Factor Seven - The Nursing Home Incident

The Nursing Home Incident

During the fund raising endeavors for the Asia tour, one of the local Birmingham community members who caught the sound of Factor Seven was the entertainment director at a local nursing home/assisted living facility. She asked the band members if they would come play for her residents when they returned from the tour, and offered adequate financial compensation. The band members dreamed of using this opportunity, and this money, to return to the studio. The thoughts of a new demo showcasing the mature, tight sound could be the missing link on their path to fulfilling their dreams.

The first show was scheduled for a Thursday afternoon in July 2007. When the band arrived, full equipment in tow, they were told that they would be playing for Alzheimer's patients. The drums and amps were returned to the back of the truck, and the band decided to showcase the intimate, acoustic sound that had touched so many people before. The concert went off about as good as you would expect a rock concert without band equipment playing for Alzheimer's patients would go. At one point a man did walk up to the stage, stand beside Ashley, and begin to remove his pants. He was quickly escorted off the stage and the band continued. All in all, they were able to provide entertainment for local people and everything seemed to being falling in place. They were asked to return two weeks later and play for the retired community at the village, which would allow more appropriate audience engagement and understanding.

The second concert, however, was scheduled for a Tuesday morning around 11 AM. Since the entire band had normal jobs, no one was able to take off and come except Brad, Matt, and Scott. The three brothers arrived and found a lively audience in a room that included even a piano. The show was going to be a success. Scott played piano adaptations of their entire songbook while Brad added the acoustic guitar to deliver the new Factor Seven sound to exciting positive responses.

Everything was going great until the Entertainment Director walked in and pulled Matt outside. She could not understand why the girls from the band were not there. He tried to explain to her that they were at work, like normal people. She persisted, saying the only reason she asked the band to play was so that the residents could see the "cute girls" (nevermind the fact that the entire audience that day consisted of 90% retired women, and 10% retired men). Matt tried in vain to explain to her that the girls were not originally a part of Factor Seven for the first 10 years of the band, and that both of the girls had no real intentions to stay in the band after the first nursing home show. It wasn't good enough for the Entertainment Director. She stated that since "half" the band did not come, she would therefore pay them half the money and not ask them to ever return. Matt promptly walked in and told Brad and Scott that the show was over, even though they had only played a small portion of the prepared songbook. They smiled and talked with the happy residents who complimented the sound and songs, and then the three brothers packed their music equipment and left.

It would be the last time any Factor Seven songs were ever performed live.