It's only Rock and Roll but I like it
I went to see the band Hothouse this weekend (see link at right). The bass player and keyboardist were in my old band Al's Neighbors (see link, also right). They were very hot. They rocked really hard. Sandy, on the bass, is one of the top 2 bassists I've worked with and she had her chops down tight, let me tell you. The one thing that kept going through my mind was, man do I miss doing this.
Part of it was I missed my band mates. Talking with John (keys) and Sandy was just great. Even though it's been a couple of years since I've seen them, it was like it was only a day. There was also the thrill of wanting to play in front of a crowd. I get to play at Church, which is very fulfilling, but it isn't the same as playing a rock show in front of an interactive crowd. There's no rush quite like it. The funny thing is that I always had stage fright before going on. Some nights it wasn't until the second set that I would really calm down and I'd be a wreck before the show. Other nights, it wasn't a big deal. And strangely, I don't get that when I play at church. Perhaps God is trying to tell me something.
By the time I left the club, I did remember one reason I didn't mind giving up playing live. By midnight I was crashing and was having trouble staying awake. That being out till 3 or 4 in the morning was always brutal. My kids would wake me up at 7 the next day and running on 3 hours sleep when you're almost 40 just doesn't work so good. Still, I really miss the comradarie of a good band. There's a level of understanding when you click with a bunch of other people that share the same passion and it works. Especially in music, when the right personalities click, the music becomes so much better because the band is putting their emotion into it instead of just going through the motions.
Hopefully we'll get together this summer for a picnic kind of thing. We can jam and eat food and generally have a good time. I may have to leave the Wife at home as she usually gets bored at functions like this, though I love having her there. I can see where she's coming from, however. It's kind of like taking someone to the prom and then spending the evening talking to another girl. Great for you, not so great for her.
Like I said, there's times I really miss that stuff.
Part of it was I missed my band mates. Talking with John (keys) and Sandy was just great. Even though it's been a couple of years since I've seen them, it was like it was only a day. There was also the thrill of wanting to play in front of a crowd. I get to play at Church, which is very fulfilling, but it isn't the same as playing a rock show in front of an interactive crowd. There's no rush quite like it. The funny thing is that I always had stage fright before going on. Some nights it wasn't until the second set that I would really calm down and I'd be a wreck before the show. Other nights, it wasn't a big deal. And strangely, I don't get that when I play at church. Perhaps God is trying to tell me something.
By the time I left the club, I did remember one reason I didn't mind giving up playing live. By midnight I was crashing and was having trouble staying awake. That being out till 3 or 4 in the morning was always brutal. My kids would wake me up at 7 the next day and running on 3 hours sleep when you're almost 40 just doesn't work so good. Still, I really miss the comradarie of a good band. There's a level of understanding when you click with a bunch of other people that share the same passion and it works. Especially in music, when the right personalities click, the music becomes so much better because the band is putting their emotion into it instead of just going through the motions.
Hopefully we'll get together this summer for a picnic kind of thing. We can jam and eat food and generally have a good time. I may have to leave the Wife at home as she usually gets bored at functions like this, though I love having her there. I can see where she's coming from, however. It's kind of like taking someone to the prom and then spending the evening talking to another girl. Great for you, not so great for her.
Like I said, there's times I really miss that stuff.
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