"You okay? Can I get you a chair?"
Tell you the truth I'm not sure what to file this under. It's
not so much a story as just a funny thing that happened.
When I lived in New Hampshire there was this band that was
very successful in the contra dance scene. Instead of having
a "permanent" fiddle player they would just take someone
along whenever they needed to. They usually had two or three
favorites to choose from. They started inviting me along on
some dates and I wound up traveling with them quite a bit.
Working with them was a trip because they drew way bigger
crowds than nearly everyone else, no matter where they were.
There were people who followed the band from dance to dance.
It's about as close to a "rock star" experience as you can
have playing for the door at a community contra dance.
One of those other fiddle players they worked with, you
wouldn't say he looked like me at all but we had similar hair
and beard styles and if you only knew one of us you might
mistake him for me, or vice versa. But only from a distance.
For one thing he was considerably bigger than me. It's worth
mentioning that he had a slightly higher profile in the dance
scene so more people knew him than knew me.
I was on the road with the band this one time and we played
in a town they had visited a few months earlier with that other
fiddler player. After the dance one of the guys in the band
said to me, "At the break someone asked me, 'Your fiddle
player, is he okay? Looks like he's lost a lot of weight
since you were here.'" They thought I was the other guy,
suffering from some unknown malady and minus about thirty
pounds!
True story.
Suggested reading:
My First Time at Greenfield
In which I find a new home. Metaphorically speaking.
I Can Quit Whenever I Want To
In which I kick the coffee habit. Until about lunch time.
Full Moon Over Peterborough
In which Bob shows the dancers what he's made of.
Perhaps Samuel Butler was right
In which I learn that "on the job training" is not always the best choice.
Friends, Romans, Countrymen... Grab yer partners!
Caller Bernie Chalk came not to bury Caesar but to do-si-do with him.
Some experience required.
You never forget your first time.
Time Travel!
Return to those days of yesteryear
The $20 Fiddle Tune
We're not in it for the money, but neither do we turn it down.
Is That Guy Okay?
A case of mistaken identity.
Every Fiddle Has a Story...
... but they can't talk.
Mmm, Ham...
In which Pete and I rely on the kindness of strangers.
Not Sure Who Won But I Can Tell You Who Lost
In which I wind up with farm fresh historically accurate Colonial-era egg on my face.
Happy New Year
In which the New Year creeps in on little cat feet.