Saturday, February 16, 2008

What Say You?

Here's the dilemma - Brady's band, Just Maybe, signed up to audition for a Youth Charity Jam. It was an ambitious move, a decision made after a bit of prompting from me and a bit of "it's a few months off" type reasoning. Well, now it's here - the audition is less than a week away.



There've been several changes. Ben went from lead vocals to bass. Max has come on board as vocalist and keyboardist but has only rehearsed with the band once and doesn't know the music yet. They wrote their own music so there are no cover songs to fall back on. And it's difficult getting 4 non-driving band members together on a regular basis for rehearsals. They've done remarkably well, though.



And now that the audition is just around the corner, they wonder if they've got what it takes to pull this off. Brady asked me to call the organizers to cancel, but the woman I spoke with said, "No no no they can still do this!"


And then, when I opened the morning paper today, there was this on page 2 of the Events section:




Hear Youth Bands
GO.RRSTAR.COM STAFF REPORTS
RAMI 2008 Youth Charity Jam Auditions will be from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 920 Third Ave., Rockford, and the public is invited. Bands will audition for a place at the 2008 Youth Charity Jam, which will be March 28. The winner will be invited to perform at the 17th Annual RAMI Awards Ceremony on April 10 at Tebala Shrine Temple in Rockford. Bands auditioning are Groove Company, Just Maybe, Hope Despite, The Silent Debut, The Son The Anchor, Fall Asleep Sober and Imaginary Heroes. Cost is $3.



I don't know if seeing their name in the paper made them more excited or more nervous, but for the time-being, they're still 'on' for their first-ever gig.



They need a little chin-up, though. A little rah-rah from the peanut gallery. A little nudge-nudge that all will be well. I told them to look at it as a great experience and not worry about the whole competition thing. Some of these bands are likely to have played for much longer, but it's good to get a feel for playing in front of others.


So what do you say, peanut gallery? Should they audition? Should they throw caution to the wind and give 'er a go?



Should they go to this gig and find that maybe, Just Maybe, they'll rock the house and be oh-so-happy they did it?


What say you?

14 comments:

Stacie said...

i say give it a whirl!

Jenn Casey said...

Carpe Diem!

And good luck!

ggang said...

I vote they go for it. They should win for the cool name, the fashionable hair cuts, and no doubt the creativity of the music. If you got something to say, sing it! I'm rooting for them all the way. . . .

denise said...

It's not about the competition. It is playing in front of a crowd...and as all musicians know, that ROCKS!!!!!!!!!

Lynn said...

Go for it..
Just Maybe you will gain all important experience in front of a crowd,
Just maybe you will totally love the experience of singing in front of a crowd,
Just maybe the crowd will love you, and
Just maybe you will win a place..

Good luck.....

EC said...

They should totally go for it! If they don't, they'll always be asking themselves, "What if".

You never know, all the other bands could be feeling the same way. Just Maybe.

Maria said...

My husband was in a band from high school to his mid twenties. Not terribly successfully. But that never mattered. He loved music. He loved to play. Put your passions to the fore, guys! I agree w/poster that said it's all about being in front of the crowd. That'll push you to do more with the band or not. It's great experience. Y ou'll be so nervous you'll want to barf. But then you'll play. And it'll be so cool. And girls will come out of the woodwork. Girls LOVE men in bands. LOVE them. It's just so cool. You'll have groupies and pretty soon you'll find yourself making tapes for girls...oh, wait, making CD's for girls of all your music. And you're mom will be proud. And you'll tell your grandkids about it. Okay, I should just stick with the girls part. JUST DO IT, Guys!! Go suck the marrow out of life. Or something like that. It's a quote from someone famous but I forget who.

Anonymous said...

The most successful people are those who try new and scary things!! Go for it!

KMDuff said...

Love the name. Go and rock out and live in the moment having an awesome time. It'll be great fun. :)

piscesgrrl said...

Thanks for the encouragement everyone! I keep wanting to show them your comments but they won't stop practicing long enough - a good sign! Woohoo - let's get ready to rock!

Christa said...

My brother was in a band in high school, and he always says it was one of the best parts of his teen years.

Plus...the girls love it.

hahamommy said...

It's february in corn-country, what? they got something *better* to do??? hee hee hee
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Colleen Paeff said...

I hope they go for it!

Beverly said...

Of course they should audition. They're too old for the movie "School of Rock," probably, but they might like it.