Neuz from the 'Nati - mid-tour - 4/22/06
It's saturday afternoon and I am getting ready for my show at the Southgate House tonight. Actually, I'm pissing away my afternoon on the computer. Luis and Alan walked down the street to get coffee and my mom is outside on the patio with the dogs. It's a gorgeous spring day here in the 'Nati. The tour has been great so far. Thursday night started off a bit slow at Jack Quinn's with the rain and it was a "school night" - ha, thursdays in Cincy aren't like Thurs. in LA. But....the crowd that was there was very enthusiastic and made up in quality what they lacked in quantity.
ABOVE (L TO R): LUIS OLIART, JULIE NEUMARK, ALAN MALUNAO JR.
Luis shared the bill with me and man does he know just how to work a crowd. And, how to set up a PA. Funny thing about playing in these smalltown venues....there is no sound guy and usually you have to supply your own PA...we have lucked out (along with promising our first born) and have been provided with PA systems. However, there is still no sound man. I tell ya, thank GOD for Luis. He's been on the road a lot and has served as sound engineer extraordinaire at our shows. I don't know what I would do without him. Oh wait, I know - I would play acoustically in the street. Woo. Good times.
Last night kicked some serious ass! We drove down to Lexington (Univ. of KY) and played at an Irish bar just off campus that was a mix of locals and college kids. For you LA folks - think Fullerton. (If you've read my post about playing with Mama Hagglin at The Tropics you'll know that means that I LOVED it!!) We had about 75 peeps in there, dancing, drinking buying cds...it was great. Especially exciting was a new fan called Red. Red was very enthusiastic and was very upset to see that we didn't have a tip jar out. So, she took it upon herself to fix this. She pulled up a chair in front of the stage and threw some $1's on it, "Here's yer tip chair!" I was honored. I'd never had a tip chair before. We played 'til 1:30 am. It was nuts. Luis was nuts. He played his orignals and some covers in between all of our sets. I guess that's why he slept in until 2pm today.
So tonight before the show I am going to see a performance of a girl in college who is covering my tune, "Sexy" with a band at her university. How trippy is that going to be? To see someone cover a song I wrote? Wow. I feel famous. Almost.
Then we're off to the Southgate house. Tonight we'll be joined again by Ann Driscoll. Ann is a senoir at the high school that I graduated from (umm, a scary long time ago...ugh, I feel old). I've been sort of "mentoring" her and helping her to navigate her way through the music business. She has enough raw talent in her little pinky to be a crazy big success. Luis will be sharing the bill again as well. Should be a solid night - I am looking forward to it.
Shite - it's 4:25 - I gotta jump in the shower. Before I go though - I've been procrastinating. I really sat down NOT to give an itinerary of what I've been doing but rather to write a little bit about a man I want to pay tribute to today: my father, Michael Neumark. One year ago today was the last real interaction we ever had. It was a really difficult and painful and surreal time last April before he passed but there were also some wonderful moments. One of them was a year ago tonight. It was after dinner and I decided to put on a little solo acoustic concert for him and my family in the living room. At this point in time, he was extremely weak and it was really difficult for him to even smile. But every song I played, I got one from him. God, it meant so much to me that I was may be bringing him the slightest joy in his pain. The final song I played was a new one at the time...one that I had played the start of for him a few months before and he had really liked. Now, I had finished the song and as I played it I saw his eyes light up across the room in his brown leather chair and I smiled big inside. When I finished, I got the best gift I could have gotten: he clapped. He clapped! That must have taken all the strength he had and it meant the world to me. I gave him a big hug and a kiss and I said, "I love you Daddy." The next morning he had fallen into a coma and passed on a week later. Though I have many wonderful memories of my father, that one gave me the best closure I could have ever asked for. I will be thinking of him tonight as I play - and if I listen closely, I will hear him clap for me. :)
ABOVE (L TO R): LUIS OLIART, JULIE NEUMARK, ALAN MALUNAO JR.Luis shared the bill with me and man does he know just how to work a crowd. And, how to set up a PA. Funny thing about playing in these smalltown venues....there is no sound guy and usually you have to supply your own PA...we have lucked out (along with promising our first born) and have been provided with PA systems. However, there is still no sound man. I tell ya, thank GOD for Luis. He's been on the road a lot and has served as sound engineer extraordinaire at our shows. I don't know what I would do without him. Oh wait, I know - I would play acoustically in the street. Woo. Good times.
