It was probably one of the luckiest days of my life, but it didn't feel like that for the first half. Even though I was on vacation and heading up the driveway of my favorite winery, I was a little bummed.
It was a cloudy Friday afternoon and while the weather can bring me down a bit, that wasn't really the issue. My band, The Fulcrum, had an outdoor gig scheduled for the following day at Greenport Sound & Skate Fest. But, because of the forecast, it got pushed back to Sunday.
No big deal, except, my girlfriend and I had rented a hotel room in Greenport from Wednesday through Saturday to make a little vacation out of the gig. So, now, with the rain delay, we had a choice to make—drive home Saturday and drive back Sunday, adding a four hour round trip to the weekend, or pay a couple hundred more dollars to stay another night.
Frankly, both options sucked.
I didn't know what to do at that point, so I decided to put it out of my mind and enjoy the rest of my Friday. We got lunch and started to walk down the road through the village of Greenport, heading for Kontokosta Winery.
We'd been there the year prior and thought it was great. It had a long driveway, leading to a big, beautiful, barn-like structure which serves as the tasting room. Both the front and rear of the barn have a beautiful patio you can get comfortable on. In the front, there was a huge wind turbine off in the distance—the size of which was underscored by two workers at the top, who looked like ants crawling around. Out back, passed the elegant open field, there was a bluff overlooking the Long Island Sound and on to Connecticut.
I personally had never seen a nicer winery. We had to go back.
We planned to stop in for a bit, then head over to Greenport Harbor Brewery—a Long Island stalwart of craft beer located in a century-old fire department, adjacent to the town's original jailhouse.
On the way up the driveway, I saw a sign declaring "LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT".
Before any conscious thought process kicked-in, I turned to Jenna and said:
"It would be great if I could just get a gig, that way we could pay for a hotel room."
I don't remember Jenna's response, but she would later tell me that she did not think that was a possibility.
We completed our trek up the Kontokosta driveway and went inside the giant barn. After stopping off at the bathroom, we approached the bar. There were two very nice women who were bartending there. We began talking about the wine offerings.
Pretty soon, I said what any musician would say: "So, you guys have music tonight?"
One of the bartenders responded with "Well, we were supposed to, but they cancelled."
"Hmm. Well that's interesting..." I thought.
I started asking whether they usually book bands or individuals. She began to answer, but was cut off by Jenna exclaiming: "He's a great musician, he could do it!"
Thanks babe.
One of the women looked excited and said she would go get the manager. I was a little unsure, but I figured if they had a PA, I could go grab my guitar and make it happen. The manager came out, we got some general background and housekeeping matters out of the way, and he then asked if I could in fact play a gig, which at this point, was scheduled to start in 45 minutes.
I thought for a second and responded. "Yes, if you guys have a PA."
He led me upstairs and showed me what they had—a perfectly good Yamaha passport system with a mic and stand.
"Huh. This is weirdly working out," I thought.
The last thing, and perhaps most important, was the manager needed to clear me with the owner. He asked me for my Instagram and said he'd let me know ASAP. I went back downstairs and waited.
He found me a few minutes later.
"Okay," he said. "Owner says you're good."
The manager quickly got the gentleman who makes the wine to drive me back to my hotel in his pickup truck. It was now about 4:25pm. Music was slated to start at 5:00. I grabbed my PRS Custom 24, which I do not normally use for solo gigs, and returned back to Kontokosta.
The manager had already setup the PA for me. All I needed now was a place to put my phone, so I could see all the songs I would play. I thought about it, looked around the room a bit, and then saw it—the wine menu at the entrance. It was on legs, stood about chest high, and was adjustable, just like a music stand. For the next three hours, that would be it's new purpose.
I started on time and played until 8:00pm. Despite the makeshift setup, the sound was actually great. It doesn't hurt the place looks and sounds like a beautiful church. The patrons were so kind, as were all the employees. They gave us free food and bottles of wine. One of the women we had initially spoken with even helped us find a place to stay—and what do you know, it cost almost the exact amount they paid me.
Life is good.
This was one of the coolest experiences I've had as a musician. I even got another gig from a very nice couple who saw me play that day.
This story makes me think that there are more to coincidences than coincidence. But I tell it more to express my gratitude to the people who gave me that gig, helped us find a place, and all those who sat and listened.
Thank you. You make it all worthwhile.
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P.S. If you want to see a video from the gig, check out this Instagram Reel.
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