Could it be??????

Last night I got together to jam with a couple of local guys for the second time and once again it was great.

The first time we got together we came in with no preconceptions, nothing planned... the goal was to just hang out and make some music (and of course, have a few beers) and by the end I was pleasantly surprised that I seemed to be in the company of real musicians (which never ceases to humble me). But what really surprised me is that everyone got along and we all seemed to be on the same page about what we were hoping to accomplish... even though at the onset the goal was to accomplish nothing but have a little fun.

Last night we decided we would come in with a few songs prepared and this is where I started to worry... it's hard enough to get three guys to agree on a group on songs to do, but to actually have everyone come into the room prepared to play those songs is rare (especially when they've never heard a few of them before). For the past few years I have been a bit obsessed with a band called "Wilco", an obsession I'm sure must tire my friends and family... I didn't want to scare these guys off, but if we were gonna work out some songs I really wanted to do something by that band. "No problem, let's give it a try" was the response.

The first sign that things might go well was Tony (bass) pulling out notes and lyric sheets (hey, I had those... could it be that I'm not the only one that is that anal?), but then those dreaded words "I couldn't get the songs to burn to a CD" (here it comes, I knew there would be a problem)... "so I went to YouTube and learned them... do you want to do the live versions or studio? I learned both".

?????????? What could this be I was hearing?

Then in walked Mike (drummer) and it was the same thing! The icing on the cake was Tony saying "that Wilco tune is really cool!"

For the next 2 hrs. we had a few beers, worked out harmonies and little details (which as far as I'm concerned is what rehearsals are for). Learning how to play songs at rehearsal is for high school kids that have nothing but time... but if you are a soccer dad that has a job and a house, do your homework and come in prepared.

By the end of the night we had pretty good renditions of "Jesus, etc" (Wilco), "Molly's Chambers" (Kings of Leon) and "No Matter What" (Badfinger). We also touched on "Use Somebody" (another Kings of Leon tune) enough to know we could pull it off next week.

I have been trying my best to have fun and not have high hopes... but I think it's safe to say that after last night I have a pretty good dose of both.

Peace, Bryan