If someone would have told me 5 years ago that I would be playing drums in a band that specializes in mashups and medleys, I probably would have just stared at you until you went away. Especially if you told me that most of the music would have a pop-lean to it. But yet here I am, playing drums in one of the best bands with some of the best people I know. So, what happens then when an unusual accident while working out occurs and suddenly you can’t play drums for six weeks?

Well I guess I should give a quick summary of what happened… I was viciously attacked while working out. There I was, minding my own business doing some bear crawls when suddenly the floor just decides, “Hey, I heard you like to drum. Would be a shame if something happened.” One trip to express care later and I am told that I have fractured my pinky. [Language redacted]. This was a crappy situation, as now I am unsure if I would be able to play drums and I wouldn’t know the extent of my finger for a few days. I had to give the unfortunate news to the band.

The feeling sucks. I don’t know how else to put it. As I was slowly texting the band that I broke my pinky I couldn’t help but feel that I let the band down. I know it was an accident and stuff happens, but that’s just how I felt. Knowing we had two gigs coming up the next week and I was not sure if I would be able to play, I felt fear that we would have to cancel. Fortunately, the band didn’t share my gloom and no more than a couple days later Fred Saurmann was ready to go. Words cannot express how grateful I am that Fred was able and willing to fill in on such a short notice.

One week to learn four hours of mashups and medleys is a lot to take on and Fred did it better than anyone I know. But I have to be totally honest here, I couldn’t help myself but compare how I played the songs and how Fred did. Fred did a fantastic job and I couldn’t be happier, but that didn’t stop me from listening along and mentally noticing all the differences that existed between Fred’s playing and mine. Having played these songs for over two years in the band now, they are kind of stuck in my head as I know them. Any of us could tell you that because of mashups, we no longer hear the same songs anymore. Quick example, when we went and saw one of Albert’s other bands, Novocaine, perform they did a cover of I Believe In a Thing Called Love. Great song, super catchy. Fun DMC plays a slightly different version where we play the instrumentals of the aforementioned song, but we sing Baby Got Back over it. I have done it enough times now that I no longer mentally sing I Believe because it has been replaced with “I like big butts…,” and it is like that for most of our songs. But in the same thought process, the drums are the same to me. I am so accustomed to what I have played, it is very strange to hear a different spin on it and took some time to get used to. But there is a great side to this! Having a fresh pair of ears listen to these songs and play something else expands on what you know about the song. It provides inspiration and ideas to up one’s arsenal behind the kit. Again, I cannot thank Fred enough for all he did for us in the six weeks I couldn’t play. Thank you, Fred!

So now the time passes and we are coming up on my first gig back, and I am nervous. I had practiced with the band leading up to the gig to make sure that my hand was up to playing but I could not shake the feeling of, well, fear that my hand couldn’t get the job done. Not just that, but the possibility that maybe I could further damage the hand while playing and then I would be out longer. In these situations, I couldn’t be luckier to be a member of this band. All of these guys (and gal), Robert, Aaron, Katey and Albert are all extremely supportive and ready to help in any way they can. Playing with them helps to take my mind off of all the negative thoughts and just put them toward having a great show, regardless of the circumstances. At the end of the night, I couldn’t have been happier! The show went extremely well! Everything held together and there has been no greater sense of relief I have experienced in my life! (Ok, well, maybe that’s just because this is the most recent thing to happen and I can’t recall another time.) Thank you to my fellow bandmates for the support through the six weeks, you all made it a much better time for me and I couldn’t be more grateful for all of you! One thing though, it turns out your hand doesn’t like to sit still for six weeks and then suddenly play a four-hour gig. While my pinky felt fine, the rest of hand decided to cramp up from time to time. Who knew?

Well that’s my story about my hand. If anyone has a story relating to this they want to share or just want to trade show stories, you can always reach us through our facebook page or email me at plustalonholmes@fundmc.net. Have a great week!