PLEASE DON'T SUCK!
(Mari's Story)

“Please don’t suck!” I silently pleaded with the man that I had just met.

It was 2000 (aka Y2K), and I was one of six people who took turns hosting the open mic at the Espresso Garden cafe in San Jose.  One night that summer, it was my turn.  About a half hour after kickoff, another musician handed me a slip of paper that read “Dreamindean.”  He pointed to a tall guy with a guitar and said “Dude wants to play.”  Oh, great, another one, I thought.  I had a history of turning latecomers away, not just because we had strict guidelines but because they were always pushy.  And the venue owner got cranky when we ran over.

But this guy was different -- very likeable, good attitude, and he’d had to work late.  I just smiled and told him “You’ll play last.”

My cohorts were skeptical.  The owner got cranky.  “Please don’t suck!” I thought.  Then, after I performed, the new guy was very complimentary.  Oh great, now I’ll have to compliment him.  I repeated my mantra, “Please don’t suck!”

But when “Dreamindean” played and sang for about five seconds, I relaxed.  The other musicians smiled.  The owner stopped being cranky.  When he was finished, I was able to sincerely praise his performance.  After the gear was put away, Dean and I ended up in a long discussion about music.  We liked a lot of the same artists and songs.  We were the same age and both grew up in Southern California.

At the next open mic, Dean asked me to play flute with him on “Aubrey,” a song by Bread that we both loved.  He had a musical partner, but the partner did not like open mics.  So, in the next few weeks, I played flute with him on other oldies.  I had a partner, too.  There was no chance of a musical partnership with Dean... at the time.

Then one night Dean asked me to play flute on Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Wanna Be With You.”   I declined.  “That song doesn’t need a flute.  It needs a harmony, though.  I know the song and can sing it with you.”  Since he was a solid guitarist and singer, I felt comfortable.  And he somehow felt comfy enough, too.

We had never sung together before -- ever, let alone on a stage in front of an audience, but it felt like we’d been a duo for years.  Some of it was due to experience, but some of it was luck.  We had an excellent natural vocal chemistry, and others commented on it, too.  They thought that we’d been practicing for a while.  But it would be about four years before we actually teamed up as a duo.

That reminds me.  We need to brush up on that Dusty Springfield tune...