The friend that had called was none other than Dave, the guitar player for my old band Moby Dick. His plan was a simple one. We were gonna play nothing but “good” music regardless of whatever crap was on the radio at the moment. The plan from the outset was to play stuff for ourselves and hope an audience would find us. A silly plan from a marketing point of view, but the musical results were nothing less than phenomenal. GrewvZew (pronounced: Groove-Zoo), the band that was to form out of that phone call ended up being the best, most talented, hottest, jam-band I’ve ever been in. Jam band is the only word I can use to describe it. We jammed! We were all so comfortable with the material we were playing, and we were all seasoned enough that there was no way we could screw up on stage. We could jam our way out of any corner that we got into. Sometimes, we would morph from one song into another without ever having discussed it in advance. I mean ever. We played everything from Santana, to Hendrix, to AC/DC, to David Bowie, to newer stuff like Bush, Tonic, and Collective Soul. One of my favorites we used to play was an old obscure Grand Funk Railroad song called Sin’s a Good Man’s Brother. That was what was fun about that band. We played whatever we wanted. I’ve never had so much fun playing music in my life. I think that band was the best band I’ve ever been in as far as talent and jamming goes. Of course, there are lots of ways to measure the quality of a band, and as good as this band was musically, it fell short some other important ways.
Two things kept this one from really rising to the top of the local food chain. One was the very song list that made it fun. It was simply too diverse. People who wanted to hear new stuff would run when we’d play an old Who song, and people who wanted to hear old stuff would wrinkle their noses when we played Tonic. Like I said before, it was a bad marketing decision. People would love us. . . . but only one song at a time. We had a heck of a time keeping an audience. I think bands should be careful not to play too much variety. It can easily run people off.
Another factor that I think held this band back was our stage presence. We didn’t put on too much of a show. We just played. In fact, sometimes it was like the audience wasn’t there at all. We just jammed with each other and enjoyed the music. We felt the moment, but we often left the crowd out of the mix. Let it be a lesson to all. The crowd is more important than anything. You have to be an entertainer first, and be a musician second.
As good as we were musically, the two factors mentioned above really held us back. It was hard for us to get gigs and even harder to keep them. People aren’t into the “music” like they were 20 years ago. They want the party experience. I think that’s why musically unreal bands like Kansas and Rush have been disappearing from the radio airwaves in the last few years. People now days want the three chord ditties like they did in the 50’s. It’s sad, but there is still hope in today’s music. Bands like Dave Matthews and The Red Hot Chilli Peppers are keeping Music and musicianship alive. In any case, GrewvZew wasn’t destined to last more than six months or so. The band eventually disbanded due to lack of public interest. Oh well, it was time for me to take a new direction anyway. Actually, in a sense. . . .it was an old direction.
I don’t know how long I was bandless after GrewvZew, but I do remember that it was quite a long time. I sort of left the music world altogether for a while. I remember wanting to find something to get into, but the search for a band is always tough, and I just didn’t have the drive I needed to go out and find one. So. . . as luck would have it, one found me. My old friends from Kee Creek were still jammin’, and I went to see them play fairly often. Honestly, I found them to be incredibly talented, but a little on the boring side. They were an acoustic band with great vocal harmonies, but they didn’t have a drummer, so I said (in a moment of drunken revelry), “hey guys, why don’t you let me play drums.” Well, they smiled and nodded and generally brushed that idea off, but a few weeks later. . . .they asked me to do it. . .
. . . .and the rest will have to be saved for the next installment of Scott’s Mucical Journey.
We're up to early 1998, but there's a lot more to tell. Stay tuned for the continuing stooooory. . . .
Below are a couple of pictures that tell a little more. . .
| Remember the days of the hair bands?? This was my David Coverdale look....Oh those crazy days of youth...... |
| Here I am playing with the final incarnation of the band Stone Monkey We played a lot of newer alternative stuff with an even mix of classics. This was was in the summer of 1997 (I think) Check out that Ibanez lightning bolt bass on the left side of the stage. |
| The picture to the right was taken when my all electric band (GrewvZew) temporarily joined forces with what was then the all acoustic Kee Creek band to play the biggest annual music festival for hundreds of miles around (Springfest 1997). We got to share the weekend with such acts as the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Seven Mary Three, Gregg Allman, and even Little Richard. |
|
| Back |
| PA Home | Words to Know | Setting it up | Running Sound | Tips and Tricks |
This section was last updated on March 22, 2000.
Mail me at Bassist@Spydee.net.
Get your own Free Home Page
