I pulled up to the audition with every possible emotion flooding into my being. I was honored that Redline Alchemy had made it this far in the process, nervous about being selected to play at the festival, and excited to show my mates the brand new t-shirts, hot off the press. It was an open audition in a local neighborhood bar, and some of our friends were starting to gather to support us.
We checked in with the event coordinator, who pointed us to one of two stages- the tiny one. Not a big deal, especially for a quick three song set, but as a five piece band it would be challenging to all fit on a stage not much bigger than the drum kit. I pulled on one of the new shirts, and we managed to squeeze onto the stage.
Three songs went about as quick as you'd expect. We started with “Soul Searching”, our hip-hop/rock fusion that hits the ground running with an a cappella rap verse. Next, the ode to the mighty planet “Pluto”, complete with a harmonica solo and light-hearted lyrics about the injustice of its categorisation as a dwarf planet. The final song we chose was our unofficial anthem “Make Moves”, with dual saxophones and a hip-hop vibe to complete the sampling of our new release “194 EP”.
Maybe it was all the judges watching us with clipboards from around the bar area, or the next band staging their gear in the bathroom next to the stage as we played. But one detail that caught my attention again and again- in the middle of it all, there was an older woman dancing away to each song. Not particularly odd, what with our upbeat playlist we had chosen, but something about her energy really resonated with me. I realised she was the only person in the whole establishment dancing, and this made me feel really good about our set.
I was grateful and wanted to show my appreciation. After loading out, I returned with a CD in hand, and introduced myself to her. Without being too creepy, I told her I saw her dancing and wanted her to have this CD, thanking her for enjoying the music. Afterwards, I told my band mates what had happened. It was then I found out that she was one of the judges. One of my mates had seen her later on, discussing bands with the other judges and with a clipboard of her own. My face must have turned pure white; we were definitely going to be disqualified for bribery!
A couple days went by, and we got an invitation to perform in the festival- on the main stage in front of the capitol building in Denver, Colorado! The show was life-changing, and to think it may have all been because of an innocent bribe- I mean, interaction. You never know who is listening and digging your tunes, kids. Stay humble and keep doing what you love.
Redline Alchemy Social Links: WEBSITE: https://www.redlinealchemy.com YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/RedlineAlchemy/ FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/RedlineAlchemy INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/redline.alchemy/ TWITTER: https://www.twitter.com/RedlineAlchemy SOUNDCLOUD: https://www.soundcloud.com/RedlineAlchemy REVERBNATION: https://www.reverbnation.com/RedlineAlchemy
