• A gig I will always remember.
On Friday afternoon, Catherine and I drove from SF down to my parents' house and dropped off the babies before heading to a masked ball. The hosts of the ball were my friends Cory and Cindy and while I was pretty sure it was just going to be a party, Catherine was convinced it would be something more, specifically a wedding. Cory and Cindy have been dating since the time of Socrates and engaged for nearly as long, so I could see why Catherine thought what she thought. But I wasn't convinced. Besides, Cory's bar band, Three Chord Monty, would be playing and Cory had asked me to join them for a few numbers so I was thinking about chord changes and arrangements and hoping I wouldn't embarrass myself too much. Furthermore, some very old friends of Cory's and mine would also be playing with us, specifically Toby Germano, with whom Cory and I were both in bands, though not at the same time, and Phil Henderson, who was the drummer in my third band and of all my friends the one who gave music the most honest shot (as a singer) before heading off to law school. There was even the possibility that J Swanson would be joining us. J was the bassist in the Distractions, a bar band Cory and I played in back in the late 80s. The pressure was on!
We arrived at the ball decked out in our masks and other finery and at first we decided it was just a party after all. Cory's band was in full swing, wine was flowing and everyone seemed to be at ease, not on pins and needles. But at the end of that first set, Cory took the mic and announced that we had all been invited under false pretenses. Catherine yelped and soon we were all out in the courtyard witnessing a beautiful and understated wedding ceremony. Cory and Cindy wrote their own vows, a growing tradition I love, and to the cadence of their powerful words were wed under a thin moon hung in a wide Palo Alto sky.
Soon we were all back in the ball room and Cory's band fired up another set. Then, about mid-way through, Phil and I joined them for two numbers, then Toby took over on vocals for a few more, and all I can say is that as great as it felt for me to play a little guitar with a real, honest-to-god band, it felt far greater to be honoring two people who truly are meant for each other.
Cory and Cindy, congratulations again. By the time you read this you will be in Paris for your honeymoon and I hope your time there and all the years that follow will fill you to overflowing with happiness.
(I've posted a few more photos in a gallery!)