I starting playing bass guitar in 1987 while I was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. That gives me over twenty years of playing time, but most of that was wasted as I did not practice much, and the only lessons I’ve ever had were from a guitar teacher who felt that bass was a waste of time and that I would switch to guitar sooner or later, so what was the point, but he did teach me a bit about reading music and working with tablature, so it wasn’t a total waste of time while with him.
So I mostly played by ear and eventually ended up in a fledgling band that was known as the cellar dwellers because we practiced in a basement that Grandpa Munster would have been at home in. It was damp, dirty and buggy. Cobwebs were the main decoration, and we had a floor drain which also served as a urinal, although no one was very accurate in their aim. (The bonus being that there was a faint (or sometimes strong) urine aroma that was masked by spilled beer and occasionally reefer and usually cigarette smoke. In other words, it was pretty nasty.
This suited the band since we sort of stank as well. We rehearsed most nights and I was the only one who had a real job, so I couldn’t practice during the day, which meant while everyone else got marginally more familiar with the songs, I did not. This eventually caused contention.
But we’ll go through the line up. Starting with lead vocals, not me. That was probably a mistake, but this dude Rusty, well it was his house and his drum kit, so he was lead vocal even though he was not that great a singer. then we had our lead guitar player, Jimmy, who was great, but was also like a total burn out who lived on the street and only played in the band if we would supply him with cigarettes. But he could play anything. name a song and it was like he was off to the races. We played all classic rock, and he was the bomb. At least when he showed up. He had been in other bands that played out and had followings but he was always kicked out for lack of punctuality. In other words, he was irresponsible and missed shows and rehearsals.
Then we had Tit on drums. He was pretty good, but also was unreliable. Do you see a pattern? Tit and I got along well, and he was cool with just jamming and making stuff up, so we paired well as a rhythm section, mostly. As I said, I rarely got to play outside of the cellar, so I couldn’t learn the songs very well, but I had a break in that I was going to my national guard summer training and would be able to cement the songs there. I spent those two weeks learning all the songs, and when I returned, they had replaced me.
I say replaced, but I was still in the band, just that I was only going to be able to play in a couple songs, while the other bass player did most of the playing. The reason for the switch was that we finally had a gig and they wanted to appear more professional, and they didn’t realize I was learning the songs while I was gone.
That gig came and went, and I had already quit the band. After the gig, they broke up, and that was the end of my rock and roll career. Except that I do musical theater now, and am usually cast as the lead singer. Maybe I’ll make a rock and roll “come back” someday…after a few bass lessons. Do you want to Play Bass Today?
