LauberLand Radio's debut show "ORIGINALS SHOWCASE #1" aired on Sept 23rd, 2015 and was a great success playing all original music submitted by artists from Central Florida and beyond! Anyone from around the world can submit original music for free airplay in the ORIGINAL SHOWCASE SERIES that will air on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 8pm EST via this link: http://lauberland.caster.fm
Join us for LauberLand Radio's "ORIGINAL SHOWCASE #2" which will air on Oct 6th, 2015 8PM EST at http://lauberland.caster.fm (deadline to submit your song is Oct 1st, 2015 midnight)
"It's Red, White and Blue" is a song written by Dave Lauber and produced by Frank Starchak (Deltona Records Recording Studios).
More than 50 central Florida musicians answered the call and converged on
Deltona Records Recording Studios to lend their voices to this inspiring
song about unity, with hopes that this song might help bring Americans
closer together. Partisan politics is dividing our country more than
ever, and although this may not be the solution, it sure doesn't hurt!
Please share with everyone you know and help us spread this
message.....as united we stand, and divided we fall!
Join the conversation and meet the people who made this happen: http://facebook.com/itsredwhiteandblue
Thanks for watching!
This is the promo teaser for my new single "It's Red, White and Blue", America's very first bipartisan anthem! Here is the story about how this song came to be, as well as information on the national release, coming soon!
From 1998 until 2011 I worked for Bellsouth/AT&T and compiled a huge amount of what we referred to as "windshield time", which meant endless hours behind the whell of the company vehicle. During this time I listened to a lot, and I mean a lot, of AM talk radio...mostly 580AM Orlando, FL. Some of my favorite personalities were Clark Howard, Neil Boortz, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Michael Savage...and obviously I received a huge dose of right-wing brainwashing for years. I compiled enough information about politics and more to become a Fox News contributor! Hear me out, this gets interesting...
With my so-called new-found knowledge I set out to social media sites to flaunt my talking points and win debates. I was fearless, logical, and frankly, unbeatable when it came to political debate...or so I thought. I always had to have the last word, and frantically did even more research to provide sources for my talking points so that nobody could defeat me in a discussion about which politician was the best, or which ideology was the most sensible. This carried on for a couple of years, but never once did I use all caps or vulgar language during my heated debates. I used my ability to reason with logical facts as my weapon. So, anyway, I was good, and I did this for a long time, making a few new friends along the way, and losing more, convinced that I could change the minds of even the most hard-core left-wingers!
Then I decided to start my own social network. You see, I am a musician, and Facebook hated that musicians were using their website to promote, so they made it difficult to invite large amounts of people to events, for example. This inspired me to create(with the help of Bryan Kezer) EZ Band Page...a new social network just like Facebook, but more friendly and geared toward musicians. While launching EZ Band page, Bryan explained to me that my political debate days were done, as I would have to become the face of EZ Band Page, and if I wanted it to succeed I would have to stop posting about politics, and religion for that matter. So, I did. I stopped. I still cared....I still felt the need to speak out, but I refrained for the sake of EZ Band Page. Consequently, although the website was amazing, it failed due to lack of funds to promote it properly.
As a by-product of the failing site I gained something even more important...an outside view looking in to other people debating about politics. Suddenly it seemed so silly.
What I noticed was how mean and vulgar the conversations had become...much worse than anything I had ever written or said during my debates. It seemed like every time anyone would post anything even remote to politics, the vultures would swarm in and immediately start tearing each other apart verbally! It was an ugly thing to see America so divided along party lines, and I knew that while we were fighting amongst ourselves, the guys and gals on Capital Hill were having a field day with out tax dollars and partying and spending like drunken sailors.
Suddenly it dawned on me....I was driving the ThunderVan home from an AC/DC tribute show with ThunderJack and started saying to myself "It's not red or blue, it's red white and blue!". At this point I had this phrase, no lyrics, no melody, but I knew we were all in this together and if we didn't find a way to come together at some point, we were going to fail as a nation.
I kept the line in my head until I could find the time to work on it. That time came soon after...and I finished the lyrics to the song and recorded a quick version in my studio (LauberLand Studios). I then posted the tune on Facebook to share it, and I figured it would get 3 likes and I'd be on to the next thing. Then suddenly I got a message from Frank Starchak of Deltona Records Recording Studios!
Frank told me to take the tune down....that I had something special that touched him...and he wanted to produce it. He was hearing a "We Are The World"-style production, and thought it had great potential to be America's very first bipartisan anthem! He told me to copyright it that night, which I did immediately...and then we starting planning the production. We would get as many local musicians as possible to come and sing the chorus all in one night!
I put the call out on Facebook, and managed to get 50 local musicians to come and donate their voices to the project, and choir night was one of the most incredible and heart-touching nights of my entire life! Those people came out because they believed in my song and its message! I was overwhelmed, to be honest about it!
Next step was to get the people lined up for the verse recordings.
(TO BE CONTINUED!)
When I was a young teen, It was all music, all the time. I played drums, bass and guitar every chance I could. There was nothing more important to me back then. Not even girls! Well, maybe girls, but that's it! I listened to music every chance I could. All types of music, not just the heavy metal I was admitting to back then, but also Motown, disco, easy listening, Broadway musicals, big band, jazz, R&B, the WORKS! It was as if I couldn't get enough of it and I was sucking it down like it would all end soon. Well, that's not too far from the truth.
I continued to listen, all through high school, all through 6 years in the Army, all through college, all the while working countless jobs, but always had time for music. I was dissecting it piece by piece. I would learn the drum parts. I would learn the bass lines. I would learn the guitar leads. I seldom memorized the lyrics, although I enjoyed listening to the stories. I guess I just never thought I would be singing later. But, I memorized the parts and pieces better than most people, and I could actually see the artists in my head (or at least my vision of what the artists looked like) while the music was playing. I could envision what their hands were doing... how they were hitting the drums... how they were playing the bass and guitar chords. Most often, I could run right home after hearing a song on the radio, and grab my guitar or get behind the drums and play it, nearly perfect, first time through. My mother and father made sure I knew I had a gift. I had what they call a "gifted ear". My parents wanted to make sure I used my talents, so they supported me every step of the way.
I wasn't aware of why I was learning all these parts. In fact, I never put much thought into why. It wasn't some big plan to be a great musician one day. It wasn't a plan at all. It was simply because I liked, well, loved the music. All kinds of music, and the more complex, the better. I was like a sound sponge that never became saturated. I couldn't hear enough fast enough. When the songs came on the radio, time after time, I would notice everyone usually sang the words. I had to be different, so I would verbally recreate the drums or bass parts, or even the guitar rhythm tracks and leads. Sometimes it would even be piano, keyboard or from time to time, an orchestra instrument. It amazed me that there could be so many songs, and every single one was different.
I started my first band, The Visionary Sounds, when I was about 9. (I had been playing drums since 5 and a bit of acoustic guitar shortly after) It consisted of my mom's chord organ, some pots and pans, and a small Sears acoustic that belonged to my sister, but we were making music and it was really, really fun! Jumping ahead a bit, I joined band after band, each one different, each one getting a little better and better as time passed. Then, without and warning or even a clue, life happened. School was gone, and work appeared.
