Phyllis and the OGRB's

Here's an update on music, songwriting, jamming, and things in general.

I found a band. I didn't "found" it, in the sense that I laid the foundation stone. My band mate, Ken, did that. But he found me - I found him - all thanks to Craig's List. I've been quite happy ever since. I've got that feeling I had in high school when I was in my first band. We even hit that magic moment during certain jams. The music flows, independently, from each of us and magic happens. Not always. Just sometimes. But that's good.

So, there are six of us and, for sure, we're struggling with the normal human stuff that any group has to face. We do have a bunch of material we're testing out. We've each had to balance work (well, not me so much), home, family, and practice time. Our goal is to play out. I envision jamming with Sir Paul one day. Realistically, it's more like we'll play some open mics, pubs, bars, and just make good noise.

We don't have a band name, yet. I've started referring to "us" as Phyllis and the OGRB's. That's because, inside my head, OGRB means "Old Guy" and she ain't. But, for now, the rest of us are. I suppose we could say it means Olden Goldie Rock Band, but that's lame. Maybe Ostentatiously Gifted Rock Band? Yeah, that works, too.

Once we get a name, we can get a website, print business cards, get T-shirts, maybe have someone write a graphic novel about the superpowers we develop.

For now, I'm OK with Phyllis and the OGRB's. It's a placeholder.

Oh, and every once in a while, we sound OK. It's a work in progress.

FWIW - I still jam with Bill Martin. He and I like a softer sound. More folk, less rock. He's helped me tailor a couple of my original songs. He tends to make them shorter, fulfilling that "less is more" thing. It works, too. Thanks, Bill!!!