You are a musician. You plan to start a (text-style: "smear")[[solo]] project, but your friend Billiam asks if you want to form a (text-style: "blur")[[band]] together.“No thank you, Billiam,” you say, “I want to play solo right now.” You [[practice]].“OK. Why not?” you say, “Let’s form a band. Who else will be in it? How about [[Drewy]]?”Every day you pick up your instrument and [[write]]. You're excited about your progress. However you hear Billiam’s band and they’re really good. You’re second guessing whether to [[ask]] Billiam if you can still join his band.After six months you have enough new music ready to play. You [[call]] Billiam.“Hey, Billiam! I know a few months ago I said I was interested in playing solo when you asked if I wanted to form a band together. I’ve heard your stuff, and it’s really good. Do you still have a need for anyone else in your band?”
“Sorry,” Billiam says, “we don’t have space for you right now. But do you want to [[open]] for us at our show next week?”“[[Hmmmmm]]. [[Thanks]] for the offer.”“I think I better [[write]] more before I’m ready to open for you. I’ll let you know when I’ve got a set lined up.”“I’ll get ready. Thank you again for the invitation to be your [[opener]].”
“Sure. We love your stuff. We’ll see you next week,” said Billiam.
“Hey Billiam! How are you?”
“Oh I’m good!” he says. “Nice to hear from you. I just got off the phone with Drewy. We have a big show lined up at the end of the year. I am super pumped! This is our biggest gig so far.”
“That’s great, Billiam! Congratulations! I was calling to let you know I would love to open for you guys if you’re interested. Do you have any shows where you need an [[opener]]?”
“Sure, we have a small gig in about two weeks. You can open for us then,” Billiam says.“Hey Drewy! I’ve got Billiam on the line with me. We wanted to see if you’re interested in forming a band together. We are thinking all originals, mostly rock.”
“[[Absolutely]]!” says Drewy.
You play the show. You feel good about it. Billiam gives you praise at the end. You [[continue]] to practice, write, record, and play.You, Billiam, and Drewy practice. After three months you record some songs and start gigging. One afternoon Drewy gets a call that you all have a [[big]] show lined up for the end of the year.You prepare, and you nail the show. You get new fans and great press. A few weeks later at practice you say to your bandmates, “Hey Billiam and Drewy. That show was awesome! I think we could really make a go of this band. This band could be our primary job. What do you guys [[think]]?”“We’ll need to [[ponder]] this a while,” they say.At the next practice Billiam says, “Look. We hear you. The band is going well. We’re having fun. That show at Negative Zero was a great time. And you’re probably right. We could make a living doing this. But Drewy and I just want to keep doing this for fun. We don’t want to quit our jobs and put everything into this. So what do you [[want]] to do?”“I’m not going to lie, it’s not want I wanted to hear. But I appreciate your honesty. Now I need to think about what I’m going to do next. I mean, I really, really want to do this for a living. And I would like to do it with you guys. But I’m not sure what to do. I mean, do I [[stay]] or [[move]] on?”25 Years Later:
You kept playing with Billiam and Drewy. You gained more fans. You had fun. You played more great shows. But it remained a hobby. You started side projects, which were never as successful or satisfying. You worked jobs to pay the bills. [[And]] … 25 Years Later:
You left the band on good terms, but you needed to pursue this dream. You worked side jobs to pay the bills. You formed and joined other bands, and you played solo. You wrote a handful of great songs and played some memorable shows. You were proud of your accomplishments as a musician, but somehow the decades never produced the same sort of musical chemistry you had with Billiam and Drewy. [[And]] ...
... always in your mind remained the question, “[[What if]]?”(text-style: "shudder")[What if] (text-style: "shudder")[[?]]25 Years Later
You worked side jobs to pay the bills. You formed and joined bands, and you played solo. You wrote a handful of great songs and played some memorable shows. You were proud of your musical accomplishments. Billiam and Drewy’s band also did really, really well. [[And]] …
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What if[[.]]