I now had bills to pay. Car insurance, rent, dating, beer, weed, more beer, more weed, and more beer, and weed. I had to make money in order to have fun, but although I never stopped listening to or playing music, it was different. It was no longer the center point. It was no longer the most important thing (next to girls). It became just another thing. More life went by, and music became more and more distant, like a friend that had lost touch, or a horizon you just never reach. It was there, waiting for me, when I could find the time. I could never seem to find the time. I was working, and working, and working some more. Eventually I would be working for the phone company installing fiber optic circuits, and music gave way to talk radio. I remembered making fun of my father because he listened to talk radio, and I was becoming, well, him. Not a bad thing, but a wake-up call. For many years at that job, I had a wonderful boss named Lenny. He was great when it came to being a "cool" boss, and things were bearable, although the company still found a way to make you feel like a number. I truly felt like a number. The same old crap, day in and day out. It paid well, but I knew there had to be something better. The good pay, heath insurance, job security, and other factors would keep me from "taking that leap of faith". I knew I wanted music back, but I couldn't take that first step.
Instead, I would run a small recording studio on the side, and play in a band here and there. Every time Monday came, it was back to the grind. It ate me apart, and made me into a sort of drone. I absolutely hated working for the "man". I was an empty shell of a person, as if I had lost my soul. Don't get me wrong, I was enjoying my life and in general was feeling happy on a day-to-day basis, but something was missing. The music. The passion for the music. Hell, I could turn on music anytime I wanted, for the most part. It was not the same. Work and life were just in the way, big time. And then something happened.
I got the news. My boss, Lenny, had a heart attack and died. Things quickly changed. We had a couple of "replacement" bosses. One was what we call a "fast tracker", or in other words, straight out of college and into my face! He would get transferred, but not before damage was done in the form of pink slips. I was pushing back, and I was not happy on the job. I was recently married to the most awesome girl, which made it nearly impossible to do anything about it. She was depending on me. Finally, I got yet another new boss. Let's just say we didn't hit it off the first day, and that was our best day since! We did not get along AT ALL. This guy was just full of it. I decided I was not going to put up with it, so I started pushing back. Didn't go well, but at this point I had had enough. Let's cut to the part where the most recent boss fired me, because I became a real big pain in his ass!
At first, I felt like I was lost...wandering for months and months. I had no idea what to do, and I slipped into a mild depression. My wife stood by me, for some reason, and she is still by my side, even after I told her...I am going to do music full time. If I don't try it before I die, I will go to my grave never forgiving myself for not trying. She completely understood why just about as much as she hated the idea! At first, it was a rough start. I had to break out of my funk. I had no idea what to do. I had to think, so think I did. Can I actually do this? I still don't know. What I do know is that I AM doing it. I am right in the middle of it, right now, as I type, being what I always dreamed of. That's right, I am "LIVING MY DREAM"!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I shouted that last part because it's the best decision I have ever made. It was a HUGE revelation, and it all finally came clear. It's not how much money you make, it's not who you know, it's not where you live, it's not any of that. It's WHO YOU ARE! I wasn't happy because I was trying to be someone I was not. I, for the first time in a long time, became MYSELF again! What a great feeling! I am now close to 50, and feeling like 23. I have more energy than even when I was 23. I love what I am doing so much that I work from 9am to 4am 7 days a week and it's not enough. I can't put it down, because it's not what I do, it's WHO I AM. So cliche, but so real. Now is a good time to tell you I am not making enough money to live at the level I was used to, but it's also a good time to tell you I just don't care...because I'm happy. My wife knows I'm happy, and she likes me happy. It's refreshing and hard to put into words how happy. I am not out of the woods. I still have to increase the income, but with this energy and motivation I am not concerned about that because I can feel it happening day to day.
I am spending my days in my own recording studio (http://lauberland.com, shameless plug) and filling in the rest playing drums, bass and guitar in multiple bands and projects, having a blast, and using all of those parts I memorized as a child to my benefit! I just went to a bass audition with a new band this past week, and I didn't even have to practice any of the 32 songs. When we got finished going over them, they said "You're IN if you want it!" The best part of all of this is not knowing what's on the horizon. I don't want to know, and that was the problem with the way things were before. It was just so predictable. Now, this is what I call living life. Find out who you are, and be that person. Learn what you love to do more than anything, and do it the best you can, and you will find success. I have heard it before, but now I believe it!
It all started with a visit from my nephew, Matt Davis, who came to visit me for a few weeks this past February. His mother (my sister Sue) tells me I'm one of his favorite uncles, and after losing his job for making a simple mistake, she thought it would be good for him to get away from NJ and visit me in FL to get his mind off of things. He was looking forward to taking advantage of my recording studio (LauberLand Studios) and had some visions of writing and recording a song while he was here.
Matt is a young 21, and I agreed it would be fun to have him down to visit. Since I have other family here, we really didn't have the entire 3 weeks to hang out, but we did have plenty of time, or so we thought! I picked him up at the airport and drove to Deltona, where I live, just outside of Orlando, FL. I live with my wife, Kelly and lots of doggies. Kelly is the somewhat-well-known "Yorkies By Kelly" and is a one of the best at raising Yorkies under foot. I am a musician and have a recording studio set up in the garage. We showed Matt to his room, and we just hung out and relaxed the first day or two, mainly stuffing our faces and watching movies.
Matt Davis
We then began to migrate into the studio to see what might come of it. We messed around with some chords and talked about ideas. He gave me a few ideas about what he wanted, but we were lacking subject matter for the song, and had no idea at this point that there would even be a video at all. After trying to be creative for a couple days in a row, nothing was clicking, and sometimes that just happens. I asked Matt to think hard and come up with an idea for what the song would be about. I gave him some examples, but we were having no luck at all. I told him to sleep on it and come up with something and we would start from there.
Uncle Dave Lauber
The next day I called Matt into the studio and asked him if he came up with anything. He said he was unable to think of anything, and flashing back to the days when I was much shorter-tempered, I got a little pissed off to say the least. I told him it was not that hard, and we had a heated moment and then he left the studio and went to his room. I was angry because I felt he wasn't really putting any effort into coming up with an idea, so I decided to show him that it wasn't that hard to do by knocking out a song in 10 minutes. (Yes, I know, I am well-aware I am still a bit immature for 49, but very passionate about anything music). So, I wrote a song, in 10 minutes, chords, lyrics, and the works. I then quickly texted him from the studio and said "your song is done, come and sing it!"
LauberLand Studios, Deltona, FL
He thought I was joking, but he came back into the studio. I showed him what I had written. He said he liked it! The song was a fictional story about a guy and a girl who had been dating for years, but started to fight more and more often. During the past year the fights worsened, and the guy fell out of love with the girl, although he still cared about her. He made a mature decision to break up with her so that she could find someone who could offer her true love, and she decided to move out and leave him. The song pretty much stayed the same as written, but Matt changed the melody from the obvious melody that I wrote to a whole new feel and that seemed to bring the tune up to date and make it much more current.
