Rock and roll

I did something last night that I haven't done... in about twenty five years.

I played in a rock band.

I've been a blues musician all of my adult life, and all of the musical groups that I have been in have either been gospel, Stax-style R&B, or Texas-style blues. Rock music is something I like to listen to on the radio, but not something I've spent a lot of time on musically, although I've recorded some things that are rock-like. But a month or so ago, a friend invited me to take part in a Tech Rocks project, because they needed a singer.

So my friend helped me get my gear, and then I went with him way out to the bass player's house. As soon as he hopped on the drums and hit the snare with a huge "crack", I knew I was in for it - volume! My blues groups did not tend to play at very loud stage volumes - we relied on a PA system to provide any needed volume for the audience; we kept it quiet.

When the keyboard player and other guitar player got there, we launched right into one of the songs that had been selected for us, an eighties synth-pop hit that we were planning to rock up. The other guitar player rolled out sustained power chords, and I locked into the bass player and crunched out rhythmic chunky chords in the same phrasing as his bass line. The keyboard player is an accomplished musician who hasn't done a whole lot of time in rock bands either - she got those perfect eighties samples on her keys, and it gave us a cool blend of hard-edged alternative and eighties synth-pop.

I can't say I didn't enjoy myself, because I did. But it certainly was not as much fun as doing the blues groups. The other guitar player was a little dominant, but that's fine... I get to sing, and he's the group's sponsor anyway. I don't think that was my problem.

I think my problem with rock music is that generally it has no dynamics... there are some exceptions, like Dire Straits, but rock bands just tend to play all out the whole song, which these guys did. I had to sing at the top of my lungs the whole time, even though I could hardly hear myself. I had to play as loud as possible the entire time, without subtlety. There were very few moments of subtlety, actually. Even the one semi-quiet song we have got played without quieting down as much as a blues-based group might for the softer parts.

But this is a temporary project, and it is still fun to do. People will have a lot of fun with what we did to that eighties number.

The other project I'm involved in is a little folk quartet, which is also a little off the beaten trail. That's a little more fun, since the group is heavily focused on harmony singing. We all have found our natural spots in the quartet, and the harmonies usually sound good.

But I miss the blues. I miss being dynamic, and soulful, and tender one minute, and dramatic and pointed the next. I doubt I will be truly happy, musically, until I am playing the blues again.