Free Rain, Literally
Have you ever seen rain? Article written by Arny Bailey Back to Cover
Well,I am sure all of you gigging ________
gigging musicians out there have experienced “the gig (or gigs) from hell”. I want to thank Arny for prodding me to tell Free Rain’s story. It is fun to look back on now that it is OVER! Oddly enough, it did not involve a lousy audience, a drunk “uncle joe” grabbing the mic, “Free Bird” requests, or other such things….This particular gig was supposed to be a nice, outdoor wedding reception under a tent at a very pleasant venue in Sumner, Washington.
It was a lazy, sunny Saturday in August. I had spent most of that afternoon at an outdoor party at Remlinger Farm in Carnation, Washington so when I left for the gig, I took Hwy. 18 down to Auburn. It was an absolutely perfect August day. Then, within a couple of miles of Hwy 167, I noticed a rather large, ominous black cloud approaching from the southwest. This was an absolutely clear day up to this point and this cloud was completely out of place! As I approached Auburn, the traffic just ___
Free Rain on stage.
stopped cold! It was still sunny where I was but the cloud was approaching and within minutes, a TORRENTIAL downpour started. It was the kind of rain that if you turbocharged your windshield wipers, you still couldn’t see a thing! We snaked along slowly and I had the bright idea to get off on the Hwy 164 exit and try avoiding the Hwy 167 interchange that I could see was moving. Unfortunately, everyone else had the exact same idea. I ended up backtracking a couple exits and getting on 167 further to the north, opposite of the direction I was traveling! (We aren’t even to the good parts yet!)
As we moved ever so slowly south, I got a call on my cell phone from Tim, our bass player who was wondering if I was in the same traffic mess as he was. We talked for a minute, and then I heard an “Oh sh t!” on the other end of the line. Tim had forgotten to bring the PA speakers! So he had to turn around and drive all the way back to Renton in this ridiculous traffic! I could
only hope that he would make it back in time for the gig!
About 10 minutes later, as quickly as it had appeared, the rain ceased and the sun came out again.
Upon arriving at the venue, there appeared in front of me a drummer and a keyboard player with rather sour looks on their faces. With the exception of the band name, our keyboard player, Lauralee Smith, had an almost paranoid aversion to anything “rain”. This was from a previous gig from hell we experienced together where rain leaked on to the edges of a stage and slowly surrounded us. I didn’t really want to know, so I kept a pleasant, upbeat demeanor. What I did notice is that the load in and out was from a parking lot a LONG way from where the tent was set up…and I do mean a LONG way. For now, the weather didn’t seem to be an issue anymore from what I could tell. I parked and walked out to the tent with them.
The tent was set up on a nicely manicured lawn and there was a parquet dance floor set up inside the tent. There was also a stage, which I insisted on when I booked the gig. Darn good thing! Unfortunately, the tent did not have SIDES on it and the stage was pretty close to the edge. A couple of tied up flaps, but that was it. Walking across the lawn, I guess I would describe the sound and feeling as “squishy” with pools of water here and there. The stage was dry, and the ground under the tent was not wet.
Then I looked around for the power….of course, there wasn’t any near the stage. Barely above the ground, at the other end of the tent, were two outlets. They had “covers” but they were broken. They were also on the same circuit which is always problematic. To get another circuit run out there required a trip to the hardware store to get a 100ft extension cord to reach to an outbuilding. In setting up, we had three long extension cords running along the soggy ground outside the tent!
Since the rain had stopped and the sun was back out, we went about setting up (some reluctantly!) with usual cables and electrical cords running everywhere. We had our lights along and we use powered speakers (so LOTS of electrical connections). The setup went fine. Then we kind of “hung out” and hoped Tim would arrive before the “festivities” began with the speakers (which he finally did after his double commute from hell).
The bride and groom had their ceremony at a nearby church, which would be followed by a “grand entrance” on to the large patio behind the house on the grounds. As all of this was happening, and people were arriving and drinking, clouds began to roll in again this time with a little more WIND just to make things interesting. I was sampling some food inside the house and came out to several band members freaking out because the rain was coming down sideways and all the equipment was getting wet. They moved everything toward the center of the stage, in a large pile resembling
that center-piece sculpture at the EMP in Seattle. That was enough for me. Then the bride came up to me and BEGGED me to play! She was very nice and very attractive, (two things that make me rather weak!), and it was HER day- so I agreed that we would “try”
First they wanted us to move all of our equipment into the house-which had a TINY room not fit for more than an acoustic duo. That was out. The lady who owned the place was totally freaked. She gave us a bunch of towels and we went out and wiped up the wet parts of the stage. I pulled down the flaps on the tent which were NOT sufficient to keep all the rain out but helped some. We all just kind of huddled in the middle of the stage with towels around the edge to soak up the rain. Then the real fun started.
Inside the tent, you were shielded from the downpour. However, as the rain continued to fall, the water was slowly but surely seeping in from all sides on to the “grass floor” and the “dance floor” inside the tent. As I _____
recall, the first set went off without incident and people were dancing in the water and mud and having a great time. Being on the stage, while I sort of noticed that things were getting ugly under the tent, I didn’t really realize the extent until the set was over. During the first break, I stepped off the front of the stage and my foot completely submerged in water! Then, after almost wiping out because it was so slick, I happened to look under the stage. I saw all of the electrical cords completely submerged in water! We immediately unplugged the main power and then raised all of them on to the stage as best we could- and were happy we were not electrocuted! We carried the girl singers off the stage and on to the “dance floor” to save their feet from the “submersion”. (This wasn’t ALL bad!)
The second set started with us blowing a circuit - one of the now underwater outdoor outlets. Somehow, one of the owners managed to hook something up and it worked. People were slipping and falling, laughing and basically acting ___
like I did when I was a kid jumping into mud puddles. They were simply NOT going to let the conditions ruin their fun-or let us stop playing!
I remember when I met the couple a week earlier that the bride had mentioned that her fiancée played rugby! I understood better what was happening then! Of course, his rugby teammates were there and toward the
end of the evening, they all kneeled down in the mud, tuxes and all and sang “Country Roads” by John Denver to the bride. It was hilarious!
All this time, the rain coming down was relentless. It was unbelievable. As we finished and the bride was thanking us over and over again for sticking it out with them, I remembered the LOADOUT! How were we going to
get the equipment to our vehicles dry? The answer was we weren’t. Although after 10-20 trips back and forth, I don’t think anyone gave a rip anymore. We all looked like wet rats, completely waterlogged. At that point all you could do was laugh…sort of…In looking back at it, the people really had a good time and that is what playing music is all about-so I don’t know if “gig from hell” is quite the right term for it. Still, I can’t remember having to deal with so much adversity from mother-nature in my many years of gigging!
Hope you enjoyed the story!
Dale Reinke
Free Rain
MEET THE WRITER - DALE REINKE
Formerly from the Detroit and a Seattle resident since 1978, Dale sat out the "glam rock" era and then in the late 80's did some acoustic music in a duo with his friend Tom Grader which slowly morphed into a full blown cover band, Free Rain, which has been in existence since the early '90's. During the day he helps people who are having tax problems. Hence, the musical release!!