We began to record the song right away, and by the next day it was recorded (mostly because it was a simple acoustic song with a few vocal tracks). We listened to our work, and the more we listened, the more we agreed that it actually came out much better than expected. We were happy with our collaboration, and we were already laughing about the tension that caused the song to be written in the first place!
Over the next week or so, Matt went to the west coast to stay with other family members. While he was away, I gave the song a few more listens. I started to realize we might be on to something that people could really like and enjoy. Everyone I played the song for either loved it or lied to me! Soon after, I began to get visions of making a music video for the song. I took advantage of Matts time away to come up with a story board for the video, and mapped everything out down to the exact shots for each part of the song! I should mention I had never done anything like this before, and that made it very exciting and very difficult at the same time. The storyboard took nearly 2 days to come up with, and I remember I had to finish it after I picked up Matt from the train station.
Storyboard for Matt Davis - I Turn To You
Now the next step was to find a leading lady, or co-star for the music video. Who would play the part of the girl? Hmmm, lots of girls started flashing through my brain, but I knew she had to be very pretty for the video to get noticed. I only had two days before I had to pick up Matt and then a day and a half before I drove him to the airport. Wow, not much time to pull off a music video, but I was determined. I was sitting at a local Beef O' Bradys when I noticed the hostess was a young and pretty brunette about Matt's age. I asked her if she was interested, and she said yes. I gave her my CP number and told her to call when she got off her shift. This might have seemed more strange if my wife wasn't with me, but she never called anyway. The next morning we were sitting at Mel's Family Diner in Sanford, FL talking about how we would go about finding an actress on short notice, when one of my favorite waitresses (Kelli) overheard us and reminded me that her daughter, Heather, was an actress and model. I had already seen pics of Heather, and I knew she would be just perfect if she would agree to do it, which she did!
Heather Jakubcin
Wednesday came quickly, and Kelly and I drove to the train station to pick up Matt. On the way back to our house we explained the time would be limited, and we'd have to get up early on Thursday to begin shooting at various locations around Sanford and Deltona. He was up for the task and we crashed early to get some rest, or at least he did! I had to stay up to get the camera and storyboard and props ready. This was not going to be easy. I was about to be director, videographer, makeup artist, and everything you see in the credits of a movie short wrapped into one person, and squished into a day and a half, plus I had to do it on just a few hours sleep!
Thursday morning, and 6am came pretty early. Matt was up, but grouchy in the morning and not quite as excited as the day before. We loaded up the van and headed to Sanford's downtown historic district. We decided we could work better on a full stomach, so we stopped into The Colonial House Restaurant for some breakfast and coffee. After breakfast we headed over to the riverfront of Lake Monroe to shoot some footage. We used a small CD boom box to play the audio loud enough for Matt to lip sync to. I was using my Sony HD Handycam and a tripod to get most of the video shots. I quickly learned Matt was kinda shy, and wasn't feeling so good about shooting in public in front of people, which is understandable if you have never done it. We basically waited for cars and pedestrians to go by between takes before shooting the shots, so it all worked out.
We headed out to a few other places and then waited for Heather and her mother Kelli to meet up with us to get the Yorkie shot on the swing. My wife, Kelly, was standing by with "Ru", one of her "Yorkies By Kelly" doggies and met us at the location, as well. We took some shots and decided we were all hungry. I'm starting to see a pattern. Dang, we sure do eat a lot! We all headed back to Beef O' Bradys in Deltona, since it was just down the street from my studio where the rest of the scenes would be shot. Matt and I had already gone to several locations before we met with Heather and got the rest of the outdoor footage. We still had to take all the inside and green screen shots.
L to R: Heather, Kelli (Heather's mom), Kelly (my wife) and Matt
After a nice lunch, we all headed back to LauberLand for the real work. We decided to get the green screen shots out of the way because we would have to shoot in the dining room later and that's where I usually shoot the green screen video. The green screen allows us to remove the background later and replace it with effects such as the black and white swirl effect used in the video. Everything was going as well as expected and we were all having the time of our lives. The chemistry was perfect, and Matt and Heather were so natural together you would have thought they'd been dating for years!
Heather and Matt during green screen shoot at lauberLand
We continued shooting video until almost 10pm, and we were all exhausted! We called it a day, and Heather and her mother Kelli took off. I told Matt to get some rest, because we still had to shoot some footage in the studio the next morning before we drove him to the airport. We got some rest, and the next day we shot the parts where Matt was playing guitar and singing into the microphone. I must say he did a great job, and he learned to play all the guitar parts I had written in just about an hour so that he could play them in the video!
After the last shots were finished, we literally had about an hour to get him packed and on the road to the airport so he could fly back home to NJ! Talk about cutting it close! It was a great adventure for both of us. I then took the next few weeks to edit the footage and create the video. You can see the video below, and be sure to watch in HD and comment on YouTube if you can! We are proud of our work given the circumstances, and especially since it was our first music video we made, I think it came out pretty good and we learned a lot about the process, too..
Thanks for reading, you can also comment below and please follow my blog, as there are many more stories to come...
Matt Davis - I Turn To You (starring Heather Jakubcin)
My name is Dave Lauber. I have been a professional drummer for well over 30 years, and drumming for over 40. My fantastic journey began when I was about age 5. Back then I can remember always tapping and banging on everything in sight, everywhere, all the time. I was obsessed with music and sound. My father was an entertainer, sort of like Fred Astaire, but not as wealthy! My mother even showed musical interests as she loved her little air-controlled chord organ, and played all kinds of songs on it. I was told I got my talent from my grandfather, who could play nearly anything. The facts that far back are a little foggy today, so I will give you the early part of the story as best I can remember it.
Growing up in an old house gave me access to a number of cool things that helped spark my interest in percussion. Two things I remember most clearly are the iron radiator (as seen in the picture top left) and the cardboard sticks (left) that used to hold pants on hangers back in the day. Luckily, with lots of people living in the house, we had tons of hangers! These were my very first drum sticks, and they worked pretty well, at least for a couple hours until they fell apart! I would get two hangers from one of the closets in the house, and start drumming on the radiators, pipes, pots, pans, lids, shoe boxes, magazines, furniture, pillows and basically everything once, and the things that made cool noises I would keep coming back to. I was going through hangers at an alarming rate, and soon had to get creative. I had to double up clothing, putting my sisters sweaters over their blouses, and even sneaking their clean clothes into the hamper to free up more hangers! I'm sure my mother appreciated that with six kids to wash clothes for, already. Anyway, you get the idea. I had a fixation, and I knew I had it bad!
My father was constantly playing music around the house, and I noticed how he would always be in a great mood if he was singing and dancing to music. It didn't matter what type of music, it was all nice to hear back then. The music always moved me. It made me happy, sad, jumpy, excited and wacky. Most of all, it made me want to play along with it, so I did...every chance I got!
