10 Apr My New Band
I’m excited about my new band, not only because it’s a most excellent group of musicians (and nice people too) but also because I’m still playing music after all these years and enjoying it more than ever. If you want to skip this blog and go straight to my band’s website, here it is: https://www.amps211.net/. We call ourselves “amps to 11.” If you’re of a certain age, you’ll get the reference. We’re a cover band, playing rock classics. Eminently danceable.
When I was in my twenties, I was a professional musician at the lowest level: I played in clubs and casinos. Six sets a night, six nights a week. It was a grueling way to make a living. I did it, initially, because I love music. I also pursued music in an “original” band, led by singer/songwriter John Coinman. Here’s a sample:
This was in the days when A & R guys from record companies would come out to hear you. Nowadays it’s very different and starts with streaming and online “presence.” So, yes, for a time I pursued the dream of musical fame. Never mind that my primary passion was creative writing. I figured I had some time to burn. That was my twenties. By the time I hit 30, I was in grad school for my MFA and far removed from music.
I remember–at the end of my club career–driving home (to Berkeley) from a Nevada casino gig, My oh-so-slow VW van couldn’t do more 55 MPH. The Nevada desert looked to me like the moon, brutally desolate and much too vast. The landscape suited my mood: my marriage was failing and it seemed I was going nowhere. The original band I’d been part of had broken up. I told myself that something had to change.
When I got home, I announced that I was going to apply to grad school. This confounded my then-wife, who said, “Since when did you want to go to grad school?” (She didn’t want to relocate to some distant city.) “Since forever,” I said. “It’s always been my dream.” You can see why we didn’t last.
Through five years of grad school and the first five years of my academic career, I didn’t touch the drums. When I returned to them finally, in my forties, I wondered how I had lived without them. Well, you can live with or without most things. But can you flourish in the absence of a passion for music?
The jazz band I created over 25 years ago, Jazz Caravan, is still together. Here’s a sample: “Bye, Bye, Blackbird” And now I’m deep into rock, which has always been my taproot. Oh, what fun it is to let it wail! When a band makes good music, it’s because the players are not only competent but also cooperative—they listen to one another and accommodate the demands of the music (not the demands of any one player’s ego). That’s what I’ve found in Amps211. Give a listen if you have a minute or two: https://www.amps211.net/music.