HEY WE GOT A GIG BOOKED.. Sometime in late August we got booked into playing the legion hall in Sidney.. For the ripe price of the gate we would get paid a bit for this gig after expenses of course.. But before the gig things would get dicey as Joe and a few others had gone to Ogallala to the music store and on the way back got into a pretty bad wreck on the interstate.. Back in the early going of the band some of the members were looking into some sort of voo-doo like devil worship type of shit.. I never got into that and didn't hang with them in these sessions.. Then in September (Labor Day to be exact) I started getting a tingle in my throat.. That tingle would develop into a full blown cold then into broncitis just for fun.. By the time we played the gig I felt horrible but there was no way I was going to cancel out on this gig.. NFW.. But.. The gig itself was a ... interesting deal.. I was just thinking about this earlier today.. The way the gig was put together almost had that feeling of well we'll play this gig and then the guys will see we need to work harder on the songs.. Thing is we came together for this gig, and felt like a band.. My memories of that gig were like this.. We got there by five in the evening and got set up, sound checked and then were ready to go on by 8 or there abouts.. The very first gig we played around ten songs per set (nothing near what we would do two years later when we would play thirty songs per set) and we had to repeat nearly the whole of set one to fill the night.. My worst memory was when my right calf cramped .. Man it would not let up.. I had cramps before but it was just like.. LET UP ALREADY!!.. That was the worst and the last gig I would play without stretching first.. I had never stretched before playing the drums, but from this point on I would.. It added to my anxiety towards playing any gigs.. And after that episode I had that in the back of my mind.. Could I play a full gig ever without cramping up.. During the gig Ernie had borrowed some monitor speakers and plugged them into his P.A. system.. However great it was to hear those, and the vocals it was short lived as the head unit driving the speakers broke down.. For all of nearly two songs I thought this is what we sound like.. And then would never hear the monitors again while in the band.. That was fine, I learned how to listen to the other members amps.. But I would never hear the vocals (clearly) again while in this band..
After that gig there was a short lull in the action in that time there was no contact with them and I was getting over that bout of broncitis.. Great, now I feel better what about the band.. We got it together finally for a rehearsal at the garage and I noticed something.. My drums were set up.. And they were completely set up with everything pretty much where they belong.. The instant thought went through my head, they had someone else play my drums.. Were they trying to replace me already?? WTF
That feeling of wondering if I was about to be replaced stayed with me through the next year or so, but it also changed the way I left my drums at the different practice sites.. I would never again leave my bass drum peddle or my sticks there.. Although I learned from my early days of being a drummer that my little brother would use anything that resembled a stick to tap my drums with, the bass peddle is hard to replicate without spending some serious money on.. That stopped them from playing my drums with my equipment, and put my mind to rest about that at least for a while..
In the meantime we went in for the first of several photo sessions by various photo studios for publicity shots, mostly for the posters advertising us playing at whatever location.. These seemed like a waste of time to me but it did do something most bands at that time weren't doing, a picture poster advert.. In fact they don't do that now either.. We would play out at the college in October or early November.. Playing on a stage auditorium setting for the first time.. The gig was rescheduled because of weather and should have been cancelled because no one showed up.. Bummer.. The next few months would see the band change with Frank leaving after having a rediscovery in the religious area. (He found God.. good for him, he's in prison right now serving a term for murdering someone.. religion, don't get me started).. That meant the core of the band was set and was the way it would be for the remainder of us being together.. We had several lead vocalists come and go none the more greater than the girl that would join that first winter..
Her name was Joelle and she could sing.. Vocals were her strong point and she joined before Christmas in '85 (I think, or it was the next year but it just seems like she was on board early).. Losing Frank was a very slight blow to the band as he was just learning to play the guitar before I joined the band.. He had the hair ala Roger Daltry circa Tommy.. He was kinda quiet but soon was voicing his opinion about everything.. I don't think he was kicked out, his girlfriend was able to hasten his leaving by being a big influence on him both with religion and then getting him to be in the family way.. He more or less had to quit to get a job to pay for that bit of play.. Joelle was a really good vocalist but over powered the PA system.. There was no complaint from me about her vocals because I could hear her quite well, she was that loud.. She was also quite easy on the eyes.. She would be in the band for maybe three gigs but then she would be kicked out because we just couldn't have a really good vocalist in the band.. (She was still in high school, a senior I think).. Others who would give singing a try was Chris who was just pure ass WILD.. I loved that guy for his fuck you attitude.. He was really never a member of the band but did write a song and sang it several times while we were still Rizzen.. We played a good number of gigs with the Rizzen name but shortly that name would have to be sacrificed for the greater good..
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