Crystal Cheatham — Indie from the start

We had all kinds of undy tweets from yesterdays “I declare today favorite undies day. What you got tweepies?” I received some wild responses and some descriptive ones but all was kosher. Why did I ask?

When you are nervous and on stage people say you should envision all kinds of things. See the crowd naked, in their undies, or wearing unflattering facial hair. When nerves get a hold of me I pray for spotlights in my eyes. That way I can’t see the crowd so nothing but my own imagination can screw me up.

Last night I sang at a jazz club in Philly. I wouldn’t have known the place existed if it weren’t for my networking brother who called me almost last minute to attend. “They reserved us a table,” he said. When you’re a musician you have to be prepared to play anywhere and for any crowd (I am learning this). Last night affirmed my need to widen my repertoire. I felt completely unprepared and almost left Jane (my guitar) in my car but the manager caught on to my shyness and asked me to bring it in anyway.

Before I even entered the door I could feel the energy bouncing along the sidewalk. It was a live band and I could feel the vibrations of the music surging through my guitar case and into my hands.  Imagine my nerves. There I was, a young and slightly unseasoned musician and I was walking into a den of high class oldies who grew up eating Ella, Nina, and yes, Mr. Armgstrong as well. They were the real thing; jazz musicians. And I was expected to wow them? Not only that but the audience was comprised of Philly’s finest, 60+ year elders who were used to the smooth croonings of their live jazz band. I was shaken to the core but up for the performance, if they would have me. If they weren’t so old I would have been willing to envision them in their skivies. But that wasn’t gong to happen. The oldest guy out there was proudly 95 and he was shakin everything out on the dance floor. Haha…

I really was scared to sing my tunes. I never quite know where my stuff fits in, but knees shaking aside, when it was my turn I started strumming and threw my heart into “If I Fall.” And the oldies actually liked it! So much so that I did “L, is for the way you look…” with the piano man and eventually the full band. When I got done and looked around the audience was grinning ear to ear. Is it just me or do the elderly always look inviting? Anyway, the band took off from there. Maybe it was the lift they needed, but 2 bassists and a sax solo later the band had taken us to a new high and had returned to winde down the night. After their last lingering notes had settled, I realized that I had just jammed away another memorial gig night in Philly.

I had a great time and I felt like I did a great job. Those butterflies had come and gone without even saying good bye. Envisioning undies or no undies, sometimes the best thing you can do about butterflies is just to let go, let loose, and leave the rest up to your passion. I did, and it actually worked.