What to do, what to do?

This weekend I’m working in a small college town in the Midwest, right in the tornado belt. I was very excited to get this job, because the booking agent is in a position to get me more work. Perhaps a lot more work. So it was important for me to do well.

Two days before I flew out I began getting cold symptoms in my chest. The next day the cold moved up into my upper chest. That following night I got no sleep, and finally got up out of bed and got ready for my flight. I was in a full-fledged cold. I checked out my voice, and it was working but fragile. I decided to continue with my trip. By the time I arrived at my destination and was safely installed in the bandhouse, the cold had moved up yet again into my throat. As I lay on my bed, all I could do was worry that I was going to loose my voice during the show. Since we were only doing a three-way, that would mean that my other 2 partners would have to finish the weekend without me, and they would be onstage the entire 6 hour night with no breaks, which is a really really bad thing to ask of anyone. In addition, I would probably never get work from this agent, and I would also sour my connections here and word would get around that I had screwed up this gig. So this big drama is playing out in my head, and adrenalin is coursing through my body as I envision this big embarrassing scenario with a colossal on-stage fuckup at a crucial moment, followed by me slinking away from this town in shame.

I finally decided to let everyone involved know what was up. I spoke to my partners, and I called the agent. I told them that I would work tonight, but that there might be a possibility that I would loose my voice for real and have to bail. Everyone was very understanding, especially the agent, and that lifted all the worry that was weighing on me.

Earlier in the afternoon I had started taking prednisone (steroid, anti-inflamitory) and some pretty strong antibiotics on me that I always travel with. By showtime, I felt much better, and although still fragile, I was pretty sure I would make it through the night alright.

The show went well, surprisingly well. It was a long night, but it went by fast, I had fun and I knew that I had pulled my weight and would be standing to fight another day. I also got to play drums which has been my guilty pleasure of late, since I am entirely self-taught over the past couple months using Playstation’s Rockband.