None More Blacklight, or, How I Spent My Friday

I'm actually still stunned by this...

I received an e-mail from Ben Brower a couple of weeks ago. In it, I was asked if I wanted to play keyboards on a few songs for a Spinal Tap tribute on 11/11/11.

I was surprised to say the least. My last gig where I played keyboards in any capacity was with the Three 4 Tens in London in 2002. I didn't even have a gig-worthy keyboard - however, a friend was thankfully willing to loan me one.

I got to work. I learned every song from the "This Is Spinal Tap" album, plus "Bitch School" from their comeback "Break Like The Wind" CD.

I quickly noticed that Spinal Tap songs are not easy to play. I had to work harder than I would have ever imagined. Every song has at least one tricky muso-part that's somehow essential.

The whole gig was quite an undertaking. There were over a dozen players. I ended up playing on every song with the exception of Wastoid's one-off performance (and the only non-Spinal Tap tune) of "Get On Top," which was played by a conglomeration of two Wastoid lineups.

Anyway... It was an absolute blast. The place was packed and the crowd absolutely dug it. I realized right before we started playing that, 27 years into my musical performance "career" that this was the first gig I had ever played where the only instrument I played was keyboards. I also sang - I belted a lead vocal on "Sex Farm" and covered the David St. Hubbins parts on "Stonehenge", "Hell Hole" and "America."

This was the first time I had played with my former Three 4 Tens bandmate Jon Kois in 10 years. He was always a good drummer - but he's even better now.

I knew going into this gig that it was going to be my last gig of any sort for a while. I need some time off to rest, recover, and figure out my next move. I was able to play with a lot of talented, amazing people - really, I couldn't ask for a better one before a hiatus.