Sept. 25th, 1991

I go see the band at The Birchmere, a local showcase club. It's the first time I've seen them with Shannon. I'm impressed and a little intimidated; the band is cohesive, dynamic and incredibly tight. When a band plays night after night after night, intricate changes and subtle dynamics worm deep into the music. Adding a new or different player changes everything. There are a myriad of these nuances and more than a few new songs. There are several new Gatton extravaganzas: twenty minutes of constantly changing styles and long sections moving faster than the speed of light. Hey - I knew the job was dangerous when I took it! Afterward, I urge: "it would really help if I could get a copy of the tape you made tonight…"

To make matters more interesting, they ask me if I wouldn't mind using Shannon's drumset. He's playing a gorgeous, hi-tech, hot-pink Drum Workshop six tom-tom rack, cymbals-everywhere kit. I'm excited to play this great kit, but am now facing playing the loudest, fastest, longest, most challenging music, on the road, in concert, on someone else's kit! This is beginning to seem like an anxiety dream. (For a drummer that might mean the sticks are too big to hold, the heads are all broken, there are no cymbals, etc.)

Also, it is revealed that Shannon will fly in to play the plum Austin City Limits date. Though the show was mentioned when I was recruited for the tour, this is a logical move. I swallow my pride and say "Sure, that sounds right." I'll be paid for the date just the same.

Oct. 2nd, 1991

Blessedly, two cassettes of the Birchmere show arrive in the mail. I have two whole days to absorb the changes and new material. My first gig in on Friday the 4th. I pop the first cassette in…

Next: kicking butt at the first gig, slipping up at the second…