One year my parents decided to get me a toy drum for Christmas. It
was a little metal drum with a paper head. Their heart was in the right
place, and I have to assume it was all they could afford. You see, my father worked very hard, but we simply had too many kids, kinda like the Brady Bunch! It wasn't long (the same day,
if I remember correctly) before I busted the paper head, and was without
a drum. I can remember trying to tape it up, but it just didn't sound
the same, and soon busted again. It was then my parents realized that I
needed real drums, and that would change my life forever. Soon after
we recovered from the expenses of Christmas that year, my parents went
secretly looking for a real drum set for me. I don't remember looking
with them. If I remember correctly, my father just came home one day
with a gold-sparkle 4pc Gretsch kit (pictured above) complete with a
stool, hi-hat and cymbal! I don't remember where he got it, or how much
he paid for it. I was ecstatic, so say the least, and I immediately began
my journey.
I remember walking home from school one day, and I heard this sound coming from a garage nearby. I walked closer and closer to the sound, and I soon realized it was someone playing drums. The door was open a little (things were different back then, and it wasn't odd to just walk up on another person's property, even if you didn't know them) and I peeked inside to see what was going on. It turned out to be George Wozunk, who was in a family band called "The Brothers Three" that was managed by their father. Hopefully, my sister will find my blog and correct the accuracy of this part (she has a vivid memory compared to mine), but I think George went to a different school than me, which was odd because they lived right next to the school where I went. What I can't remember is whether I knew George personally, yet, or if I saw him playing with his band at some event, but for some reason, I felt it was OK to go and bother him. The important part of this is the fact that George saw how excited I was to hear and see him play. He knew I had the bug. He let me try his drums! He said I had potential (keeping in mind that although we were like 5 or 6, he was already playing out professionally and taking lessons). He said I could come by from time to time and he'd show me some tricks, and so I did.
THIS IS ME TODAY - TAKEN AT FLASH BASH 2010
After a few weeks, George asked if I wanted to take lessons, and if so, he'd introduce me to his drum teacher. Of course, I ran home and asked my parents and begged and begged, but there was just no way to fit it into our budget. So I went back and had to explain to George that I couldn't afford lessons, which was an early lesson in humble for me.
Now I had the bug more than ever. I had a kit I could be proud to play anywhere! I ran back to my friend, George Wozunk, and asked him to teach me more. He said he was running out of things to show me, and that he would talk to his drum teacher to see if there was any arrangements that could be made. A few days later, he told me to go and talk with his instructor, George Hague, who lived in Vineland, the next town over. Mr. Hague said he knew I wanted to play drums more than anything, and he was going to help me, but we had to make a deal. I would do almost anything at this point, so we agreed that in exchange for drum lessons, I would march in his "all percussion" marching band, the "George Hague Drum Corps". I had to keep up with my lessons, as well as learn the parts for the drum corps at the same time. I was a smart boy, even at that age, and I knew what opportunity had just fallen into my lap. Now, I just had to talk my mom and dad into driving me to Vineland once or twice a week, which they agreed to in exchange for extra chores around the house. I guess you could say at the age of 5 or 6 I was already "networking" in the music biz!
So, I began to play the real kit. I began to learn to read, and I learned how to march holding a snare drum. I was having the time of my life! This was the most awesome thing that could happen to me, and I was appreciative. I learned my parts, and then some. I was excited to go every week to see Mr. Hague and his smiling face and his big mustache...he was my next best hero to my dad! I never, to this day, forgot what George Wozunk did for me back then, and I give him credit for creating an opportunity for me to be a drummer. I still contact him, even recently, to thank him, and tell him I haven't forgotten what he's done for me...the most recent contact via Facebook! In PART 2, I will continue to discuss my journey into the world of music through my teens. I hope you enjoyed PART 1, and stay tuned, as I will get the post up as time allows, and hopefully before the the end of November 2011. Feel free to share the blog and leave comments, and "follow" my blog if you enjoy my stories! Thank You...
It's Monday, October 24th, 2012 in sunny Deltona, Florida. I am sitting at my favorite computer (dubbed LauberMonster,
after my last name) and simply doing some wondering. I wondered where
life would take me next, and then a thought popped into my head that had
been there before, and not long ago. The thought was telling me that
I'm driving, and where I go next is up to me. Before you get too ahead
of me, this is not a story about how God is in control and will fix or
handle everything. You see, through my eyes, there are no gods. I
respect religion, and I believe others have real faith, but I believe
their faith is in imaginary gods. This short story, today, is about
controlling your own destination.
I am married to a
wonderful lady from New Orleans, a Creole girl, and I am happy to accept
her two wonderful step-children into my life. They are both
exceptional in many ways, but from time to time they need a little
guidance. Both the boy and girl are in their early 20s. One is taking
the path of education, and the other is taking the path of employment.
The girl, at least for now, has no interest in attending college, and
enjoys her job at a local car dealer's parts department. We will focus
briefly on some interaction we had months ago. It seemed she was
making some, well let's say "not-well-thought-out" decisions. It's easy
to get bummed-out if it seems like life is hitting you when you're already
down, and sometimes a few words of wisdom can help.
I
took the risk of being "helpful", while walking the thin line between
being the "you're not my real dad" stepfather, and trying to be a supportive friend. And so, we had a nice discussion.
I'm really not sure how much of the conversation stuck, but I was able
to think of a decent metaphor to explain what might be happening to her
to cause her streak of bad luck, and I thought the same metaphor might
be helpful to others. I told her "Life is like a fuel gauge, and every
time you have to make a decision, your decision determines whether the
needle moves toward empty, or toward full".
Simply put,
YOU decide where your life goes next. If you make a bad decision, for
whatever reason, you have affected the outcome to be negative, or less
fuel in the tank. The opposite also holds true. Is it fool-proof? Not
even close. I think of it as more of a general guide. I can think of
many, many times throughout my life that I likely should have made the
opposite choice. I can't go back and change that, but I can learn from
that mistake and try to make better choices and decisions in the
future. I have also noticed that the older I get, the better the
decisions. I guess that goes without saying.
When I was a younger man, roughly from my early 20s right up to
my mid-to-late 30s, I was making a large percentage of poor decisions, mostly
due to drugs, being stubborn, or just simply ignorant. I felt what it
was like to be down and out, and it sure seemed like no matter what I
did, I just couldn't get ahead. Then as I grew a bit older and began to
mature (in my 40s), the decisions started getting better, and life
started cooperating with me more often. Things simply begin to fall
into your lap when you take control like that.
In 1998 I landed a good-paying job with (then Bellsouth)
at&t. I thought I had it made, and I thought I would be retiring
from at&t in just seven more years, about the same time my house
would be paid off. In this case, a series of what I thought to be poor
decisions that got me fired turned out to be some of the best decisions I
have ever made, although I will tell you this at the expense of poking
holes in the very theory I wrote this post about!
