did i tell you about the seahawks game?

so, i realized i never wrote about the seahawks game.

so, as you all know, last year i sang at the national anthem at a Seattle Mariner’s game.  click the link to read that entry if interested

quick recap…

so… seahawks.

now, i don’t know how much you all know about the Seahawks and Qwest Field, but they have a reputation of being the loudest stadium in the NFL.  so much so that other teams have complained about it apparantly.  anyway…  when they asked me to sing i thought to myself, "oh… um… okay.  sure."  i’m not a huge football fan, unless its REAL football *wink wink*

anyway…  Dec. 9th was the game and it was about 29 degrees, which, let me tell you, a suit is not good to keep out the cold.  i was freezing, literally!  lol  i got there at 10am and did my sound check.  now, at the Mariner’s game, they didn’t offer me any monitor or anything like that, so i just sang.  and when i did i almost messed up because there is a 2 1/2 second delay from when i’m singing to when it is actually pumped through the sound system.  i just ignored it and went on.

well, here i had an idea that was going to happen, but they offered me a monitor.  i said i didn’t particularly need it, but they said give it a try.  so i put it in both ears and we step up to the mic.  i start singing and realize instantly that with monitors in both ears i couldn’t hear the true sound i was making, only the sound through the mic.  so, quickly (while singing) i yank one of them out of my ear (right) and keep singing.

i finish and the few people round really seemed to like it.  i’ll admit, it was about 10:30 at this point, still only 29 degrees out, and my high C was crap (i hadn’t finished warming up my voice).  so i proceed to spend the next 2 hours (the game started at 1) sitting in the green room warming up my voice slowly.

now, quick side story: the girl that was showing me around was named Christy Springer.  one of the times she was showing me around, she asked where i went to high school and i said Monroe.  she instantly looked at me and said, "REALLY?!  my husband went there!"  oh yeah, who’s that? "Brandon Springer!"  oh, right… 

the Springers were a family that lived in Monroe (hickville) for many years.  hicks, jocks, you name it.  2 older brothers, and twins (boy and girl).  now, i didn’t actually go to school with Justin or Brandon, but Tyson and Megan (can’t remember her name suddenly).  now, i didn’t get along with any of them except Megan.  not that they were bad or anything…  just… yeah.

well, anyway, Christy tells me that Brandon and Tyson are coming to the game and she was gonna bring them down to see me (all the while i’m thinking… oh, great).  they came down just before i went out, shook their hands, said hi, and that was that.  lol

so thats the side story. thought that was weird.  small world.

okay back to singing.  so i go out to sing.  we’re out there about 20 minutes early.  great, more time for me to freeze my ass off.  lol  i stand out there with my mom, my aunt, our cousin (who LOVES the Seahawks), heather (my sis), and her good friend Caroline (who we didn’t tell i was singing and she got a kick out of that).  finally its close to singing time and they take me in front of a heater (much needed).

they set up the microphone, i walk up to it (after they have put the monitor on my belt, then the thing in my ear) and they announce me.  i watch the guy and he gives me the go ahead to sing.

i start singing and its semi quiet in the stands for the first little bit.  then soon, as i start to sing higher the louder the audience starts to get.  then at the part, "O’er the land of the free" i’m thinking, "do i have the C?"  and suddenly i start to go for it, hit it, then hold it.  and hold it…. and hold it.

no idea how long it is, but it felt long.  and the best part, the longer i held it, the louder the crowd got.  they got so loud i couldn’t hear myself, or hear me through the monitor.  it was AWESOME!  then all the way back to the green room people were shouting my name and yelling and waving!  it was great.  felt really good.

however, i didn’t get very good seats though… 🙁  oh well.

anyway, i’m off to bed.  its 3am now and i gotta get up at 9 to go to work at 11.  🙁

ciao!

– noah