Report: First Rehearsal

At least one or two of you have been waiting with bated breath to hear how my first rehearsal went with Los Changos del Mar, so here you go:

Well, IT WAS A FREAKING HOOT! Much louder and faster than I expected, which I totally enjoyed. I was pretty decent on the songs I knew already and more or less held my own, not bad for the very first time with these excellent musicians. On the one hand, what a surprise to me that I can do this, and on the other hand, something in me always knew, like there was this rock & roll dude inside just waiting to come out. How else do I explain it?

Did I mention that these guys can play fast? When you push it like that, strange things happen. Mostly good, of course, but man: all the licks I’d practiced went right out the window. It was like jump in, go wild, and make it work, at least for me. I once had my own band for a very short time (see here), and for years I jammed at parties and such, but I never had a chance to play electric music like this before, with real pros. It’s quite a charge.

I suppose if I were 20 years old, I’d be building all kinds of fantasies around this. Being as old as I am, however, my ego isn’t so involved. I mean, it is, obviously, but not in the same way. I’m not doing it for the money, either, and there isn’t any, anyway. I’m doing it because it’s high-energy fun, it makes me smile, and because it’s so damned satisfying. (Oh, I do love loud.)

With my background, that makes it a spiritual quest, too.

Related posts:

1. Midnight Report
2. Practice Report [Updated]
3. Gig Report: T-Model Ford at Shadows Lounge & Grill, Taos, NM
4. Fresh Wind
5. Bouzouki’s Got the Devil in It