You see, I had it made. I had a cushy job that paid well, and
the coolest boss around. That all changed a couple years ago when my
cool boss had a heart attack and up and died on us! (We miss you,
dearly, Lenny) He was eventually replaced with a guy I couldn't get
along with from the very first minute, and it did NOT get any better as
time went on. He was the opposite of our previous boss version, and was
nearly impossible to deal with. My life, my job, my
attitude...everything changed for the worse. I just had no energy to
get up and go to work, but I did it, day after day. It seemed like the
days would never end, and it put plunged me into an unbelievable state
of depression. I now hated the job I loved just a year or so before. I
really hated my boss, and I truly hated the new way at&t used
management via intimidation as opposed to the old Bellsouth methods that I now see were much better.
Long story short, I could tell my boss wanted me out of there,
and I can't blame him. I was doing my work, but I was anything but
cooperative. The truth is, at the risk of sounding pompous, he didn't
like me at all because he knew I was smarter than him. None of that
bothered me. What bothered me most was the way he treated people. He
was simply what I would refer to as a dickhead, and likely the same off
the job. I would admit I'm not the easiest to get along with, but I had
no problem getting along with everyone for 12 years before this, and
was actually well-liked by many. Last May he terminated me after a
string of questionable practices and bogus reasons, including phone
records. At that moment, the exact moment of termination, I knew I had a
choice to make. It was time to make one of those decisions. I could
be bitter for the rest of my life and go on and on about how this a-hole
fired me for no good reason, or I could take the high road. I
decided to take the high road, and when he told me "This will be a
termination meeting", I said "Let me get this straight, you're telling
me I don't have to be here tomorrow at 8am?" He looked at me with a
strange look on his face, as though he couldn't understand what I meant,
and he said "No, you don't have to be here tomorrow at 8am, or any
other day".
I then shook his hand, and said "Thank you, I"m a better man than
you are", and that is the last words we spoke to this day. I had no
inclination to get revenge, I had no desire to "get him back", and I had
no desire to return to work at at&t again, ever, period. From the
liberating moment, I made a decision to never, ever work for anyone but
myself, no matter what. That which could have appeared to be one of
the worst decisions of my life, was now one of the best decisions I have
ever made. I now work for myself, at my house, spending time when I
like with my awesome wife, who also works here from the house, and we
can spend time with our dogs, go shopping, and we basically have the
freedom to do anything we want, and be anything we want to be. I am now
the owner of a recording studio, guitarist for an acoustic duo by the
name of "Empty Pockets", playing drums in numerous bands, writing blogs
(like this one), and networking in the music world like never before. I
am starting a new HUGE website project by the name of EZBANDPAGE.COM,
which will be launching JAN 1, 2012, and I couldn't be happier. This
is the most gas I have had in my tank for quite some time, and what
seemed to be a negative decision has turned my life around! My fuel
gauge is now showing FULL, and I plan to keep it that way!
Follow your dreams and you will be successful...who'da thought?
Feel free to comment below, and please read my other posts, as well. Thanks for stopping by!
Although my post title might sound like an ad for a well-known "match-maker", I can assure you it is a real story about two real people. I'll begin by stating that I have had many relationships, some short, some long, throughout my lifetime. Some good, some bad, some ending in friendships, and others, well, not so much. There were a few things I was sure of when it came to my idea of a relationship. The first being the fact that I knew, from a young age, that I would not settle. The second being that it might take a very long time to find the right person, and last, but not least, I was not going to allow anyone to change me into their idea of a suitable mate. My true love, or as some say, "soul mate", would accept me for who I am, and have no interest in changing me in any way.
I had been engaged twice before. The first time I was way too young, and it didn't feel right sharing my then fiance' with her secret boyfriend, so I decided to back out. The second time was closer, but this time the secret boyfriend turned out to be a very close relative, whom I still love dearly to this day. (Blood runs thicker than water, and you have to be able to forgive others mistakes) I can HONESTLY say I have never cheated on any girl that I had agreed to have a commitment with, but ironically, I was cheated on by nearly every girl I ever had an exclusive agreement with, which was quite a few. Each time it happened it got easier and easier to deal with. I didn't understand why people would do that to each other, so I put a lot of hours into thinking about it. I came up with a theory on this...which was the fact that humans are not intended to be monogamous from the start. We are programmed at birth to have an animal attraction to the opposite sex, and I use the phrase "animal attraction" with purpose. From what I have been able to determine, we have this attraction for the same reason animals have the attraction, and that is for the sole purpose of the survival of our species, which is reproduction. Our natural instinct is to reproduce. We were not intended to reproduce with a certain mate, we were intended to reproduce with anyone who appeared attractive to us. Another key word here is "appeared". It didn't matter if the prospective sex partner was smart, or rich, or sensible, or Christian, or atheist. What mattered was appearance, at least for the reproduction process (or what we now call sex).
For humans to become monogamous (having only one mate) would be a socially-formed idea that became much stronger when religion entered the picture, which was quite recent if you look at the BIG picture. The idea of "family" is not limited to humans, but also runs through certain species of the animal kingdom, as well. So, what I'm trying to say is...we cheat on each other due the the inability or unwillingness to ignore a natural animal instinct that is programmed inside of us from birth, and will likely evolve out of us over a long period of time as religion and the sanctity of marriage gives way to the next social "correctness" that takes its place. I happen to be one person who has had the temptation, (and trust me, I have OFTEN had the temptation) but refused to act on it due to the pain it would cause a person I cared about. It's just that simple, at least to me. If you truly love the one you're with, you would NOT want to hurt them or cause them that much pain. I realize we have developed millions of reasons and excuses to bypass this logical thought process, but all of those are just that....excuses.
I remember going through stages in my life, in and around my mid-twenties right up into my mid-forties, where I had too many girls to decide from, as well as droughts as long as the incredible personal record of my 3-year-drought, which I will never, ever forget. I was never the type to be able to juggle more than one girl at a time, although, like any warm-blooded male, it remained a fantasy to pack as many naked women into my large bedroom at one time as could fit for the ultimate night of pleasure! Toward the end of my so-called 3 year drought, I was truly and seriously (at the young age of 42) entertaining the thought of giving up, being alone, and adopting the best sex-partner option I had at that time, which was the internet! (I know, TMI, but Itend to tell it like it is!)
At this point I had already started to "nest', and it was obvious. I had matured, found a steady and good-paying career, bought a house, and was putting all the pieces in place to attract my mate. The only piece of the puzzle that was missing was the mate. I was spending time at the classier bars, libraries, supermarkets (I learned that from Fonzy), and other places where I thought I might find her. I even considered putting out newspaper ads, flying ads on airplanes, and billboards, but was holding out thinking it was something you can't force. I knew I had to be patient and let it come to me. If I was too eager, any prospects would pick up on the vibe and think I was desperate. I felt desperate. I felt like my time was running out, and I began to feel like a failure. I'm not exactly the easiest on the eyes, but I'm not Shrek, either. It's no lie that from the time I left high school up until the time I was nesting, I never once had a girl give me "the look", or even a longer-than-usual glance, or even noticed I was in the room. I was socially awkward, but only at first. Once I got to know people, I was the life of the party. I was, however, always the "second choice" or the guy that girls would talk to to in order to get a date with the guy I was hanging out with, etc...
