Neutrino Blues

Chapter III

THE NORTHERNMOST CAPITAL OF THE BLUES

Matty

I never wanted to go to a music school. Actually, weird as it might seem, it was a point of honor for me not to. I assumed I could learn everything I needed from grandpa Silas and by myself. That's how he had learned his trade, hadn't he? Wasn't it the true path of bluesmen and jazzmen? I thought it was and I acted accordingly, wanting to be the real thing. Silly but what can you do. Boys will be boys.

I went to a regular high school not caring much about it anyway because I knew my future was in music. I was on a mission, I had a destiny to fulfil, double actually; I had to make myself famous and my grandpa through me. The only activity I cared for at school was playing in its band to pass the time, polish my skills and make connections. The latter worked out pretty well because that's where I met Jimbo.

I was attracted to him instantly but I bided my time to see whether we would connect on a deeper level. I liked him for his focus on music and unpretentious approach to life. I imagined he was just like me because it seemed that all he cared for was music. Every day at lunchtime he was at the drums like clockwork. He wasn't allowed to play at home so he drummed at school with a vengeance. His folks didn't mind but the neighbors did and I could understand that. Jimbo was like a wild animal when he played. It seemed that enough was never enough for him and when he wasn't playing he was air drumming or working out to increase speed and stamina he needed to master his instrument.

Always a set of sticks in his pocket. They made me laugh when I saw them in class because I always carried a harmonica around. I guess the deal between us was sealed before we even mentioned it. Very soon it was just the two of us playing together because the rest of the so-called band couldn't keep up. I guess they lacked ambition and motivation but I didn't want to be rude so I never said anything. It didn't matter one way or another; you can't make anyone succeed. They either have it in them or not.

My grandpa convinced the club owner he worked for to let us play there before opening and after closing which was a godsend to us. It was not only a super comfortable place to make as much noise as we wanted; that place had a soul and we felt there like stars, even without audience. For me there was also additional kicker - it was the place where my guru magic man played.

That really was it for us. We didn't need any more band members, we were perfectly capable of doing all the work by ourselves. Actually, we never talked of inviting anyone else to the band and we hadn't even met anyone who, by our high standards, would be fit enough. I guess both of us would've been flying solo if we hadn't met each other. We knew exactly what we wanted and we had uncompromising personalities. I never mentioned it to Jimbo but I assume it was destiny that brought us together. We understood each other without words so we didn't have to talk much. Not that we were especially talkative in the first place. We communicated through music which was our native language; we used it to talk to each other and the rest of the world.

We weren't allowed to use the club's top-of-the-line equipment as a matter of course so we brought there our own stuff. Jimbo couldn't play his set at home anyway so he had no problem with leaving it at the club. We got our very own cramped and musty storage room where we fitted a padlock for safety. I was only leaving there my hundred-watt Marshall amp because I needed my guitars at home and elsewhere. I also had a small ten-watt Marshall for practice which was easy to carry around. To me, it was. Nothing was too big or too heavy for Jimbo, tho. We had a cart at the club but he refused to use it. He liked carrying my big-ass amp to warm up before the jam. I guess it goes with the territory.

The first night we were allowed to play at the club we got there early and waited at the bar drinking tap water because it was free. Grandpa Silas was off that night which was such a relief; had he been there he would have surely wanted to stay over and listen to us and I just wasn't ready for that yet. It was a new thing and we needed to get the feel of it first before anyone else was allowed to listen. We helped the staff to clean up and lock up not that we were such nice guys but solely for the reason of getting rid of them asap. There it was, finally! Our first venue.