Fear!

Oh man... I've got the New Band Fear (tm).

Before I get round to explaining just what the hell that is, I thought I'd just say a few words about what I'm trying to do here. Meta-blogging I suppose you could call it. Bascially I thought this blog would be a tad dull if it was just me talking about my favourite music for days on end (though I could do that very easily). So I decided to add in some of my personal experiences of playing music. Y'know - to add a human aspect, and shit like that. Keep this in the back of your mind, for I shall return to it later, in sexy and exciting ways. Or let it be a complete surprise next time. Whichever.

Anyway, back to the New Band Fear (tm). After all my wittering about wanting to be in a band at Oxford, a friend has got a band together to play her songs and has asked me to play bass. Our first practice is tomorrow. And I've got the fear.

It's always slightly intimidating playing music with new people (and I am a pretty massive wuss at times), because you haven't got used to how they work and you don't know if you'll click. I worry that everyone will sit around, not knowing what to do and just noodling around on their instruments aimlessly for hours. I've seen it happen, which might be why I'm so worried about it.

Even worse I worry that everyone else will be happily working on stuff while I sit in the corner, unable to follow what's going on. In my worst nightmares (figuratively speaking) a guitarist who completely puts me to shame will announce "It's perfectly simple, it's a simple 12 bar Aeolian progression, with a flattened sixth and an inversion on the relative minor" and I'll look nervous, fumble with my bass and be relegated to making the tea and playing root notes. That's the New Band Fear (tm).

I guess I'm just unduly nervous that my lack of real musical talent will become apparent at some point and all my dreams will shatter. It doesn't help that this new musical project has arrived slap bang in the middle of one of the worst creative droughts I've suffered in recent memory.

Christ, I'm being awfully dramatic. It's not like I'm jamming with Steve Vai or anything. I think I'll just take lots of drugs to relax me. There's no way that could be a bad idea.