Another Successful Gig Jam (aka "Serious Damage")

Yesterday, as soon as I got home from a long day at work, I got a call from SK, a local musician who happens to have a lot of gigs in town. He sounded rather panicked on the telephone. He was drafted to play a gig at a local watering hole at 9:00 that night. He received the call around 4:00, and he did not have a band. He called me in the off-chance that I was free and willing to make a few bucks. I accepted, and then he asked me if I knew any bass players who were available to play the gig that night.

I informed SK about AB, a gentleman I had been playing in the Grease Band. I knew he could handle the gig, and I really enjoyed playing with him. SK asked me to call AB and see if he wanted to play the show with us -- which was going to begin in about three hours.

So I give AB a call, preparing myself for rejection. I figured that given the short notice, AB might have made other plans, was not even in town, or not even interested in playing a gig without so much as a rehearsal. I breathed a sigh of relief when he was home.

It turned out he had already made plans for the night. I apologized to him and regretfully informed him that we needed a bass player for that evening's gig. His ears perked up. Immediately, AB was asking details about the gig. I told him it was a no-pressure gig, that many musical styles were going to be played, and the crowd didn't care whether we sounded good or not. Plus, it was a chance to make a hundred bucks for a couple hours' worth of work. AB said he'd drop his plans and play the gig with us. I was ecstatic.

AB is one of the guys I wanted to be in this three-piece power rock band that I have been daydreaming about the last week or so. I was secretly hoping that playing this gig with him might spark little more than an interest in my little idea. It would give him and I an opportunity to get to know one another's playing other than by playing Broadway Showtunes.

Don't get the impression that I am saying SK is not the guy for the band. I really have respect for SK, but he has many irons in the fire. He's playing with a ton of other guys in town, and he also runs a recording studio in town. He's already got a full plate when it comes to music. I'll do studio work for him, or fill-in for any other drummer who cannot make the gig, but I think at this time, if SK was the main guitar player for my new band, we'd be playing gigs few and far between due to his busy schedule. Admittedly, both AB and I agree that DS, the lead guitar player for the Grease band is the guy we want to make music with anyway, which we have already discussed the possibility with him. He was also quite receptive to the idea.

The half-hour prior to playing the first set, I could tell that AB was getting a little worried about playing this gig without any knowledge of the songs. SK and I walked him through a few riffs and songs to boost his confidence level, but I knew that the only way he was going to get over this hurdle was by playing the songs and going for broke. Time had run out anyway; it was do or die.

We sounded like a band from the first song. There was a great blend of instruments from the stage right from the beginning, and I knew AB would lock into my playing and create a tight groove. There were some great musical moments during the show -- those moments of musical creativity where there is ESP between the band members, and moments of sheer musical genius that sends shivers up and down your spine. That's what playing the gig was like. I couldn't imagine what this band would have sounded like if we had rehearsed!

We took a break, and SK left the table to visit a few of his buddies that were hanging around the club. This gave AB and I an opportunity to chat, and I wanted to get his feel for what he thought of the gig. As I had hoped, playing this gig with him turned a spark into a burning inferno. He stated that putting a band together with us and DS (and have a few rehearsals) would create an act that would do some "serious damage" around the local bar scene. I completely agreed with his statement. I was quite happy to hear that he was enjoying himself despite the fact that he had never played with SK before.

It was another successful gig. Sure, it sounded rough in places, but the crowd was rowdy, and they were into anything and everything we were doing. All our songs turned into long-jams, complete with extended guitar solos, and a few drum solos. We got many compliments from the patrons that we were an "awesome band", if they only knew that we hadn't a clue what we were doing.

The night ended with getting paid, and pleasantries being exchanged between the bandmates. AB was overjoyed that he had a chance to make music with me again. SK thanked AB and myself for bailing him out of a sticky situation, and I thanked both of them for having the opportunity to play with them again. It only came to my realization today that this might be the only time that the three of us will play a gig together. The people that were at the show likely didn't realize that they were there for a few hours of intense musical magic.

I went to sleep last night excited about the performance and the ever-increasing possibility of playing gigs with these guys again. I believe that it is a definitive possibility that DS, AB and I will put together our power-rock band and cause some serious damage.