And if my love leaves me, what will I do?

So. Last night was the first rehearsal of the band sans the guitarist who's been with us for ten years, who was in fact one of the founding members of the band. It did feel weird, because in those ten years, I can't recall a rehearsal without him. Occasionally, it felt as if a tooth has fallen out and you keep prodding that empty place with your tongue.
However. Since singer G wasn't there either, he of the horrible work schedules, all we did were songs with singer N, one of which is Black is the Colour, where nothing is changed since it was always one guitar, bass, and violin.
Oh right, I don't know if I told you, but we have a gig on the 9th of September, with only a handful of rehearsals until then where all of us are there, August being particularly bad, what with three of us away on holidays. Although that gig will be a home game for us in a way, being in the pub where we have played for packed audiences every time, we will need at least 20 songs that work, and work well, to be able to play it.
Anyway, practically all the songs with N. went rather well, and so did one of the instrumentals, so we have five songs already, and one that will work given a few more rehearsals. Looking at the set list of days gone by, I would say that there are ten more where we have few problems, and a handful that are probably unmanageable with only one guitar.
But, and more importantly, we have one guitarist who seems hell-bent on making it work, and a bass player we're lucky to have, because he's able to play so well that he can fill in a lot of the empty space. And, last but not least, last night was fun - even though I feel like a traitor for saying so. We were all concentrating like mad; in fact, it's been a long time since I felt so challenged during a rehearsal. There was a lot of energy in that room last night.
Yes, it will be tough. But I think we can manage.

Honest, guv, it's for medicinal purposes!

It's 12:30 and I'm drinking sparkling wine because it's good for low blood pressure. This afternoon's study will be fun.

Today's big question

Who is Talvin Singh, and why do I have a piece of his music on my computer?

Blast from the Past

It's unbelievable. I've gone back in our band's history to the first ever gig, the one we - the four remaining founding members - played in 1998 at our singer's wedding party. These days, I wouldn't dare to play Kayleigh in front of an audience. I'm surprised though that back then, we were already playing songs that are still on our set list. At that gig, we had one guitarist (and me strumming away desperately on "Take it Easy"), no bass player, and no band name. But we did have fun playing. It may be the sound quality (this was recorded on a video camera after all), but it's not as bad as I remembered. Even the very weird a-capella-songs.
And we're still playing. We must be doing something right.