Chicago has a private concert series called Sofar Sounds. We always wanted to play it, but no matter how many people we had pulling for us it just never happened. It was a different story in LA. We had only been living in Long Beach for a few weeks when we got the call. We’d been invited to play Sun Sesh LA! We weren’t given many details other than the date and time. The address we were given in Brentwood was a crazy affluent part of LA, and each audience member would be personally invited by the host.
When the day came, we were unusually silent as we put our gear in the car. Our nerves were getting the best of us. We had no idea what was in store. We’d been given an amazing opportunity. Everything had to be perfect.
Once we arrived at our destination, we were clueless how to even get inside. The house was impossibly huge. We knew we couldn’t be late, and we were concerned about losing our spot. Fortunately, we finally found someone who could lead us through the maze of oversized rooms and lengthy hallways, down the stairs to our sound check.
The house was unbelievable and the place where we were to perform was insane. It was a 120-seat theater with a fully decked out stage that included a grand piano and of all things, a 50-inch gong. This was just part of the basement. Thoughts of being in way over our heads began to consume us. During the sound check we were told we would be the third act of five, including two stand-up comics. We were dialed in and ready to go right on time as people began drifting in. We were nervous as hell.
As we stood behind the curtain waiting for our introduction, unfamiliar feelings of anxiety began taking hold (PTSD – Performance-induced Traumatic Stress Disorder). The house was completely packed with some very high-profile people, including “America’s Next Top Model” from a few years before. Not surprising, the owner of the house was a prominent member of the LA business community and an avid supporter of the local entertainment scene.
When the curtains finally parted and the spotlight was on us, we bounded onto the stage with an enthusiastic “Good evening Sun Sesh!” and the audience whooped with excitement. We then took off with an explosive rendition of our own track, “Liquid Lover.” We were playing for a crowd of total strangers. They’d never heard of Common Allies or the Ashe Brothers. They weren’t familiar with our music. How would they react? We were anxious for that first song to be over. Then it ended. There was a brief moment of ecstasy when we were met with thunderous applause; that kind of moment where time literally stands still. This was it. We were in our element. We brought out our inner rock star for the remainder of our performance and were in the zone. We closed our set with another original called “Be My Paradise”.
After drinking up the exuberant approval of the audience, it was time for a little Q&A. We’d been so preoccupied we’d totally forgotten about the Q&A session we’d been told about and had absolutely nothing prepared. We perform music for a living for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people but speaking to large crowds can make us uneasy. Something took hold of us that night though as the Q&A flowed very naturally. We comfortably played off one another, finished each other’s sentences, and made the audience howl with laughter. We constantly get compared to Tenacious D and this night was no exception. We were described as “having the songwriting prowess and vocal talent of Simon and Garfunkel mixed with the humor and intensity of Tenacious D.” It was very humbling.
Every act that night was very impressive. We felt super optimistic that so many important people would take a chance on entertainers they didn’t know yet. Both new friends and incredible memories were made. We were on Cloud Nine as we got into our car and drove away from Brentwood. We can’t wait for more opportunities like this one. It was an amazing start to this wild and crazy journey of ours.