Dream On
Circa ten years ago, me and my pal OC used to spend quality time over beers discussing the band we were going to form. These discussions were many times held while playing guitars or while checking out bands at the Uptown. As these talks involved beers and two not-highly-motivated twentysomethings, we had more fun talking about the band then actually putting it together. So the concept didn’t get beyond envisioning the lineup of the band (OC on bass, me on rhythm guitar, two other drinking buddies – who I don’t think were ever formally informed of the plan – on lead guitar and vocals, and some imaginary dude on drums) and coming up with names for the band. (Early favorites: “Village Idiot” and “Butt Ugly”.) Damn, those talks were fun.
Well now it’s 2003 and I don’t wanna be in a band. I don’t think I ever did. I enjoy playing guitar, but I just like playing a few minutes of relaxing acoustic strumming while on the futon in front of the TV – I doubt I could physically handle standing and holding and playing barre chords on a Telecaster for song after song. More importantly, I don’t know songs so much as I know intro chords of songs. Rehearsal? Forget it! Plus, being in a group involves being around a group of people – no thank you. But I still occasionally think of names for that band. Recently, I pulled out the ongoing list of band names and thought of what they might be like:
Die Princess Die – Angry/smart political metal band. Megadeth meets Corrosion of Conformity. We don’t smile much but reference worthy tomes (Chomskly, Zinn) in our liner notes.
Gino Gasparini – Faces/’Mats-like bloozy band. Sloppy and inspired, forgettable or unforgettable depending on which night you see us.
Johnson Evinrude – Rockabilly/Creedence band playing Eddie Cochran, Gene Vincent, Jack Scott, etc. covers and wearing cool boots with buckles on the sides.
Mythical Champion – Heady seventies-type hard rock throwbacks. Think Guns n’ Roses or Mother Love Bone minus heroin and plus Heineken. Hated by hardcore punks for the stars in our eyes, hated by hardcore metalheads for our soft ‘n’ sweet ballads.
The Soaks – Cowpunk band placed somewhere between seventies outlaw country and Jason and the Scorchers. Half the band wears cowboy hats, we all have sideburns.