Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Studio Session for Local Guitar Player | Keep Looking for that Perfect Drummer

My neighbor is a guitar player. He's been playing the Milwaukee blues scene for years now. His bands have come and gone, but he continues to perform live and record. He told me that he wanted me to be the drummer on his next recording. Just the thought of a recording session with him makes me nervous. In a polite way, I told him to find someone else. I can't record for someone else's band. Not anymore. I have lost the arrogance of my youth.

I hear every mistake that I have ever made on every recording going back to 1984. How could I possibly live with myself if I did the same thing on my neighbor's recording sessions. The pressure is too great. I can't be perfect, so I'm not going to try. I can screw up in my own band, but not someone else's. I feel like a fraud, when I'm playing with old pros. I play what I feel, but I don't feel it when I'm trying to make others happy. I like the relationship that I have with my neighbor as it stands right now. He's a guitar player, and I'm a drummer. He plays one style, and I play another. I would not want to blow that relationship up by knowing that he could have hired a true session drummer for his project.

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