Little Gems, Rich Experiences, Amazing People. These are some of the cool things about DIY touring. You may think you know what you're in for when you check out a venue's website, but you never really know until you physically arrive. You never know who you're going to meet, what you're going to eat or drink, or what you'll see. You don't know what the sound is going to be like, what the venue owners will be like, how you'll be received by the audience, or if the venue will want you back, or if you'll want to go back.
I just spent the past weekend in Springfield, Mo, where I performed a variety of different places, to a diverse demographic of people. After that weekend, I am now in love with Springfield. Everywhere that I played, the venue owners were very appreciative and accommodating. The people were kind and welcoming. The other musicians that I met along the way were eager to swap contacts, network, and make plans for future possible shows together, or to at least come see each other play.
I spent my first night in Springfield playing at the Millsap Farms Thursday Pizza Night. When I first got there, I knew I was going to like it. I drove down a dirt road, past a greenhouse, and a farm, then a house, and down to a little plot of land surrounded by trees. There were picnic tables set up garnished with real table cloths of varying shapes, colors, and patterns. There were lights strung up above the tables in rows from tree to tree that light up the entire outdoor dining area. Off to the side were wood burning stoves made out of what appeared to be brick and adobe, for the pizzas to be fired in. Curtis Millsap (he and his wife, Sarah own the farm), was manning the ovens with a long handled, wooden pizza peel. In front of them were tables lined up in work stations where the women and girls prepared the assortment of toppings for the different types of pizzas. These weren't just regular pepperoni and cheese pizzas, but pizzas made with homemade dough, homemade red sauce, pesto and ricotta cheese, veggies like cucumber and eggplant straight from the garden.
A long line of pizza-hungry customers lined up at the station as they waited for their pizza to be fired. Everyone sat at the picnic tables, which faced the handcrafted stage, where I was set up. I played to a happy crowd, as people socialized, children played, cats lounged, and dogs sniffed around for unlucky veggies and scraps that had found their way onto the ground. What a rich experience for everyone. I thought that this is what life must have been like before TV and internet. People getting together to make food, listen to music, and spend time with their friends and family. Though the crowd was not fully attentive, it didn't bother me because at that moment, I was there to add to the experience. It wasn't all about me, but I was glad to be a part of it. Sometimes people clapped after songs. There was an attentive group of ladies seated in front with their folding camp chairs, who clapped and enjoyed. There were some people who bought CDs and asked for stickers to hear me again later, and that was more than enough to let me know that people appreciated the presence of my music.
When I was done, I was made me a special gluten free vegan pizza with eggplant, cucumber, fresh tomato and onion. It was so fresh and delicious! Curtis and Sarah gave me advice about other musicians in the area I should befriend and make connections with. I sat by the fire pit for a minute where the kids were telling stories. Then Sarah brought me over to the greenhouse storage, where she invited me to take home a box of fresh produce, such as tomato, peppers, eggplant, squash, grapes, and purple potatoes. What an amazing night!
My second day was spent booking. I went to Mama Jean's natural food store, which was amazing, but their internet was out, so I spent most of my day in the Starbucks sitting area inside Barnes and Noble. I got a text from my sister-in-law, Shawnee, who is the amazing person who hooked me up with two venues to play at. I was scheduled to play at her place of employment, Tea Bar and Bites the next day, but she told me I was welcome to come play that evening also. So, I did.
Tea Bar and Bites is probably the cutest place I've ever been to. There are tea pots and aprons everywhere, the decor is so homey, and the lighting romantic. The architecture reminded me of a labyrinth. The entrance room is tiny, but there are more rooms behind, that branch off into other rooms. I played in the middle room, which was small and could normally only sit about 4 people. No one sat in there while I played, but the people in the other rooms could hear me, and said nice things and left tips. The food was delicious, and so was the tea! The owner is very nice and a big fan of my music. Overall it was a very pleasant experience.
That same night, I played at Lindbergs Bar which is more of the standard music venue, with a stage,
lighting, and a nice sound system. It was a slow night in there. There was a cold snap that weekend, but who knows if people were deterred by the weather or not. I certainly didn't expect to bring too many people out, as I had never played Springfield before. The girl who played before me, Sabrina Deets, was am-a-zing. Her music is much different than mine. She's a rocker. She kind of reminded me of my friend, Tiffany Christopher, in a way. She played some originals, but some good old 90's rock too- stuff I could sing along too. She played electric guitar, and could sing Janice Joplin's Bobby McGee and make it sound good. And I've never seen a girl play Led Zeppelin and freaking rock it! She also played a Jefferson Airplane song that I don't know the name of, but references Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass. I tried to take good pictures of her, but I'm just now learning how to use my camera. (One of these days I'll take a class, or look up some YouTube videos instead of just fiddling around with it!)
I didn't really want to follow her act, but I did. The small crowd enjoyed it, and the bar owner said I should definitely come back and that Springfield is gonna love me :) I met some other cool people while I was there who were also musicians. They had come for the event just before our performance, where they have a songwriting circle based on a book club. I think it's a monthly event? They read the book, just like a book club would do, and instead of simply having a discussion about it, each musician writes a song about it to perform at the circle. It sounds like a really neat idea and something I hope to attend someday!
The next day was a Saturday. I had 3 gigs scheduled for that day! I woke up early and froze my little but off at the Farmers Market of the Ozarks. My hands were numb and my body was shivering, so I know my performance was not up to par, but the market-goers and vendors were appreciative. They have a cool set up there. I got to plug into the PA which was set up to speakers all around the market. So, even if people weren't directly passing by me, they could still hear my music. On the particular morning I was playing, they were having an iron chef event with the chefs from some of the local restaurants. The tasting table was set up right next to me. Everything smelled so good! I didn't have time to take pictures because I had to break down and drive straight to my next gig, back at Tea Bar and Bites again. The market coordinator made sure to tell me that she and the vendors really enjoyed my performance and definitely want me back!
My performance at Tea Bar and Bites was different this time. I was set up outside in the courtyard and played during lunch. Unfortunately, it was bad timing because the spa right next door had a bunch of massages scheduled, and the clients did not particularly want to hear my music. So, eventually, after turning my PA down a few times, I had to play acoustic. The people on the patio still enjoyed it, and I still got to eat an amazing lunch.
My final performance that day was in Reeds Spring (about an hour away from Springfield) at a new venue called Take 5. The crowd was small, but appreciative. The restaurant owner and staff were very nice and accommodating. The stage was nice, set up with a nice PA, and the room is sound proofed, so everything sounds really clean. I enjoyed performing there, and I hope business continues to pick up and the venue becomes established, because it really is a nice place. It was almost like a listening room, the way it was set up, and with the smaller audience, which was nice for me.
I drove home that night to pick up Brandon so that he could see me play the next morning, and come visit with his sister. We didn't get but 3 hours of sleep that night, so I was exhausted by the time I got to The Aviary to play my last Springfield gig of this trip. My voice was also hoarse from singing so much over the weekend, and from getting less sleep than I should have to give my voice time to recover. But, the show must go on, and it did. The Aviary was super fancy and nice. I didn't make many tips that day, but the owner and staff really appreciated the music. They don't normally have music there, so I think it was a bit of a surprise for the costumers. It was nice to have my husband, sister-in-law, and her two friends there cheering me on. And I got a delicious meal out of it. So, a positive experience all around!
I look forward to going back to Springfield, and look forward to all of the experiences in my other travels to come! I'm excited to meet new people, see new places, and blog about it ;) I hope this encourages DIY musicians to plan out little tours, even though they may not be playing big venues yet. You have to start somewhere, and why not enjoy the journey, and the richness that each new place has to offer?
