When you are playing in a band, there's something called a train wreck. It's when everyone gets so off beat/tempo/key that you have to stop. The song is off the tracks and there's no way to recover it. You have to stop and start over. It's never fun. I still have a memory of a train wreck at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago, and that was almost 20 years ago. It's a very public screw-up. I mean, you're literally on a stage for everybody to see. It's not a private failure that we can beat ourselves up about and move on. It's a big deal. Or so we think. Olin Miller was a comedian who was quoted in 1937, “You probably wouldn’t worry … [Read more...]
The Monday Morning Mash-Up – Trainwrecks, Pockets, and the New Year
Happy New Year! Now that we have a few days of space between us and 2014, let me ask you: how would you rate it? Are there some areas of opportunity or did you accomplish what you wanted? No matter which it is, though, you get another chance. This year, 2015, is the one that matters. One of the best and worst parts of performing as a musician was that every song had an ending. When you had a song that was hopelessly off course and everything was going horribly wrong (we called those trainwrecks), you knew it would eventually be over. There was always a chance for redemption in the next song. And as a drummer, sometimes I would find … [Read more...]