I’ve long asked my
band mates to contribute to this site, provide a new prospective, a fresh look
at 'How NOT to be in a Band'. And despite their eagerness to get involved, at the end of each month there is never any material sent in for me to upload.
And so once again I write another one-sided account of what we’re all doing,
what’s gone wrong and what’s in the pipeline. And this month is no different. The piano player had
promised to write this one and indeed has written it but I still haven't received it so until that day you're left
with me. But it would be interesting
to hear their voices, see things through their eyes, perhaps as much for me as
for you, our devoted readers. It is no secret that this platform is more
successful than the band itself, the readership here far outstrips those that have
seen us play, indeed if you rounded up all the people that have ever watched us
live I’m not sure it would even come close to the reach of these words, in this
digital age of instant sharing and followers in all corners of the globe.
It has certainly got me thinking. What is it like to be the piano player? To
live in the middle of nowhere without a car and constantly a slave to the favour?
He’s perhaps much maligned on this site and definitely the scapegoat, but is it
fair? And am I fair? Or am I a dictator? I know I work
very hard to keep this vehicle moving and I've often wondered what would happen if I just stopped? Would we stop or would the others step up? Perhaps I am the one constantly steering this ship because I don't let anyone else into the driving seat? Perhaps the piano player would eventually start booking us gigs in far flung places that are impossible to get to. And maybe they would propel us to future stardom?
And what’s it like being the drummer? Why does he try and leave the band every 33 gigs? He’s one shy of 100 now does that means he’s planning on walking away for a third time? And the bass player, does he know how important he is and that without his encouragement over the last few years I’d have chucked this in? How does he feel about Pat Moran coming in on the last tour and us replacing the ‘irreplaceable’ without much fuss? And the accordion player; he’s done 50 gigs now but is he even in the band? And what about the guitar player, who’s managed just 3 gigs in the last 2 years, doesn’t he miss it? Taking live music out of a musician’s life is like taking jam out of a doughnut. Is he satisfied? I know I wouldn’t be.
But mostly I want to read something new; I want to see the achievements and failures through their eyes, I want all of them to have a say and what a rich tapestry of contradiction we’d have in front of us then! People have such different views of things; sometimes I come off stage and I feel deflated and yet my band mates are buzzing from a “great gig!”. Sometimes a certain song has left half of us elated and the other half think it’s fallen on its face. Is Whisky Drunk a crowd favourite and therefore un’droppable or is it overplayed and holding us back from making anything new? That can be said for half our material. When it comes to set-lists it’s always a case of “Oh we can’t not play that!” which means there is never any space for anything else.
We actually managed to crowbar open the set list on our latest 'giggle' and shoehorn in a brand new song; an unfinished idea we had been carrying around for a whole year and finally found an hour to finish it. And it went down well, some may say it was the pierce de resistance, it certainly drew the biggest cheers but perhaps that's because you are desperate to hear new songs too! It was a boisterous affair, our first hometown gig of the year, and full of smiley happy people. It was the drummer's 99th outing as well, and hat's off to him for driving all the way down and playing for no money, because I had forgotten to tell him otherwise. Perhaps one day he will write a blog too and I'll find our what it's like to be told hours before you set off that we don't have any money left to pay you! But he's used to it; 100 gigs and you've seen the best and worst of us. Or maybe it's mishaps like that that make him want to leave!?
There are a lot of unanswered questions flying about and I'm struggling to answer them all. It’s our decade next year. What do we want? A brand new sound or a nice easy coda? Will we ever get our music on spotify? A third album? A final film? And what's all this about touring in America? Another decade? We’re at a crossroads and there’s a lot of lose ends to tie together and perhaps by hearing from ‘the others’ it might just help us shed light on them.
And what’s it like being the drummer? Why does he try and leave the band every 33 gigs? He’s one shy of 100 now does that means he’s planning on walking away for a third time? And the bass player, does he know how important he is and that without his encouragement over the last few years I’d have chucked this in? How does he feel about Pat Moran coming in on the last tour and us replacing the ‘irreplaceable’ without much fuss? And the accordion player; he’s done 50 gigs now but is he even in the band? And what about the guitar player, who’s managed just 3 gigs in the last 2 years, doesn’t he miss it? Taking live music out of a musician’s life is like taking jam out of a doughnut. Is he satisfied? I know I wouldn’t be.
But mostly I want to read something new; I want to see the achievements and failures through their eyes, I want all of them to have a say and what a rich tapestry of contradiction we’d have in front of us then! People have such different views of things; sometimes I come off stage and I feel deflated and yet my band mates are buzzing from a “great gig!”. Sometimes a certain song has left half of us elated and the other half think it’s fallen on its face. Is Whisky Drunk a crowd favourite and therefore un’droppable or is it overplayed and holding us back from making anything new? That can be said for half our material. When it comes to set-lists it’s always a case of “Oh we can’t not play that!” which means there is never any space for anything else.
We actually managed to crowbar open the set list on our latest 'giggle' and shoehorn in a brand new song; an unfinished idea we had been carrying around for a whole year and finally found an hour to finish it. And it went down well, some may say it was the pierce de resistance, it certainly drew the biggest cheers but perhaps that's because you are desperate to hear new songs too! It was a boisterous affair, our first hometown gig of the year, and full of smiley happy people. It was the drummer's 99th outing as well, and hat's off to him for driving all the way down and playing for no money, because I had forgotten to tell him otherwise. Perhaps one day he will write a blog too and I'll find our what it's like to be told hours before you set off that we don't have any money left to pay you! But he's used to it; 100 gigs and you've seen the best and worst of us. Or maybe it's mishaps like that that make him want to leave!?
There are a lot of unanswered questions flying about and I'm struggling to answer them all. It’s our decade next year. What do we want? A brand new sound or a nice easy coda? Will we ever get our music on spotify? A third album? A final film? And what's all this about touring in America? Another decade? We’re at a crossroads and there’s a lot of lose ends to tie together and perhaps by hearing from ‘the others’ it might just help us shed light on them.
So, the next voice you hear from will be…?
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