Saturday night, a few of us were supposed to see Stephen Lynch at the Marquee. Unfortunately, it got postponed due to illness. Which is amazingly coincidental, because I wasn't feeling all that great that night either. Sunday wasn't any better. Monday was worse. And I hate wasting a sick day on actually being sick.
There was an interesting band development Saturday night. On the good side, we apparently have a drummer. On the bad side, we no longer have a singer. Bear with me here, and don't make any judgments until you've read the whole thing:
Mike has decided to give up lead singing and start playing the drums. He and Aaron decided that, since he does in fact have a pretty damn good sense of timing and rhythm, it would be better for the band if he switched sides. My initial thought was "I thought I was the designated abuser of mind-altering substances in this band", followed quickly with "Maybe these two need to start abusing some mind-altering substances." But I soon saw the rationale behind this, without the help of mind-altering substances: Not only do I not have to deal with a drummer, but, um, I, uh, don't have to ... deal with a drummer. At least, not of the stereotypical, flaky, unemployed, debt-ridden variety.
Walking to Mike's apartment from the Marquee gave me some time to reflect on this proposition, especially as we passed the Tempe Music Festival, and I was able to listen to a good deal of drumming from other bands, and noticing the almost child-like simplicity of it. And I don't mean simple in a "stripped-down, raw, intentionally uncomplicated" sort of way, I mean simple in the sense that the drummers seemed incapable of playing more than one beat between them all, and certainly were at a total loss to put any kind of passion or emotion into it.
The only thing I'm curious about, and what makes me wonder if Mike's really thought this all the way through, is that the drummer is normally at the back of the stage, where he doesn't get quite as much attention as the rest of the band. Maybe he thinks we'll let him set up his kit in front of the singer.
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2 comments:
This also means that *I* don't have to deal with a drummer either. That played no small part in the decision process!
I thought it was an idea, not a firm decision.
If you (Mike) want to learn drums, by all means, go for it. The only problem we will end up dealing with is the stereotypical, flaky, unemployed, debt-ridden variety of singers. It is an uphill battle either way.
Then again, I suppose I could do the singing. Truth be told, I have the voice for it, but not the endurance. In fact, when I am tired, I cannot sing at all. I know Mike for sure has heard this. When I have energy, I can sing with the best of them (until my voice goes plop). This probably means it is because I can't do it right. That is where lessons come in.
All in all, I think we should still entertain the idea of an outside drummer joining the group in the interim. Because if we can get started sooner than later, that is preferred.
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