How The Groove Got Found

Funny thing about this band. It's like I knew I had some baking soda and I also had some vinegar and I wondered what would happen if I put them in the same bottle. I had spent a lot of time playing with Bob in the past few years. I liked the way he played drums and knew he was a kindred spirit. When Jerry's name came up, I told Bob that a long time ago this guy could truly imitate some great artists from back in the day. And, that he could coax the sound of the 60's from his guitar with ease.

What I remember most from us first getting together was how everyone was like the two chipmunks from the old cartoons, "No, you first. no, no, no, I insist!" and from then on it seemed to be a contest on who would get to bring the beer. That was the people part. What happened in the music part truly blew my mind. We decided to try Feelin' Alright because it was only two chords and maybe we could get through it without having a trainwreck. I was hoping I could play the intro right and try to hold us on the rhythm. Instead, we played something that sounded nothing at all like the song I imagined, but it was so strong that I felt my eyebrows leaving the top of my head. Bob was doing stuff I had never heard him do before and Jerry was grinning from ear to ear and I was thinking what a happy accident that was. Somehow we had found a groove on that song, the very first time we played. 

My favorite definition of a groove in music is this: When a band reaches a rhythm that makes even the people that can't dance, want to dance.

And that is the definition that fits me. I'm usually the wooden figure, with my foot tapping like crazy, and these guys have me where I can't stand still. My whole musical life has been hoping for a minute or two a night during a performance where the band melds into one person and the music just happens. Most of the time I would spend thinking "okay, okay, don't make a mistake here, you got this.." but every once in a while I'd get the moment that made the whole effort worth it.

Now, we have 3 guys that are happy to just let it happen. I'm not sure if it's our age, the music we chose, or the lack of pressure, but we get grooves all the time now. Jerry says we are more like a Jam band. I'm not sure I agree, because we don't do endless soloing, but we do seem to perform songs differently every time we play. We always have the soaring ballads, the tear jerkers, and the songs that we have to be more careful on..but I'm always looking at the songlist, seeing another of my favorites is coming right up.

If I can pat myself on the back for something, it is getting these guys together, keeping them together, and playing bass like "Whatever Bob does is right, and what I'm doing is to groove with his drums"...if that's what makes it work, I sure I wish I had done this a long time ago!