Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

... Well, a mix of sleet and snow, actually, but the pun doesn't work with those.

I'd been thinking, at the end of February, that we were going to get another dose of white stuff in March. Well, it's falling on Baltimore this morning. I didn't catch a late weather forecast, so I don't know whether it's supposed to amount to anything (I'm guessing that we won't have any accumulation, or insignificantly little, but that's just a gut feeling), but still, it's here.

Ever since I left Wild Oats, I've been feeling this rock'n'roll itch that's not being scratched. I love what we do in The Homespun Ceilidh Band (and like the direction that band seems to be going), and I enjoy Thrir Venstri Foetr, and it's always a special treat when The Beltway Early Music Band has a gig, but there's a certain electrified power and rock sensibility that needs to be let out somewhere. (I got tastes of it doing musical theatre, but I haven't even done that in a while. Must get out to Goddard this autumn...) Every so often I think about trying to start a new band to take up what little time is left over from the bands I'm already in, but there are a few things stopping me...

The biggest, of course, is simple insecurity (okay, complicated insecurity, which I may or may not dissect some other time). But after that, there's the question of what kind of band, and what kind of music, I'd want it to be. I figure flexibility is important, 'cause surprises are going to happen and new ideas will thunder in, but starting with no plan at all beyond "I want to be in a rock band" seems like a recipe for floundering and flailing and never getting out of the basement. Now there are many kinds of music I like, and even narrowing it down to rock/blues/other "electric" music leaves a whole lot of stuff I like. But what do I want to create, what can I see myself writing, and what can I see myself singing if I wind up having to be the singer?

Today's insight came while I was in the shower, out of a thought that started off going in a completely different direction. This is subject to change if I wake up tomorrow and feel differently, but what struck me this morning was that I want to combine the poetry and hypnotic aspects of The Doors with the rythmic intricacy and irresistable danceability of Blue Miracle.

So the questions are: Will this continue to be the most important musical idea in the rock'n'roll side of my brain as I keep thinking about it? Can I write like that? And can I find, attract, and work well with some other folks who are into this idea?

(I know I can't expect to nail a groove like Blue Miracle, but can I recruit folks who can create such a groove with me? That's a pretty damned high mark to hit.)

Now to find out whether any of the people I'd really like to play with are interested in my vision, whether I stay focussed on this, and -- the biggie -- whether I work up my nerve to try to put a band together. (That's a lot different from joining a band, or being asked to help start one.)