Side Project

Look at me. Two years ago, I'd never played in a rock band (hell, I could hardly play three chords). Now, I have a "side project".

Well, sort of. I'm just about to perform live with two of my brothers, and two other guys who didn't know enough to say "no".

We've been practicing together for 8 weeks as part of the Bandworks program, which teaches folks to play as a group. Our poor instructor, Deirdre Lynds, admitted the first time we met that while she had worked with siblings in a band before, she'd never dealt with three of them at once. You can only imagine.

Still, I think we've had fun. It's been great for me to move into a slightly different role than my "hide over there and try not to screw up" bit in the Eyewitness Blues Band (let me be clear: that's how I see my role!). I'm actually going to play a couple of solos (don't worry, Jimi Hendrix, Angus Young, and Joe Satriani have nothing to fear), and willingly open my mouth to sing backing vocals. What would you think if I sang out of tune/would you stand up and walk out on me? I hope not.

It's kind of like the old line about golf: even a bad day on the course is better than a good day at the office. Same thing with music. We may have a half-dozen people in the house when we take the stage for our gig, but it'll still be rock and roll. And we'll still be nervous.

Rock on!