G thoughts on Deege: I think it fair to say that if you were to poll most musician’s that have done the crappy van/4-5 guys (or 3) crammed in/travel endlessly for no money/record when you can afford it routine, the vast majority of them would focus more on the negative aspects than the positive. And while I could CERTAINLY focus on the negatives that happened during my time in Deege, I will opt out, and choose to focus on the positive. One positive moment actually. If I may, let me allow for some set up of that one moment. At the time I joined, or rejoined the band as it were in February of 98, the guys had been going at it pretty hardcore. They played just about anywhere and everywhere in the Midwest and had almost nothing to show for it. But once the summer had passed the momentum was building and I got the call during the Christmas break to see if I wanted to rejoin as the current drummer was not working out. So, I left my L.A. existence and headed out to the cold Midwest. By the time Dave and I rolled in from our marathon van drive I was ready to fall over and sleep for a week, but we unloaded my gear and went right to rehearsal. My life would never be the same. We hit the road, hit it hard and did not stop until the band did months later. Anyway, 4 weeks into my rejoining the band (or something like that) we left town for 3 days to play in St. Louis and somewhere in Indiana. We were tired, we were VERY broke, the van was……well the van was barely there, but we were really having fun. We were playing great, we were getting tighter at each show and the four of us could honestly feel the momentum. It was a really great feeling. It seemed like everything was working to our favor at that particular spot in time. People were starting to call back, record companies were calling, and we were all genuinely feeling like something good was on the horizon. In St. Louis, the one shining moment of my time in Deege arrived as we ate lunch at the Hard Rock Café down on the riverfront. We got a call from the booking agent at South by Southwest, the annual record industry showcase for “who’s who” in the industry. There was a cancellation, or something, and they wanted us to fill the slot. Now I had been in a lot of bands, I had been on big stages; I had played with everyone from well known to unknown. But I had never played SXSW. At that one moment, when Dave hung up the phone and said to us that we were going, I felt this huge swell of pride and euphoria. Like I had just won the lottery or something. It was truly an awesome feeling and I think for me at least (don’t know about the other guys), that was the shining moment, the top of the mountain for that band. Not even playing the actual gig, or going on that 6 day tour for SXSW a month later could rival that one moment, that one signature feeling I got that day at the foot of the Mississippi river. That one moment is not tangible. It’s not packaged into a CD. It’s not captured on video or film. It lives in my heart. It’s something I can hold onto and recall fondly of a time that was truly strife ridden and filled with the gamut of usual horror stories you’ll hear from struggling bands. That my friends, is the one moment that I think of when I think of the band Deege. Oh….how did the show go you ask? It sucked. Greg 5.14.02