He turned around to me and said…

Note: This is a little long but features the many sides of Varrin… Enjoy it 😉

I don’t recall exactly the last time I actually sat down at a set of drums and played but it’s been months… many months. I don’t like to go that long without playing. It’s not so much that I lose my touch (though I can certainly feel the struggling chops), but I just enjoy it so much I can’t stand not doing it.

A month ago or so, I went to the Rynborn Restaurant and Blues Club right here in Keene (one more reason to move here) on a Sunday night because I had heard they have live jazz there. I thought I saw something indicating it was a jam session but I wasn’t really sure. It wasn’t that well attended but I enjoyed the music and a nice dinner (solo). During one of the breaks, I introduced myself to the band and mentioned that I played. That didn’t result in an enthusiastic invitation to play and I was content just to listen that evening.

Tonight was date night and the food at the Rynborn is yummy, so I decided to take Edi there. We used to go listen to live jazz a lot and I thought it’d be fun to show her the ‘spot’ I found. The drummer was the same but the rest of the band was different. It was nice to listen to them.

This time, the attendance was a little better, but still not spectacular. When they started, they specifically mentioned that they would have some ‘special guest’ musicians. One of them was a flugelhorn player who I very much enjoyed listening to. During one of the breaks, I asked the guitar player if they ever have any drummers sit in. His response was hesitant but positive. So I waltzed over to the drummer who I had met previously. He seemed to remember me and agreed to let me sit in for a tune or two. He did become noticeably nervous when I told him it had been months since I had played, though. I figured that was okay. If I stunk, he was warned. If I hit a homer, we’d all be happy.

So when the appointed time came, they called me up to play. As I walked on stage, I introduced myself to the rest of the band. The drummer asked me “is that with an F or a V”. I gave him the “V” sign. Then the guitar player asked me what my last name was. I told him. What followed was one of those ‘woah that’s weird’ moments…

After saying my last name, he scribbled on his paper, turned around and spelled it out “S W E A R I N G E N, right?” “Yes,” I replied. Half smiling he asked, “So how’s the Free State Project going?”

At that point, I wasn’t quite sure what to say… “Fine… how’d you know….” He replied, “I stop by the website from time to time.” At that point, I didn’t really care what his impression of the Free State Project was. I was blown away that the project left that much of an impression on him and that he somehow associated my name with it so quickly. I told him I’d love to talk to him about it afterwords.

So having reminded everyone that I hand’t played in a while, they were all visibly nervous, surely having played far too many sit-in gigs with people who think they can play but really can’t. When he asked what I wanted to play, I said I didn’t really care. Swing? Sure. Au Privave? Four? Oh.. speaking of numbers, how about Take Five. That raised an eyebrow. Now they were really wondering…

So we kicked the tune off. Fortunately, a lifetime of playing didn’t let me down. Within a few bars, everyone suddenly appeared much more relaxed. I couldn’t say it was the best I’ve ever played, but it was just peachy under the circumstances (better than I expected even). Apparently they were happy enough they asked me to stay for a second tune. I was more than happy to oblige.

As the drummer returned to the stage, he said “you said you hadn’t played in a while??” “Yeah,” I replied. “What happened, did someone threaten you or something?” Laughing, I said, “No, I moved. I just haven’t gotten back to playing again since I got here.” He mumbled something about wondering how I’d do if I practiced.

We enjoyed the rest of the music. After they were all done, I struck up some conversation with both the drummer and the guitar player. A whole host of topics ensued in rapid succession. We covered the move, the Free State Project, everyone’s careers, where we all lived, our musical backgrounds, and several political topics including gun rights and education. It turns out the guitar player (who isn’t even from Keene, BTW) was a big pro-2nd Amendment guy (familiar with GO-NH, etc.) and had even heard of HB406 (a homeschool deregulation bill), written by our good friend Dawn Lincoln. He had homeschooled in NH for a while. 😉

All I can say is… what a small world we live in. Needless to say, I’ll be back to the Rynborn to play again. The drummer invited me to bring my Congas next time (after he heard that I played those, too). If anyone wants to know when I’ll be there (ya know, come support jazz at the Rynborn), let me know… 😉

V-