When I was young I envisioned myself having a "house gig" somewhere. In my imagination I would play at the same club 4 or 5 nights per week for years. But by the time I was in a position to start playing gigs, most of the house gigs were rapidly disappearing.
I was reflecting on this the other night during my 75 mile drive returning home from a gig. This is a part of the music business that I did not foresee. The endless one-nighters. There are times when I spend more time staring through a windshield than actually playing music. However, unlike many of my friends who tour, I get to sleep in my own bed at night.
In a house gig I would be playing the same music in the same place for the same people. What I'm doing now is, I think, far more interesting. A wedding ceremony one day, background dinner music the next day, and the occasional concert/recital to keep my panic level elevated. Sometimes it's almost as good as doing cardio.
Such was the case this past Saturday when I was asked to provide a 30 minute program of all Spanish music at a private party. (I should mention that my entire Spanish repertoire is about 32 minutes long.) There were approximately 12 guests at someones home and I was asked to play after they had finished their tapas and before dessert. (I have to learn to enunciate when I tell this story. I mentioned "tapas" party at church and some thought I said "topless" party.) When I arrived they were just finishing their 5th tapas course and 6th bottle of wine. Before I got there I was worried about being good enough. Once there I realized that I could have played "Old McDonald" with a flamenco flair and they would have loved it.
It's been a few years since I've played in someones home. And when I do, it's typically background music for a social gathering. It's been twenty years since I've actually played a short program for a listening audience like this. But the landscape is changing. And with the rise in popularity of house concerts I can see a time when evenings like this will be a bit more common. Forecasting the future can be dangerous (just ask any TV meteorologist), but these nice people were talking about having me back some time. Or maybe that was the wine talking.