Sudden End
Well, it looks like my career as a poser drummer is over. The band I'm in -- The Rum Diary -- has been officially put into "hiatus" phase. Our practice space is no more and there is no forthcoming effort to find another one. Not sure what to think about all of this. I've been in the band about seven years now. We practiced twice a week for a good portion of those years. Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons were our practice days. So much time was spent traveling up to Cotati to practice for just a few hours. We did this for so long that it became almost a mindless activity. Sure, it felt good, and it was a pleasant, creative release. It kept me busy and kept me focused. I really did enjoy it for the most part. But, the longer you do something, the same thing over and over again, the more it becomes a chore and eventually starts to lose it luster. This was beginning to happen to me, and I'm sure the other guys were feeling it too.
About 5 months ago we stopped practicing on Wednesday nights. It was just too much for me and Jon (bass player, lives in Marin, car-pooled to practice) to get up there after work. In the early days of the band Wednesday nights were fine, they were a welcome reprieve to the slow and trudging work week. We were excited to play and write new songs. I recall looking forward to Wednesday nights. It was a time to be with friends and let the worries of our lives slip by. I felt we could escape into glorious noise for a couple of hours. And this was true, for a good 4 years we did this, without hesitation, almost automatically.
I'm not sure what we set out to accomplish, I guess we were not too concerned with that; we just wanted to make music, to have fun, to do something a little different. None of us were accomplished musicians, but when we got together and played, we seemed to make something happen. Be it good, bad, or indifferent, we made some noise and packed it into a strange, kinda shaky, yet controlled package. I certainly didn't know what the fuck I was doing, I just love music and loved the feeling of playing drums. I took what I knew and made it work for me. Still, 7 years later, I sit and wonder how we did this for so long, with such limited knowledge of how to really "play" our instruments. I can't really speak for the other guys in the band, but I learned to play drums simply from listening to my favorite songs and paying attention to the way the parts were put together. I still don't consider myself a drummer, I'm just somebody who got away with drumming in an active band for a spell.
If we did accomplish anything, we were able to play numerous live shows (I lost count a couple of years ago), go on short tours, release three full length albums, one e.p., a split album, and a handful of 7" singles. Pretty good for a band whose objective was to become solid enough to play live about 5 years ago. Through it all we met friends in other bands, and fans who would frequently come to shows. I was happy with this, and it was much more than I had originally anticipated we would do as a group.
Our newest album just came out last month. My name is misspelled in the liner notes. I feel we could have all worked a bit more together as a band on the thing. But, the songs turned out nicely, and if anything, it was more of a DIY process than previous albums. Jon likes to call it the "album that was never there". We haven't been getting much help from the label in regards to promoting it, but it's out there, pretty much available everywhere to purchase, and I guess that is better than nothing. I think by the time it was finally released, we were already a bit burned out. This sounds like the end, but maybe it's not. If Sara and I move it'll surely be, for me at least. Seems strange, to end like this, but really, just as quietly as we crept in we will now quietly make our exit, almost as if we never existed at all. Does anybody really care? Probably not. There are Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Franz Ferdinand shows to attend. I heard T-shirts only cost $20! Cool dude!!! Go get 'em while we die a slow and unforgettable death. See ya.
About 5 months ago we stopped practicing on Wednesday nights. It was just too much for me and Jon (bass player, lives in Marin, car-pooled to practice) to get up there after work. In the early days of the band Wednesday nights were fine, they were a welcome reprieve to the slow and trudging work week. We were excited to play and write new songs. I recall looking forward to Wednesday nights. It was a time to be with friends and let the worries of our lives slip by. I felt we could escape into glorious noise for a couple of hours. And this was true, for a good 4 years we did this, without hesitation, almost automatically.
I'm not sure what we set out to accomplish, I guess we were not too concerned with that; we just wanted to make music, to have fun, to do something a little different. None of us were accomplished musicians, but when we got together and played, we seemed to make something happen. Be it good, bad, or indifferent, we made some noise and packed it into a strange, kinda shaky, yet controlled package. I certainly didn't know what the fuck I was doing, I just love music and loved the feeling of playing drums. I took what I knew and made it work for me. Still, 7 years later, I sit and wonder how we did this for so long, with such limited knowledge of how to really "play" our instruments. I can't really speak for the other guys in the band, but I learned to play drums simply from listening to my favorite songs and paying attention to the way the parts were put together. I still don't consider myself a drummer, I'm just somebody who got away with drumming in an active band for a spell.
If we did accomplish anything, we were able to play numerous live shows (I lost count a couple of years ago), go on short tours, release three full length albums, one e.p., a split album, and a handful of 7" singles. Pretty good for a band whose objective was to become solid enough to play live about 5 years ago. Through it all we met friends in other bands, and fans who would frequently come to shows. I was happy with this, and it was much more than I had originally anticipated we would do as a group.
Our newest album just came out last month. My name is misspelled in the liner notes. I feel we could have all worked a bit more together as a band on the thing. But, the songs turned out nicely, and if anything, it was more of a DIY process than previous albums. Jon likes to call it the "album that was never there". We haven't been getting much help from the label in regards to promoting it, but it's out there, pretty much available everywhere to purchase, and I guess that is better than nothing. I think by the time it was finally released, we were already a bit burned out. This sounds like the end, but maybe it's not. If Sara and I move it'll surely be, for me at least. Seems strange, to end like this, but really, just as quietly as we crept in we will now quietly make our exit, almost as if we never existed at all. Does anybody really care? Probably not. There are Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and Franz Ferdinand shows to attend. I heard T-shirts only cost $20! Cool dude!!! Go get 'em while we die a slow and unforgettable death. See ya.
posted by Joe @ 11:36 AM
2 Comments:
At 9:47 PM ,
Anonymous said...
I was in the Rum Diary van today, the lone vehicle in the lot at ye olde practice space near the decaying wooden boat. I enjoyed the exhibits within the van, the feel of ghosts, the mold colony taking root. Schuyler and I threatened to drive the thing to Red's and get drunk beyond recognition, but in the end he just started up the van and drove it to his house. Inside the house is the old practice space, the bathroom window we used for projection in the brief days of being a 5 piece. As the cliched saying goes, when one door closes another opens. The chance for new opportunities and the smell of new mens' ballsacks will invigorate you, Joe. You'll be whacking them skins again in no time flat. It was a good run and it may run again, my good man!
At 9:40 AM ,
.. said...
Joe, i told sara this. You should be stoked with how you guys did. If my comic took off as big as THE RD did i would be really, really satisfied. You did good. Enjoy it. Now it's time for that JOE Ricky-bosh solo project that we've all been waiting for. That'd be great.
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