I wish that I could tell you some preposterous anecdote on how this band got started, like one where we all met on a fateful night in a smoky bar listening to the same band, discovered we had similar interests, went and played our guitars in the parking lot together, and realized it was love at first sound wave. But that’s not what happened. Truthfully, it was just that someone asked us if we could throw something together for a Battle of the Bands fundraiser our school was having and we said yes.
Dakota (drums), Alyssa (piano), myself (bass), Shannon (vocals), and Derek (guitar) practiced a few songs for the event, not thinking much of it. However, it went surprisingly well, and when it was all said and done, we jointly decided that continuing on as an actual band would be a pretty sweet summer job. From there it was all smooth sailing, practicing almost daily and setting up concerts just about anywhere that would book bright-eyed 17- and 18-year-olds with scarce musical credibility.
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When it first started, I was still working at the local restaurant TJ’s Burgers. But when the concerts started piling up, along with the obligatory practicing required for said concerts, I realized I would have to say bye to TJ’s. I did this gladly, as burger juice is not my eau de cologne of choice. We gained momentum quickly and even became consistent at spots around town like Herbert’s Taco Hut, River Hofbrau, and the Pour Haus. It’s hard to pinpoint what type of music we played, because our setlist was often erratic; it would not be unusual to hear us play Sunday Morning (Maroon 5), Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash), and Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin) back to back to back, for example.
As exciting as this all was, my day job was still to focus on running. The increase in concerts seemed to parallel the increase in mileage, with each week requiring more and more creative ways of getting the mileage in. At first, it was pretty easy to balance everything. I could get my mileage done in the morning, hang out during the day, and play music at night. But on days where we decided to have band practice the morning of a concert, or mornings when my high school team had practice that I wanted to help out with, it became a little more challenging. There were several nights of flashlight neighborhood running at midnight to make sure I hit my goal mileage, including one night where I changed and went for a super quick run while we took a break in the set. That moment might have been the epitome of me trying to fit everything in.
All in all, it was totally worth it. I was able to fine tune my time management skills, probably strengthen my leg muscles from all the hours standing on stage, and most importantly, get to do the two things I love most. Running was definitely my top priority, but I’ve been playing music since I was a little kid, so being able to play for people we had never seen before and have them actually enjoy our music and company was truly remarkable.
As the summer sun sets and our team gets closer to meeting up (like a week!!!), I’m slowly realizing my fleeting glimpse of a rock star lifestyle is closing. We will all be moving on to different things during the school year, going our own ways, with the hopes of meeting back up a few times during the year and then roaring back up again in full-fledged rock mode next summer. As sad as I am to know that my musical endeavors will soon go into hibernation, I’m thankful for the opportunity and pumped to get to Trinity. And in the end, I think I’ve got The Most Interesting Man In The World beat on one front: I got to play music with some of my best friends and have a blast doing it all summer while still training for the best XC team around. I bet you’ve never seen that on a Dos Equis commercial.
P.S. In case you are intrigued by my heartwarming story and feel like you need the satisfaction of hearing us play, the band’s name is Free Marie and we have a wonderful Facebook page with tons of videos!
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