Good Luck

As I watched the U of A battle of the bands last week I was reminded of the hard luck that one encounters as a member of a local band. Just as the second band took the stage, the Arizona sky decided to let loose.

As an owner of musical equipment, I instantly thought of the damage that the rain could cause to the band's instruments and amplifiers. A guitar half stack can cost a few thousand dollars and a drum set is no drop in the bucket either.

This reminded me of the experiences I had while playing in my first band in high school. It seems now that we were bombarded by bad luck more often then we were blessed.

I recall the time that we were set to play a big show with some popular local bands including Fall Silent and December. Club Underground (formerly called Ark a Ik) was full of anxious kids ready for a night of live music. As the opening band it was our job to get the crowd excited and kick the night off right.

It seems simple enough to hop up onstage and play a quick 25 minute set. But as soon as we were ready to begin, our guitar player's amp decided to malfunction. We instantly knew that this was going to be trouble. After several minutes of tinkering and troubleshooting, there were no results and some people in the crowd began to turn on us. There was some booing and a few shouts to get off the stage. As a bunch of high schoolers with no money we had no way to simply switch out an amp. As an independent band we couldn't just rely on some guitar tech to fix the problem; it came down to whether or not we would be fortunate enough to have things go our way on any given night.

I can remember other times where a power or guitar cable would be lost in transport and we would have to search out someone from another band kind enough to lend us one. Sometimes while drumming I would break sticks for no apparent reason and be left to finish out a set with cracked or completely broken sticks. There were times when drum hardware would break and I would have to find ways to make it through.

Going back to the battle of the bands I couldn't help but think what a bad feeling it must have been for the band to know that their equipment might be getting damaged. But the band didn't stop playing right away and run to cover their instruments. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that although they hadn't lucked out in the weather department, that band was lucky enough to be able to take the stage and share their music. Eventhough band members can look at any situation in a negative light, they should realize that they have to take the good with the bad and the misfortune with the good fortune. It's not an easy lifestyle and things aren't always going to go your way, but when they do, it can be the best feeling in the world.