The Living Rockumentary

Last night we had rehearsal, as we usually do on Monday or Tuesday nights nearly every week. We practice in a room on the second floor of Henning's apartment. It's a little small, there are amps and keyboards and drums and guitars filling most wall space and corners. On the wall is a list of most of the songs the band has learned, handwritten in black magic marker. On another wall, above the place where Ken would stand to play keyboards, if Ken was around, is an outdated calendar with outdated concerts and rehearsal schedules. Above the area where Henning usually sits is a canvas with lots of colorful circles spinning in towards the center. Most-often Tony sits by the window and the fan, which blows lots of hot air in the summer (the fan, not Tony). Above Brian sits a green stuffed bird on a triangle. Inside his bass drum are pillows, cloth and a wig. I have a closet behind me, which is filled with cords and things. I play through Henning's bass, which has broken knobs and sometimes sounds like it's underwater.

Tony often wears shorts to rehearsal, I never do. Brian passed out lollipops last night from California. Henning commented on a squirrel that was watching us on one branch outside the window, and a robin that was sitting on the branch above. It was a lazy Monday first night of summer. The perfect night for drinking beer while rehearsing, except we rarely do that. Tony played three Creedence Clearwater Revival songs in a row and we tried to follow him. An ambulance drove by. We hear lots of ambulances drive by Henning's house. I wonder if people ever hear us through the window.

Rehearsals are usually half music and half conversation. Henning and Brian can read each other like ventriloquist and dummy. They are funnier than most sitcoms. Tony likes to play snippets of other songs, especially the Beatles and old scratchy blues. I like to watch everyone else. We played many older songs last night since the new ones sound well-rehearsed. The old ones sounded not very rehearsed. Lots of sound came out of the amplifiers and the drums, but not much of it seemed to sound like the same song. Henning mentioned that maybe we were too comfortable with the songs. My mind wandered. There are dishes to do at home. The scar on my finger is purple. I need new pants. Trees. Outside. Summer.