Friday, December 14, 2001 :::

thoughts on absent

the past: in the very beginning, i couldn't stand it. i was disappointed with every show we played. maybe we started playing out too soon...maybe i was too hard on everything, like usual. regardless, i was pissed after most every show. and before most shows, i'd argue with frank about what he should or shouldn't wear on stage...blah blah blah. silly.
after a good number of shows...after we started to get a good response from our audiences, i let go a little. i enjoyed performing on stage more, and totally dropped any worries about what frank might be wearing. i just...did my thing, and i think everyone else started to relax more on stage, as well. 'twas a rockin' time.
when brock came aboard the absent bandwagon, i was totally psyched, but frank was less than stoked. however, after we had a couple practices as a fivesome, everyone knew that things would be fine. brock caught on very quickly, and although our shows together were less than perfect, it was fun, nonetheless. we received second place at the 3rd Annual Altamonte Springs Battle of the Bands (bands with at least one Brotz in them have either won first or second place in each of the 3 years of the competition's existence: 1st place for Unwelcomed Guests (Will), 1st Place for WiKid (me) and 2nd place for Absent (brian and me). ANYWAY. fun times.
tensions between frank and i festered. frank wanted the band's style to get heavier, whilst the rest of us were fine with the direction we were headed in (more melodic, with a heavy 'edge'). to make a long story short (i'm sure that you all heard the long version before, anyway), frank parted ways with the band, and will joined. why will? all five of us have an awesome vibe together. will has been wanting to join the band since...i dunno when, and after practicing with him, i'm confident that everything will work out fine.

NOW: brian, brock, john, will, and i are all ready to throw down. the only problem is that i'm up here, and they're all down there, in o-town. this makes practice opportunities very limited. however, if the guys still practice without me, i know that they can get tight as hell (there's always room for improvement), and i'll be practicing up here on my own for sure. as for specific comments towards myself and bandmates: brock practices more than any of us. as long as he's practicing his vocals, as well, i don't have anything critical to say here. however, his involvement in other bands worries me...ah well. raudebaugh is a mad awesome bass player...but i think if he let go more...if he'd just beat the hell out of that bass, it'd be hellabetter. also, practice practice practice. as for brian...brian's optimism for the band is awesome. i know that he practices like a beast, too...he's gotten SO much better than he was when we started out. however, i think he still has quite a ways to go-all of us do, but i truly feel that the qualities of the drummer and vocalist(s) often determine the success of a band. will's ability to quickly catch on is encouraging, and i know he's psyched to be a part of this band. i'm not sure about his stage presence yet, since he has yet to play an actual show with us, but i don't think it'll be anything that we wouldn't be able to fix-if it even turns out to be an issue. his ability to contribute to songwriting is yet to be seen, as well...but i'm confident that everything will fall into place with time. as for myself...i know that i have TONS of room for improvement on all plains. i'd love to get voice lessons, to improve my range and endurance. as for guitar, i'm fairly content with my abilities for the moment, but i still practice everyday. i've been wondering about how intensive my involvement with the guitar is going to be for the future of absent, though, since i've been pondering the possibility of switching over to a primary focus on vocals; not entirely, but...primarily. i dunno...

future: absent definitely has potential to go somewhere. 5 good-lookin' kids with talent, and a brand of music that would definitely get the attention and approval of metal/rock listeners everywhere if they were able to hear it. i do think that we need to get tighter...and we need to get a better handle on the vocal arrangment, now that the vocal responsibilties are on the shoulders of brock and me. also...john and i could use some better equipment. overall, though, i'm confident about absent's future. The Main Thing, though, is for us all to have fun. i really think that all we should do is concentrate on having a good time...and if something comes our way, so be it. i don't think we'll be able to let it all loose like that...but we'll see.

::: posted by AJBrotz at 3:19 AM

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