17 hours of music in 4 days

I’m always surprised at how many hours of music my body can make - I’ve taken on some really long gigs, like a regular holiday open house that lasts about 5 or 6 hours, but I’ve never tried to play 17 hours of music in 4 days before, until this weekend.

Performing at Anna’s Garden in Kingsville on Saturday, November 16, at gig number 3 of the weekend.

Woven through the days leading up to this weekend was a thread of low-grade anxiety. Adeila chose those days to go from being a bad sleeper to a downright rotten one, taking several hours of soothing just to fall asleep at night, then waking up frequently throughout the night, and even missing a few naps too. This means that my precious few hours of daily working time were stolen away, and I was trying to get commissions and everything else done while juggling an increasingly demanding toddler. In the evenings, I had to actively remind myself that wine would hamper my immune system, and I couldn’t afford to get sick and risk cancelling any of my gigs.

Completely separate from my 4 gigs and 17 hours, Mike had another 3 gigs and 10 hours booked, meaning our terrible sleeper would be (hopefully) put to bed by her nana for the first two days of #Showmageddon.

I was especially anxious about gig number one, because it was the longest (five hours) and most high-profile: serenading the top members of a local institution in the incredibly classy Augustus 27 ballroom, on the top floor of Caesars Windsor. It’s the highest point in the city, and offers a stunning panoramic view of Windsor and Detroit. I wanted to complement the room and the occasion, so I dressed the part, in a lovely floor-length mauve chiffon gown, which, of course, needs to be worn with heels.

I’m sorry I didn’t get any pictures of me, but this is the corner where I was set up, with a nice white spotlight, and a view of the Detroit river behind me.

It’s a good thing that this was the first gig, because singing in heels for five hours at the end of the weekend would have been impossible. But it was actually a pretty easy gig, and getting all dressed up for classy evenings is one of my favourite parts of being a musician.

Part of the ballroom of Augustus 27.

The only flaw of the evening came from a delicious chocolate coconut macaroon from the dessert table - I managed to get some chocolate on my lip and not notice it until I went to the bathroom to change into my street clothes, after having spoken to several people… oops.

Gig number two on Friday night was a holiday open house at ShopEco, one of my favourite local businesses. The evening was the kick-off of the Walkerville Holiday Walk, an annual weekend of shopping, sales, Santa, a tree lighting, carriage rides, and other festive goings-on. I think the combination of snow on the ground and milder temperatures meant that it looked like Christmas and still felt nice enough to venture out, so people came out in droves. There was a steady crowd gathered around the complementary hot apple cider in the shop, and it seemed like every 20 minutes, the manager was on a step ladder, pouring another 4L jug into the carafe.

I had to resist the urge to drink more than my fair share of hot cider.

I felt like I was already so warmed up from playing 5 hours the night before, and I managed to blow past the usual weakness of my first set, and really dig into the songs with ease. Anytime children came in, I’d try to play something fun and peppy for them to bounce along to, and that made me bounce along more, until I was just dancing and wiggling all over the place. I was so relieved to be in flat shoes instead of heels.

Gigs number three and four were daytime holiday open houses out in the county, at Anna’s Garden in Kingsville. The first drive out to Kingsville was physically the low point of the weekend: my feet were throbbing, my left shoulder felt like a mild but constant Charley Horse, and my voice was sore from so much singing.

So, finally, I sat down to play those last two gigs. I find it awkward to get comfortable on a stool, and I sing better when I stand, because I just instinctively slouch around the guitar if I’m seated. But someone had placed a stool in the space where they wanted me to play, and I figured, at that point, if the universe gives me a chair, I will sit in it. Being comfortable made everything better, and by the second day, I was completely recovered.

My Shure SH55, a nostalgic microphone perfect for singing nostalgic Holiday songs.

More than a dozen times at Anna’s, people told me that they had thought there was just a nice CD playing until they rounded a corner and saw me. And at ShopEco too, people said they kept forgetting I was there because the music blended in well. Add to this the fact that so many people were asking me if I had a Christmas CD (and that I recently discovered Atomic Disc and their crazy affordable Eco Packs) and now I’m really hoping to have a full Christmas album next year.

Before that third gig, I slapped a “Crissi Cochrane” bumper sticker onto my amp, and what a lovely idea that was! It’s a shame when people walk by and enjoy what they hear, but don’t find out who I am.

My two-channel Yorkville amp is the work-horse that I bring to most gigs where I need to bring my own sound system.

Another lovely idea was bringing my Square reader. It’s an old doodad that I acquired a long time ago. With it, I processed about $60 worth of CD sales that I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to make. I’m officially keeping it in my purse forevermore, in case opportunity strikes.

And I basically ran out of business cards! I have four left.

So, how did Adeila do? She didn’t fall asleep those two nights until Mike or I got home to put her to sleep, and she didn’t nap at all when I was away in Kingsville. But, thanks to her Nana on Thursday and my parents arriving on Friday from the East Coast, we had built-in babysitters all weekend, who kept her fed and happy and clean. She has a staggering sleep debt, but she’s finally taking her first nap in 4 days as I write.

The Coffee House Combo at Phog on November 17, 2019.

Last night, after I got her to sleep, Mike and I snuck out to Phog to catch the Coffee House Combo for an hour, and then went home and promptly went right back into working, nevermind that it was 10pm on a Sunday night. I made and sent out invoices, responded to a few emails about bookings, designed and ordered more business cards, collected some royalties, and updated my website, basically working until my contacts were melted onto my eyeballs.

Today is my one day off, and then tomorrow, Mike and I are driving (with our car that just cost us $1000 in repairs) up to Toronto so I can do a songwriters’ circle with Mary Stewart and Christina Martin.