Ya, everybody has excuses. Fact is, I've been busy putting together my little music studio, writing songs in it, rehearsing with Debbie, then playing bass for some pals in downtown New Bern. In fact, the bass playing strengthened my left hand to the point that it started feeling normal again, after 2 years of numbness and weakness. Even the muscle twitching in it has almost stopped! The combinations of time, chiropractic adjustments, and playing bass had pretty much healed me.It was time to start a new band, but a band with a major difference: All my life I have had to play OTHER PEOPLE'S SONGS- called "covers" in the business. I tried to choose covers I liked, and I would throw in a couple of my songs just to guage audience reactions to them. I decided this time I wasn't getting any younger and it was time to put together a band NOT dedicated to making money, NOT playing covers. It was time to have a band play my songs and hope a few people liked what they heard.
Ask any true musician: this was a major decision. Most musicians are in sore need of income. They have a wife and kids needing that mortgage payment every month. I am mostly retired now and feel I can get by on less paying gigs and therefore less money. But I needed fellow musicians who believed the same way AND who believed in my music!
One night six months ago a guitarist, a drummer, and myself on bass were playing at a downtown music venue in New Bern. After the guitarist finished his set of songs, and since so few people were watching, I asked him if I could play his guitar some. "Sure," he said. I didn't know if I could pull it off or not. I hadn't played in front of anyone on guitar in two years. But after the first song ended, I knew I could do it. The bass player was doing just fine over there to my right, and the drummer was good-to-go. So I launched into a couple of my original songs. They felt good as well. Hmmmm. I was starting to get ideas. I finished a few more songs and we took a break. The manager came over and offered us a job playing there on the spot. He liked what he'd just heard. So did I.
I turned to the bass player, Randy, and said, "Are you interested in playing bass in a new band I'm puttin' together?"
Randy said, "Sure!"
The drummer was eager to play too. We started rehearsing with Debbie on keyboard the next week, Sunday nights from 7 until 10 pm. It went on that way for 3 months, adding more and more songs.
We soon auditioned another drummer and were nicely impressed with his skills. His name is Tom, and he has added greatly to our overall sound. He's rock steady, yet quite sensitive to tempo changes and styles. He runs a Presbitarian church campground nearby, and he can be trusted in Debbie's bathroom. We had a few more rehearsals, all successful, and added a few more songs. Now we were ready to call ourselves a band. But what name would we choose?
I swear, one of the most tormenting, frustrating things a band can do is to choose a name! This is especially hard to do in modern times, what with access to the internet and easy availability of knowledge of bands that already have the names you desire for your band!!! I mean, come on! What band wants to try and take over a name of an existing band that already has two albums out and is sucessfully playing? So the long hunt for a band name began. I've had to do it before. It ain't fun writing down possible names, researching them for hours, only to find they are an established band. This time I narrowed it down to around six vetted names and presented them to the group at a rehearsal. I told them to just think on it. Some names had more potential than others. The following week we unanimously decided to call ourselves Mike and The Wavemakers.
I made the difficult decision to throw-in the "Mike" part simply because I was the band's leader and singer and songwriter. The last was the most important. I feel I have to start promoting my songs soon, before I have to quit music from old age (or my hand acting up again!) I have to get those songs out there to be heard. I want folks to ask, "And who is this 'Mike'?" Hope it doesn't sound egotistical to you. It's logical to me. I wrestled with the idea a long time before doing it. I am acutely aware of my limitations in singing and playing guitar. But those limitations simply don't exist when it comes to my songwriting. I'm no Billy Joel, John Prine, or Jimmy Buffett, but I can write a pretty good tune. And I'll only get better, I promise!
Thus it was that Mike and The Wavemakers was born. Check us out at http://www.mikeandthewavemakers.com/
Thanks. Until next time-
Mike
