ENTRY 28
After work one day I drive downtown to where Wes lives, just around the corner from Molly and Frank. Wes gets in the car and I drive south. We cross Market then head over to Third Street. I stop at a small liquor store and buy a half-pint of Jameson Irish Whiskey. Michael Ashland can’t make it to practice with us and there is no urgency, it’s just something we do to try to keep the band going. My fuck up has not only had a depressing affect on my life, but Wes’ also. He lives to play rock n roll and covets achieving some degree of success in the underground rock world. His dreams were dashed when Frank, after learning about me and Molly, stopped playing with us.
I tune up and plug my guitar into my Fender Princeton Reverb amplifier. I take a big swig of the Irish whiskey straight and let it burn all the way down, leaving my throat a bit stung. We start to run through our songs, no vocals, just drums and guitar. I notice that Frank’s Gibson ES Studio is still in the space. I stop for a minute and sling it on because it sounds really bad-ass through the Princeton Reverb. We grind through the whole set just getting into the blazing guitar blending with Wes’ powerful drumming.
After practice we go to the Chameleon for a drink. We play pool, just hang out and try to assuage our sense of loss.
“Well somehow we gotta go on,” Wes starts. “ Ya know, if he don’ wanna play anymo-ah, that’s just too bad. We can’t quit. This is a great band.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I nod, “but how? I’m not a lead guitarist. And playin’ without him?” I shake my head in despair.
“Well maybe we jus’ gotta face facts an’ get somebody else.”
“Who? ”
“I dunno, put out a ad uh somethin’. ”
“I hate the idea of playin’ with anybody but him,” I answer. And I think about how much I love to be playing a gig, just grinding away on guitar and knowing he’s over there to my left, doing his thing, belting out vocals and ripping through leads.
We play pool and discuss this for a couple of hours. We decide to make a, ‘Guitarist Needed’ flyer and put it up in some of the record and music shops around town.
Photo by Hoffacurse
Good, good, study, day, day, up.