Freezing Anticipation: Part 13 of the Drummer's Almanac

The brothers Goble and I got together recently to jam out some tunes we have always wanted to play or thought would be fun. Well, not many of them were fun. In fact a couple of them were boring because we don;t have vocals or the parts aren't fun to play.

We started with Kingdom Come's "Should I". Cool guitar riff and Zeppelin-like vocals, but it didn't make for a real rockin' time. AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" was a little more raucous, yet it was still missing the screaming vocals to finish it out. We threw in a blues song for kicks so Rich could solo. We nailed that one and moved on to The Guess Who's "No Sugar Tonight". A nice grooving song that feels good but, we were missing the organ which carries a lot of the song.

Finally, we got to the magnum opus, Rush's "Freewill". At first listen, it's a terribly difficult song having a 13/8 time signature and all. Rich played one note in the wrong place and it threw Donovan and I completely off. We reviewed the song again and Rich got it. We started again, but only made it through the first verse. Rush is known for it's muscal complexities and now we know why. I already know each and every fill in the entire song, but that doesn't matter if I can't play them. My hands froze up on me and I rushed the song several times in anticipation of the next fill. It was almost painful, yet we trudged along. It had now become a challenge to get through this song. We ended up making it to the bridge part about halfway through the song. That's where things get real complicated, so we decided to work on it individually until we get back together.

It's funny how you think you will handle something and then you react in a totally unexpected way. It told me to go back to woodshed and blister my hands until I get it right. It also told me it is good to stretch out and learn new things that challenge me and push me to my limits.

Land of a Thousand Santas

I don't think I have seen as many Santas in one season as I have this year. My boys have literally seen Santa Claus six to seven times. We even saw two just today.

We saw one on the train ride today. He was pretty cool. He didn't look great, but his attitude was awesome. He had a lot of kids to hold walking up and down the aisles. We went to an outlet called Rocky's Outfitters, when we stepped off the train, which was a typical hunter's paradise. As soon as we entered the second room, lo and behold!!!! Santa Claus. Yes, they took another picture with him and even got their grandma to buy it. They didn't really pick up on the fact that his beard and mustache were styled slightly different.

Caden did notice the other day when we went to see Marysville's Santa, downtown. He asked why Santa looked different than he saw before. We had to play that one off cleverly. He looked more authentic and was the most jolly and warm. It was almost like a picture when we saw a little girl go before us and run up to him and give him a big hug. My boys weren't shy, either, and told him exactly what they wanted this year without stutter or stammer. I would like to go see him again just because he looked and acted like the "real" Santa.

And one more thing... If you are one of those people who think Santa saying "HO, HO, HO" is offensive to women and he should go on a diet... Piss off and quit ruining it for the rest of us! We like Santa how he was, is, and always will be. Fat and jolly!!!