Ok… so I peek a little…

I can’t help it. I wanna know what other drummers are looking for gigs right now, what they’re looking for…you know, sizing up the competition as it were.

Besides it makes for great, entertaining fodder for the blog. This is something I just stumbled across this morning. It’s classic.

This drummer is looking for “like-minded” musicians. The drummer lists his experience, his preferences and his dislikes, goes on to describe his influences, distances themselves from the normal Dallas music and then drops this little bomb…”I do have demos but want to hear your stuff first to see if I will even consider it. No ego here, I just know what I want and don't want.”

Expressing your desires and dislikes is the definition of ego. But I submit that maybe this drummer might be on to something.

By setting himself on a “self important” pedestal, this drummer may be creating an illusion of “greatness” that might not otherwise exist, thus making themselves a coveted target. Not just that, but this drummer may be pouring a foundation of further iconism whereby the drummer is not only sought out by the great unwashed musicians, but worshiped during the tenure. The drummers words shall always ring true and others dare not question the wisdom. The drummer may require and demand respect not earned and can only lead and never follow.

Or, this drummer could just be a “turbo-douche”.

Goodbye Gravity… we hardly knew ya

Just hours before my planned resignation from the cover band I’ve been gigging with for the past year, the band leader called me and said they wanted to go in a different direction with a drummer.

My immediate thought was, “you’ll never go in a different direction”...that's why I'm leaving". My immediate reaction was, “this will save me a phone call on Tuesday.'

I planned to stay for the next two gigs, I had an overwhelming feeling during the last song Saturday night that this would be my last time on stage with these guys. And since they instigated the seperation and not me, I would feel awkward now playing on stage with them again.

It was an amicable parting. If there ever is any such thing. It's unfortunate that we couldn't find a way to stay together because I genuinely like these people. But they just won't move forward. During my year tenure, we played pretty much the same 48 songs, the same way, in the same order every gig. Not much ever changed. It seemed to me like nothing ever would and my tank ran dry.

For example, we only played four songs Saturday that we didn’t play the first time out last August. I just can't play those songs anymore.

In any regard, some friendships will endure. These were not unpleasant people. I enjoyed their company. I just didn’t share their passion for “vintage rock”. Forget "classic rock". When the song lists "averages" 30 years old, it's "vintage rock" bordering on "fossil rock".

I’ll take a healthy break and start searching for the next thing.