Parrots in the Pines - Saturday
6:30 AM came way too early on Saturday. I was wide awake and trying to will myself to go back to sleep. My neighbors, however, were up and at ‘em and loading up their car. There’s a ton of gravel outside of the cabins and I swear it was a steady crunch, crunch, crunch as they marched past my front door until 8 AM when I finally gave it up and hit the shower. I couldn’t get too mad at them, though, as they were probably just as annoyed when we were hooting and hollering at 2:30.
Ray Cody was scheduled to play at 11 so I hoofed over to The Landmark for a Bloody Mary and to get a good seat for the show. Woody was there and ready to slap and we had a surprise appearance from Tom Connors who decided to drive up for the day.
Ray started playing and was soon introduced to the Vibraslap but he actually seemed to enjoy it. His girlfriend, Michelle, joined him for a couple of songs then he got Tom on stage with the tambourine.
OK, I am very, very white. I can only play the tambourine if I watch someone else playing first to get the rhythm. I am a musical genius compared to Tom. It’s like he couldn’t be more off the pace if he were consciously trying. Ray tried to give him a little tip but it didn’t help. Now, Tom’s lack of rhythm is well documented but what I didn’t know is that he can sing. He did some backup for Ray and it was really good. Donna and I got on stage with our tambourines and I took Tom’s away and told him to just sing and it sounded great.
After my first foray on to the stage, I became a stage ho. I was up and down during both Ray and Mark’s sets and when I was sitting I was playing the tambourine (while carefully keeping an eye on Donna). I eventually bruised my palm but you have to suffer for art’s sake.
Speaking of suffering…there was one bad mini-set with Ray and Mark. They decided to play Amy despite either not knowing any words but the chorus. They never got in sync on their guitars either. It was not pretty but it was amusing…but, more on that later.
Our birthday girl, Elizabeth, and I were greatly entertained by some of the “locals”. There were three guys, all kinda weird looking and a girl with long, bushy hair that hadn’t seen a comb in months. She had a Bud Light in each hand most of the time until she lit up a cigarette then she had both bottles in one hand. Kooky. The one guy asked Ray and Mark if the could play some Johnny Cash. (Parrot heads? Johnny Cash?) They actually did an awesome version of Folsom Prison Blues.
The weather was beautiful, just a little on the cool side. Rick and Carol had stopped at three different stores to find a sweatshirt for Carol but, apparently, they’re out of season. I guess those folks are used to 40 degrees. I had my Jimmie Johnson wind breaker on most of the time which led me to a conversation with some Jeff Gordon fans who may join the club, too.
Mark finished up at 7 just as it started to rain. We did a mass break down of the set and headed inside to the bar for a couple of cocktails before heading back to Greyhackle.
Here’s where it all went south. I am not used to the fragility of musicians, clearly. I was giving Mark crap about when he and Ray “sucked”. He got a little huffy and I added on “At least you could learn the words”. He got even huffier and, being the button pusher that I am, I upped it to “horrible”.
Oh. My. God.
I was in so much trouble. I don’t think Mark’s ever called me a bee-atch before but he did that night, at least 20 times. I tried to recover by saying the rest of the show was great but it didn’t help much. Man, I have never seen that man so defensive! I had to kiss his butt majorly to get out of the doghouse. Actually, I’m not sure I’m even out of there yet.
Sometime around midnight it started to rain again so some of the folks headed to bed while Mark, Jim, Kim and I hung out in my cabin. I was so tired at this point that I was literally begging to go to bed but Mark called me a wuss and dragged me out to the bar. He is sometimes evil and I cannot resist proving that I’m tough.
On the way there, we stopped by Woody and Alexis’ cabin and got Alexis and Beth out of bed. They ended up joining us as we closed down the bar with some dancing and a few more cocktails. It was another 2:30 AM night when it was all said and done and I was quite happy to get back to my little cabin and bed.
Ray Cody was scheduled to play at 11 so I hoofed over to The Landmark for a Bloody Mary and to get a good seat for the show. Woody was there and ready to slap and we had a surprise appearance from Tom Connors who decided to drive up for the day.
Ray started playing and was soon introduced to the Vibraslap but he actually seemed to enjoy it. His girlfriend, Michelle, joined him for a couple of songs then he got Tom on stage with the tambourine.
OK, I am very, very white. I can only play the tambourine if I watch someone else playing first to get the rhythm. I am a musical genius compared to Tom. It’s like he couldn’t be more off the pace if he were consciously trying. Ray tried to give him a little tip but it didn’t help. Now, Tom’s lack of rhythm is well documented but what I didn’t know is that he can sing. He did some backup for Ray and it was really good. Donna and I got on stage with our tambourines and I took Tom’s away and told him to just sing and it sounded great.
After my first foray on to the stage, I became a stage ho. I was up and down during both Ray and Mark’s sets and when I was sitting I was playing the tambourine (while carefully keeping an eye on Donna). I eventually bruised my palm but you have to suffer for art’s sake.
Speaking of suffering…there was one bad mini-set with Ray and Mark. They decided to play Amy despite either not knowing any words but the chorus. They never got in sync on their guitars either. It was not pretty but it was amusing…but, more on that later.
Our birthday girl, Elizabeth, and I were greatly entertained by some of the “locals”. There were three guys, all kinda weird looking and a girl with long, bushy hair that hadn’t seen a comb in months. She had a Bud Light in each hand most of the time until she lit up a cigarette then she had both bottles in one hand. Kooky. The one guy asked Ray and Mark if the could play some Johnny Cash. (Parrot heads? Johnny Cash?) They actually did an awesome version of Folsom Prison Blues.
The weather was beautiful, just a little on the cool side. Rick and Carol had stopped at three different stores to find a sweatshirt for Carol but, apparently, they’re out of season. I guess those folks are used to 40 degrees. I had my Jimmie Johnson wind breaker on most of the time which led me to a conversation with some Jeff Gordon fans who may join the club, too.
Mark finished up at 7 just as it started to rain. We did a mass break down of the set and headed inside to the bar for a couple of cocktails before heading back to Greyhackle.
Here’s where it all went south. I am not used to the fragility of musicians, clearly. I was giving Mark crap about when he and Ray “sucked”. He got a little huffy and I added on “At least you could learn the words”. He got even huffier and, being the button pusher that I am, I upped it to “horrible”.
Oh. My. God.
I was in so much trouble. I don’t think Mark’s ever called me a bee-atch before but he did that night, at least 20 times. I tried to recover by saying the rest of the show was great but it didn’t help much. Man, I have never seen that man so defensive! I had to kiss his butt majorly to get out of the doghouse. Actually, I’m not sure I’m even out of there yet.
Sometime around midnight it started to rain again so some of the folks headed to bed while Mark, Jim, Kim and I hung out in my cabin. I was so tired at this point that I was literally begging to go to bed but Mark called me a wuss and dragged me out to the bar. He is sometimes evil and I cannot resist proving that I’m tough.
On the way there, we stopped by Woody and Alexis’ cabin and got Alexis and Beth out of bed. They ended up joining us as we closed down the bar with some dancing and a few more cocktails. It was another 2:30 AM night when it was all said and done and I was quite happy to get back to my little cabin and bed.
