The Gigs Keep Rollin' In...

One quick question: Where did last week go?

It's been but a blur. My life has been (once again) kicked into high gear, and sleep has once again made it onto the chopping block. I've resorted to catnaps whenever I possibly can (i.e. at work and while driving).

Yes, I have begun teaching my pupils for another year. I didn't advertise for students, and this year already looks more prosperous than the previous one. People better stop calling me soon, or else I am going to have to lay the axe to more than just sleep.

Like my day job.

I didn't even have time to blog last week, which is something that I am ashamed of. I miss writing, but when you have lesson plans to prepare, some eighty songs to learn, a full-time job, and a house to manage, something's gotta give. It's all about priorities, and some things have to slide, no matter how much you love them.

Kinda like how I didn't pick up a pair of drumsticks all summer. I'm serious. I didn't play drums for at least two months, which is probably a record for me. I did have band rehearsals, but I was singing instead of hitting things.

They say girls don't like drummers because they are "hitters", which is why groupies flock to the singers, guitarists, and bass players.

For the record, I have never stuck a woman. In fact, I don't think I have stuck another human being in my lifetime. We drummers take our aggressions out on our drums, because they speak to us when we hit them. It's almost like they like being struck. I suppose it's a sadistic way of looking at things, but I'd rather turn my anger into something positive and creative, than by being abusive and destructive.

Speaking of drumming, I have had some news to tell, but I have had to keep my mouth shut about it until now. It has a lot to do with the "eighty" songs I have to learn.

Last night, I was asked to join another band -- this makes a total of three acts I am involved with at the moment. I had my audition with the Savoy Blues Band last night, and I reckon it must have went well, as they asked me to join their group!

Yes, yours truly, the one who has loved Rock n Roll since birth, has got the blues.

Da-na-na-na-na. Woke up this mornin'. Da-na-na-na-na. Little Peter did not. Musta been all that beer & whiskey. Da-na-na-na-na. That I shouldn't have bought.

I am excited about this new gig. Playing the blues is not my forte by any means, but I treat every gig I get as a learning experience. With Mule Shoe, I learned the importance of playing loud, and playing consistently. With these guys, I'm going to learn the value of the shuffle -- the Texas shuffle to be more precise.

These guys are damn talented. It's a privilege to be making music with guys of this caliber.

Now before you all get turned off, let me explain that this isn't the kind of blues you see in Hollywood movies, where some character is drowning his sorrows in some dive, where a B-rate band is playing the same song over and over again. This is real blues -- the old stuff -- that has heart and soul, and is not cliche.

Given my time constraints, I hadn't a lot of time to prepare for this audition. Prior to the audition, I was given three CD's to listen to. I barely had time to listen to every track once. I walked into the audition ill-prepared, but with the mindset that I would play the best I could. I kept things simple, I listened to what everyone else was doing, and -- in the end -- must have impressed them.

I expect my first gig with them will happen within a month's time. Imagine a real blues band, with more than just guitar and bass, but with harmonica, and a brass section, and you will get the idea what this band is all about.

I am getting excited just thinking about it.