This past week mark's a momentous occasion in the progress of the musical existence of Sancho Panza. Last Sunday I performed for the first time as a solo-artist. It was only two songs at the Green Note open mic in Camden, but they were well received. I must admit that I was super-nervous, which had an impact on both my voice and my fingers, but I still managed to perform to an acceptable level.
It's a bit bizarre moving from the sideman to the front-man. The first time I got up on stage as a lead guitarist was just as nerve racking. But over the years I have come to feel pretty comfortable on stage in a group setting. I must say that solo work is an entirely different beast, and although I was expecting to be nervous, I did not expect that gut-wrenching anxiety that claimed me just before I went up to the mic on Sunday. It's probably going to take a few more test runs before I feel more comfortable, and I need to work on getting my fantabulous personality to shine through in the between song banter (a la Danny Michel), but I will get there.
Over the last little while I have been focusing much more on my failures than on my successes, and I tend to beat myself up too much about things I haven't accomplished. So I'm going to do my best to relish in the glow of this big step that I have taken.
I will attempt to play again this Sunday at the Green Note, so feel free to come on down to check it out between 1-5pm on Sunday.
Cheers,
S.P.
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