Ok, we'll admit it...we're both guilty of overusing the word "dope", but to be totally fair and honest, it's the first and best word that naturally comes to mind when thinking back to Friday's show at The Varsity. That night we were slotted to open for Houston-based rockers, American Fangs and Baton Rouge legends, Meriwether. We agree that this show was our best yet, with our on-stage performance being solid and getting to connect with people throughout the evening definitely scores this one as a win. Both of the bands that we opened for have been in the game for over a decade, so it was definitely a pleasure just sitting and talking with the guys, shooting questions off of them and receiving post-show feedback about how we can do what we do better. So like we said, the show and it's post happenings were all around dope, but everything pre-show—not so much. Thursday evening, the night before, I broke the power supply cable to my digital effects pedal board (Line 6 POD HD 500), which was literally hanging on by a thread. Truth be told, it was only a matter of time, but it just really sucked that it had to happen less than 24 hours before a big show. This may not sound like a big deal, but in reality, it was a huge one because there's no way I can get the sounds I need without it. The way our thought processes work when problems surface is to simply find a solution ASAP. With a broken power cable, here were our options:

Order another one from Line 6, the manufacturer
Try to find a replacement at Guitar Center or RadioShack
Start building a new pedal board with borrowed analog pedals from friends

Talking over some things about the set with our big bro DM. Dwnld his latest single H E R E for free and if you enjoy it, let us know!

Solution #1 was out of the question because we didn't have time to wait and receive the new power cable in 3-5 business days. Solution #2 was our first go-to. Friday morning, Torrence sped over to Guitar Center only to discover they didn't have that specific power cable, but they kindly referred him to RadioShack. At RadioShack, he was able to find a similar power supply cable with the right connector and the same voltage as my old one. This wasn't a time to celebrate because I still wanted to try it before I got too hyped up about it, so I decided to keep Solution #3 on my mind just in case that power cable from RadioShack didn't work. That afternoon, we rendezvoused at church to pick up some things for the show that evening. I tried the power cable from RadioShack and like I suspected, it didn't work! With solutions one and two foiled, Solution #3 was my only choice. I told our big bro DM about my emergency and he gave me some money to pick up what I needed from Guitar Center. At this point, I believed the Universe was telling me it was time to make the switch to analog effects pedals, a simpler, more expensive, but more reliable way to make cool noises with a guitar. Going this route I knew I needed a Voodoo Labs power supply to power the analog pedals, but most importantly, I needed some effects pedals. Fortunately, I already owned a nice rack to put the pedals on. I called a good friend of mine, Matt Cloessner, a certified guitar gear-head, and headed over to his place to borrow a few of his pedals. By this time, I was really pushing being on-time for soundcheck, but I'm thankful that I was able to slide over to Guitar Center to get the Voodoo Labs power supply, then zoom over to Matt's to scoop up some pedals without being super late. I got to the The Varsity around 6:45ish and I still had to mount my brand new power supply to my pedal rack and then attach the effects pedals to the rack. I was thinking this can't be too hard at all, but as I opened the box for the power supply and scanned the mounting instructions, I knew it wasn't going to happen because the instructions were really confusing and from the looks of it, I needed a power drill, which of course isn't something I carry around with me in my car. Throughout this whole scrambling ordeal, I believe God gave me this uncommon peace and I just knew that everything was gonna be alright. I didn't know how, but I just knew. Slightly disappointed that my running around and recent purchases were of no avail to me in those moments, I walked from backstage onto the stage in The Varsity and lo-and-behold, Chris, one of the guitarists from American Fangs, was playing a POD HD 500, just like the one I played! I know these are popular for live playing, but I've never actually seen anyone else besides myself use one, until now! I asked Chris if I could use his power cable during our set, he graciously obliged, and the rest of the night flowed smoothly. Thanks to American Fangs and Meriwether for having us and we also want to send a huge Thank You to everyone who came out to support! Unitil next time peeps. // ATTB