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'all in good fun'

and so it begins. not with a bang but a whimper.

still, it's good. the throat holds out. for two+ hours. i kick new tunes. old tunes. mad old tunes.

'it's all about the old stuff,' i say. 'before i sold out.'

a quiet nite. mario. kari. cindy. heather and her peeps. 'intimate,' mario says later. pool table on percussion. electronic dart board beeps in background too.

'what do you wanna hear, kid?.' i ask mario halfway into the first set.

'hmmmm.' he stops to think. 'how about: die, die, dart throwing scum.'

the guys throwing the darts freak for a moment, but it's all in good fun.

'you gonna get us all killed, kid.' i say.

all in good fun.

mario and me. we've been hitting mad open mics in other towns lately. slipping in. quiet. just to get a taste. northampton. woodstock. boston.

i wouldn't believe how well they'd all gone if i hadn't brought the camcorder with us. got the footage to prove it. not only performing well, but meeting peeps. (ever the politician, mario's been getting people to sign his mailing list at open mics. even people who haven't seen him play!) getting a sense of these different scenes. outside of dear old albany. getting hungry for more.

that's how i started getting gigs in new york city.

one fateful evening last year with mario in the east village.

which is where i'm playing next.

NEXT - NEW YORK CITY

all stuff copyright 1999 bryan paul thomas
bryanthomas.com