Wedding bells

When you play in a cover band, the late spring starts that most excellent time of year: wedding season. In actuality it brings about something else too: the end of major televised sports for a few months. Nothing against sports of course, but OSU football games, NCAA basketball tournaments and NBA playoffs (at least until the exodus of good king Lebron) all tend to majorly mess with Central Ohio gig nights. It seems like in the last five years every bar has become a "sports bar." The impact on live music aside, is it that nobody actually wants to talk to each other anymore?

I digress.

Wedding season is great for musicians of course because we make more money, but for many of us the psychological rewards are equally if not more important. I think it might even be true that weddings saved my musical soul.

Sharp Circle has already played several weddings this year and they've all been a blast. People come to a wedding specifically to immerse themselves in the joy of the day, and thankfully the rituals of the ceremony and the reception are still tightly connected with music.

There's also something amusing about the seeming contradiction of getting to dress up in formal attire and play some nasty Rock and greasy Funk, but ultimately that joy I spoke of, emanating outward from the bride & groom to their family and friends, covers the packed dance floor like a blanket. Fun becomes a palpable thing in the air of the reception hall and that other-worldly link between musicians and dancers feels like it was never more concrete. People allow their souls to get filled up with the music.

Last week though I got to taste a little variety because a couple had hired Chess King to play their wedding. Chess King is an 80s-music cover band, formed about three years ago by "Parker Paul" Wilkinson, Keith Hanlon, Damon Mollenkopf and I, also featuring Jason Monro from Sharp Circle on bass. The only problem was that Chess King was essentially defunct, having performed last in 2008. I was initially concerned about the time outlay involved in committing another 40 or so songs to memory, but the minute we got together for our first rehearsal I knew it was just what the doctor ordered.

Sharp Circle has done a lot to keep things fresh in my six years with the band, most notably in the last year adding two horn players to the lineup, but getting to play the occasional show with completely different material is a Godsend. It made me realize just how much I was missing the occasional Jazz quartet gig or the occasional sub gig with bands like New Basics Brass Band; it demonstrates that variety really is the spice of life, and it refreshes the musical palate. Since reuniting with Chess King I've enjoyed the subsequent Sharp Circle gigs as if they were my very first.

A million thanks to Michele & Billy for having Chess King as part of their big day; we loved every second of it! Equally huge thanks to Mary Rebekah & Ben for such an amazing experience for Sharp Circle at the brand new OSU Student Union's Performance Hall two nights ago; everything about the evening was perfect.

Both of these couples are music fanatics who wanted to make music of several genres one of the most important parts of their weddings and receptions. Music lovers have a way of making everyone around them appreciate music even more. It reminds us that music isn't just one "well on the hill" to fill up our souls, but in fact many different wells. Drink deeply from as many as you can as often as you can and you'll see what I mean.