www.tomskillman.ca

So, I’m in this band… “Badfish”. Not to be confused with the Sublime tribute band, although we do cover some Sublime tunes!

We played a pretty good show on Saturday night in Campbell River at a place called “The Sportsplex”. Now, this event was a Charity Ball, with aims of raising funds to support “The Evergreen House” which is a social services establishment that assists people in need. As the gig was on St. Patrick’s Day, the evening certainly had multiple purposes!

Campbell River’s resident soundman of choice, Hugh Schmid, brought in a monster PA system… complete with a rather decent light show and smoke machines. If we played every gig through that system, I’d be just fine… although judging by the rather large fellow who stormed in at 1 am, I’m not so sure everyone appreciated the eight 18″ subwoofer speakers with matching eight mid-high range speakers powered by thousands and thousands of watts of top quality power… this guy starts yelling at Scott (guitarist and maker of fine instruments)

“Hey! There’s people who have to work tomorrow!!”

To which Mr. Heatley responded “fuck ‘em!”.

To which the rather large, angry fellow responded “no… I have to work tomorrow“.

Scott’s off-handed response was a rather witty, “oh. We’re done”.

I have to admit, I did feel a little bad for the guy. It turns out, we were LOUD. Maybe too loud… the lead singer, Ray Payne, lives about 300 meters from the venue, and his family told him that they could hear everything as clear as if we were in the room, when they were inside their house!  Ah…the glory of rock. On the other hand, maybe this dude needs to get a job that doesn’t interfere with “the rocking”. Yeah…
The hall is a large gym-convention type room that can be divided in half for smaller events. This event had 250 people at it, and the room size was kept small, which made for a fun and intimate evening of rock. There were people dancing from the start, and it was a fun night for everyone…no dramas, no car salesmen beating on Realtors, no hot chicks getting their skirts pulled up accidentally by their boyfriends as they twirl them around thus revealing their bare bottoms (that was LAST week’s gig… a highlight. I mean, c’mon, who wears a mini-skirt that barely comes down to the crotch level, without panties on? Obviously that chick. Not sure why she’d dress like that at a WORK function…or get embarrassed when things got a little… hiked. Talk about a lack of consistency…but I digress…that was last week).
I just got a new double kick pedal, and I wasn’t so sure if I was going to try it out on the gig just yet, as I’ve only practiced with it  three times. I actually promised the band that I’d leave it at home for fear of getting messed up using it… but when it came time to pack up my gear… I HAD to bring it! Now, trying to fit double bass drum riffs in country songs can be tough. It can’t seem out of place. Heh. Fortunately, I didn’t embarass myself trying out licks that were a bit beyond my means… and on the last tune of the night (the Ramone’s “Sedated”) I let it rip! Man, I love that pedal. I’ve been more motivated to practice since getting that thing than I have been in years! I tell ya, if you’re practicing something and you’re losing motivation, GET MORE GEAR!!! hahaha. Totally works.

Ray sang his ass off at this gig. He’s turned into a solid frontman; dancing, talking to the crowd, jumping up and down, tons of energy, and he uses a “southern charm” to woo his audiences. I think this was a pretty significant gig for him. I’ve only just joined the band, and it takes time to gel with a different player. In fact, the drummer I had replaced showed up at the end of the evening. That’s the thing with a music scene in a small town…sometimes, band relationships play themselves out, but you gotta stay on good terms. The scene is too small! They all looked like they were on good terms, which is nice. They want me to stay in the band… which is nicer.
Kevin, on bass, had his game face on.

If game face is defined as 8 or 9 brews.

His energy was smoking, just totally into the show. He ran into some trouble late in the evening as his hand cramped up so bad he had to stop playing and ice it up! That’s the thing about playing through a PA system 10 times more powerful than what we’re used to… we practice in a room that’s fairly quiet, and when you get on that stage and start slamming it out, it takes a lot of energy!! If we keep using this soundman, we’re gonna need a kinesiologist or physiotherapist on staff.

Scott seemed to have a tough time getting into the show. I’d speculate on the reasons why, but the facts are that he played great, and the audience didn’t know, so really, who cares. Certainly not me. heh. He had a few solos that night that were awesome… well played, soulful, killer tone. It just goes to show, a musician is the last person anyone should trust about how they played… really, only the audience knows what they think. If more of them like it, it was good, whatever the reason!

Hmmm. That last sentence almost discredits this whole “review”… oh well. This isn’t’ a review…it’s a “recap”.

We had some rough spots…namely on the ending of tunes! I learned all the arrangements from the original artists versions, but Badfish likes to take liberties with arrangements at times. It can fun trying to figure out what’s going on… I’m sure after ten or so gigs we’ll have all those little bugs worked out.

So… that’s it. We played, we rocked, I was so sore the next day I didn’t get out of bed until after 1 pm! I’m not used to drumming that hard for four hours!  We got a couple more gigs out of it (all ways a great sign of a good gig when you’re in a cover band) and I’m stoked that I got a band I can play drums in where I can let loose!

later!

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Sam Hurrie is quite the player.

I’ve only played with him once before, and it was a last minute type of gig. Sam’s drummer had come into contact with the Norwalk Virus, and they had to cancel the show. Well, the staff at the Heriot Bay Inn needed a band, so they (and Duffy Frank!) suggested he give me a whirl.

Needless to say, things went well enough that the next time Sam needed a player, he gave me a call.

I was thrilled!

Of course, showing up to a gig cold (no idea of the material to be played, the ability of the other players, their approach, their temperament) is always as risky as it is exciting… fortunately with Sam Hurrie… it was a blast!
Last time, I learned that Sam’s style of interaction with a band was perfect for my style and approach to drumset. He plays a mean guitar, bluesy and soulful, with a dynamic range that tread into the realm of a jazz combo, but can easily settle into a good solid groove ala the Stones.
This time around, he had a different bass player, by the name of “Todd”. You know, I barely said more than three words to Todd all night,and I got to say that I was a little uncertain as to how it would go. Would he be as seasoned as the last guy, Chris? Would we connect? Would he have the dynamic chops to take the music down to a whisper and then roar when it was time?

You bet he could! He is a shit hot player, with a groovy laid back style. We hooked up pretty good. I did have to adjust my bass drum technique on the shuffles, but truth be told, I tend to overplay the bottom end on blues tunes anyway. I like to play the full shuffle rhythm down there, but I found just laying into the “one” with a quarter note really pulled my part together with Todd’s. By the end of the night, I knew this guy had talent, and he loves to play. He asked for my number so we could hook up and do some shows in Nanaimo…but I never did get it to him. Here’s hoping Sam forwards that along! (I could use some gigs in Nanaimo!)
As for Sam, I couldn’t help but gush to him before the third set. I had wondered if it was going to be as good the second time around… well, it was better! I asked him to consider hooking up for one more show before he (sadly) moves to Ontario. I really hope we do, because I’d love for some of my friends and most importantly, my wife to hear this stuff!

I knew it was a night of special music… not because of the audience. They had a good time, and we got some nice compliments. It was special because three musicians who had never played together gelled instantly. We grooved, we explored, we had a fucking great time! The next day, my entire body was sore. I’ll play rock shows through a huge PA, and I’ll be slamming the drums and this show left me more spent. I think it’s because the level of control required to move through huge dynamic ranges is far more demanding on the body than going balls out loud… or maybe I just drank too much gin.

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