It was the year 2000 and life was good for the band. We had just released the blue line album. We were landing opening slots for midlevel acts like Tinsley Ellis and Gene Loves Jezebel in Atlanta and playing to packed rooms across the southeast.
We had been trying to get a gig at this trendy bar in Buckhead for over a year and finally got the night we wanted. And then…
The night before the show, our drummer Ivan – currently touring with the Baha Men ("Who Let the Dogs Out") got news of a death in the family and had to fly back to the Bahamas.
We couldn't cancel the gig. But what were we going to do?
First, we called our highly eccentric but talented friend, Michael T. Gravely, and begged him to play bongos with us.
Second, Lupo and I hunkered down in our rehearsal space and started translating as many songs as we could into acoustic-friendly arrangements.
Third, we realized we would need some caffeine because it was going to be a long night.
Fortunately, Jeff’s sister had just gotten a fancy iced tea maker for her birthday (this was pre-Keurig days, kids).
We found a handful of delicious-smelling tea bags in the pantry, tossed them into the tea machine, added ice and water – and a few minutes later we were enjoying the first of many refreshing cups of tea.
The rehearsal was a great success. We even wrote a brand new acoustic guitar song.
Jeff recalls what happened next: “It was early in the morning when the phone rang. It was my roommate’s girlfriend. She was talking and talking and all of a sudden I realized something was wrong. I dropped the phone and sprinted to the bathroom. I was feeling bad! I called Dee to see how he was feeling. He said he’d been on the toilet all morning, too.”
Turns out the tea we found was laxative tea. Between us, we had drunk two entire pitchers of it.
It was a rough day, but we recovered in time for the gig. We even performed the new song. Which was entitled, appropriately enough for how we’d been feeling, “Suicide Note”.
We’ve been working up a few acoustic arrangements for Thursday’s show at Freddy’s. Come out and join us! (We will drink no strange tea between now and then.)
Who: Stand & Deliver (Jeff Lupo, DK Brainard, Frank Vesprini, Tim Farkas)
When: Thursday, March 1, 2018 9 pm - 12:30 am
Where: Freddy's Bar & Grill, 40000 Garfield Rd, Clinton Township
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