Last night kicked some serious ass! We drove down to Lexington (Univ. of KY) and played at an Irish bar just off campus that was a mix of locals and college kids. For you LA folks - think Fullerton. (If you've read my post about playing with Mama Hagglin at The Tropics you'll know that means that I LOVED it!!) We had about 75 peeps in there, dancing, drinking buying cds...it was great. Especially exciting was a new fan called Red. Red was very enthusiastic and was very upset to see that we didn't have a tip jar out. So, she took it upon herself to fix this. She pulled up a chair in front of the stage and threw some $1's on it, "Here's yer tip chair!" I was honored. I'd never had a tip chair before. We played 'til 1:30 am. It was nuts. Luis was nuts. He played his orignals and some covers in between all of our sets. I guess that's why he slept in until 2pm today.
So tonight before the show I am going to see a performance of a girl in college who is covering my tune, "Sexy" with a band at her university. How trippy is that going to be? To see someone cover a song I wrote? Wow. I feel famous. Almost.
Then we're off to the Southgate house. Tonight we'll be joined again by Ann Driscoll. Ann is a senoir at the high school that I graduated from (umm, a scary long time ago...ugh, I feel old). I've been sort of "mentoring" her and helping her to navigate her way through the music business. She has enough raw talent in her little pinky to be a crazy big success. Luis will be sharing the bill again as well. Should be a solid night - I am looking forward to it.
Shite - it's 4:25 - I gotta jump in the shower. Before I go though - I've been procrastinating. I really sat down NOT to give an itinerary of what I've been doing but rather to write a little bit about a man I want to pay tribute to today: my father, Michael Neumark. One year ago today was the last real interaction we ever had. It was a really difficult and painful and surreal time last April before he passed but there were also some wonderful moments. One of them was a year ago tonight. It was after dinner and I decided to put on a little solo acoustic concert for him and my family in the living room. At this point in time, he was extremely weak and it was really difficult for him to even smile. But every song I played, I got one from him. God, it meant so much to me that I was may be bringing him the slightest joy in his pain. The final song I played was a new one at the time...one that I had played the start of for him a few months before and he had really liked. Now, I had finished the song and as I played it I saw his eyes light up across the room in his brown leather chair and I smiled big inside. When I finished, I got the best gift I could have gotten: he clapped. He clapped! That must have taken all the strength he had and it meant the world to me. I gave him a big hug and a kiss and I said, "I love you Daddy." The next morning he had fallen into a coma and passed on a week later. Though I have many wonderful memories of my father, that one gave me the best closure I could have ever asked for. I will be thinking of him tonight as I play - and if I listen closely, I will hear him clap for me. :)
posted by Julie Neumark | 1:07 PM
2 Comments:
That was awesome...
Julie, I enjoyed reading your entry. I'm sorry I missed seeing you play this time around, it would have been great. I have a group of friends that want to some see you all next time. Funny though, I was down in Lexington too, only on Saturday for the Keeneland races.
The story of your dad is moving. I can't read it without getting a bit teary eyed myself. I can't recall if I shared with you that my mother has been fighting lymphoma for several years..I understand the experience. Today I said goodbye to a family friend that had died of cancer just this week.
I have to thank you for sharing your intimate thoughts on losing your father. Music can be such a powerful force in healing and bringing joy to all of us in pain. You are a true talent, God has blessed you with that. I pray too that He continues to give you peace knowing that your dad is with Him and clapping for you every day.....
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