Like most of us, I’m sure at the beginning of 2019 your were encouraged to start new projects, new challenges and even somehow better yourself. It is now the end of July and time to reflect over the last six months to see wether I have managed to keep to those new year resolutions. How many times do we hear somebody spurt out meaningless resolutions in the first few days of January? Unfortunately I am also guilty of this, but this year I really wanted to commit to any ideas that I might have.
My main intention this year was to play a little bit more. I’ve been with Wild for 19 years and enjoyed every moment of playing with this band. The problem I have, is the wedding gig. I want to play music for people who want to hear it, rather than be a side show.
I have been a country music fan for years, listening to my Mums taste in music certainly affected this. I remember my mother taking me to my first concert years ago to see Bobby Bare and Billy Joe Spears. Although I didn’t know much about the music, I remember being really excited to be involved in this spectacle. During the 1980’s it was quite common for kids to write their favourite bands all over their pencil case. I am sure everybody thought I was a bit strange writing country artists over mine.
I sat down one Wednesday morning and decided to look for a drumming job and I came across an advert for a country style drummer in Oxford. Although I mentioned earlier that I am a country fan, that basically means that I like country music when I hear it. I am not an expert when it comes to knowing all the songs, but I was sure I could handle the gig.
I answered the email, albeit I was a little negative. Most adverts you come across these days will involve a practice every week. This I cannot do because of my teaching schedule, but it was looking like a job I would like. I also have no plans to be leaving Wild after so many years, so excepting that I have another band is a must. I quickly had a reply and was offered an audition in a couple of weeks.
I was given three tacks to learn, two of their choice and I should pick a third from the set list they had provided. This wasn’t too hard , most of the tracks on the list are common country standards and I recognised more than I thought. The big question was whether I would manage to play at the standard they required. I spent the next few weeks going through the tracks ready for the audition, keeping my fingers crossed I had done enough.
Auditions can be quite nerve racking, but if you prepare yourself, the chances are everything will be fine. One of my absolute musts is that you should always get there on time. If you cannot get to the audition on time, what are you going to be like on the road?
We started with Cheating Heart. The idea behind this was to make sure I could play early country. Being a rockabilly guy, Hank Williams has always been on my listening list, so I am comfortable playing this track. Next track was Wagon Wheel from Darius Rucker. Not a complicated track, but I did have to be careful of the arrangement and the different drum parts. This gave them an idea whether I knew what modern country should sound like. The next track was my choice from the Setlist. I decided to choose an Eagles song called Take it Easy. Mostly because I love the vocals and the drumming during the end section. Before I knew it, I was in the van driving home. All I had to do now is wait for the phone call to see if I got the job. As I left the building, of course I question them with regards to who the other drummers might be, but they gave very little away.
Later that evening I had the phone call I was waiting for. Apparently the two other drummers were very different from me and they preferred my style. This meant the job was mine. Considering it has been a while since I had auditioned for a band, I was very pleased with myself.
Crow Valley is the name of the band and if you checkout their website you will notice they are all over the UK playing country and western clubs. I have now been in the band for six months and I am thoroughly enjoying it. Has it affected my time with Wild? Not at all, Wild will always be my first priority and Crow Valley are happy for me to ‘dep’ out their gigs. They themselves work for other bands and during the short time I’ve been with them, I have had other ‘deps’ covering their positions.
So there you have it, I am now travelling around the UK. playing country music. If you really fancy going for the job that you see on the Internet- do it! It might just turn out as you wanted.