Garage Rock Blues

“Garage Rock Blues”
A musical memoir!
By
Billy Kirby & Gloria D’Arezzo


At the beginning of this journey we learned that an old bed mattress made the best sound barrier when leaned up against your metal garage door. If you were lucky it would muffle the sound just enough to buy you an extra hour of rehearsal time before the neighbor called the cops and you got shut down……. Again!

The birth of a Band
It was the latest reincarnation of a previous band project and we were excited and determined not to repeat the many mistakes of the recent past. We, that would be Gloria, a beautiful, super talented lady singer out of Alamogordo, New Mexico and me, Billy, born and bred in Germany, all those years ago, but home in the land of Rock and Roll for many, many years by then. Only players that were dedicated, professional musicians, who, like us, may still be stuck in a 9 to 5 job but were more than ready to break out and finally leave the garage would be considered worthy to join us for this, our most ambitious project. The unspoken dream of being the next big thing discovered while playing at a non descript , yet musically important locale, was always presumed. Once again, we are ready to play more than just afternoon pool gigs, a friend’s birthday party or the local dive. Not the food, beer and tip gigs we played during our last attempt to be serious and to be accepted by fellow musicians in our circle of friends. Some of them were playing for serious cash and we were ready for some of that too. Private parties! Corporate shows! Weddings! Those were the kind of shows were real money could be made. Now, that may sound like a simple goal! But, first you have to overcome the “I am not selling out my musical integrity and play what the paying client wants to hear just for a paycheck” mentality that many players bring to the table. But more about that later! First you have to find able musicians with their own gear, transportation, right attitude and yes, though it may be politically incorrect, a decent look for a stage performance. It would also help if they can play the instrument you need to recreate the sound you want to create. It is like putting together a puzzle. Every piece has to fit in order to create a great looking and sounding masterpiece
So, let the building begin.” Fun, Fun, Fun.” And, no, that is not a tune by the Beach Boys!



Chapter I
“Auditions”

Chapter I
“Auditions”

There are prospective players that answer your ad in the local musician’s rag that can audition in your living room. Bass players come to mind. Just have the prospective player set up his amp in a corner, hook up your own amp and guitar to accompany him, a small P.A. with mikes to ask for a little harmonizing if possible, and, in a very short time, you will know if he (or she) is a potential band mate! Simple! Well, that’s the way it should be anyway. There are, of course, exceptions to all rules. Let us call this one the story of the “solder challenged” Bassist.
His name was Jimmy H. After a couple of phone messages back and forth, we finally established a time for his audition and interview. Perhaps it should have been a red flag that we had to leave phone messages with his Mother. He himself “did not want the trappings of a phone”. Usually not a promising sign of a good business relationship if you are not able to contact each other when needed. But, we are talking about “musicians” here and the rules of the business world sometimes do not apply. Yes, as you will learn, we were always willing to bend a little and overlook idiosyncrasies when looking for a “real player”!
We had agreed to meet at Gloria’s house at seven in the evening. I got there a little early to set up a small area with a small guitar amp for me, a trio of microphones and a very small “rehearsal P.A.” since Jimmy had indicated he could “sing any part we wanted” him to sing. That was all we would need .Once he would set up his bass rig I would hook him up with a “mike” and we’d be ready to roll.
By seven fifteen I had everything set up, tested the mikes and tuned my guitar. Gloria drank some tea and I downed my umpteenth coca cola of the day. We sat back and the waiting began. Annoyance followed quickly, especially since there was no way to call Mr. Jimmy and track his whereabouts! At seven thirty the doorbell rang. He had arrived! Now the real fun could begin!