▼ Music Boys in the Band So you want to be in a band. What else are we going to do? BY TOM REARDON I f music is what you want to do with your life, or even your spare time, there’s a lot to consider. I’ve been dispensing a lot of advice to my son, Liam, over the past few months about being in a band and playing music with other people. He’s 15 years old, a seemingly gifted guitar player, and way ahead of where I was at his age. As I once did (and probably still do), Liam wants to be in a band. I’m glad I have the benefit of experience to help him, and hopefully you, dear reader, along the way. Sometimes, though, I really want to ask him, “Do you really want to be in a band?” He’s grown up seeing me go through a ton of strange and sometimes uncomfortable circumstances because of my other side gig. I’m a teacher by day, a writer in the afternoon, and for a long, long time, a musi- cian at night. Sometimes those hats even get to cross streams and one gig blends into another. Considering that I’ve been in a baker’s THU 9/29 PHILIP SAYCE 8PM • $15 - $20 FRI 9/30 BURNING BUSH YVONNE CHAMPAGNE, FAT GREY CAT 8PM • $8 SAT 10/01 THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF RUMBLE KING, JOHNNY MAIN OPENING SET BY THEE STILLNITES 8PM • $15 SUN 10/02 VINTAGE VINYL CONCERT BIG ZEPHYR 4PM • $15 Wed 10/05 WIDE AWAKE SUZIE AND THE ACCELERATORZ 8PM • $10 34 dozen worth of bands since 1987 and done the band “thing” for well over the 10,000- hour threshold, I am technically an expert. But it still often feels like some sort of cosmic joke under the misnomer of learning experience. This is my attempt, however vain, autobiographical, and with the help of some of my musical friends and acquain- tances (I hope), to shed some light on how to be in a band and keep your sanity. During my decade as a freelance writer, for example, I’ve often asked musicians how they got started or why they play music. This question wasn’t always for the story I was writing, though, but for some sort of insight into why I’ve made this deci- sion, too. It feels nice to know you are not the only one, you know? It’s good to know you’re not alone. The answer often comes back to some version of “What else was I going to do?” One of my all-time favorite answers to this question came from the late Steve Davis, who played bass in The Glass Heroes here in Phoenix (as well as a bunch of other projects, including the U.S. Bombs), when we were talking about his first book of haiku and short stories. “I liked going to shows and seeing bands, you know? I figured, ‘Why not? I can do that,’” Davis said while we had coffee at a small shop on Seventh Street about a year before he died in 2021. It’s Hard, So Be Honest With Yourself Even if you’re a lifer, like me or my friend Steve Davis, you really should ask yourself The author, Tom Reardon, in his natural habitat. S. Craig Haynes why you’re playing music or being in a band. I ask myself this all the time, and you might be surprised that my answer changes a lot. Being in a band is hard work, even under the very best of circumstances. So have an honest conversation with SEPT 29TH–OCT 5TH, 2022 phoenix new Times | mUsIC | CAFe | FILm | CUL tURe | nIght+D A y | FeAtURe | ne Ws | oPInIon | FeeDBACK | Contents | phoenixnewtimes.com