Notes_Norton Posted September 30, 2020 Share Posted September 30, 2020 I got married to someone in the band. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 More proof that this is the easiest way to end up with a two-person band! 😉 (Even if you had a lot of band members previously! 😆) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 Indeed. Leilani and I were in a 4 piece, trio and then a 5 piece band before we went duo. Before that we were both in separate bigger bands. I was in a 7 piece and if I remember correctly she was in a 5 piece band. The last was the 5 piece. We lost a bass player. Family problems. We were out of work 2 months auditioning and then breaking in a new one. A few months later we lost the drummer. Illness (sadly). We found a drummer with a small kit, kept steady time, had tasty fills, supported but didn't overpower the band, and she could even sing backup well. How lucky!!! We were only out of work a month. Then we went to our first gig. It was at country club. We were to play in the dining room for a dinner set and then dancing but the crowd was so big they had to bring in extra tables. So they pulled back the accordion pleat walls between the lounge and the dining room and asked us to set up there. The new drummer who I think was a Seventh Day Adventist said, "God will never forgive me if I play in a bar." I said "God will have to forgive me for homicide if you don't play in a bar tonight." Where did she think we were going to play? Why didn't she bring that up at her audition? The next day I bought a keyboard that had an internal sequencer and a drum controller (I think it was my old Octopad). Since I play drums, bass, sax, flute, at the time only rhythm guitar, and I get around on a keyboard I figured I could make my own backing tracks. (I still don't consider myself a keyboard player - but a keyboard hacker - I have one smart and one dumb hand on that instrument.) I bought a Teac 4 track reel - to - reel and I recorded the keyboard/drum parts and added bass, guitar and whatever else on the other tracks. Mixed to cassette and played on an akai speed calibrated mixing two bay cassette deck. Then came MIDI sequencers and my load was lightened. Our first year the work was light, but since our second season in 1986 we haven't been out of work until COVID came along. We even had to block out times to take a vacation or else we wouldn't get one. So I've been done with groupies for a loooong time, and that's OK with me. I got lucky with Leilani. Insights in incites by Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 Nice story Bob! 🙂👍 Someday I'll have to tell my Spinal Tap tale of all the drummers we went through even though the times I was in actual bands was brief. There was even a decapitation! (Not kidding!) 😲 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted October 2, 2020 Author Share Posted October 2, 2020 Switching drummers is not something to lose your head about. We had a drummer who used to chain everything to his stool to keep them from creeping. We played in a bar that had a waterfall behind the stage and one night he was back too far, and he fell into the water, the drums followed him. Fortunately the damage was mostly light and cosmetic after things dried out, and in retrospect seeing him fall into the shallow fountain with his drums following him is pretty funny. He was a good singer and he got up front to sing a few songs a night, and since drums were my first instrument, I'd put the sax down and play drums. I'm so glad it wasn't me taking the dive. Insights and incites by Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 3 hours ago, Notes_Norton said: We had a drummer who used to chain everything to his stool to keep them from creeping. We played in a bar that had a waterfall behind the stage and one night he was back too far, and he fell into the water, the drums followed him. Now THAT would have made an awesome viral video if it had been captured! 😆 My friend's band had to occasionally play this one place that had a very tiny stage. During one gig a foot on the drum throne slipped between the stage and the wall giving the drummer a nice headache as he was slammed against the wall. A funny scene (except from the drummer's standpoint), but nothing compared to seeing the drummer AND his gear all going over backwards into a waterfall! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted October 3, 2020 Author Share Posted October 3, 2020 Too bad we weren't playing "Drown In My Own Tears". Your friend should have been playing "Stuck In The Middle With You". :D 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 1 hour ago, Notes_Norton said: Too bad we weren't playing "Drown In My Own Tears". Or Head Over Heels! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted October 4, 2020 Author Share Posted October 4, 2020 Or "Theme From Jaws" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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