January, AMG’s ‘Fly on the Wall’ Tuesday sessions at the Maple Leaf

I often get nice compliments on our arrangements: the stops and starts, twists and turns, the clever and noodly, twiddly bits. Any credit is entirely due to the talent of my band members and the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.

At Tipitina’s last Friday night, a fan asked me to explain how we do it, how we know what notes to play. She apologised for sounding naive, but it was an honest question and she was genuinely curious. And I know that for her, as someone who isn’t a musician, there is a real mystery and magic to it. Of course, music is magic. But putting together a show is, as someone once said is a combination of inspiration and perspiration. The audience usually doesn’t get to see the process, the machine under the hood.

‘I’d love to be a Fly on the wall and see how you guys put it all together’ she said. And that got me thinking. Because, over the years, others have said the same thing.

And so, I’ve had an idea. For a limited run of three Tuesdays in January, we’ve decided to invite our fans in to join us for 

what I think is a rather novel concept, but one that may have an appeal to local New Orleans music lovers: an Absolute Monster ‘rehearsal’ show. From 8 to 10.30 we’ll be on-stage playing music. But it won’t be a conventional gig as such. It’ll be more in the spirit of the Quarantini hour; us engaged in that part of the work that we, in my band at least, all actually like the best - the bit that no one ever usually sees: the process of us putting new arrangements together, trying out new songs, revisiting old ones and re-working them. Taking the music apart, reassembling it, refining it, giving it some polish and taking it out for a test drive. Composing and decomposing live onstage!

And then we’ll present some of the material for real at our upcoming show at the newly re-vamped Toulouse Theater in the French Quarter on January 21st.

If you’re curious to see what’s ‘under the hood’ so to speak, please join us.

We’re going to call it the ‘Fly on the wall’ sessions. Tuesdays in January. Hope you'll come out and join us.