One evening I was visited by one of my favorite nieces, and she brought up the question. She said, "Uncle Dave, when are you gonna get married?". I told her I had been looking but not finding, and that even searching the most popular "match" website was not working. It seemed that all the ladies my age looked so damn old, or desperate, and I was just not having good luck. I dated a few of them, but just not getting that warm-fuzzy. So I brought her over to my PC and decided to prove my point. We were going through my "matches" page after page, and my niece was starting to believe my excuse. Suddenly, I clicked next, and BAMM! I noticed one girl that stood out from the crowd. I said to my niece, "Wait a minute, I didn't see her before!" The picture was awesome, but was she real? Was she desperate? Was she uninterested? My niece gave me the great advice to "wink" at her. She winked back! My heart was already racing a little bit, and likely the reason all my other relationships failed (falling in lust wayyyyy too fast before love! hahaha)
After a few days of being too cheap to pay the membership fee, I tried to be clever. The free service would not allow text messages with email addresses or URLs, so I stated "I'm in a band named "Don't Scare The Dog" and we have a website! The hints went over her head, and just about the time I was ready to pay the fee rather than never know, SHE paid the fee to contact ME! That was a first, and a big boost to my then-severely-damaged ego. We chatted text-style for a few days, and then I asked if I could call her. She agreed. From looking at her picture, I was thinking she was from maybe the south-Pacific, or some exotic land, so I was expecting some type of accent. When she answered the phone, I heard the accent. I couldn't understand a word she was saying. Within a few minutes I learned why. As I was trying to hear an exotic accent from another land, what I was actually hearing was the most awesome form of American dialect, which was Creole from New Orleans, Louisiana! (I tease her now and call it Ebonics, lol) Suddenly it clicked in my head, and I could not only understand everything, I had the wonderful experience of falling in love with what I now affectionately call her "kind voice". It was too good to be true, SO FAR, and I was still determined to not get my hopes up. I really wanted to know more about this person, however.
We talked nearly every single night we could on the phone, for hours and hours and even into the morning some nights, and we rarely ran out of things to talk about. After a couple of weeks it was time to try to meet her in person. I always enjoyed taking it slow. I asked if I could meet her sometime during the upcoming weekend, and she explained she was flying up to New Orleans (we were in Florida) to visit her mother and family. She is one of four sisters. I said no problem, just call if you have time, and we'll meet when you come home. Nobody could have guessed what would happen next!
The very weekend Kelly (that is her real name) decided to visit her mother was the same weekend Katrina hit New Orleans! Kelly wound up right smack-dab in the middle of the whole thing! She and her sister, Margo, would weather the storm together, and fight their way out of a city that was devastated with flooding after Katrina made landfall with 120mph sustained winds. I will not go into detail about the hurricane, assuming we all watched the news in horror. Kelly and her sister walked and walked through flooded streets and sewage, without Margo's medication that was designed to keep her from having panic attacks. While the storm was pelting the 2nd story of the wooden apartment house, I was talking her though it as if I had known her for years. I was her point of contact, and was trying to give her clear direction on what to do next. They were able to finally hitch-hike a ride with a local trucker to the Baton Rouge airport, where they had to "live" amongst Katrina refugees for four days until they could finally get a flight back to Florida. Kelly was thankful for what I had helped her through, and we decided to put off the meet until she was able to recover from the trauma and dehydration that the disaster had caused her. I couldn't wait to meet her, so that part was tough for me but I sucked it up.
After Margo returned home, and Kelly had somewhat returned to a state of normalcy at home and work, and she finally called me after one of the longest weeks of waiting in my life. There were many times I thought I'd never hear from her again, but I had to give her that space. She called and thanked me over and over for helping her when I really didn't know her, yet. That would soon change. I didn't feel I had done anything special, as my role was from my safe house talking to her on the phone. Kelly agreed to meet me for lunch at a local restaurant, and so we did. I was working for the local phone company at that time, and took my hour lunch to meet her. I sat in my phone truck waiting for the red car to arrive. I didn't realize there were so many red cars! Finally, I saw her! She looked really pretty as I watched her get out of her car. I walked over to her slowly. She turned and looked at me. She looked different from the picture. Her hair was a bit darker. She was STUNNING to me. We went inside and ordered our lunch. As we ate, she never once made eye contact with me, and continued to be so shy that she kept looking down at the table, her food, and sometimes the bench seat. She was...well...PERFECT in every sense so far. I had always dreamed of being with a quiet and shy person, as boisterous loud girls are just simply a turn-off for me. For some reason, I felt a calmness. The calmness came from the fact that after one lunch with this girl, I absolutely knew, 100%, with zero doubt, that I would marry her! Yes, I now it sounds crazy, but it's true. What I didn't know, yet, was that she really liked me, too.
The next few months were simply "storybook". We talked, we dined, we took drives, we saw movies, and I spent time getting to know her by driving to her apartment...time after time after time. I learned she had been with the same guy for about 20 years, had two wonderful and grown children by him, and that a year before she had left him after finding out he was cheating on her. It could NOT have been more perfect timing, or a more perfect fit. She was not seeing it right away, and we joke today about her comment back then when she stated "We're just so different, this will never work". We had the normal amount of arguments as time went by, and we just seemed to love spending every single moment together. After, 2 years passed, our relationship grew stronger, and we decided to "shack up", as it simply made more economical sense for both of our situations. We were testing the long-term possibilities of our relationship at this point, and it was working. I then decided to pop THE QUESTION!
I wanted to try something different, so I began by writing a song. I then recorded myself on video playing and singing the song. I took the day off work to put it all together. My plan began to fall apart when Kelly called around noon and said she would come home from work early because they were slow! Oh NOOOO, I hadn't recorded my video proposal, yet!!! (My plan was to videotape my proposal, get her to think we were going to watch a movie, play the proposal on TV, and videotape her response so she could have it forever). I had ONE HOUR to put it together, and she came home while I was only half-way finished! She kept asking me why I was going out into the back yard with the video camera while there was a light rain! Somehow, I was able to convince her I was testing the camera I got my video-proposal footage in place by sitting under the gazebo out back in the rain and positioning myself behind a bush so she couldn't see me.
I then cam inside and I sat her down on the couch and said we really need to watch this movie! She agreed, and I pushed play. Suddenly, the video of me playing the song I wrote for her "It's My Time" began to play, and she was getting emotional sinply because the song was about "us". Immediately after the song ended, my big face popped up on the TV and I began to propose to her from the TV, while simultaneously taking a knee in front of her while she sat on the sofa. (I was secretly taping the entire event with the video camera hidden in the entertainment system, too!) When she realized what was really happening, she went to tears, and so did I. My video-self "fake-handed" me the ring though the TV, which I actually had in my hand already (like the quarter/ear trick) and it was simply magical when she said YES!!!!!!! We now have video proof of the moment, and it was just incredible. On May 3rd, 2008, we married, and have been completely inseparable to this day. I love Kelly more than anything or anyone in my life, and now feel that waiting 45 years to find the right girl was, well, worth every single second!
