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Margie Goldsmith and Friends
Margie Goldsmith and Friends, Part Two

What was I thinking, I wondered. I was about to sing the ten songs I’d written and play harp with the famous band, Rick Estrin & The Nightcats. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. Even though it was my decision to hire this award-winning band, I was terrified. I pulled to a stop at the suburban address of Greaseland in San Jose. There was a small nondescript house with an old piano on the porch and a BLACK LIVES MATTER sign propped up against a sagging couch.

I got out of the car. Could this possibly be the famous recording studio run by Kid Andersen, who Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, Dennis Gruenling, Curtis Salgado, Rick Estrin and countless others had said was a genius? Was this where everyone said the magic happened?  Just then, Rick Estrin pulled up and greeted me, leading me inside the door of what looked like a  dumpy junk shop with tangled masses of cables, vintage mics and amps everywhere.

Kid Andersen, who was engineering, playing guitar, and co-producing with Rick, introduced himself and the other Nightcats: D’mar Martin on drums, Lorenzo Farrell on keys and Randy Bermudas (not a Nightcat) on bass.

We were all in the living room including Kid, whose console was  against a wall. Everyone sat and tuned up as Kid handed me a headset and volume control device., “What song do you want to start with? ”Kid asked.  I felt a big knot in my throat. Was I actually going to sing in my untrained voice and play half-baked harp in front of these hot-shot pros? I flipped through my 10 lyric sheets, looking for the easiest song.

“Let’s try The News Gives Me the Blues,” I said. The song had a harp solo, which I’d practiced. I looked at Rick, who nodded his encouragement, but I suddenly had cold feet. How could I possibly play harmonica in front of this master when Rick would make the solo sound 1,000 times better?

On the first take, they played the melody flawlessly, as though they’d practiced it together for months. It was rich, full, and so much better than I could have possibly imagined. This was magic! Could these really be the same songs I’d written? What they’d added with their groove, rhythm and expertise was unimaginably brilliant.

I knew my singing was the weakest link and was worried I might go off pitch, but when I told Kid, he said, “Hey, don’t worry. I can Auto-Tune you.” We finished the first three songs, and I felt much more comfortable.

After a while, I no longer felt intimidated. This was fun!

Rick Estrin & the Nightcats came to NYC and we played the album live at The Bitter End. To play with a brilliant professional band was thrilling, so thrilling that last year, I wrote ten new songs, returned to Greaseland, and we did a return engagement at the Bitter End. It was the biggest make-a-wish of my life.