It sounded like an interesting gig, and probably a lot of fun.
The entertainment agency promised us a performance on a float
in the 4th of July parade in a small town in Massachusetts. All
that we had to do was play cajun and zydeco dance music, our specialty.
We showed up early on a beautiful and sunny July day, and were
led to our "float" by the parade committee. Our first
reaction was disappointment as we viewed an open top cattle trailer
enclosed on all four sides by wooden posts and slats. I visualised
the James gang being led through town one last time before the
lynching.
As an amplified band with electric guitars, drums, and PA equipment,
we questioned our hosts about electricity. We were shown a gasoline
powered generator that was to be loaded up into the trailer bed.
As a trial run we cranked up the generator. It produced a sound
reminding me of a cross between a chain saw and a Go-Kart, and
put out an unspecified voltage.
The extreme loudness of the generator meant that using microphones
was impossible, and also raised the question about whether our
amplifiers could even compete sucessfully. We declined the offer
of the generator, and being adaptable creative folks, decided
to wing it, as a means to guarantee our pay.
The drummer left his drums behind and grabbed a portable rhythm
instrument to bang on. The electric guitar player used a tiny
battery operated $9.95 toy amplifier that could be clearly heard
at a distance of 2 feet. I can't remember what the electric bass
player did, but it probably involved beating on a tambourine or
some such noisemaker.
The accordionist and I on fiddle were in luck because we had acoustic
instruments that produced a little bit of sound. I will always
wonder what the folks that lined the parade route thought of the
5 odd characters (prisoners?) in brightly colored clothing that
were charging around inside the enclosed cattle car. They certainly
couldn't hear much of anything due to the din of activity along
the parade route.
At the end of the parade we brushed bits of stray hay off of our
clothing, picked up our check, and left the scene, off to the
next gig!