I have been in the last crush before this tour. Everything has come to a head in one snarling
chaotic tension filled froth. I handle
essentially everything. Coordinating
dates with the booking agent. Pressing a
special tour LP. Printing different shirt
designs. Booking flights. Coordinating van and gear rental. Coordinating promotional efforts in a
language and culture I barely understand.
I am the go-between for everything.
It’s a great deal for most people to handle on their own, much less
working full time with the responsibilities of a semi-normal “adult” life.
I look upon the other band members with some envy. They only need to pack their bags, show up
and it’s all been handled. For example,
the only thing Leo is required to do is get on the flight I booked for him and
land in Frankfurt with a snare drum, cymbals, sticks and a bass drum pedal. That’s it.
If you get down to it, he could buy a toothbrush and underwear when he
got there. I feel confident that he has
almost no idea of any of our destination cities, much less clubs. Sure, he probably knows we are playing some
of our favorite places like Stuttgart, the Wild at Heart in Berlin and Finnegan
Shinnegan. He’s likely overheard talk
about Bux setting us up in Belgium.
However, it’s all vague. Whatever
happens, happens. This is why receiving
a text message from Hector in Iceland saying “Leo didn’t bring his snare” was almost the
death of me.
A drummer literally has four things to remember. I had 117.
Yet at 1035p the night before departing, I suddenly had to try and find
a snare drum in Northern Germany that we could use for two weeks. I thought I was going to have a
coronary. I would have felt badly about
my death having the tour cancelled, though I suppose it could have gone off
with “Whiskey Daredevils featuring Greg Miller’s Corpse”. While maybe not as exciting musically, this
version of the band might have outdrawn us with more curiosity seekers checking
it out. I can see it now as one German
sipped a long crisp pilsner, saying to his friend, “Diese Band mit dem toten
Kerl war etwas besser als ich erwartet hatte.” (That band with the dead guy was better than I expected)
This will be a point of bitter contention and arguing within
the van for years. Leo has taken the
position that he told me well in advance that he was not planning on bringing
his snare and would instead just get one from where we rent the gear. This explanation is a bit shaky as I knew
weeks ago that we would be getting the gear from a different source, and he might
not have the opportunity to take a snare drum.
A snare is personal to most drummers, the key to their personal
sound. It’s like asking to borrow
someone’s retainer. Leo asking me to
secure a snare would have stood out in a “you want to get you a snare? Seriously?”.
He is firm in his position, confident of his memory, despite decades of
evidence pointing to the contrary side of the argument. It is very well documented that if Leo “remembers”
something, it is likely a wild guess at what he hopes might have happened. It will be a bitter dispute that will never
be resolved, like the DMZ in Korea.
The real lesson is I need to relax. I did all I could to try and make this trip
successful. The die has been cast. I should at least capture a sliver of joy out
of it. The bottom line is that playing
songs you wrote halfway around the world to enthusiastic music fans is
incredibly fun. It is absurd that I was
ever able to do this, much less after all these years of already having done
it. I need to work more Leo into my
head, something I never thought I would type.
It will all work out somehow. It
always does. Leo knows it, so why don’t
I?
I’m about to leave for the airport. I will provide as full an accounting of this
slam though Germany and Belgium as I am capable. Look for the Euro Tour Diary 2018 in this
space.
Love the tour diaries!!!! Looking so forward to this!
ReplyDeleteyou are Leo's snare drum enabler.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the tour updates. Have fun!!
ReplyDeleteLeo Knows
ReplyDeleteThere can and will be a snare drum.
ReplyDeleteBest time of the season! Try to save or failing "Rock Star" status!
ReplyDelete