Ever Been Thrown Out Of A Band?

I know. It's a sore subject with many of us, isn't it, but whatever the reason (or how you word it), have you ever been asked to take your stuff and  "Hit The Road, Jack"?

For me, the answer is "yes", and without pulling any punches, I'd like to tell you about it.

Back in 1969, I was still in college, working full time as an "orderly" (male nursing assistant) at our hospital here in Carrollton  and supplementing my income (no Dondra yet, but soon) playing Friday and Saturday nights with The Watchmen. Sometimes our weekends were coveniently booked, sometimes not. Sometimes both nights were at the same club, but other times we'd play one night here in Carrollton, and the other night might be 50 miles away. You take what you can get, right, brothers and sisters?

One particular very dry spell saw us idle for about 2 and a half months. No gigs for The Watchmen, so I took what I could get and joined (temporarily) an all-black band called Dyke And The Blazers. Their drummer had been called up to serve in our National Guard and no one knew how long he'd be deployed.

A friend of  a friend got me an audition. It was to be a "live" try-out and in addition to what was on the song list, what would get me the gig was being able to play the drum solo from the James Brown tune, "Cold Sweat, Part !!" - could I play it, asked my friend? I could and got the job: a white drummer in an 8 person black soul music group. Interesting times. "Most peculiar, mama."

In the deep south state of Georgia, this was highly unusual and word got around fast. I did not officially "leave" The Watchmen and if things needed to be "worked out" (gig conflicts), they could have been, but that wasn't the problem. The problem, as you may have guessed, was Bill's decision to play drums in The Blazers.

One night, at a Watchmen gig, our lead singer asked me to let a friend of his sit in on my kit for a few tunes.
Sure. No problem.

But that was it for me. My replacement had been auditioned and given the job using my set. After that night, even though my manager and I talked several times when I checked in regarding jobs, I never played for them again.

If I had been asked not to sit in/ play for the new band, I would have still gone ahead, but no one bothered to even let me know of the displeasure. I was simply there one night and not there anymore after that. Also, in 1970, I lost my college student deferment, joined the US Air Force, married Dondra (for the first time) and became a father, so "DENSITY" took care of that little problem.

Even Pete Best got told the other "boys want you out of the band". I was left to draw my own conclusions. Still, I'd been with The Watchmen since '65, and I wouldn't have traded those years for anything.

How about you, brothers and sisters? Care to share? Got questions?

Your Friend

Bill