Last night, I did one of the coolest/weirdest things in my musical career: I had a rehearsal in the back of a van, parked on the street in Jamaica Plain. I was there with Brad Smith on piano, and Anna Fan on drums. And we had a pretty kick-ass time making music.
This all came to be because of Brad. This dude is one of the most creative and craftiest people I know. He's built an all-inclusive carrying case for his keyboards that packs up and travels, but also doubles as a keyboard and music stand. The thing just rolls in and out of gigs - it's pretty amazing.
Brad is also a piano technician and tuner, so he needs a van to get around to all his different sites of business, and he needs to be able to move pianos. He also realized that he had downtime in between gigs, and that he could use that time to practice and play. So he hooked up his van with some serious electrical power, speakers, the whole kit and caboodle. This allows him to play pretty much anywhere he goes. Uh, AWESOME.
So we had the rehearsal - complete with Anna's drum kit - in the back of the van. My passenger seat swiveled around, I sat next to Anna, and Brad has his whole keyboard setup in there. We parked on the street, kept the doors closed, and made music. It was a really fun time, and just made me realize how freakin' happy I am to be making music - ANYWHERE. (BTW - the three of us will be performing at The Stork Club in Boston this Saturday, March 27th from 9:30pm-1:00am. Stop by and see us if you're in the area!)
From this rehearsal was born an idea that I'm hoping will turn into something really great: "The Diva Taunia Traveling Show." We're going to play lunchtime concerts at local businesses during the spring and summer months, and also play evening and weekend gigs in town - ON THE STREET AND IN PARKING LOTS. I mean, how fun is that gonna be?!? We're still looking into permits/restrictions/etc, but we're really excited to be setting up a summer tour of van concerts. Man, I just love life with music, I really do.
So hey, if you're in the New England area and want to book us for a lunchtime concert, drop me a line at booking@divataunia.com. If this van's a rockin', you should DEFINITELY come 'a knockin!
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