Growing up Bass Player (Another change in the band)

Another change occurred in the band.  The drummer, Dave, who was with us just a short time, left.  He was school counselor and moved on to another school in another town.  At the same time the Lead singer/rhyme player, Gary, quit do to pressures from home.

Wives and Husbands are sometime hard on bands. The amount of time away from home and the hours spent practicing take there toll.  Not to mention the drugs and alcohol musicians are constantly exposed to.  These things can take a terrible toll on a musician’s family life if he or she is not careful.  Not to say I did not fall into the fore mention pit falls of being a musician/bass player, but I have been able somehow to resist many of the temptations that come along in a musicians/bass players life.  I also have a wonderful wife who has always supported me in my music and forgiven me a few transgressions.  I consider myself very lucky bass player.

We were now down to just Ken and me, but we had no trouble finding replacements for Dave and Gary.  The drummer we found, or found us, was, like Gary, a native of the area.  This was helpful in getting jobs.  Not that it was a problem, like I’ve mention before; we were always booked 6 to 8 months in advance. What it did do was provided us with new places to play.  His name was Kenny, he was every bit as good, if not a better drummer than Dave. 

Practice became fun again.  Back to Ken’ basement we went.  Kenny was a lot easier to get along with than Dave.  Kenny was a wonderful singer, which gave us several new songs to learn. 

Practice and learning new song is some times a struggle.  All of us worked a job during the day and we played every weekend, usually Friday and Saturday.  Practicing during the week put an additional strain on our family life.  It was not long before we went back to what we called the “Earn While You Learn” method.

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