My boys are in a rock band.
Nothing brings tears to a Jewish mother’s eyes faster than the six words: ”Meet my son, the lead guitarist”.
In all seriousness, I am very proud of their dogged pursuit of the ultimate boy dream and ability to pull their s-t together to try out for the grade school variety show in five days time. Such was the case last year when they totally rocked the school gym with a song Noah wrote and performed.
Area 51 – Noah on lead guitar, Chase on drums, Dave the Roadie
But this band is no one hit wonder – they are back with new, kick ass original material.. which they still don’t know exactly how to play.
Like all good rock bands, there is inner strife. The band’s lead guitar player is an ingénue who takes little direction from anyone, notably his little brother the drummer and his father the band manager. He does, however, take direction from his best friend, who does not play an instrument and refuses to sing this year, yet remains in the band in a position of considerable power. Should this kid quit, the band will break up as the emotional toll will prove too great. The aforementioned drummer is easily distracted during practice, often rising from his cymbals to play with the dog or lay on the floor. The keyboard player is enrolled in about 40 other after school activities, but he tries. I think he has an addiction to gummy bears.
The odds are stacked. Since the success of the 2008 variety show, there has not been a single practice or song writing session. Rather, there have been a series of meetings during recess and after school with producers, managers and agents to:
- Debate whether to change the band’s name from Area 51 (cool) to No Turn on Red (questionable)
- Contemplate the possibility of adding a girl singer
- Fantasize about trying out a series of girl singers
- Plan when the big concert will be and how much to charge for tickets
- Agree that the Moms of the band members get in for free
- Make back stage passes on the computer
So we are now in crunch time. Lead guitarist, drummer, and keyboardist have had two promising sessions and can get halfway through the new song. Best friend has been MIA from practice as he has been skiing in Vermont for the last week. But the lead guitarist is committed to teaching him how to play bass guitar… over the weekend. I’m thinking the band might need a little cow bell. Im just sayin. The band manager has taken to the bottle – which is the only way he can make it through practice. I just smile and offer hugs, kisses and unconditional, adoring admiration as only the best groupies do.
Rock on.
