Music man

My wife said the same thing- Rick is in effect running the band. And he sucks. In a "passive=aggressive" way- what he (and Bob by association) are doing is trying to get us to go back to Bob's so they can drink or smoke as much as they want. The 4:30 cut-off makes no sense- neither does Rick's continuously saying time goes by so much faster at Greg's. It doesn't go any faster- there's just less of it! D-uh! 4:30 is earlier than 5 or 6!

I don't wanna rock the boat, either- yet- but my wife said I should bring my guitar and ask Rick when he's leaving because the rest of us figured we'd work on some originals when he (they) left. My wife said they wouldn't be leaving at 4:30 again after that.

Of course, I vented further on the subject- pissed that the rules seem to be that this band is dictated to by Rick- when we play, when we stop- and the subtle suggestion from this band that there is no need for me to play any guitar at all whatsoever at any point- acoustic or electric, or even think about doing any originals. Maybe one. Some day.

This absolutely infuriates and frustrates the hell out of me- I'm gonna die someday after spending years playing the same cover shit- over and over again? I don't sit around the house singing cover tunes off of a piece of paper with my hands in my pocket- I'm singing and playing whatever music is in me at the moment. With any instrument I can get my hands on- usually guitar.

My wife agreed that yes, there's value in what I'm doing with this band- but I have to own most of this myself. It's my own fault. She doesn't understand why you and I put up with the Rick-Bob straightjacket, and she mainly doesn't understand why I allow myself to be squelched-  even my ex-wife tells me it's my own fault I'm not in a situation where I am being creative- even if it had to be by myself. I like being in a band- but the irony is that I fight against the same politics at work- fear and conservatism- and way back when- no one told me when or what to draw, write, sing, play, etc. Not my parents, not my teachers, bosses, friends- nobody. What the hell happened to me? I sold (or wimped) out! "It's a secret- I'm a songwriter." I write songs. Totally separate from that- I sing cover tunes in a band that mostly other people agree upon. Even if I like them- it was usually somebody else's idea.

"Take it easyyyyy..."

I knew it- I studied the vocals and verified Rick's been playing the wrong chords.  Whata piece of crap that is- we'd be better off playing Freebird.

(Sorry for the venting... however, it kills me knowing my best stuff is actually never seen or heard nowadays, and I'm having a tough time with that. Not just "original" stuff- the authentic, meaningful stuff. "Take it Easy." Ugh.)

Of course, I don't have to replace the band with the "real stuff"- but I sure as hell have to start doing it, even if it's a separate, side trip, or I'll hate myself. Gettin' tired of making excuses to my wife, ex-wife- and self. (It's not just music- it's also drawing, writing, all the stuff I always used to do to please no one other than myself.)

On a somewhat unrelated note- since we've been playing at Greg's I find I rarely get hoarse or feel ill after practice- thanks to the no-smoking zone!