As the time drew near for the band to have our full squad rehearsals a few weeks ago, I found myself feeling giddy, like a kid anticipating some big family trip to the amusement park, complete with out of town family members attending. I had not seen Charlie or Steven for some time, and looked forward to just seeing them. We booked Studio A at Crossover Entertainment Group, and made all the final arrangements. We had two days in this incredible room to ply our trademark sound. A few old friends were invited to join us.
Arriving at Crossover Saturday morning, I soon realized that the others must have had the same feeling I did. Rick and I had set up our rigs the night before, and we rolled in the remainder of the gear and were set up by noon. Chris had everything miked up, monitors running, and soon we were making some sound.
Upon sitting behind my rig, a very familiar feeling hit me, although much more clearly now. I had taken the time to get it set up much the same way that I had it back in the day. It felt like an old pair of jeans. I checked every drum and every cymbals position. I played a few patterns with Rick and Charlie. Slowly, the other guys got to their instruments, and we were there. Romin said, "Come Along ...." , and we did.
As we meandered into the song, it too, felt comfortable. Although Romin, Rick, Steve B., and I had been rehearsing the past couple of months (with the BIG help of Robert Nichols), this was different. There was that big, freight train sound. Slightly rusty on the surface, the structure underneath was solid. Just a little cosmetic work to be done, and this old machine would be shining. Song after song, the old drum fills came back to me. Some of them I executed exactly, others I heard in my head but changed them to something new. The freight train just kept throttling up, and I was one of the locomotives. We broke for supper, and came back for a long evening session. I was proud of everyone working so hard, but having so much fun. Smiles were everywhere. As Sunday rolled around, we assembled again to first shoot some video, then run through as much as possible before having to wrap up in the evening. The afternoon session began, and I found myself in an intense workout. As the band wound its way through some of our old standards, I found my way much easier. The jams went to places that I only dreamed of having them go in years past. "The locomotive keeps coming around".
The path seemed wider, more smooth, and I see it much more clearly now.