I love you, Sweet Pea!
Here's the actual proposal, secretly caught on video, and it's 100% REAL!
You can hear me proposing from the DVD on the TV, and then I walk over and pretend to hand the ring to
myself through the TV hahaha, Kelly had no idea because I told her we were going to watch a movie! The footage is kinda dark and muffled as we had the lights off during the day and the shade was closed for movie-watching. The audio is a little muffled because I hid the camera behind the glass doors of the entertainment system. Dave Proposing To Kelly
It was the the early 90's in Cocoa (Sharpes to be exact), Florida. I had recently graduated from a promising 2-year degree (BCC 1989 AS in Digital Electronics). By the time I finished my degree, what was a promising and bustling Space Coast job market had dwindled significantly and had begun laying off. I didn't think that would affect me as I touted my new, and extremely difficult-to-achieve accomplishment throughout the Cape Canaveral job market. It soon became a full-time job to search for a job, and things did not start off with a bang.
There were a few things I hadn't taken into account. As hard as that degree was to obtain, I quickly realized that an AS degree meant nothing to these folks, which was a stark contrast to what I had been led to believe through BCC's Marketing Department with all of their stats, charts and numbers pointing to how easily I would find gainful employment out at NASA with my newly-earned knowledge. It's not that I didn't enjoy filling out 10 to 20-page applications that wanted to know everything I did as a toddler, but it was more the responses, or lack thereof, that bothered me most. Of all the applications I put in, I think I remember one company taking the time to tell me I wasn't needed, and the rest simply ignored me. One thing, however, that never let me down was music.
I had always been a musician, as far back as I could remember. I started playing drums at age 5, and when I got my hands on my sister's Sears mid-sized acoustic guitar a few years later, I was in a state of utopia! I asked her to show me a few chords, which she did, and the next day I had written a song. The reason I jumped from job-searching to music was to give a bit of background on why I was writing songs in the first place, and I'll get back to the significance of the job market, shortly. You see, I was born with what I was told was a "gift". Was it a gift from God? No. I now know that's not it. It was a gift from my grandfather's side of the family. Maybe. Most likely it was a gift of chance that my molecules were aligning nicely, but pop-pop was pretty talented.
My pop-pop Norman, so I was told, could play anything on any instrument, but all I ever watched him master was the lifting of 7oz. Budweiser nips, which didn't bother me, because he'd let me sip off of them from time to time. Anyway, back to the gift. The gift, regardless of where you think I should believe it came from, was powerful. I learned at a young age that I had the ability to mentally dissect a song in my mind while it played. I could separate all of the parts, bass, drums, guitars, pianos, etc...., and actually picture, in my mind, what the artist was doing with their hands to make the sounds. This allowed me to mentally learn the songs, by ear (or mind, if you like), on all of the instruments at the same time while I was listening to the song. In other words, by the time I got home and ran to my drums or guitar, I could already play most of the song. Well, at least my mind could. Sometimes it took some work to get my hands to agree with my mind, though.
My young musical influences were whatever station my dad put on the radio in our AMC Rambler station wagon as we drove here and there. I was his first-born son after 5 girls so he dragged me around everywhere he went. I also got to hear his endless collection of LPs consisting of mostly Frank Sinatra, big bands, and Broadway musicals, and more playing on his little, but endearing stereophonic record player. Let's summarize this section by saying I had no shortage of exposure to many different types of music, and that both of my parents recognized my "gift", and were most supportive of anything I wanted to do with music, although financial resources were non-existent.
As the years went by, and sex, drugs and rock n roll entered into my life (THANKFULLY), and I leaned more toward heavy and rebellious music such as Black Sabbath, Kiss, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, well, you get the point. It's possible that my father being killed by a drunk driver in a car wreck when I was 13 had some influence on this, or maybe not. I never coherently thought it through, but rather just listened to the sounds I liked. My songwriting style certainly followed, and I began writing some really heavy tunes back then, such as "Release Me From My Grave", for example. I have to admit I still had a soft side then as well. I could go on and on about music, but that'll have to be later. Ok, back to the job market thing....
After what seemed to be ten years of pumping out 10-page applications to the Space Coast, and NOT ONE job offer, I was sinking. I was working at Ace Hardware and making $6.85/hr. I could barely afford to pay my rent, let alone buy food. I was living in a busted-up old mobile home trailer in Sharpes, just north of Cocoa. Nobody cared about the diploma I just worked so hard for. Nobody needed me at all, and any jobs that became available were going to relatives of those already employed at the Cape. It was now clear that I would have to change gears, another interesting story I will save for another blog post, as it's a story all its own. Now, more about the home break-in...
Over the years I had managed to collect a few dear belongings, such as a 1985 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster that I paid off by bringing an extra $10 to every guitar lesson until the jubilant day I took it home with me, and a few other things that I thought I couldn't live without. Then one day, that all changed.
I came home from work and walked in the front door like any other day of the week. There was one thing different, or at least on thing I noticed right away. The back door of the trailer was flapping in the breeze. I knew I had locked the door when I left, so there was an immediate sense that something was horribly wrong. I quickly ran to the back bedroom where I hid my guitar under the bed. She was gone. I then ran back to the living room where I kept my stereo gear. It was nearly all gone. I guess they couldn't balance my Sanyo speakers atop the rest well enough to get it all. My stomach was in a knot, and nothing seemed real at this point.
Unless you have been blatantly robbed from what you deem to be your one personal place on Earth, you could never really understand the feeling. I made a police report with the Sheriff's Department, only to be told "Shut up and stop telling us how to do our jobs, you are likely never going to see your stuff again". They were right about that part, but not for a lack of trying. I went door to door pretending to be selling in my own neighborhood, thinking it was somewhere close by, but found nothing. I had a strong feeling it was a local friend who I so generously invited into my home to share music and fun, and trusted. I know who he was, and confronted him. He either learned how to act really well, or just didn't do it. I wasn't sure, but I continued my search elsewhere. I searched every pawn shop in Florida, but still nothing. The only positive I had was that they left me my 6-string acoustic guitar and a set of Sanyo speakers. The guitar that I used to write songs of sorrow, life and love over the next 30 years. I don't even remember what happened to that guitar, but I remember how my heavy songwriting style changed dramatically over those years, directly relating to the fact that my Strat was gone. I still have the Sanyo speakers today, some 20 years later, and they are still in perfect condition aside from the front cloth, and they sound better than any speaker I've had, since! I was inspired to write this blog today because after all that time, I finally wrote my first heavy rock song. This, somehow, in a very strange way, symbolizes that I have finally and completely healed from the trauma that I experienced that day, and now I can move forward and complete my first heavy rock CD in thirty years!
