The Bands Who Rehearse, Win. Right?

My trumpeter friend Josh called me on Thursday and said this, "Dude, I gotta play this competition tonight. I have a drummer, you in?" "Uh...OK."

So in the meantime we (just Josh and I) jam a bit, drink beer, eat sushi, drink beer and at 9 head over to the competition. 2 songs we get. 2. I usually play for 4 hours. Now I have 15 minutes. Somehow, a piano player happens along so we got a band. I don't know if this guy was on the corner with a sign and some ratty clothes that read: "Will play jazz for smack" or what, but who cares, he could play.

Now this was supposed to be a jazz competition, and guess what: I heard a lot of funk. Young kids already playing the smooth shit. Young kids from UCLA. What the hell is going on? I guess there's no Musical Taste 1A class at the ol' Bruin Den. And this jackass comes up telling us to rock, and to hit the judges hard on the first tune, and to (get this) tuck in our shirts to make a good impression. We smirked and nodded.

We get up, we plug in, spy the smooth jazz judges complete with backward Kangol hats, chuckle and we play Softly as in a Morning Sunrise and Summertime. We were alright. They announced the two winning groups that move on to the next round: some other band, and yep, Josh and the Economy Band (his last name is Economy, and I think it was a misread, it probably read the Josh Economy Band). I laughed out loud.

The best part: when the nice group of people asked me how long we had played together, I got to say, "well I met the piano player 20 minutes ago, the drummer I've played with once before, and this is my first gig with the trumpeter."

So we went to the Reno Room and I got a bit, well, drunk.

So, we'll see if the same formula pays off next month. If it does, check your local papers (or at least the Long Beach Press Telegram) for the Josh and the Economy Band Band performing at the Long Beach Jazz Festival.