Gavin's song repertoire has grown ten-fold since we have been here. Often I will find him hunkered over a scrap of paper in the living room, writing down music and lyrics and pensively tinkering with his guitar or the strange Vietnamese xylophone (Dan T'rung). More an outlet for random thoughts than an actual undertaking, he has been churning out bedroom pop songs at an alarming rate. Many of his pals in the community are musicians and when he started jamming with a few friends, pretty soon a few gig offers came in. Alas, Gavin turned down them down one by one as he realized that his stage fright could easily be the premature end of his career.
When an offer came in from Snap Cafe, a family-friendly atmospheric wonderland, bar, and restaurant set deep amongst the suburban palaces of District 2, we just couldn't resist. Gavin said he would play based on the fact that if he made a complete fool of himself it was a-ok, as we don't know anyone that lives in that part of town. He played a three-hour marathon acoustic set comprised of covers and originals with two semi-accomplished musicians and friends: the unparalleled, spasmodic troubadour extraordinaire Alec and Merv the Low End Critic.
Although the trio of string-strummers never really had time to practice together before the show, they had clearly spent enough time together talking about music to sound proficient. Despite a slew of broken strings and some cacophonous moments, it worked out well. The long, beer-soaked affair finished up with a jam session as several other musicians that showed up to hear them joined the fray, including two tenor saxophones players and some other guitarists.
Apparently they were good enough to be invited back for the next Saturday. When we arrived, the restaurant was flooded with tiny monsters; so the guys, this time joined by Andy on a snare drum, played many a children's song to keep the masses dancing. If you would like to see the epic crowd reaction to "Saigon Weasel Goes Pop" , check out the shaky video HERE.
After the children dispersed, they kept playing and playing and playing... actually they still might be playing. As long as people enjoy fractured popular hits and off-kilter folk, who knows what's next for this rockin' trio.
1 comment:
Go Gavino! I'm glad you are out there making music. I remember last summer sitting on the patio while you sang and played -I loved it.
I'm one of your biggest fans.
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