01/24/2010 was not supposed to be a big day for me. It was just another Sunday our worship band played. But when I got there I was reminded that our bass player, Mark, was playing his last day with us.
Sometimes change sucks.
See, while I played it very low key, I was terribly depressed. I started to unravel my musical journey since 1998 and Mark has been a true constant. We’ve made each other better players along the way. We laughed and joked at truly inappropriate content for a church stage…even while on stage :-) We went on vacations together, to guitar stores together, heck, he even was there when my 3 youngest were born.
We met in the early days of crossWinds church, when we desperately needed a bass player…any bass player. I didn’t even care if he was any good. I remember literally leaping when I first heard him. You know the feeling when something just clicks…when there’s a chemistry that you know you can’t plan for but are fully aware of the potential… (sheesh I sound like a girl)
We played at church every week, then when we got enough players, every two weeks. From then until now I bet Mark and I have played well over 1000 different songs (which by the way resulted in me picking up songs immediately, but blocked my long-term memory from memorizing any song more than 7 days)
Here is a shot of the band back in 2004 but in the garage we rehearsed in since 1997.When we couldn’t get enough from the 4 songs we played on Sundays we started playing for the student event “Riptide”, and called ourselves “Raymond’s Last Day”. For a short season we rocked the multi-church event and even broadened out to other church events playing songs we knew wouldn’t work at church (Creed, U2, etc)
Beyond church we played in Jesus Christ Superstar. Super hard bass parts…pulled off brilliantly. Then later we would then make each other laugh with musical jokes by playing a Judas riff or other motif only he and I would know during church rehearsal (or during offering)
Sometimes change sucks.
When I got a call to record another CD from a local artist Jake, Mark played bass…wonderful fretless work. Turned out so well we ended up forming a backup band called the ‘Coat-Tail Riders"’ since we played whenever Jake played. No coffee house was too small nor medical courtyard to hot to keep us away. We played, doubled, danced between notes, and simply had a delightful time. For a season Jake, myself, Mark, Karyn whooped it up and had a complete blast. Soooo fun supporting an artist like Jake with my bass constant.
Over the recent years we haven’t done as much musically together outside of church (I tried to get him to play Rocky Horror with me but he couldn’t…could have been a blast) but we still had the constant of playing every 3 weeks at church. When we had a bass sub it was fun, but the music just didn’t gel the same. We knew what each other would play.
Most recently he’s been playing in a band I’ve grown to love, Pastel Black.
He’s wonderful in that group, too. Many times I wish I could play with him there but I wouldn’t get past the Eddie solos, so I spend time in the crowd enjoying the experience.
Sometimes change sucks.
So now what? We’re not in a band for the first time in a looong time. We have a new bass player who will be great, but just not the same. I hope to find ways to play with Mark. I hope we play more, but I’m not sure I foresee any regular stint. When we sub together I’m afraid it won’t get much past the small talk.
I hope I’m wrong.
But I do know one thing…sometimes change sucks.
