Well it been quite a while since we begin our journey…. Moonshine started off with lots of bookings, followed by some cancelled dates. The band has even experienced a few growing pains after our first few shows in early summer and we were presented with some sad news. Michael our drummer told us he was finding a difficult to balance two bands and a personal life and would have to leave the group as soon as possible. We were of course caught by surprise being so close to our first big show, but tried to be considerate of situation and he agreed to stay until we found a replacement.
When a band reaches a certain level of comfort, sometimes the change can be a difficult. For us thank goodness this wouldn’t be the case, however it did impact our schedule somewhat and disrupt the group a little. Again we would have to cancel a sizable outdoor show, this one at a new popular venue on the water. This is one the band was really hoping to keep, however the timing was just not right for us in retrospect.
Its never a comfortable thing to have to tell a venue or booking agent you’ve been chasing for sometime, you simply cant take the gig. The fear of burning a bridge in already competitive arena is very real, and not something that goes away with out some sort of backlash. Things are what they are and as a band you learn to role with the punches the best you can know how.
We found a new drummer with a rock background looking to break into the modern country market. He was a good fit right away, and thankfully sometimes that is just the way things work out.Gary was taught by one of the top drummers in Connecticut Bobby Torello. Bobby has been written about in Classic Drummer magazine, opened for Lou Rawls, played with Michael Bolton, and Johnny Winter just to name a few. If you’re gonna learn it helps if your a student of one of the best.
Today’s modern country is very different for a hard hitting rock drummer, with lots of cuts and breaks, but Gary is working out nicely so far. The bands first show together will likely be a short 90 minute one before hitting the Red Room at The Cast Iron Chop House on Saturday, November 19th 9pm until 12:30pm
Moonshine Blog 