Chapter 2, part I I'm about to get an education in Elvis

I've fallen behind on my Elvis blog, so I need to get y'all up to speed. I have around 25 Elvis songs to learn, only three of which I've played before. I can improvise pretty well, but my problem is that I don't know how most of these songs go. That doesn't intimidate me much. When Dad and I played the Fulton County Fair, I learned more songs than that on fairly short notice. But, I had at least heard most of those songs, and could hum them, if you asked me to. I'd probably ask you why you were asking me to hum songs for you, but it could be done. :) These songs are different. A month ago I could have counted, on one hand mind you, the number of Elvis songs I could name. But all that has changed, my friend.
Around the end of January, Dad, Jason(our keyboardist) and I all drove to Galesburg for our first practice. Dad and Jason have been in a band together for a long time (I want to say five years or more....?), so they know each other, musically, pretty well. It's pretty easy for me to play bass along with Dad's guitar playing, so that's not a problem, either. But none of us really knew Tim, the drummer. Tim had been in Al's last Elvis tribute band for years and years. So he knew the material, and I'm just learning it. I may have been a bit nervous.
We get to Galesburg and from the moment I saw Legends, I was impressed. I walk in the back door and there is this huge, aluminum ramp going up to the stage. Al and Tim were standing on the ramp, however, so I couldn't really see the stage just yet. They all say 'Hello', and Tim asks, "Which one of these guys is the bass player?"
I stepped forward, told him I was as I shook his hand. He said, "Good, you'll set up right next to me. I'm going to be playing off of you."
I'm thinking to myself, "Oh Crap! I don't really know these songs. I was just going to try to follow along with Dad and not mess up too bad!!This guy knows how the songs all go and he's going to be listening to my every note!"
Then, we walk up the ramp onto the stage and my jaw about hit floor. I've played on risers that were a foot off the ground, but this is a Professional Job. Rockin' sound system, Professional lighting, all on a theater type stage. Big dance floor, tables and chairs, huge bar, a 50's diner style seating area complete with pool table and vintage advertisment tins on the walls. Every where was memoribilia. Mostly Elvis, some James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, The Beatles. I was Tres Empressed! I'm also a little nervous. I'm thinking that we will play, they will smile and shake my hand, then call me the next day and say "Sorry Isaac, it isn't going to work out." Could picture Al and Tim after we left and Tim saying to Al, "That kid can't play these songs. I can't follow him. We need to get someone who knows this stuff." I remember thinking to myself "I'm about to play myself right out of a job"
But after we warmed up with a few songs, Tim turns to me and says, "I like your playing." That was all it took. I have so much more to say, but my fingers hurt and you need to get up and get away from your computer for a while. :)

Chapter 1, part II What you gonna do, man?

Dad has played in lots of bands. He got me started on guitar way back and we've jammed off and on throughout the years. Him and my Mom have told me all about this guy, Al Hull who has done an Elvis show for years now. Al and his band have come to a crossroads and Al went one way and his band went the other. He's known Dad for a while and he knows that my old man is a musical encyclopedia. So it doesn't surprise me when Al asked Dad to join in a new band, in a new Elvis show.

It did surprise me, however, when Dad asked me if I would be interested in joining and playing bass. I had mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I'm not really an Elvis fan. I mean I know how "Blue Suede Shoes" goes, but that's about it. Once when I was little my Mom accused my brother and I of taking her Elvis Christmas cassette tape. We laughed and said, "What the hell would we do with that? Use the tape to dub a Motley Crue album, maybe, but not listen to it!" But I'm pretty open minded about music. Once I only listened to hard rock, but now I listen to all kinds of stuff.

On the OTHER hand:

1. It's a paying gig!
2. I'll be part of a show (I know how to play bass, so I'm not really blazing new trails there, at least musically I'm not, but now I'm learning about putting on a real show, not just playing chords and solos)
3. I'm going to sing here and there in the show. I think that will help me get my confidence up about singing in front of people.

I thought it over and decided that, hell yeah, I wanted to do it!

Chapter 1, part I My musical background

Hey, y'all. This is the story of how one 27 year old white boy named Isaac became Elvis' bass player. Let me start by telling you just a little about me. I started playing guitar in grade school. By eighth grade I was taking lessons and practicing daily. I was pretty good in High School, but I was a little nervous about playing for people. It's not that I have stage fright or anything, It's a little more complex than that.

See, if I'm around a group of people I don't know really well, say in a party situation, I may SAY that I play guitar, but I usually don't actually play the guitar, unless someone is asking or telling me to. It's like I have to feel like people WANT me to play for me to actually play. Half of being a musician is learning chords and scales, but the other half is learning how to sit in a room of people you don't know and play a song on the guitar wether they're listening or not. I know chords and scales.

So, although I am a pretty talented guitarist, I haven't really done much with my talent. I should have started, quit, followed or tried to destroy 20 or 30 bands by now. I have played a couple of really cool gigs. My dad was in a 50's-60's band called Gene and the Pushrods that played shows around Central Illinois. The drummer, Terry booked a show that the rest of the band couldn't play. So, my Dad on guitar, Terry on drums and me on Bass filled the bill! It was at the Fulton County Fair and I was so excited because I got $150 for doing it. My Dad and I have played some other shows, but that was the best one.

I've also had an on-again/off-again relationship with a group of guys that I've known for a long time. We had some good times and we had some not-so-good times, but all in all I think that (again going back to my shy persona) I wasn't enough of a leader. I didn't want to be pushy because we were all friends, but either way, I wasn't happy with the way things were turning out, but I didn't do anything to try to remedy the situation. I guess you can't put zero effort into something and expect it to work.
But other than that, I've mostly just played at my house. I've no audience and when I'm done playing, only the walls and me remember what I created.