Go Time

It never fails - the weekend starts, I have gigs, I'm fired up.

Strange.

Seriously!

I've been playing live music since I was 14, and I STILL haven't lost that pre-gig excitement. Even when things aren't going right outside or inside a band, the thrill of making music and entertaining people hasn't gone away. In fact, as I've gotten older it's increased.

Strange.

Seriously!

Without sounding too pompous or over the top (although I KNOW it's gonna), I'm going to quote John Constantine from the movie "Constantine" - a movie I really dig, by the way: "Heaven and hell are right here, behind every wall, every window, the world behind the world. And we're smack in the middle." He also said "Officially, I was dead for two minutes... but believe me, two minutes in hell is a lifetime. " I think every professional musician in the world relates to those quotes, regardless how high in the food chain he or she sits. Even at my standard cover band/play the circuit/do the corporate events, personal gigs and other functions level, there's a lot of angst, heartbreak, frustration, disappointment, conflict, humiliation and downright deep-in-the-bones fatigue I go through.

But - no matter what - when it's go time, I STILL get excited about the possibility of tearing up some music with three other guys. I STILL anticipate the challenge of seeing a group of fresh faces who demand I keep them entertained - who stare at me with "So, what do YOU got?" I STILL appreciate the opportunity to do something that, really, a fairly small percentage of our world's population can and does do. I STILL can't wait until the first count-in to the first song of the night.

Strange.

Seriously!