America, June 18, 2001
You Ever Have a Dream?
Take a flying leap with the Skydivers
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I had a dream once. It was to win the lottery & travel the world. As you might notice from my site, I think I fulfilled that dream (okay, so the lottery part, post-NASDAQ crash ain't much). Now I have to find a new dream. In my search, I have found a decent sub-dream: to be a roadie for a rock band. These days, I fill my nights traveling through time & space as a roadie for Skydivers, a band that a friend of mine plays base in. Tonight I am Philadelphia listening to them rock trough the wee hours in their interesting take on 80's New Wave and Brit Pop. They aren't that well known, or even that amazing, but I love them nonetheless. After hearing them play so many shitty dives and random gigs, I'm enamored with the crew. We have Mandy on lead guitar, with all the neurosis that a lead singer requires. My pal Mike hits the base guitar, as only a angst-ridden man can, while Rand keeps the rhythm going in his calm, throbbing drums way. I don't think they'll ever be famous, and that's not because their second album is over a year in the making, but due to their musical purity. Only sell-outs make it big and this trio would rather play for beer/gas money than sell their souls. That must be why I pay the beer tab at each gig. It could be, just that I am extremely lonely wile I live in DC with Jingmei in Oxford, but I try not to think about that. I do hope that when my wonderful wife joins me in America, she'll find the Skydivers as entertaining as I do. Only in local bands can we, musical peons, enjoy the fame that a shout-out in a random bar provides. Mmmm.. they are getting into a great grove tonight, with extended jam sessions as the not-exactly-full audience listens in what I perceive as rapt attention. Okay, so maybe it's just me in an alcohol and nicotine haze (no Ma, I don't smoke!) but I do think they have got the crowd working in their favor. This is much better than the first time I saw them perform It was a sunny summer day in DC, and the Skydivers had wandered into a Gay & Lesbian Youth Pride Day, which was a little unnerving for a very straight band. I watched them break several guitar cords as they laboured through their set. Not he most auspicious beginning to my roadies life, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt. In Baltimore, they redeemed themselves to an extent, ripping through their good, but limited set with admirable passion. It wasn't until tonight, when they really rocked as they jammed themselves into a groove, that I appreciated Skydivers as a real band. They were so good, I actually got inspiration to write again! Yeah, I know its been a while since I added to the site, but that's gonna change. The Skydivers will keep me writing now! Regardless of their ability, I have to thank this funky regional band. They've kept me engaged and excited in a personal desert as I await Jingmei's arrival. Oh, and in the process we've become something I would call friends. |
