HamFlu

Hamfist took a hiatus last Friday and Ham-Flu took the stage instead. Jon was barely vertical, Jimmy was on his way down, I had the body aches, in short we were a walking virus incubator. But we played through the pain and, despite ongoing technical difficulties with the sound system, we mostly hit our marks. The bar was packed and we raised about $700 for Rogue Valley Farm 2 School, the localvores’ insidious plot to indoctrinate our children in their organic agenda. The crowd was enthusiastic, supportive and actually listened as we played Neil Young's Harvest from start to finish. People usually talk, drink, dance and socialize while we play, which is just fine; we like it that way. During Harvest they paid attention to every note. It was almost unnerving. The recording will tell the tale (it always does) but I think we did ol’ Neil justice. I think he would approve.

That’s the last Hamfist show for quite a while. We don’t have anything on the calendar until December. Jesse’s going on tour with kites & crows, EZ is building two shows for the college, Jimmy and Joe are up to their eyeballs in OSF’s 2010 season. Time for a break. The hiatus does not bode well for me. I have a low tolerance for boredom and rely on my musical endeavors to keep me busy. Extra time on my hands almost always translates into trouble.

It dawned on me recently that Hamfist is kind of a boys club and I'm the token tomboy. We rehearse in Jimmy's warehouse, a quirky industrial space furnished with tools, equipment and the bizarre odds and ends that catch his eye. It's definitely a male environement and I'm the only woman in the room. I'm still that 10-year old girl who refused to be deterred by the "no girls allowed" sign on the clubhouse door. Don't get me wrong, my band mates don't treat me like a token. They welcome and respect my contributions and my opinion carries as much weight as anyone else's. It just strikes me as funny that I'm still that same tough little 10-year old who annoyed the boys. All I need is two skinned knees, white Keds with holes in the toes, and my Huffy Stingray with the bananna seat.