Jen, over at Adventures of an Idaho Violist, has my post of the day on the perils of “wearwotchulike” gigs.
Most gigs are great, because I can just slap on some black clothing, and be done with it, with little to no thought required. But something challenging like ‘whatever you want’ is more pressure filled, and relies on the assumption that I have a closet full of interesting clothing choices. In fact, I have a closet full of black clothing choices. Eventually I settled on black pants and a dressy blouse, but it took about 17 changes of clothing, and a call to a colleague who was playing the same gig.
I long ago gave up ever organizing wearwotchulike gigs, instead going for “smart casual.” The guidelines for a KW “smart casual” gig are simple- no prints, stripes or patterns, no jeans or sneakers and no garments with writing of any kind.
Of course, at every single such gig, I’ve had at least two players wearing sneakers, jeans and a striped t-shirt with the words “Nike Fans 4 Bush” accross the front. Perhaps I should call it “wearwotidonlike” instead….
I’ve pretty much got my wardrobe down to North Face everything. Make shopping easy and I can go for a hike or a climb after I’m done with meetings and the like….dude…
I’m thinking along the lines of wearing overalls and a John Deere cap for the next OES gig. Somehow, my cowboy boots with tux just isn’t redneck enough.
I remember subbing for an organist at the Catholic Cathedral in my home town for a summer, besides the 4 services a Sunday morning, I was playing about 4 funerals a week, and 3 weddings every Sunday (good $$ for a student). Anyhow, after sweltering through 100 degree temperatures, plus humidity in a suit and tie the first week, I realized that with the organ n the back balcony, three stories up, it was completely out of sight of anyone. So I started wearing shorts and a golf shirt to every service. No one complained, or likely even noticed. Plus, it made for an easy transition from the console to the first tee.