Monday Night Jams

When I started this site (actually, when I started my wordpress.com site, the day before I started davematney.com) I made the concious and public decision that I would stop referring to my past as a way to move forward, most notably referring to old bands.  Yes, playing with those bands and those people brought me to where I’m at, musically, and I will always be grateful for that, but the truth is I need to establish myself as a solo entity, and not as a “former member of *band*”.

Now that I’ve pointed that out, I want to make it perfectly clear that the decisions I’m making right now are a step in the right direction (Forward, if you will.)

Last night, the five remaining members of the original Fews & Two lineup got together (Nathan Iverson, Erik “Ecks” Ohlson, Eric Soper, Brett Jensen, and myself) –plus wives, girlfriends, a three year old Ninja, and an 8 year old greyhound named Lady; the people who have been with us every step of the way– to have a “breaking up BBQ” and to split up what was left from the merch money.  As with any of the band get togethers, we decided we should jam, even though we hadn’t played together in about seven months (or so someone said; I think it was less time, but it felt like longer).

It should come as no surprise that we all had a blast playing together. It should also come as no surprise that we remembered almost every old tune we decided to take a swing at… 100+ shows –plus weekly practices and an album– over a three year lifespan will do that to anyone. What surprised me, though, was the overall attitude we had.  There was no animosity, there were no feelings of resentment or regret, and there was an absolute feeling of cohesiveness that was missing when we made the decision to put down the old leadsheets and move on.

That said, it should come as no surprise that it was suggested, and unanimously agreed upon, that we should pick up the torch and move forward.  Not as F&T, we’re not that band anymore, but as something new.  We don’t even know what, yet, but we know a few things; it’ll involve ska/reggae, and you’ll be able to shake your ass to it.

I’m excited.  I need this.  It’s not going to become my first musical priority, and it probably won’t for anyone else in the project, but it’s definately something we all agree we need.

I guess all I can say on this is here’s to moving forward.

Related posts:

1. The Road So Far
2. About
3. Time to start taking myself seriously.