Well Log #1 – Early February / First Garage Practices

We have had a few practices so far at Jennifer’s. It all sounds good, and I think I will start memorializing these “Well Logs”.

We’ve been practicing in Jennifer’s garage, getting ready for a gig at the community college in Gardner. It’s cold. There’s a wood stove going for heat. The garage has character—a little cluttered, gear stacked around, cables everywhere.

Jen’s son Nathan is on drums. I’ve known him a few weeks now. He’s around 30, very talented, a genuinely nice guy. We just had our first practice with Joe, the new bass player. Jennifer and Nathan recruited him. He’s good. Chris is on guitar. Jennifer moves between organ, sax, flute, and backing vocals. I’m on keyboard. Next practice, we’ll start working through harmony ideas with a new backup vocalist.

Chris and I drive up together to Jennifer’s house in Kittery, Maine. The drives are good. We get to talk, plan, and dream a little.

It feels a bit surreal that this is happening. We’ve come a long way. My first brush with music was my Memere's piano. I was five or six. She had an old upright, and on the fallboard it said Schirmer. I would climb up on the bench, press a note, tilt my head, and just listen. It sounded magical to me. The bench was full of old sheet music. I don’t remember ever hearing her play it, but my mother told me she could. She liked Chopin.

Now, it’s 50 years later, and I’m with Chris. He’s my wife’s cousin. I’ve known him about 15 years, but I never knew he played guitar until one day at a wedding reception. I approached him and said, “Hey, Sarah tells me you play guitar. I did not know that. We should jam sometime!” I brought my keyboard to his cookout the next weekend, and we played a few covers.

I asked if he had any original chord progressions. He sent one the next day. I laid my phone on the bed, let it loop, and wrote Wekepeke—a place from my childhood in Sterling. We played it together and then looked at each other like, “Hey, that was pretty good.” It was fun!

A few songs in, I realized they were all coming from Sterling memories. It started to feel like a concept album was emerging.

The gig at the college in Gardner is through John Little. He runs the audio department there, and he’s our sound engineer. Every year the students record a band, an acoustic set, and a comedy show. They set everything up, mic it, run sound, and do a live video and audio recording with faculty support.

We get three songs. Full band. Drums and everything.

It’s exciting. It feels pro. Late now. Hands still a little cold. Good rehearsal. Next practice, Lindsey is coming in, another backup vocalist. We’ll start working through her harmony ideas and see how they fit into the set.