Isn't the past great? I mean, it might have sucked at the time, some of the time, but isn't it great to look back at what you've been through and relive some of the better parts!?
I recently digitized the recording from my second band, Mourning Stone. It was (and is, I can't stop playing the tunes - not that they are really all that great...) great to hear the music again, but what was really cool was the rush of memories that came with hearing them again. At times I was transported to Seagull Studios on the campus of Salisbury University. Experiencing the recording studio for the first time and doing our own thing with no management or producers (except, of course, for the studio engineer Tim Starnes who totally kicked butt!) and just playing through all the material we had (and then some). I was met with anxiety again remembering what it was like to have recorded 12 songs and didn't have lyrics written for them (I had ideas, but not much firmly place).
I remember the help we got from Chris Horner's parents to go back and get more studio time to do vocals and mixing (Thanks, guys!) and the joy of having our material on tape (and the chance to go blast it in my car with a bumpin' system...) and being able to share it with friends and potential promoters.
I remember the shows we played (quite regularly for a group of 17-18 year olds!) and the challenge of finding a drummer for each show (we never really did nail down a full time drummer). I remember the ups and downs of the whole experience (which lasted about 3 years or so if my memory serves me correctly. I remember the joy (and pain?!) of playing in a band with my Twin brother, Matt - who will always be one of my favorite guitarists to jam with - and Chris Horner (who was in our fist band, Seuss). I remember Dan Wikander (also from Seuss) who started on drums with us. I remember the singer, Sean who didn't last very long at all and was more interested in chasing tail than really writing and creating music. I remember Nate Clendenen coming on as drummer for the longest continuous period of time and Steve Klingler, who often filled in (and always kicked major butt!).
I remember our local scene that had a few promoters putting on shows, but mostly the musicians would take turns putting together a show and including a few other local bands on the bill. I remember that I had friends Dads rent the KC hall and I paid the bill, made the flyers, booked the bands and put together a PA - all for a chance to play a rockin' show.
I remember playing a house party for beer. We had no drummer, but a guy from two houses down saw us loading in our gear and said 'I play the drums!' - He had just returned from Turkey where he did a tour in the Army, and he had never played with other musicians he said.. 'Just in my basement along to CD's!' - but we went with it, and it was actually pretty good (having to rehearse and cue drummers as much as we did, it was second nature - that must be where my in-stage communication comes from). I remember playing a song lying on my back. Hey, I was tired... OK, the mysterious never-ending beer supply might have had something to do with it...
I remember the friend who had connections with a major record label who was willing to pitch our stuff favorably as far up the food chain as he could - and the decisions made by someone in the band that put an end to that notion. I know now that I should have believed in myself more and pushed harder to actually try and see what happened...
I remember Parallel Studios in Downtown Salisbury having Wednesday nights with young local bands - we played most every week either as the booked band or as a fill-in for a band that had to back out (Yup, even in a garage band I was dependable!). I remember our last show (it was at Parallel Studios... though we didn't know it would be the last at the time), which we happened to have grabbed audio of from the Klingler's video camera (the only Live recordings of that group - the obviously live stuff from the link above).
It got me thinking about that whole period of time and what I learned from it and how it helped form who I am today.
How many times do you think that you are crossing a 'to-do' off your list and it ends up bringing back that much from your past? I think of what I know now about the music industry and how it has changed in the 20 years since then, and I think of what I learned because of those experiences and how it made me who I am today, and I can only be thankful!
I recently digitized the recording from my second band, Mourning Stone. It was (and is, I can't stop playing the tunes - not that they are really all that great...) great to hear the music again, but what was really cool was the rush of memories that came with hearing them again. At times I was transported to Seagull Studios on the campus of Salisbury University. Experiencing the recording studio for the first time and doing our own thing with no management or producers (except, of course, for the studio engineer Tim Starnes who totally kicked butt!) and just playing through all the material we had (and then some). I was met with anxiety again remembering what it was like to have recorded 12 songs and didn't have lyrics written for them (I had ideas, but not much firmly place).
I remember the help we got from Chris Horner's parents to go back and get more studio time to do vocals and mixing (Thanks, guys!) and the joy of having our material on tape (and the chance to go blast it in my car with a bumpin' system...) and being able to share it with friends and potential promoters.
I remember the shows we played (quite regularly for a group of 17-18 year olds!) and the challenge of finding a drummer for each show (we never really did nail down a full time drummer). I remember the ups and downs of the whole experience (which lasted about 3 years or so if my memory serves me correctly. I remember the joy (and pain?!) of playing in a band with my Twin brother, Matt - who will always be one of my favorite guitarists to jam with - and Chris Horner (who was in our fist band, Seuss). I remember Dan Wikander (also from Seuss) who started on drums with us. I remember the singer, Sean who didn't last very long at all and was more interested in chasing tail than really writing and creating music. I remember Nate Clendenen coming on as drummer for the longest continuous period of time and Steve Klingler, who often filled in (and always kicked major butt!).
I remember our local scene that had a few promoters putting on shows, but mostly the musicians would take turns putting together a show and including a few other local bands on the bill. I remember that I had friends Dads rent the KC hall and I paid the bill, made the flyers, booked the bands and put together a PA - all for a chance to play a rockin' show.
I remember playing a house party for beer. We had no drummer, but a guy from two houses down saw us loading in our gear and said 'I play the drums!' - He had just returned from Turkey where he did a tour in the Army, and he had never played with other musicians he said.. 'Just in my basement along to CD's!' - but we went with it, and it was actually pretty good (having to rehearse and cue drummers as much as we did, it was second nature - that must be where my in-stage communication comes from). I remember playing a song lying on my back. Hey, I was tired... OK, the mysterious never-ending beer supply might have had something to do with it...
I remember the friend who had connections with a major record label who was willing to pitch our stuff favorably as far up the food chain as he could - and the decisions made by someone in the band that put an end to that notion. I know now that I should have believed in myself more and pushed harder to actually try and see what happened...
I remember Parallel Studios in Downtown Salisbury having Wednesday nights with young local bands - we played most every week either as the booked band or as a fill-in for a band that had to back out (Yup, even in a garage band I was dependable!). I remember our last show (it was at Parallel Studios... though we didn't know it would be the last at the time), which we happened to have grabbed audio of from the Klingler's video camera (the only Live recordings of that group - the obviously live stuff from the link above).
It got me thinking about that whole period of time and what I learned from it and how it helped form who I am today.
How many times do you think that you are crossing a 'to-do' off your list and it ends up bringing back that much from your past? I think of what I know now about the music industry and how it has changed in the 20 years since then, and I think of what I learned because of those experiences and how it made me who I am today, and I can only be thankful!