Band Names

The Prairie Dogs played their last gig Saturday night. We had a nice turnout, playing both in front of old friends and people who had never seen us before. Doug, who had been out of commission for the past few weeks, came out to bang on the drums, and though the tempos were all over the place, the energy was good and we pulled out some nice stuff. We brought the list of every song we've ever played and did kind of a hunt and choose to make up the set. Pulling out songs we haven’t done in a long while and even slopping through a new one of mine. My one regret with this band is that we were never able to practice enough to get down all the new songs we were writing, and though it was great that the music seemed to keep moving and producing, it just felt like were never able to keep up with it to see where it might take us.

Dave and I went out for beers after, since neither of us was all that interested in going home. We talked about a lot of things but not about the band much, I think we both just wanted to let that one alone for a while. Besides, though we won’t be playing live anymore, we still have the cd to finish, so it’s not like it’s over, over. That, and there will always be other bands.

In fact here’s a list of all the bands I’ve ever played in.

Gylt
Sorcerer
The Cool McCool
Bandit
Natural Causes
Cause and Effect
My Brothers Eyes
Hubris (thanks Ry)
Dreams in the Witch House
Mojo Skill
The Prairie Dogs

In between there have been some sound tracks, Christmas music and stuff that I recorded but never actually played in a band. I’m not sure if this looks like a long list, or a short list.

So now I’m sure you have questions…well I’m here to help.

Eleven bands? How many of them were any good? Two. Well, maybe three sometimes if there was enough beer.
Why list them all? Seemed like a good idea after all the coffee I drank this morning.
How many of them were any fun? All of them really, and that's the truth.
Favorite band name? That’s a hard one. Sorcerer I think…just because it’s so young and stupid and you really need to be both to pull that name off.
Any regrets? I just wish I had more of it on tape. There are so many moments that are gone forever.
So what’s next? I’m not sure. Come back in a few months and I’ll let you know.

One added bonus to playing Shakabrah Java is the fact that it’s within walking distance from home. After the beers, I strapped my guitar to my back and headed out into the night. The heat wave that had been kicking our butts over these past few weeks was gone, and the night had that cool late summer feel to the air. I didn’t see a car or another person the whole way home.

To tell the truth, I kind of found myself wishing the walk could have lasted just a little bit longer...

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