Growing up Bass Player (Sugar Mountain) (The Keyboard Player)

I was growing tired again. We were playing a lot and sometimes that included six nights a week. (See blog 21) This was hard when I was in my twenties, but now I was in my forties and it was ten times as hard. I was of course still working a day job along with playing at night.

About this time we (the band) acquired a keyboard player. His name was Roy and he had been playing a single on the road for years. He told me when I first met him that he had played bass for a while but found it boring. Nice way to endear yourself to the bass player of the band you just joined. In the time I played with him he continued to prove that he was not a very nice person. The longer I knew him the more I disliked him.

Glen continued making way to much noise. As all musicians know, if one person increases his volume, all musicians increase in volume. It is like a vicious cycle. Next thing you know it is a competition, which musician can play the loudest. Alan usually did not need to amplify his trumpet in any way. He could easily be heard about amplified instruments. If he was really PO’d he would stick it in front of his singing microphone. The only thing that can over power an electric guitar player is, one, a drummer, and two, a drunk and PO'd trumpet player. All of this caused a great amount of tension with in the band.

I could see the end coming but I tried hard to keep it from happening. It was to come though, but it took a series of events to make it happen. I really didn’t want to quit. The band still had one last date to provide back up for a girl from Nashville. She had stars in her eyes. She was hoping that one more show would get her away from being a backup singer and move her closer to stardom. I didn’t think my being there would make any difference one way or another, but I wanted to be there just incase.

The Beginning of the End