Tuesday, November 30, 2010: TWOfer Tuesday - The "Souldiver Was Here" Edition

I play bass guitar.

I began playing acoustic guitar in high school, and got pretty good just after high school. Then stayed at that same level of playing for about 15 years. Eventually I got bored.

I then picked up bass guitar to help with the worship band at my church. See, pretty much every Christian can play acoustic guitar, it's almost like a rite of passage. If you can play keys, you're kind of ahead of the curve. If you're a Christian and can play bass, then you're on to something special.

If you can play drums, you can write your own ticket, in pretty much any genre. EVERYBODY needs a drummer.

Back to me. So, I started to play bass. Then I started to really enjoy playing bass. I picked up Bass Player magazine every month, visited bass guitar forums, actually started to go to open jam nights with my bass. I got very into it.

When living in England, I was one of the bass players for a large church I was attending. After one service, a couple came up to me and offered me a chance to play with their group. Their bassist had left. I jumped at it.

I had never been in a band before. I didn't think I was ever a good enough guitarist to join in with other players. As a bassist, however, I thought I could bring something special.

I got very into it. We rehearsed weekly, they had a lot of songs already, and we spent a lot of time just jamming and trying to form new songs. They stand as some of the most talented people I've come across. I'm a much better player for being around them.

These two demo's are from that band. I appreciate they are not "studio" quality work, but we never got around to laying down anything else.

There were a lot of plans tossed about, a lot of big dreams discussed. We had one proper gig, which went very well. And then a lot of bad juju stopped us in our tracks.

Then everyone went away.

And that's that. I eventually joined another band, also with a bunch of very talented people and we wrote some amazing songs. Then everyone went away. Then I got involved with another band, with a bunch of extremely talented people, and we rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed some more. I eventually came to the realization that if you don't gig, it's not a rehearsal; it's just hanging out. That time I went away.

My last band was a pub covers band with a previous guitarist I had worked with. We never wrote anything, but gigged a fair amount. That was cool.

Now, I'm back in the States. I live in Las Vegas. And I'm over 40. Which means my playing days are pretty much over.

So, I've posted these two songs. Mostly because I doubt I'll have anything else of my own to post in the future.

I have done this on my own. I haven't talked to any other band member since around the break up. I fully expect some of the personnel of this band to contact me and demand these demo's be taken down. We'll see.

But frankly, I just wanted someone, anyone, to listen to these. It would kill me to know that all the work, all the effort and heart and soul and sweat we put into this band would evaporate like mist. At least, not while there is some tangible proof we existed.

Consider this like "Souldiver was here" graffiti.

But, more important than that, ponder this: over all the years, over all the earth, how many other bands out there have been great but got nowhere? How many truly amazing songs have been written only to have nobody ever hear them? Who's to say that something better than Bridge Over Troubled Water, or even Stairway To Heaven was created only to get tossed aside and forgotten after a band broke up?

For every horrid, repetitive pop hit written today, how many incredible compositions have been lost forever? A thousand? Ten thousand? Who's even to say?

What about you? You ever been in amazing band that went absolutely nowhere?

Here's to you, then.

Souldiver were here. For a brief moment, and now they're gone. Forever.

Here's to them. To us.

Enjoy.