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SUNDAY August 23, 1998 I don't really know why members of the band get so damned uptight about people being a little late to the gigs. It's not even considered being late. I was 10 minutes late to this wedding reception in Del Mar. I don't consider that being late. I was supposed to be there by 4pm to load in. I got there at 4pm but there were no directions on how to get to the ballroom once I reached the Inn. So it took me another 10 minutes to ask someone, get to the proper parking lot and then unload my equipment and start heading toward the ballroom. Well, one of the guys in the band gave me the evil eye all night and it really and truly pissed me off. I mean, c'mon! Live and let live. And then I remember at another gig I made one single, solitary error and this same guy says we all make mistakes and we're not perfect. Sounds like hipocrasy to me. I just get fed up with hearing a few of the guys continue to make the same mistakes gig after gig. It really is beginning to upset me. I mean, the same exact mistakes every time, and they get away with it. And I'm a little late by 10 minutes and everyone's all over me. I know life isn't fair, but I get tired of having to deal with this type of hipocrasy. That was a problem earlier when I first joined the band. If I seemed to have played an excellent gig on my drums, then at rehearsal, the band would be all over my case about tempos. I mean, tempos are purely subjective, meaning it's a matter of opinion how fast songs are going to be counted off. But to me, mistakes are mistakes. And for people in this band to be continually getting away with making all these mistakes is purely ludicrous! I know I'm venting big time here, but I think I'm right in mentioning this unfairness in the band. Nate and I are only now beginning to mention these mistakes, and those people in the band with whom this applies, are getting very angry. But what's fair? I practice 2-6 hours a day on drums to be able to play the way I do and to be able to solo. Most drummers just keep time and are not allowed to solo. I'm allowed to solo because I can. A couple of members in the band really shouldn't be soloing, and if we were in the Monterey Jazz Festival I wonder if we'd get booed off the stage. I know I'm venting, but I really and truly care for this band. I think this band can make it and become highly successful if it realizes that we really need to get our act together in order to make it to the next level. Bands like Royal Crown Revue and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy are very tight, and I doubt if they make mistakes, if only a few if any at all. When you start to do concerts, the pressure is on to be extremely tight on stage AND to play with a certain level of emotion and passion. I just hope we can get our act together soon, with all these high profile gigs coming up. I think our main problem are the habitual mistakes on stage that deal with musicians simply not being as familiar with their instruments as they should be. And this is much more difficult to correct than say, being a little late loading into the gig. CDs Played Today:
Keith Jarrett - Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21 Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor
The Big Lebowski (video) The Apostle (video)
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