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The Return of the Itch

 Last weekend pretty much ruined a solid 10 month run of peace and quiet for me. I'd stopped performing. What I thought was my last show was originally supposed to be the first with a new band. File it under SHIT HAPPENS. I was admittedly less than thrilled with the pace of the new band's progress. A couple dozen rehearsals (and one recording session) and we barely had 15 songs. But it was enough for one good set. I had a show booked. It was a low key event, no pressure...just enough to get us up and running. The evening before the show, the drummer came down with COVID. And the bass player was fighting a stomach bug. They bailed. 

I'm not one to cancel a show if I don't absolutely have to*. I tried to round up a rhythm section (last minute) but no one was available. So it became a solo show. I used to do a lot of these, but it had been years since the last time. I made it happen. People claimed to enjoy it. I sat my big ol' posterior on a chair and cut loose on old rockabilly, country blues, and anything else I could think of. The show turned into a Q&A with a couple of guitar pickers. It wasn't a bad gig...just not one I'd planned on. 

Over the next few days, the 'new' band pretty much disintegrated. I'll be the first to admit, I can be difficult to work with IF the other musicians aren't prepared. Really, that's all I've ever asked of any musician. Be prepared. If I give you a list of songs - learn them! I don't want or expect a note-for-note rendition. I try to be clear, I want people to play their own parts - their own musical vision - of any song, regardless of its origin. Just don't be boring!

Early last autumn, I'd given the guys a list of roughly 60 songs, mostly old covers. I figured they'd be, at the very least, familiar with a lot of them. Maybe I just listen to more music than most. I don't know. I had everything from old blues (Jimmy Reed, Howlin' Wolf) to classic rockabilly (R&R Trio, Jerry Lee) to old honky tonk (Hank, Johnny Cash). Sure, I had a few odd choices in there, but I figured we could WORK on those. I put together YouTube playlists. It shouldn't have been that difficult. 

But it was.

After that band disintegrated, I toyed with the idea of starting up yet another band, or maybe put some version of my old band back together. The bass player was keen. There just aren't many good, reliable drummers around. The few in the areas are usually booked solid playing with multiple bands. Sorry, not interested. I like some commitment. 

Those ideas eventually burned out. I decided it might be time to just give it a rest. I've been playing in bands since 1979. I've been gigging regularly since 1982. 6,000+ shows across 3 continents. I've played to lonely bartenders and to stadium-sized crowds and everything in between. I really don't have anything to prove, that's for sure. As much as I enjoy being onstage, the rest of it is a pain anymore. 

Probably due to my nature, I end up pretty much running the show. I handle the promotional end as well as arranging (and often writing) the songs. From 1995 on, I was also the front man - a role I, surprisingly to most, don't care for. It was OK when I was younger but years of bad habits and recently, worse health, my voice is shot. People still seem to dig it, but I don't. I just don't enjoy putting all of my energy into something, only to be the only one putting in the energy. 

So, I stopped gigging. No one seemed to believe me or really care.

I was approached about some European shows. The best I could say was "I'll think about it." I never gave a committed reply one way or the other. I was too busy starting to enjoy a quiet life.

I really don't drink these days. No reason to. I've never been one to drink at home. To me, drinking is a social thing. My wife doesn't really drink, and the cats seem to have little interest in it, so ours is a sober house. Most of my friends are 'old', and they aren't big on going to bars these days. Less reason to go out. So, I don't.

But the music still keeps coming. I'm always writing. A few artists here and abroad have asked me to write for them. Easier said than done, but I give it a shot. If I write something that I think is interesting enough, I'll record a home demo. If I really like it, I'll upload it to YouTube of Facebook. More often than not, the music goes no further than my computer. 

And I'm A-OK with that.

The bass player from the last band and I have discussed mixing the handful of songs we recorded and doing 'something' with them. There were some good ones in there. Life has kept us busy with other things, and I'm OK with that too. The one song we released got a decent amount of airplay, so I can't complain. I know I can still do it. 

Last Saturday morning, about 11am, my old buddy James (former singer with The Rowdy Bovines/The Bessemers) called. He was in a jam. His latest band had a festival gig up in Oil City (a little less than 2 hours away) and his lead guitarist couldn't make it. Could I fill in? 2 hours of rockabilly-ish stuff, decent money, on a nice summer day, sure - why not? James and I work well together. Always have (when we don't try to kill each other - but we're both too old for that now). We have chemistry. I've heard people describe it as magic. He sent me the set list. I got to spend about an hour listening to it and making notes. My schedule for the day looked like this:

  • 11:30am - 1:00pm Go over the set list and learn 2 hours' worth of songs
  • 1:00-3:00pm Check my gear, load it in my truck, take care of some household chores, shit/shower/shave
  • 3:15pm or so, Hit the road to Oil City
  • I got there just after 5 (we were due to start at 6). It took almost 40 minutes to find exactly where I was supposed to be and unload/set up. We started at 6:05pm. Did the 1st set, short break, 2nd set, end at 8:00pm. Load up, drive home. 

Not a bad day. As has been the case for years, my body was wracked with pain the next day or two. The ol' rheumatiz ain't been kind to me for years. 

I've done a lot of fill-in gigs over the years. My record is learning between 70-100 songs in one week for shows with 3 different bands. It's DO-ABLE! So yeah, I get a little grumbly when someone has a difficult time learning 50-60 songs in 2-3 months. 

But now the itch is back. I've been enjoying writing a novel for the past 6 months, so much so that I didn't realize I was missing gigging. But I was. And am. 

So, now the question: What to do? Musically I know what I want to do and what I'm good at doing. Unfortunately, the Pittsburgh area isn't exactly overflowing with drummers and upright bass players. I want great musicians. I want to be challenged musically. I don't want 'good enough'. I have zero desire to work with anyone who doesn't share my passion for music. If a musician can't be bothered to actually learn the songs, I can't be bothered to work with them. 

Maybe the itch will go away again. I'm almost finished with the novel and already have ideas for another book. I've been recording video bass lessons for a friend's son overseas. I'm still writing music. I'm still coming up with ideas. I just no longer have the time or energy to waste on other people's egos. Sure, it's a hoot to be able to say "I'm in a band" but if you ain't putting in the work, you're not in a band. You're having a wank. Little more. 



















* In 2007, I cancelled a show because I had a heart attack. I ended up sitting in with the band that took over for me, doing 2 songs (which just about put me back in the hospital)...but I did them! 

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