We all hugged mildly awkward hugs and started loading in drums, guitars and amps into a friend's sound and lighting company in OKC (he'd given us a big area with a PA to rehearse). We sifted through "what you been up to's" and "I can't believe your kid I haven't seen in over a decade's going to college" and "what was that one guys name that used to run lights at Trees?" We recounted stories about bars, shows, stages, green rooms, vans, trailers, the RV, buses, bus drivers, studios, video sets and yeah, even jail (that last one will have to be a blog unto itself). As I listened and talked and watched each band member shuffling around from guitar case to amp or tightening a snare drum it hit me again: us 4 human beings had not been in the same room together in over 15 years. All that life we'd lived together then suddenly...poof, it just wasn't. My band the Nixons formed in 1990 in Norman, Ok and rumbled along till somewhere in the beginning the new century when we just walked away. And here we were together after all that time.
We got down to business finally as I said something like...
"Well, let's do this"
First song on the set list, "Head"...
4 high hat hits...
Big e chord then I start singin' "Lonely little girl on your island..."
Wow. Felt pretty much like we'd just done it last week.
Weird. Cool.
Jesse's guitar amp was still too loud. Ricky's too. John was too loud but, yeah, John hits hard. But it just didn't matter. We just locked back in and jammed songs we'd not played together since before my oldest son was born (he's going to college this year). The shows were great fun. We even recorded a new song called "Song of the Year." And thanks to modern tech: we all tracked in different cities but made it happen.
So there ya go. Make music together and you can always come back together. Reminisce. Rock. Create.
Funny. Music connects and revives.
Keep listening.
z