A Return to the Live Music Scene
About 12 years ago I started playing music with a guy in Davenport, Iowa on the college music scene. We played a lot of grunge covers – Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots. We played all acoustic guitars and I had a piano that I played on some of the songs. Our name was Those 2 Guys, which was kind of silly, though we liked seeing it up on the marquee.
When he moved away in 1997, I was out of the game for a while, only to return in late 2002 with a new threesome aptly called Those 3 Guys. We added a keyboard player but kept the moniker. When our keyboard player moved to Singapore (he is an attorney by day), and our drummer got worn out, I stopped playing music again. In fact, my wife bought me a brand new acoustic-electric guitar for Christmas in 2006, and I barely played it at all.
During this time, the company growth kept me so busy I couldn’t even think about getting back out on the scene, mainly because trying to coordinate practice and gig dates with 4 guys is a huge headache. There were 4 careers, 4 wives, 10 kids, and the schedules that come along with each of those.
Back in April, I got a call from a friend in Indianapolis who had heard us play a couple years before. He was having his annual Indy 500 and wanted me to bring my guitar and strum for the masses for a couple hours. I committed to it and then set out to learn about 50 songs by the end of May. It was no small task, but with Rick, an accomplished percussionist on his sophomore Indy 500 trip, we were able to entertain for a good 2 ½ hours the night before the race.
In June, the request was made to again bring the guitar to the campsite we were staying post-Jack Johnson in late June.
I knew I was a phone call away from getting an acoustic gig at a few local watering holes, so I booked a show. Tonight, I will be out in all my musical glory, back where I am extremely comfortable – on a stage playing guitar, piano, and singing my heart out. Only now, the setlist has progressed into Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, O.A.R., BNL, and bands that weren’t around back in ’96 (well, DMB was just becoming popular at that time).
Rick, the skin-beater, will be joining be with an assortment of world percussive instruments (almost everything you can think of except a traditional drum set) and some really tight harmonies.
Two main questions I get asked are: 1) do you get nervous? Honestly, I really don't. I got really nervous the first time I played live with a guitar, only because it was a new instrument for me. I really look forward to it, and any anxious feelings I get are usually just wanting to get up there and play!
2) people ask me regularly if I write my own music, and the answer is no. Not only have I never written a song, but I haven’t yet had a real interest in writing one. I'm not confident it is something I would do very well at all, mostly from a chord arrangement standpoint. Lyrically, I would be fin, I believe. Mostly, I think it’s because I’m such a huge fan of music that I really just enjoying celebrating other people’s songs with my own renditions.
When he moved away in 1997, I was out of the game for a while, only to return in late 2002 with a new threesome aptly called Those 3 Guys. We added a keyboard player but kept the moniker. When our keyboard player moved to Singapore (he is an attorney by day), and our drummer got worn out, I stopped playing music again. In fact, my wife bought me a brand new acoustic-electric guitar for Christmas in 2006, and I barely played it at all.
During this time, the company growth kept me so busy I couldn’t even think about getting back out on the scene, mainly because trying to coordinate practice and gig dates with 4 guys is a huge headache. There were 4 careers, 4 wives, 10 kids, and the schedules that come along with each of those.
Back in April, I got a call from a friend in Indianapolis who had heard us play a couple years before. He was having his annual Indy 500 and wanted me to bring my guitar and strum for the masses for a couple hours. I committed to it and then set out to learn about 50 songs by the end of May. It was no small task, but with Rick, an accomplished percussionist on his sophomore Indy 500 trip, we were able to entertain for a good 2 ½ hours the night before the race.
In June, the request was made to again bring the guitar to the campsite we were staying post-Jack Johnson in late June.
I knew I was a phone call away from getting an acoustic gig at a few local watering holes, so I booked a show. Tonight, I will be out in all my musical glory, back where I am extremely comfortable – on a stage playing guitar, piano, and singing my heart out. Only now, the setlist has progressed into Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, O.A.R., BNL, and bands that weren’t around back in ’96 (well, DMB was just becoming popular at that time).
Rick, the skin-beater, will be joining be with an assortment of world percussive instruments (almost everything you can think of except a traditional drum set) and some really tight harmonies.
Two main questions I get asked are: 1) do you get nervous? Honestly, I really don't. I got really nervous the first time I played live with a guitar, only because it was a new instrument for me. I really look forward to it, and any anxious feelings I get are usually just wanting to get up there and play!
2) people ask me regularly if I write my own music, and the answer is no. Not only have I never written a song, but I haven’t yet had a real interest in writing one. I'm not confident it is something I would do very well at all, mostly from a chord arrangement standpoint. Lyrically, I would be fin, I believe. Mostly, I think it’s because I’m such a huge fan of music that I really just enjoying celebrating other people’s songs with my own renditions.
posted by Sticks and Stones @ 4:57 PM
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