I think my band may be on the way to being no more. Or at least on the way to a state of inertia. Figures that would happen since I considered it one of the biggest justifications for moving back here. Maybe we were just destined to function as a long distance relationship.
I joined the band three years ago when I came back for summer vacation. Stef and Chip had been jamming together for a while and she made it seem like something attainable. Like it was definitely within the realm of possibility to start back up with musical interests. The interest has always been there for both of us, it was just mostly a question of self confidence. I had a guitar in Japan, a Yamaha that I'd gotten from a friend when he moved out of the country. Re-taught myself some chords and started downloading tabs off the net. When I was back that summer I started playing with them as a rhythm guitarist. I'm pretty sure I sounded pretty bad but we got out there and played anyway, which has been part of my approach to the whole thing from the beginning. If you don't put yourself out there into challenging situations nothing will ever develop. No one is going to bust into your bedroom or your basement and force you to take your groove out into the light of day.
Anyway, I played rhythm guitar and sometimes we had various bass players. It was fun. Then it just seemed clear that what the band needed was a regular bass player, not a rhythm guitar player. I'd played bass a little in college and I'd been borrowing gear all summer so I still had time to change my mind before I made that first all important purchase of MY OWN GUITAR. At the end of the summer I bought a black Fender American Standard Jazz Bass for $500 at the Guitar Center in Danvers, MA. I took the bass back to Japan and continued to jam with my buddies in Hama-Otsu. The first thing they said when I showed up with a bass instead of a guitar was "oooh, the bass suits you. you're a bass player."
For the next couple of years we continued to play together and play out for the three months of the year that I spent here. The rest of the time those two jammed together and I did my own thing in Japan. I would fly back from Japan and jump immediately into practice to rehearse for a gig in five days. We'd play out and play hard until it was literally time for me to pack my bags and go back to Japan.
Now I moved back here for good (whatever that means) and we have limped along practicing about twice a month on average. It's not band personality clashes or anything like that. It's just that Stef's list of responsibilities and priorities has grown longer and the band comes at the bottom of the list. So feel free to let me know if you know anyone within about 30 minutes of Dover who wants to jam with an intermediate (medium well) bass player who has reliable transportation, a beautiful bass and an amp that's adequate for a small practice space or small bar setting. I'm also always willing to play on better equipment if it's around, which so far it fortunately has. Most rock-based musical styles considered.
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