christ666's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I brings the ruckus My ability to transcribe my thoughts onto a diary/blog page are a bit difficult, seeing as how a lot seems to have happened in a 24 hour period. But I suppose I'll have to try, for the sake of keeping this pointless thing alive. I'm a little of balance since I'm working on a day I usually have off, but that's because I had a show last night... but we'll get to that. I got of work and unwound with some beer and tv shows, unwisely putting off sleep until 10 or 10:30 when I finally shut my eyes and found myself waking up at 2:30. I loaded my guitar into the car and sped my way down the freeway, knowing I was already missing my practice, which was at 2:30. I arrive a bit after 3 and ask to tune at the very least, which I do. At this point, all I know is that Davin still wants to quit the band. But a text he sent me before I arrived was a bit suspicious as it read, "Gotta say, I'm enjoying this jam." I already know he wants to change his mind. And this frustrates me, knowing I don't want to deal with an on the fence mentality when I could be spending my time looking for a member that will commit. I have no problems if he wants to leave, or if he wanted to stay, but knowing his history of thinking, this could become an issue that'll go back and forth. But I don't say anything yet, hoping that the topic will approach itself. I haven't told Steve or Brandon yet, and I informed Trevor, knowing that he's ready for Davin to go. Relations between several people and Davin haven't been to great, and I'll get to that in a second. We drive to the Venue, pay for our parking, and bring our gear inside the building. I'm feeling extremely exhausted at this point, having downed two energy drinks and still feeling worthless. The vibes are weird at the Venue, but I pay it no mind. Other bands are already there, getting ready to set up, Resisting Fate (the other local band), and the touring bands, It Lies Within, What Dwells Within, Nightshade, and As They Sleep. One guy from Nightshade asks me how the Idaho pussy is, and I tell him I don't know. However, later my wife corrected me and told me that she does, in fact, have a pussy. I buy some beer and return to the venue and find that the person handling the money and ticket sales is asking us for our portion. I tell him that our singer hasn't arrived yet and he has the rest of our tickets. We agree to wait until he arrives. I find that their bathroom carries no paper towels for hand drying, rather a half roll of toilet paper. I ask myself, "What the fuck?" Trevor arrives, and tells me he's waiting for Monica and Farron along with a couple others to arrive to buy tickets from him. However, it nears 6:00 and the ticket fellow returns to ask if we can settle. Trevor tells him we're just waiting for someone to show up, and he tells us we have to do it now, for we've had a month to be able to sell. I understand wanting to get things settled, but the guy was rubbing me off the wrong way. I find that only Davin and Myself have sold tickets, and that embarrasses me. It irritates me that I can't count on those guys to hold up their end, but I eventually relaxed myself and considered all the circumstances. We end up making just short of $40 dollars from the show, and I decide to buy them a few rolls of paper towels. I suppose it was to be a little snarky, but I wanted to have a one up on the dude. He ends up being sort of a dick the rest of the night, trying to guilt us to watch the bands, because virtually nobody showed up, except for what the locals brought. And by the time we were done, the crowd left. I know we have to be able to bring people, but for the touring bands, The Venue really failed to draw in a crowd for those guys. Practically no advertising, hardly any social networking, just pitiful marketing. At some point, I sit down and Davin sits across from me, telling me that he doesn't want me to say anything to the other guys because he's rethinking things. He tells me he feels out of place with the others drinking and smoking weed, and he asks me if I understand. I tell him that I don't, and that if he doesn't want to drink or smoke, then don't drink or smoke. He tells me about his friendships with some of the guys and some of the band's other friends, and I start remembering what everyone had been telling me up to that point. Apparently, Davin had been burning bridges by offending plenty of his friends, to the point that they don't want to hang with him anymore. I've yet to be in this situation, and I don't know the truth of what happened, but given Davin's history of boundary issues and overreacting, it doesn't surprise me. By now, I've decided it's best if Davin just quits, but I don't say anything. We perform, and the show kinda sucks. We play all the songs we wanted and didn't get cut, which was nice, and the sound came out quite a bit better than before. But Brandon actually stumbles frequently for two or three songs and to us, it's unbearable. Thankfully, the crowd probably couldn't tell, aside from us looking at him to get back on track. Brandon and Trev both smoke a couple bowls, one right before the show. I think it's come to the point where we need to hold of all smoking until after the set. What bothers me most about it, is it provides to Davin's point. But, anyway. We unload and stick around and I eventually leave a couple bands later. I feel bad for the touring bands, but I also admire them for their dedication to play a great show, even with nobody watching. To give 100% with no benefit or gain is admirable, and I was kinda proud when I saw some of them getting into our set on stage. I got confirmation not long ago that Davin did indeed quit, so now we are on the search for a new bassist. We have a contest in April for a spot on a local festival, so hopefully we'll find a replacement by then. If not, we'll count on a good friend to cover. We'll see where we go from here. 7:36 p.m. - 2012-03-14 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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