I got a message through BandMix.com in late 2008 from a guy asking me if I’d be interested in playing lead guitar for his band. I hadn’t received any other offers, so it did kind of interest me. I pointed out that I was a bass player, but figured I’d give guitar a shot. I’ve played for years. And although bass is my instrument of choice, I’m not totally useless on guitar.
We started playing in Largo, Florida at the drummer’s house, and I had a really great time. But the more we played, the more I had to admit to myself that I really didn’t enjoy playing guitar all that much. For one thing, I didn’t have the proper equipment. I was playing through a Behringer V-Amp guitar modeling thingie through a bass amp, and it sounded a little bizarre. I also didn’t get up to speed as quickly as I thought I would. Bass was easy. Guitar was, like, work.
I really liked the guys I was playing with, but by the time another offer came along from a band that was looking for a bass player, I had pretty much made up my mind that guitar wasn’t for me. I apologized to Jeff, Billy and Wayne and I moved on. I didn’t know how they’ve felt about me since, but I knew I’d always think of them as friends, and I was glad I had a chance to play with them. If nothing else, doing the guitar thing for awhile made me a much better bass player. I owed them for that.
Well, not too awful long after that, when I had gotten up to speed with Systematic Chaos and started thinking of the Just In Time Band as a fun time that was in my past, I got a call from Jeff, asking if I’d be interested in playing bass for them. At first I was reluctant, but then I started thinking that if Systematic Chaos wasn’t going to go out and make any money, maybe I could make some money with the Just In Time Band. I played with them for many months, until I stumbled into an outfit called Catdaddy Pirates. I left the Just In Time Band again in February of 2010 to concentrate on Catdaddy Pirates.
It pained me to leave this band. Although my options musically were limited in the band, I thought a lot of my bandmates. I’ll always think of them as my friends, and I hope they’ll think of me in a similar light. Our parting had nothing to do with personal problems or animus. It had only to do with me stumbling into a project with Catdaddy Pirates that seemed tailor made for me. Had there been a way to do both, I would have.
Members
- Billy Boyton – drums, backing vocals
- Wicasta Lovelace – bass, vocals
- Jeff Scott – guitar, vocals
- Mark Swint – guitar, vocals
Links
