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May 10, 2005
Audition for Steve Bequette
Last night I played with Steve Bequette and his drummer Eric for the first time, my audition of sorts.
The background: Steve called me three weeks ago to say he was looking for a bassist. He had gotten my number from Jess when he was posting fliers at Vintage Vinyl and mentioned to her that he was looking for a “hip-hop bassist”. Nice coincidence, and considering the difficult times Jess and I were going through, a nice gesture on her part to recommend me.
So I said sure I’d be interested, and he dropped by that afternoon with a CD. We talked a little bit, and he mentioned that he’d been out on tour with matchbox twenty (apparently he’s friends with their lead guitarist). I suppose this impressed me more than it should, not in any star-struck way but in the sense that it led me to assume his career was fairly well advanced compared to mine. He talked about recording, gigging, and touring, and said he was looking to make some money through music. This all sounded good to me—even if the music didn’t turn me on (and it doesn’t, really, it’s pretty bland alt-rock) I figured the experience would at least be new.
We rehearsed in his basement, which makes sense in retrospect, but I was surprised to learn he wasn’t using a rehearsal space. I guess I assumed that anyone as successful as I took him to be would have graduated out of the basement rehearsal space stereotype. But of course, the basement is free, and a formal rehearsal space isn’t. Sac Lunch would be rehearsing in basements, too, if we had access to any. Steve, I found out, is pretty deep in debt due to his musical ambitions, and I can bet he’s pinching every penny.
Anyway, I was set up and ready to go long before Eric and Steve were, partly because as the first-timer, I wanted to make a good, professional impression, and partly because they didn’t feel any such pressure. I told Steve I could play all the songs on the CD he gave me, and so he suggested we run them through in order. Which we proceeded to do.
I blew them away. To be quite honest, despite the fact that it makes me seem cocky, I completely blew them away. I think they’ve really never met a musician like me, someone who actually has ears, knows harmony, and has some idea about how music is put together. They simply couldn’t believe that I knew the songs as well as I did. We never needed to run through any of them more than three times, and often once did the trick. Then after a break, they taught me some new songs, and again they couldn’t believe that I picked them up so fast.
The truth is that the music is really easy. The changes are almost all diatonic and/or blues-based, and when there are riffs, they’re easy and obvious. As I write this, I realize I sound condescending, but let me clarify: I understand that Steve is writing pop music. He’s not trying to advance the avant garde, he wants to get on radio. His music is just that—uncomplicated and accessible, easily consumed pop blather. So that’s fine; I knew that going into this, and I’m clear about what I want to get out of it.
I’m actually encouraged by his financial investment in his musical career. He’s got a wife and a baby on the way, so I’m hoping his family obligations combined with his steep debt will contribute towards his working hard to get us good gigs. I also don’t feel any responsibility on my part to help out on the business end of things any more than I care to do, which is nice. This is his venture, I’m happy to be a part of it for now, I’ll be very happy if it puts money in my pocket, and that’s all I’m concerned about for the time being.
I’m curious about how I’ll view this post a few months from now. Will I laugh at the pre-conceived notions I had about where Steve’s career was taking him and where it would take me? We’ll see.
Posted by alex at May 10, 2005 07:53 AM