Saturday night, I will take stage with a band I've never played with before: Silver Saint Guitar Army, the brainchild of Wanz Dover, and I will be one of over a dozen guitarists.
Dover still speaks highly of his time in New York with Glenn Branca's guitar orchestra and he wants to bring that famed composer's collaborative, epic ideas to Dallas. Essentially, it's like seeing an orchestra but with electric guitars instead of woodwinds and brass. On Saturday, we'll be playing four pieces of music Dover composed. Expect the sounds to fall closer to Stravinsky and Glass rather than Bach or Beethoven.
The preparation for this has been over Facebook messages, a bulletin board and a Dropbox with MP3s. Hearing the various parts for the alto, tenor, and baritone guitars and knowing their respective tunings, I have an idea of what to play, and we'll all adjust on the fly when we have our one and only practice just a few hours before the show.
I'm going into this show with an open mind -- I want to experience this no matter what the outcome. If you have a chance to do something you might regret not doing, then fucking do it.
Most times I've played guitar, it's been in my room or bathroom, hoping I could learn at my own pace and not get criticized to death. I've had a drum set in front of me on stage before, and I'd bash away without any worry about electrical malfunctions. So Saturday night's show will be something new.
I don't know if I'll play in another band again or play another show with the Silver Saint Guitar Army. All I know is, I best seize the opportunity to get out and play and tell my inner voices of doubt to shut up for a few hours.
