Hi Everyone…..
Well, as you know, it was 1 year ago today that I announced my retirement from Music..
As….those who know me……that retirement lasted all of 6 weeks……..
Here I will give you a little insight of what happened at the end of those 6 weeks……..
One day, I sat down at my computer and noticed that I had an unread message on my MySpace Acct..
It was a message from (at the time) acquaintance, John McBride….
He wanted to know how the retirement was going and continued to write on how much I had influenced him and his approach to performing with his band…..Roger Drawdy and The FireStarters.
To make a long story short……There were several other correspondences and we finally made arrangements to talk to each other by phone…..
(What I know now….that I didn’t know then……..was…..John was slowly dangling the hook in front of my face…just patiently waiting for me to take the bait)
End of Story…….HOOK, LINE, and Sinker………
FireStarter I had now become……..
So…….Here I will tell you a little of my 1st year as Fiddle Player for Roger, John, Eric and Mark…….
So…the arrangements were made….
My first gig, with the FireStarters, was to happen in Febuary….To join the Band, on the road, for a festival down South…..
That would have given me a good 6 weeks to get a set list, learn the music, and hit the floor runnin’…….
Now….let me state here that the remarkable Roger Drawdy had recorded over a 100+ songs and it was my intention to learn them all and have each and everyone ready for my debut show in Feb.
Well…..That was not the case…..
Through encouraging words from The Lady….she said to go out, as soon as possible, and to Do What I Do!….To use the crowd as feed back…….To learn the tunes as we play them….
Not to Copy…..But to be myself…….
So…..hence…..I joined the band, on the road, a mere 2 weeks later….Fakin’ my way through songs that were partially learned by me…..
I know – Ric, you’re a Ding Dong!
So…..what has the first year brought….
On hell of a Rockin’ good time….
In my opinion….the band has come back to life…..
The Phoenix rising from the Fire….so to speak….
First Year as A FireStarter
What has happened to the 5 of us is……again…in my opinion…….we’ve regained our energy…..
There has been fuel added to a dimming flame…….from all aspects……
Meaning…..When I made the decision to retire…..I was tired…
I had felt that I had nothing more to say and give with my music…….
And…I can’t speak for the rest of the band…..but I feel that it might have been the same for them as
well…….
So let me state here…….It has been trying…at times….for the band and the fans……
But I think……everyone is coming around to the new sound and feel of the band……
I love Roger’s songs and have tried to add what I feel is needed to the songs…..
Not saying that the former fiddle player didn’t….
Kathy was and “is” and incredible fiddle player…..And she laid down some incredible things for Roger’s songs…And to that I try to stay “True” to what everyone is used to hearing………
But….if anything…..I hope that I’ve added a different flavor of icing to the cake…….
Well…..I’m going to end this post for now…….
I really hope that it makes sense….
And if you’re wondering what I’m talking about here……I guess you’ll just have to come out and witness what I’m talking about…..first hand….
So… I hope See you around…..And…..
HAPPY 2010!