Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Tour Diaries! XIXA Skinsman Winston Watson Lays Out Some Stage Rules of the Road ... From France, Days 17-18
Day 17-18
Toulouse and Bordeaux, France.
Cooperation, sacrifice, and The Hang.
Being in a band, is as Don Henley says, "is like being in a marriage. In our case, amplify that by five." I don't quote him, too often, but... he's right. But, it's not that simple. Human beings are fascinating. Sit quietly and watch one. It's never boring.
In all the time spent on and off the road, playing in bands, you get to witness many things, bizarre and ordinary. We're out here, on the other side of world, making the best music we know how to.
We have a little gang, and each member is a specialist. Those roles unveiled themselves along the way; the harder we worked, the tighter we got. We are also human, with all that entails.
You can use your imagination.
There are some basic things one needs to know, when you're out here, far, far from home.
—Do your effing job. That's why you're here and other guy isn't.
—The Hang. Being good on your instrument isn't enough; your little world is back at home, as soon you leave your house. It's important as a band member to be aware of this simple fact. Everyone is different, but we all have faults and proclivities; and there's love and anger and anything else in the human soup. The road magnifies all of it. There is very little quarter, let alone privacy. When you play locally, you go home and sleep in your bed. Not the case out here. You lay your head down, where thousands of others before you have. This is not for everyone. You are going have the occasional bad day. You are human.
—Failure, in the field, is not an option. You get one chance to make a first impression. You leave your baggage at the stage door. The stage to me is sacred—it is, to me, the pulpit of universal communication. I consider it blasphemy to take whatever triflings one has to the stage. Period. You can finish the fight, after the show. Hahahaha.
—Finally, enjoy what you do out here. Your band is counting on you, so are the good people who are coming just to see you. These pictures are small portion of what you will see when you are as lucky as we are; friends making music, all over the world.
Stay tuned.
—WW
Toulouse and Bordeaux, France.
Cooperation, sacrifice, and The Hang.
Being in a band, is as Don Henley says, "is like being in a marriage. In our case, amplify that by five." I don't quote him, too often, but... he's right. But, it's not that simple. Human beings are fascinating. Sit quietly and watch one. It's never boring.
In all the time spent on and off the road, playing in bands, you get to witness many things, bizarre and ordinary. We're out here, on the other side of world, making the best music we know how to.
We have a little gang, and each member is a specialist. Those roles unveiled themselves along the way; the harder we worked, the tighter we got. We are also human, with all that entails.
You can use your imagination.
There are some basic things one needs to know, when you're out here, far, far from home.
—Do your effing job. That's why you're here and other guy isn't.
—The Hang. Being good on your instrument isn't enough; your little world is back at home, as soon you leave your house. It's important as a band member to be aware of this simple fact. Everyone is different, but we all have faults and proclivities; and there's love and anger and anything else in the human soup. The road magnifies all of it. There is very little quarter, let alone privacy. When you play locally, you go home and sleep in your bed. Not the case out here. You lay your head down, where thousands of others before you have. This is not for everyone. You are going have the occasional bad day. You are human.
—Failure, in the field, is not an option. You get one chance to make a first impression. You leave your baggage at the stage door. The stage to me is sacred—it is, to me, the pulpit of universal communication. I consider it blasphemy to take whatever triflings one has to the stage. Period. You can finish the fight, after the show. Hahahaha.
—Finally, enjoy what you do out here. Your band is counting on you, so are the good people who are coming just to see you. These pictures are small portion of what you will see when you are as lucky as we are; friends making music, all over the world.
Stay tuned.
—WW
Tags: XIXA , Winston Watson , Gabriel Sullivan
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