Chronicles of the band

I don't know why I'm so self conscious, but it took me awhile to decide which casual but "rockin'" shirt I was going to wear to my band's first gig. Nate always wears a T-shirt, apparently (from other photos) his favorite is a black T-shirt that says, "black velvet" on it. So I can't dress up too much cause it looks disproportional compared to what all the guys are wearing. So I just wore my ringer tee. We had fun setting up and hanging out. Kyle disappeared for awhile and while he was gone, Nate reiterated how nice he is:

Nate: "Yeah, when Emily first met Kyle, she thought he was the nicest guy ever."
Eric (the drummer): "Yeah, he's a good guy."
Nate: "Kyle's the kind of guy that if he ever got beat up as a kid wouldn't do anything about it; would just be mellow, like 'I'm cool,' and then you'd get all mad at the person who beat him up and try to take him down!"

I thought that was a fun and creative take on Kyle. He really wouldn't be mean to anyone on purpose.

Nate, for whatever reason, is very quotable:

Nate on Eric's drumming: For the second time through, I'm not even remotely mad!
Nate on the band at rehearsal: All three of you are phenomenal! (to me and Kyle) I love you both! (to Eric) I only just met you today, I didn't think you'd be ready for me to drop the L-bomb on you yet.

Me to Nate: So I was wondering what the schedule looks like for March, cause I'm going out of town.
Nate: Well, we have a show on the 26th. But whatever, if you can't do it that's fine. (Pause). But I would be pretty much devastated if you couldn't do it.
Me: Really?
Nate: Well yeah, I'm just so tired of doing shows on my own.

Kristin acted as our paparazzi that night. At the end of the night:
K: So, as your paparazzi, I gotta tell you, you look depressed in every single picture I took of you.
R: Really? Yeah, I guess I am pretty serious when I play.
K: No, really, you SERIOUSLY look depressed or mad.
R: Well, I have to concentrate really hard on what I'm playing. I don't pay attention to my face...I guess I can work on it...
K: Um, yeah. Okay, just don't be mad that you look sad in all the pictures.
R: I won't.
K: No, really.
R: I promise.
K: Okay.

For a first show, not bad. There were a few mistakes, and I felt shaky on two songs, so I definitely have room to improve.

It was fun to have a lot of supporters there, and gratifying to know that we do actually sound good. I think the people were impressed!

I'm always filled with some self-doubt about these sorts of things because I always have this impending sense that I'm not as good as I thought. This does keep me humble to a certain extent, and makes me want to perform better the next time.

Michael B. after hearing that I was in a band commented on how a band really does bring people together. It's a great opportunity for me to get all my friends and acquaintances together at the same time for the same reason, to enjoy the music. I've worked hard to be able to play as well as I do, so it is great to know that there are so many people out there that support me.

I'm really looking forward to watching it all unfold.