First Big Gig (Opening for Starbuck)

A vid popped up in my YT feed the other day and I had to check it out. It not only took me back but it put things in perspective for me...I'm old. Back before indoor plumbing was invented I was taking some music courses at a community college and I signed up for Jazz band. I didn't know it at the time but it was the best thing I could've ever done. The instructor was named Skip Perry and he had a very successful lounge band called the Skip Perry Trio. There were two other drummers in the Jazz band who'd been there at least a year ahead of me. One was a white dude whose name I can't remember and the other was a black guy named Hosier who's a friend of mine to this day.
 I thought I was maybe a bit better than the white dude although it's never a contest, but I thought Ho was a better drummer than me. Since they had tenure they played drum kit on most of the tunes and I played percussion. I didn't mind at all. Playing drums and playing percussion are two very different things, and I love both equally. A neighbor kid asked me the other day what the difference is and I told him that if music were a stew, the drums would be the meat and potatoes, while percussion would be the spice. I don't know if that's a valid explanation but it got the point across.
 I did play drums on a couple of songs, and apparently it was enough for Skip to decide that I was the best choice to replace his drummer when he left. It was a big honor and I was surprised. Skip taught me more about playing in a band than everyone else put together. I've mentioned how he taught me how to sing and play drums at the same time, which I absolutely could not do before. He was very patient and he worked with me until I was able to do it. I owe a huge debt to Skip. RIP Skip.
We heard that a band called Starbuck was doing a concert there. They needed a warmup band and since they were kinda jazzy they decided to use us. It was a big deal and we were stoked. We set up our gear as they were doing soundcheck. It was terribly exciting but I wasn't nervous. Any chance of my having stage fright was eliminated on my first real gig, where I played to a crowd of 750 or more people at a convention. I learned early on how to turn that energy into a better performance. I noticed something strange about the drum kit. The drummer was right-handed while the percussionist was a lefty.
.The kit was set up normally for a righty, with the toms going small to large from his left to right. On the other side of his hi-hat though was another kit that mirrored the righty kit precisely. It was like one big conglomeration with a common hi-hat. I figured that at some point they'd do a dual drum solo with the percussionist playing the mirrored kit and that's what happened. It was massive. During the solo they both pretty much played the same thing, but one drummer would do a fill left to right while the other would do exactly the opposite. It reminded of me of the classic "I Love Lucy" episode where she was dressed like Harpo Marx and she and the real Harpo did the "mirror" thing. It was amazing and very creative.
 I'd cobbled together a percussion rig and it sounded pretty good. I had a Roto Tom, bells, cowbells, a timbale, finger cymbals, shakers and stuff and some bongos. I had a splash cymbal and then all my trademark "found sounds" like sawblades and a big Coca-Cola sign as my "gong." Someone had given us a bird feeder that had a hollow metal pole and a round base. The base was made of spun-steel, which is basically how some cymbals are made. Since it was round and bowed like a cymbal, I had to test it out when we got it. It sounded so good that I just crammed the pole into the ground and kept the base. It had a short, white-noise-type sound like "TAH." It was beautiful. After our set the percussionist literally came running over to my rig to ask me what the black "cymbal" was. When I told him he laughed, and he gave me his number in case I ever found another one. I looked but never did. That was a big thrill.
 The video was really cool because it showed the band playing today, interspersed with footage of them playing around the same time we warmed-up for them. They had a big hit with a tune called "Moonlight Feels Right" and of course that was the tune on the vid. I was glad to see they were still playing today, and they had most if not all of the original members. I'm not positive it was the same drummer but I think it was. The singer and percussionist were the same. The song was unique for a Pop hit because it had a Marimba solo. The video showed him playing the solo both now and in the past and it was very well-done. It didn't just take me back in time...it yanked me back. All those cool memories came flooding back and it was a wonderful trip down memory lane.
 Some of the old-timers may remember the song, but have a listen if you happen to want to know what Pop music was like back in the day (kinder and gentler, to say the least). "Moonlight...feels right." Good stuff. I didn't remember a chick singer in the band, and I have to award mega-bonus points for the drummer having a Gretsch drum kit with single-headed toms, which they rarely make. What a classic tune, and you know what...moonlight really does feel right. If you listen to the tune, enjoy.

"Moonlight Feels Right" by Starbuck: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89RNX-ktD3Y