Biketoberfest in Central Florida is truly a special time of year! People hop on their bikes of all shapes, sizes, colors and designs, and set out to invade the number one spot in the USA for Biketoberfest, Main Street, Daytona, USA! Biketoberfest was started by a Florida native by the name of Janet Kersey in 1992. She was then head of a tourism commission who's task was to create an event that would attract tourism to the area in the off season...something similar to Bike Week, which is a springtime event. I would have to say she was successful, noting that the event has grown every year and now hosts thousands upon thousands of local and not so local bikers and partiers from across the nation, as well as overseas! Some people even come from Europe and other places, renting bikes here, and even shipping their own bikes across the water to enjoy the festivities.
What is my connection? Well, let's see. I'm not a biker, so that's not it. I'll give you a hint. While everyone else is enjoying the party from the outside looking in, I'm enjoying the party from the inside looking out. No, I'm not a food vendor, but close! I happen to be a local musician who has the fun job of entertaining the party crowd from the stage. My wife, Kelly, and I visited Main Street on Thursday to see some friends of mine in Bad Mannerz, (where Kelly won $100 in a "booty shakin' contest") and then stopped by the Iron Gate Saloon to see the incredible trio "Unchained Chaos". Then Friday night I played a show close by in Melbourne, FL with the award-winning band "Simone and The Supercats". The next day (Saturday) I was drumming for "Don't Scare The Dog", a classic rock and blues band that I've been with for about 6 years, now. This band has been in existence for over 17 years, and still has it's founding member on bass and lead vocals, Lonnie G. Lonnie's nephew, Luke, recently hit 21 years old, and was honored to have the DSTD torch passed to him as he took over guitar duties last year, which rounds out the now 3pc line-up.
This year we played at The Cabbage Patch in Samsula/New Smyrna FL, which is a world-famous biker bar known for it's Cole-Slaw Wrestling, Bike Week, and Biketoberfest events. This location is second ONLY to Main Street, Daytona, USA for Biketoberfest, so we felt honored from the start. We got the opportunity from another show we played a coupe months back at an EagleRider Orlando "Bike Night" gig. That event was first of it's kind, so the crowd was fairly small, and the people that did show up were hanging out by the store across the parking lot about 100 feet away from the band. (I'm not sure why, but I think it was because of the 95 degree sunset) We did, however, have one fan all night that seemed to have watched us play every single song, and we played like we were playing to 500,000 people. That one guy turned out to be a popular local radio personality by the name of Iron Dave Adams. He came up to us after the show, and explained how he was amazed that even though nobody (but him) seemed to be paying attention to us, we still played like there was a half-million people in the audience, and then stated how he'd like the band to open for his festival-style band for larger shows.
Well, needless to say, Iron Dave kept true to his word, and yesterday we got to open the show for his AWESOME band, Diablo Canyon. DC has graced the stage with many of the greats, such as The Outlaws and Molly Hatchet, just to name a couple. They are more southern rock-oriented, and I guess he felt we'd be a good match with our classic rock and blues show, with both our bands sharing common ground in the blues genre.
As we pulled into the parking area, we immediately noticed there were thousands upon thousands of bikers and people listening to another very popular local biker band by the name of "Big Engine". (These guys ROCK!) We also noticed they were playing almost every song on our set list, which would prove to be no problem later on. I think we all took on that look of "wow, this is gonna be BAD-ASS, and proceeded to set up the stage. We then learned we'd go live without a sound check just as Big Engine ended their last song. No big deal, you just gotta trust the sound man on these gigs.
Next thing you know, we are blasting out our brand of driving rock n roll to one of the largest crowds we've ever had the chance to play in front of! (talk about FUN!) Everything went as planned, barring a few missed beats and notes here and there, no real "train-wrecks", as we call them. People were screaming and dancing, and really enjoying Don't Scare The Dog as a 3pc band (we had lost our keyboardist who was also our main vocalist just about a month prior to this show, so Lonnie and I [Dave] had to fill in the gaps, with Luke stepping it up on guitar, as well with his new guitar rig). We pounded out 45 minutes, took a short break, then pounded out another 45 minutes, and even went over 10 minutes due to a surprising "impromptu" drum solo by yours truly. I guess I got a little carried away!
As if I weren't having enough fun, I was visited by some friends from High School that I hadn't seen since then, as well as a special guest appearance by Nashville recording artist Scott Carter, one of the best voices in country music! I was able to capture a large portion of the show in HD with my little Sony HandyCam, and have begun to post the tunes at YouTube/DontScareTheDog and Facebook.com/LauberLand. We rocked until we dropped, and then the incredible "Diablo Canyon" hit the stage and just wailed!!! If you have never been to a Biketoberfest event in Florida, you just ain't-a livin'! This is the most fun you can have without (hopefully) going to the slammer! GREAT TIMES!
My name is Dave Lauber. I have been a professional drummer for well over 30 years, and drumming for over 40. My fantastic journey began when I was about age 5. Back then I can remember always tapping and banging on everything in sight, everywhere, all the time. I was obsessed with music and sound. My father was an entertainer, sort of like Fred Astaire, but not as wealthy! My mother even showed musical interests as she loved her little air-controlled chord organ, and played all kinds of songs on it. I was told I got my talent from my grandfather, who could play nearly anything. The facts that far back are a little foggy today, so I will give you the early part of the story as best I can remember it. 
Growing up in an old house gave me access to a number of cool things that helped spark my interest in percussion. Two things I remember most clearly are the iron radiator (as seen in the picture top left) and the cardboard sticks (left) that used to hold pants on hangers back in the day. Luckily, with lots of people living in the house, we had tons of hangers! These were my very first drum sticks, and they worked pretty well, at least for a couple hours until they fell apart! I would get two hangers from one of the closets in the house, and start drumming on the radiators, pipes, pots, pans, lids, shoe boxes, magazines, furniture, pillows and basically everything once, and the things that made cool noises I would keep coming back to. I was going through hangers at an alarming rate, and soon had to get creative. I had to double up clothing, putting my sisters sweaters over their blouses, and even sneaking their clean clothes into the hamper to free up more hangers! I'm sure my mother appreciated that with six kids to wash clothes for, already. Anyway, you get the idea. I had a fixation, and I knew I had it bad!
One year my parents decided to get me a toy drum for Christmas. It
was a little metal drum with a paper head. Their heart was in the right
place, and I have to assume it was all they could afford. You see, my father worked very hard, but we simply had too many kids, kinda like the Brady Bunch! It wasn't long (the same day,
if I remember correctly) before I busted the paper head, and was without
a drum. I can remember trying to tape it up, but it just didn't sound
the same, and soon busted again. It was then my parents realized that I
needed real drums, and that would change my life forever. Soon after
we recovered from the expenses of Christmas that year, my parents went
secretly looking for a real drum set for me. I don't remember looking
with them. If I remember correctly, my father just came home one day
with a gold-sparkle 4pc Gretsch kit (pictured above) complete with a
stool, hi-hat and cymbal! I don't remember where he got it, or how much
he paid for it. I was ecstatic, so say the least, and I immediately began
my journey.
