| My first day
with the guys was August 1st. We spent
about a week in Atlanta without Derek
because he was with the Allmans at the
time. The rest of the band and I just got
together and went through the whole set
list, everything that they had all ready
played and some new ideas. When we
finally met up with Derek we didn't have
any time to rehearse, we just met him at
the festival in the Pocanos. We played, I
would say "cold," but it was a
great, great first show, I thought. I
was singing with a band called EmCQ out
of New York. That band was more like a
R&B and soul and funk kind of feel,
had a lot of Stevie Wonder and James
Brown and Tower of Power kind of feel; we
had three horns. We had opened for a band
called Soulive, which from what I
understand Derek and the guys are pretty
good friends with. We had opened for them
one night and I don't know exactly how it
happened but I think the guitarist from
Soulive had a conversation with one of
the guys from the Derek Trucks Band and I
guess they had been looking for a singer
for awhile. Somehow my name came up and
somehow they got my telephone number,
which I don't even know how because
honestly I haven't spent any time with
the Soulive gentelmen at all, basically,
just that one night we opened for them.
The next thing I knew I got a
call from Derek's attorney at home one
day and it lifted off from there. I sent
a demo to Derek and the attorney, then I
met Derek at an Allman Brothers concert.
The next step after that was a trial
performance with them at the Bowery
Ballroom; that was fun and a really good
time. The next day they offered me a
position, and here I am.
I don't think I could be more
excited. Its such a wonderful opportunity
to play with such great guys and they're
so musically talented as well as just
genuinely really, really good guys. They
welcomed me with open arms and I didn't
have a care in the world. They took care
of everything and are just a really,
really great bunch of guys.
The other band I was in we
travelled basically between New York and
Boston; it wasn't too far of a stretch.
Right now I'm in Indiana. If you had
asked me two months ago I wouldn't have
imagined that I would be here after being
to Colorado twice and CAlifornia all in
teh same month. I still can't believe it.
Derek is great. He is so open
to any ideas any of us might have. I
really have an easy job and I feel so
blessed be here.
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