Gospel Explosion!!
Ok, so last night was a little nerve racking for me, to say the least. Not only was I performing songs that I’ve written and never performed in Enid before but I was about to unveil them for the first time at Enid’s first annual Gospel Explosion at the Gaslight theatre to benefit the Booker T. Washington Community Center. Just by seeing the name of the event you should understand why I was a little on edge. It was a “gospel music” event. Now, if you’ve heard my music you would know that you can’t classify what I’ve written as gospel. I may have some R&B, blues and jazz influences but they’re not always apparent at first. Anyway, we didn’t really get a good sound check before the show but we had practiced enough that I didn’t think that would be a major issue. We were in the first half of the show, sixth on the list. When it’s our turn, my mind is only thinking, “I hope they like it and it doesn’t turn into a bad episode of Night at the Apollo”. I just didn’t want to get boo-ed off the stage. I was a little paranoid about being the only white guy there to perform that night. Anyway, we did our two songs and to my surprise people were clapping and genuinely enjoying it! When we were done Leona Mitchell, famous opera singer, came out of her dressing room to tell us that she “really enjoyed our music and that we sounded really great”! That was cool because I didn’t know her at all but she had been watching from her dressing room and made it a point to compliment our performance. Once we put away our guitars we made our way to the lobby to listen and hang out in front. Many people complimented us and our music and asked what church we were from, how to book us for future events and even asked for our website. I have to say I was extremely happy that we were apart of that benefit. Not only did it help the community but also taught me a lesson. I learned that I shouldn’t worry about what people think. If your music is good and you’ve spent the time in preparation needed to perform it well, people will like it. We were asked to do the event next year and told that they’re going to bring in some big names and make sure that all the participants are paid! It’s just nice to know that we did an event outside of our comfort zone for a group demographic we didn’t know if they would like us and it turned out to be a success for everyone! Great night!
