O2R photo by Edda Fretz what a young bunch!
Let me tell you an origin story. A blues band origin story.
What did you do when you were a kid that you still do now? For me it’s singing and loving music. My sister taught me St. Louis Blues when I was 5 but I was singing before that.
I know lyrics from musicals, jazz, rock, bluegrass, hill music, choral, stuff I make up on the spot and unfortunately lots of catchy ad tunes. Music runs around in my head during all my waking and a fair portion of my sleeping hours. I got started early. I had my first paying gig at 13.
I’ve been the singer in the O2R Blues Band since 1996.
The personnel has changed over the years but there are 3 of us still around from when I joined the group. I’ve been with these two guys and various iterations of the band just a few years shorter than my 28 year first marriage! And we’ve been through a lot together.
Back at the beginning Lee the drummer wrote me a letter saying hey-come-on-over-and-hang-out-and-sort-of-audition. “We play ping pong at the break,” he said. Ok, I like ping pong. I knew Ken the bass player and Lee the guitar player (yes, another Lee) through friends of friends.
I was nervous. I hadn’t sung much and felt rusty. No clue what they were going to ask me to sing. But I went anyway.
Being asked to come sing with the guys came at an emotional low point in my life too. I needed music and performing badly. I can remember showing up and seeing 5 guys warily looking me over. I swear I heard them thinking, “Do we want a woman singer? Is she gonna be a problem? A diva? Can she sing the blues? What if she has a crappy voice?”
Well my friends, if there’s one thing I can do, it’s sing.
When we finished the first song, a slow blues in G where I made up the words, there was complete silence.
“Sh**,” I thought as a cloud of depression threatened to seep over me. “I thought I sounded good.”
Finally Jim, the other guitar player shook his head and said, “She’s never gonna stay with us.” I’ve been with the band ever since.
Yes, we still play the blues. We’ve drifted into other types of music too and I’d say we’re more eclectic in our set lists. We play more originals that Lee, the guitar player and I write together.
We’ve had a pretty stable personnel roster for a good long while.
Michele the keyboard player has been with us over 10 years. We lost our other guitar player Jim to a drunk driver over 5 years ago and decided not to replace him. We’ve had numerous drummers and a couple of harmonica players but even when players come and go, O2R keeps playing. Because we’re a family who would be lost without the chance to play music. Plus we get to play what we like and laugh and have a good time together. The photo above is the O2R line up after I joined. Jim, Dan, Zain, Ken, Lee and Lee.
So tell me what have you been true to in your life the longest? What’s your secret long-term love? The thing that makes your life good? Music? Art? Writing? Running? Hit reply and let me know. I love a good story. And, as a bonus, I’ll let you know what O2R stands for. Cause, aren’t you a little curious?
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