Be Prepared

I recently subbed on a funk gig where I had to learn a fair amount of the group’s original material. They shared a dropbox folder with me that included the horn charts along with mp3’s of their songs. I took the time to listen to the songs and created drum charts for myself. This was part of the gig and I understood that when I took the gig. I was ready to play any of these tunes. I was able to arrive, set up and know that whatever got called I was good to go. Even though it was my first time playing with the band, I received some nice words from people in the audience — some of whom were very surprised to hear that it was indeed my first time with the band. That was my goal. I was prepared, and consequently I was able to relax, play and have fun. And that is always the goal.