 10686237]

|
The Weather // Alex Henley - Real Life
icon-download
  1. The Weather // Alex Henley - Real Life
  2. The Flow // Alex Henley - Real Life
  3. Maybe It’s Me // Alex Henley - Real Life
  4. It Ain’t Working // Alex Henley - Real Life
  5. Wish You Nothing // Alex Henley - Real Life