Last night I had the chance to spend a quiet night at home. I am an amateur musician, but like to keep busy. Last night I reflected on the varied schedule I've had over the last few weeks and I thought it might be interesting to share. Here are the gigs I've had since just before the holidays. (I live in Eugene, Oregon... a college town of 200,000 people.)
70’s SOUL BANDThis is my main gig. We are a trio. I play drums and sing back-up. We play Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson Prince, etc.
ROWDY BLUES BANDThis is a new gig that concentrates on recording, although we have played a couple of gigs. I play drums and sing back-up. Most of the music is original… but think SRV, Hendrix, Jonny Lang, etc.
BRITISH BRASS BANDThis is the traditional instrumentation. I am the percussion section. I set up like a broadway-style musical surrounded by instruments. I play a 28” bass drum with a pedal, crash cymbals w/ a hi-hat pedal, usually a parade-style snare… plus whatever the music calls for (and that I can handle).
JAZZ QUARTETThis is a no-rehearsal gig. Although instrumentation can vary, we are usually sax, bass, drums, and either piano or guitar. We play lots of original stuff (the sax player is the composer) and standards.
UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL BANDI am the on-call non-student drummer for the University of Oregon basketball band (by the way, I am 51 years old). This is a reading gig. The book has, maybe, 100 tunes with lots of Tower Of Power, EWF, and such. Of course, I play a great version of Louie Louie
. I’ve played 3 games since the middle of December… I’m sure you’ve seen the back of my head on ESPN (no kidding).
There are other gigs I sub semi-regularly, including a Thad Jones inspired big band and a hip-hop menagerie.
I really enjoy the variety that these gigs give me.
So, there it is… my shameless self-promotion.
