The first band I was in, we used to take an 8-track reel recorder with us to about every gig. We weren't really into the recording thing as much as we'd use it to listen for our mistakes & practice on getting better at the songs. It did help quite a bit, & was very humbling to hear how bad we sucked on a lot of things, which in the end, did help us improve overall as a band...I actually had cassettes of those gigs for a long time, but don't know what ever happened to 'em. I'm sure if I listened to 'em today, they'd sound atrocious & terrible, but at the same time, it would bring back some great memories of a time I wish I could go back to. I was actually a teenager at the time, & the other guys were in their 30's, so really, I was just a kid, & didn't realize then what a great time in my life it really was....I will say we were a decent band at some things, but at others, we just plain sucked terribly. But, at the same time, that was one of the best times of my life, I really had no responsibilities (hell, I was still in high school when I first joined up with 'em), & everything was just so much simpler for me back then.
The lead singer from that band died about 2 years ago, & I've heard through the grapevine that he still had all those tapes when he passed away. I know his widow still has all his gear/equipment, but not sure on the tapes. I've been tempted to go ask her if I could look through some of his stuff, but it might be very uncomfortable for both of us, so I'll probably just leave it alone...
It's unreal how things have changed since way back then. I really miss all my friends who aren't around anymore, & miss all the fun we used to have...
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