I have a friend, Phil, that has been playing guitar since he was a kid and he has jammed with friends as long as I have known him. He had a core that morphed over time and I've seen them play. They are all good musicians and so I was thrilled when their drummer canceled one night and Phil asked me if I wanted to come in and play on the acoustic set with them.
I was also very nervous. I hadn't not played on an acoustic set yet. I debated with myself that it was too early, etc. but then I thought. WTF! These are my friends. If I can't risk embarrassing myself in front of my friends I am the biggest chicken ever. I was still apprehensive. I knew they were good and they played in a professional rehearsal studio. Wow.
The studio was fully equipped - RockSavy Studios, formerly Muss Music. All you needed to bring was your guitar and drum sticks. The jams were affectionately dubbed "Muss Jams".
It was pretty sick. I didn't even know what songs they played. They might have given me a few names. What I remember is that for each song, they gave me the time and I played a basic beat. I might have thrown in a few pickups but my brain was running full speed and I just focused on keeping time. I was a human metronome :). I thought they might let me play a couple songs but we played for over an hour! It was great. Playing with others was exciting. It was a lot different than playing to a CD and I liked it.
I was still practicing at home and working on rudiments and trying to get my speed up.
A few months later their drummer decided to join another band so they were in the market for a new one. Meanwhile, they asked if I'd like to come in and play again. I figured it was a favor to me, like the last time. It was a blast, like the last time. By this time I had played on the acoustic set at the school a few times and I was a little more confident. The routine was the same. They gave me the time and I kept it. I didn't want to screw up the time for fear of breaking the song so I kept it very simple. This time, I think we played for the full 3 hour rental.
I'm sure Phil could have found someone with experience but those earlier combos had morphed for a reason and Phil and Art wanted to start fresh. They might have brought in a few other guests to fill in and maybe to try out but guess who they approached...
