Chronicles of Alan: So You Want to be a Rockstar Part 5

After the very Brief Stint as "The Internationally Acclaimed HIGH VOLTAGE" ( see previous post in this series)

Henry and I got together with a Guitarist called Cedric Saffy , and I cannot remember the Drummers name. Cedric was younger Brother to Alan Saffy, a Drag Racer of no little repute ( No, not Guys running in dresses and high heels , Cars with around 2000 HP)

Cedric plated AC/DC better than anyone we had come across, This band was seriously good, we rehearsed in another building, and could not ( at first) understand why so many attractive Girls would turn up at our practice sessions. We then found out that a number of Escort Agencies were located in the same building! Cedric was also a power lifter and would bring some of his friends with ( you know , the usual , Guy's who pulled Train carriages with a rope and buses with their teeth etc) No problem carrying gear around! This band split, when the Drummer went on leave for a month, Cedric goes away when he gets back, then Henry, That sort of finished it.

A few months later , my life changing Motor Cycle Crash, and that was that.

Skip a few Years , My Son's get Bigger, Wayne has got a voice that Matches Robert Plant in Power and Range ( Huge Zeppelin Fan) and my youngest, Geils ( after the J. Geils Band) is possessed of Perfect Pitch, plays Guitar well, Bass better than I ever could . and is a mean drummer. He once, at High School, put a Band together for a School event, by teaching everyone in it the parts they needed to play, came out well . ( none of the other's were musicians)

So they put a Band together, Guy over the road played bass, Floods turned up on a bicycle one day on drums, lost his entire family due to booze. Wayne and Geils wrote enough songs to do a cd.

While they were rehearsing, I captured it on a cheap cassette recorder with a R1.50 Mike. Transferred to Cd. Still have it, some good material there. They played some house parties in the area and then life caught up.

I had lost all wrist movement in my left arm, still wheeled and dealed in equipment, Geils became a Missionary in Africa, Wayne took my Laverda Jota 1000 ( yes I had bought some Bikes again) and had a dreadful Accident, which kept him on crutches for 30 months with numerous operations. When able to toss them out went to England to join a Zeppelin Cover Band. 'Phones me, these Guy's are having themselves surgically altered to look like the original members! Wayne is a pretty boy and certainly is not going for this.

I start learning to play bass the wrong way around (lefty) to get over my problems.

Buy a Femder guitar from TOMS in Braamfontein and meet Grant Fouche, we become friends, he is playing in a band with his Brother Heath, called Renegade. Heath is a top session guitarist, Grant is playing Bass and is not far off his Brother on Guitar! One day Grant says to me lets form a Band!

Wow a second chance at Fame, Fortune, name in lights etc! I reckon with our background we can really do something!

We start going to clubs to hear what the popular songs are to play, I notice that they all play the same covers. I say to Grant, we both have jobs, the full time Musos are going to play these better than us, I start searching for other good party songs. It was intended that Wayne would be coming back to sing, He seemed in no hurry so I recruited Justin A from our Church Choir (Geils had recommended him) Justin had a Friend Deon D from Springs a drummer. We started rehearsing at my place (Shakira, my Favourite Daughter's old room)

Funny incident, Grant and Deon complained about Justin's singing (Justin was also playing Guitar) That nights practice I took Justin's Guitar away and all was well (I had realised that he was not able to concentrate on both) Big smiles all around (except for Justin).

You can practice till you are blue in the face , but a band does not get tight until it is playing in front of an audience.

Found a place in the South (recommended by Heath) where no one would know us ( called the Blues ,I think) Played there for about 2 months, friends came around and a Church youth group , I realised Justin had no idea how to be a Front man so I helped him along a bit with jokes and getting him to talk to the crowd, he was a quick study!

We rapidly got it together, Our plan was to get into the best clubs and then do a cd of our own. I had not been idle while recovering , but had written a lot more lyrics for original songs. I had also started turning my Double Garage into a recording Studio. This Band was called SANDBOX and was destined to become one of the most popular Cover Bands around.

More Adventures in Music coming soon!

by @awgbibb the Alan chronicler.