This week, I was going through memory lane, watching YouTube videos of songs that were popular when I was in high school. One video that really made me laugh was Outkasts’s “Hey Ya.” (You can watch it here.)

When this song was popular, I loved it because it has so much energy and puts you in a feel-good mood.

The music video makes the song even better. Andre 3000 has his high-energy band (all Andre 3000) rocking out the concert hall and making the crowd go wild!

Andres 3000
Courtesy of Gage Skidmore

The reason I am humored by this video is because this band could basically be my band, if I was able to clone myself: Allison on vocals, Allison on drums, Allison on keys, Allison on electric guitar, Allison on acoustic guitar, and Allison on bass 😉

I can’t compare because I don’t know anything else, but being a one-woman band is fun because I can shake it up by playing different instruments. When I prepare for a performance, I don’t have to worry about figuring out a time around all my bandmate’s schedules to rehearse; I just rehearse when it’s good for my schedule.

Having a band, though, I think would be  awesome too. First of all, my songs could be performed as they were actually composed. As a one-woman-band, I can only perform with one instrument at a time, and my instrument of choice is acoustic. Yet, except for “Goodbye,” all of the songs on TEMPTATION have multiple instruments. (That’s why some people are surprised by how different the songs sound when they are performed with my acoustic on stage versus by the one-woman-band on my album.)

Another reason having a band would rock is because of all the energy I imagine you give and get from it. Back when I started recording the first song on my album, TEMPTATION, at Willie Martinez’s studio, I thought that the drums and acoustic guitar had to be recorded at the same time. Therefore, with Caleb Behnke on the drums and me on acoustic guitar, we rehearsed “Like They All Did.” (On a side note, I learned later at the recording session for “Like They All Did” that each instrument was recorded individually, so that’s why Caleb didn’t play the drums for any other songs 😉 )

I was so giggly because it felt so cool to have my song being performed with someone else. I remember smiling the whole time we were practicing!

In addition to feeling an energy change when practicing with someone, I got to experience an energy change while performing with someone. At shows where I got to perform with Jimmy Murn,  I got to experience the excitement of being in synch with another musician on stage (freaking awesome!) and I got to experience seeing how the audience gets more energized.

Here’s a Photo of Jimmy and Me at My CD Release Show at the Brink Lounge
Photo by Yasir Alhumaidan

Here’s a Photo of Jimmy and Me Performing at the Froth House 

I hope one day to perform with a band. Until that day though, I’ll keep performing my songs acoustically, and continue to be amused by Outkast’s video. Oh the possibilities if I could play all my instruments at one time 😉