Almost Summer
I can’t wait to get out of here!
The end of this semester has been much crazier than past semesters, and I could definitely use a break from my roommates. In a few weeks I’ll probably be stressed out in the middle of a Friday night rush at Riverview, but right now that actually sounds good. I can’t wait to start making some money!
Anyways, I just finished my last week of classes, and I have a few finals this week. No crazy tests to study for but I have a bunch of projects that I’ve been finishing up this weekend. Luckily, in the middle of the chaos, I got a call from The Brew’s agent about Jam for Johnny. We finally figured out a solid date (Friday, July 25!) and now it’s just a matter of me signing some contracts. This came as a huge relief.
I guess it shouldn’t have been such a big surprise, but I’ve always had this feeling in the back of my mind like “Oh this is going to fall apart somehow.” It hasn’t yet. I guess last years failures are still bothering me, but we have a great night lined up for this year. The day after I heard from the agent, I got in touch with the owner at St. Lawrence Hall and booked the venue. It’s pretty crazy that you can wait months to get a show set up, and then have it all taken care of in a 24 hour period. I guess that’s just how it goes.
I let all of the people in the Jam for Johnny facebook/myspace groups know about the confirmation, and everybody seems really excited. I’ve been a little overwhelmed by the amount of people wanting to volunteer, but I guess that’s a good problem to have. I’m determined to make this more than just a small, local concert. John was an amazing kid and he deserves at least one special night for his friends and family to remember him.
I’m not going to lie, putting together a show (even on a small scale) is a lot of hard work. There is so much that goes into it. Phone calls, decisions, fundraising, stress, patience. But there has been one thing that has kept me going when it seems like the show just wasn’t going to work…
The night before I left for my first day of college freshman year, I had been partying with some friends around a fire somewhere in the woods. John was there. I took off pretty early because me and my mom had to leave around 6am to drive up to Vermont the next day. I guess I forgot to say goodbye to John before I left. Anyways, I make it home and go to bed. Around 2am, I hear someone banging on my bedroom window. I get up to see who it is. It was John. He walked all the way over to my house just to say goodbye to me. Unfortunately, this is one of the last memories I have of John, but it just shows how good of a friend he was.
So whenever I feel unmotivated or start to think that I can’t do this, I just remember that night and keep pushing on. I think this is why I was so disappointed when the concert didn’t work out last summer. This time around, I’m even more motivated to put the show together and silence everyone that said it would never happen.
And now look. I have one of the best young bands on the planet coming to play a show in little Ipswich, MA.
I couldn’t be happier.
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