Join the Army

Taken by Jeremy Hughes

The show with the Silver Saint Guitar Army was, for the most part, a success. Cory Graves of Central Track did a well-written review that summed up the whole evening. As I've said before, it was an honor to share the stage with members of Record Hop, Jack With One Eye and Maleveller. And I would be happy to play with Wanz again if he asks me.





Here are some thoughts I came away with from the show.

-In all my years of playing drums, I frequently heard guitarists say, "I couldn't hear myself." Now I know exactly what they were talking about. I have a small, 15-watt amp that is perfect in a practice setting, but onstage with thirteen other (some bigger) amps, it was easy to get lost in the shuffle.

-The fun, spontaneous nature of playing music that's almost as new to you as the audience was in full effect. We only really had one run-through for the half-hour set. It was really easy to play the final piece as it was made up of the guitars tuning up and down. I tried to get my guitar back to standard tuning.

-Somehow, I was able to tune my low E string all the way up to B without popping the string. Here, after all these years where I thought you'd pop a string tuning it up beyond G.

-I didn't feel out of my element with only a guitar strapped to me. Sure, I've had the barrier of a drum set in front of me for many years, but it didn't feel much different with a guitar instead.

-I listened to the power pop of the Rubinoos on the way down to the venue. I also ate way too much vegan Hawaiian pizza beforehand. It was my first time to have a sit-down session at the Double Wide restroom.