This One Time in Band Camp…
It's not like they described in American Pie
Scaling a mountain pass in a full-size school bus loaded with students and musical instruments is something else, but as harrowing as it was looking over the edge of the cliff of the San Jacinto National Forest below, the stunning, early-morning sunrise over Temecula Valley was amazing.
Unfortunately, that would be the most excitement I had during my weekend at band camp.
Unlike Allison Hannigan’s over-share (Warning: language) in American Pie, my band camp experience was not as wild, or maybe I went to the wrong camp. The only exciting thing during my 8th-grade trip to Idyllwild Arts Camp was being woken up at 2 AM by raccoons rummaging through aluminum trash cans outside our cabin.
I went to band camp only once, and it was the event that made me want to quit the band. I didn’t even like being in the band in the first place, but playing music was better than studying Spanish. In retrospect, I would gladly prefer “Quiero estudiar español” because Spanish students never got shipped to a dilapidated mountain camp to sleep in unfamiliar beds and woken up at 6 am to play their chromatic scales.
I hated band camp, and when I returned to school the following week, I hated band class. I no longer enjoyed playing only the songs the teacher wanted to play, and I did everything in my power to not participate. I ended up with a C- in that class because I wouldn’t practice or listen to directions, and at one point, I would sit there with the instrument and not play anything.
At the same time, I was broadening my musical tastes. While everyone else was listening to Duran Duran and The Cure, I was listening to RUN DMC and LL Cool J. While they were listening to Tom Petty and The Police, I was listening to TSOL and Suicidal Tendencies. I spent my Sunday evenings listening to Rodney on the ROQ with a hand-held tape recorder and my fingers poised on the record and play buttons (only a Gen-X’r knows the struggle), waiting to record the next obscure track that never got airplay any other time.
The A&R man said, “I don’t hear a single”
I was the first person in my friend group to hear Nirvana’s Bleach album and knew the band would become something special. I also introduced my metalhead buddies to Sound Garden, KRS-ONE, and Stevie Ray Vaughn before they became A-tier performers. I didn’t know it then, but I was a budding tastemaker.
Unfortunately, I had no guidance on how that could help me. My mother was too young and lacked proper knowledge to guide me in my early interests. Had she seen my musical obsession as a strength and fostered it in some way, I might have ended up in the music industry. I’ve always had an ear for good music and believe I would have made a great producer.
In La Bamba, Joe Pantoliano’s character recognizes Richie Valens’ talent and offers to produce a record for the young man. That scene lives in my head rent-free because that seemed like the perfect job, but because I hated playing music, I couldn’t get that kind of work.
My cousin Jason also loves music, and when we were kids, he introduced me to punk rock. He also taught himself how to play the drums by grabbing two sticks and banging them on anything he could find. He eventually left his home in Oahu to play music with friends in Olympia, WA, where he met and played shows with all the popular Grunge-era bands of the early 90s.
He and some friends moved to Austin shortly after and played with all the popular alt-rock bands of the late 90s, 2000s, and beyond. To this day, he still gets up on stage and plays the most hardcore punk rock with kids half his age, and he loves every minute.
Being in close proximity to my cousin at the time, I had a window of opportunity, but I couldn’t visualize it. I was blind to my potential, circumstances, and the direct line to the industry. I knew his band would get good and they would succeed, but I didn’t have that same vision for myself.
In about four seconds, a teacher will begin to speak
I just got off a phone call with Jason to ask if he had to restart with music today, would he? His answer was, “No!”
In his opinion, the music industry now is the worst it’s ever been, and almost impossible to get notoriety, let alone pay well for the effort. He didn’t say what he would do instead, but music has become more of a hobby and creative pursuit than a business opportunity.
It’s taken me 50+ years to recognize my next opportunity, but it’s still not in the music industry. Instead, it’s here, sharing stories and experiences, lending perspective, and teaching others what I’ve learned.
Words will always be popular, and the delivery systems for them have never been greater. I write the stories mostly as catharsis but also to entertain and inspire others to do the same. I know someone will read this and think it’s too late for them to start, but words never die, and they could change your life like they have mine.
In January, I’m making a big announcement on The Hungry that hones the brand's message and strategy. I’m making the change because I recognize the potential and understand myself better now.
Instead of trying to fit my skills and style into the standard boxes of an online entrepreneur, I’m building my system, one that works better for creative minds.
Stay tuned.