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FRIDAY August 28, 1998 More Problems In The Band Again, I seem to be getting some pressure from the band about being late again. We had a gig at The Carlsbad Jazz in the Park series and we were suppose to load in at 4pm. I left at exactly 3pm, giving myself a full hour to get to my destination, which is normally a 35 minute drive! Well, I was late getting to the park by about 15 minutes and upon arrival I was promptly told by a couple of the guys in the band that I was late, which prompted a discussion, or argument about how the traffic was horrendous and it was a Friday. Well, Jim started telling me off about how he has to sacrifice and cancel a few of his lessons in order to get to these gigs, which I completely understand. But when you think about it, with this band being as busy as it is, does he really haved time to teach saxophone lessons and then work as a instrument repair man? I don't think so! I myself have quit everything else as far as a day gig goes, because I'm thoroughly exhausted because of our busy schedule. I mean, if I'm giving my full devotion to the band by not doind any other gigs with another band or working another day gig, then I expect all the other guys in the band to do the same. Anyway, no one seemed to get on Warren's case about being late; he was right behind me when I pulled into the parking lot. And we both talked about how bad the traffic was today and that it took a full hour to get to this gig. And Nate and Tom were both late too, coming in behind Warren and I by about a good 10-15 minutes, so why does everyone get on my case? It's getting to the point where I'm getting frustrated with this band and I'm entertaining thoughts about looking for another swing band to perform in. But the problem is that this band is starting to see the success it should, and if I join another group or band, it would have to be just as succesful, or even more so. I love the band itself, it's concept, the band's name, our lead vocalist, etc, etc. I even accept the band for all it's shortcomings, namely some of the musicianship in the band. I can accept that. But I can't accept people disrespecting me when I feel I've earned their respect by my musical and God-given talents! And the only thing I can say to that is there must be some jealous people in this band, because all I ever wanted to do was play some music and have fun. *Sigh*, that's all I ever wanted was to play music and have fun, so why is this success in music turning out to be a nightmare? I don't know, but it doesn't look good. If some guys in the band want me to step down, then they've got another thing coming, because I won't! They'll have to leave, themselves, before I could step down from this gig. The band met Regina, who's proven to be our number one fan in San Fransisco. I saw a woman dressed in a white shirt and white shorts hanging out with the sound guys (or so I thought) and she looked at me, but I didn't really know it was her. When she kept glancing at me for a while, I figured it had to be her because she did say she was coming to this show. And so I came up to her and asked her if she was Regina and of course she said yes. I felt like I'd known her all my life because of our conversations on the BTO mailing list, as well as Royal Crown Revue's mailing list. Regardless, it was great to finally meet this person who's been so enthusiastically into the swing scene up in San Fransisco. The show tonight at Carlsbad was a GREAT show for the band. Of course, with 3,000 people watching and dancing, the need to put on a great performance is also great. My drum solo was, by the crowd's reaction and by the comments and compliments given to me afterwards, was totally uplifting!!! I WAS happy with the double-bass drum pedal stuff I was doing, I couldn't complain about that. Jim gave me a great compliment after the show, I suppose he wanted to make ammends for really giving me the business about being late! He said, "You were awesome Carlos, you're definitely the hearbeat of the band". Okay. I can accept that. But you know, all I ever wanted to do was play music!! CDs Played Today:
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