One of my favorite movies to come out of the 90s was Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire. For those unfamiliar, it’s the story of a sports agent who, while working for a large firm, realizes that he has significantly drifted from a more people centric version of himself. Wanting to get back to the roots of what first made Jerry a great agent, he strikes out on his own, determined to form a smaller, more relational company that puts people first. Near the end of the film there is an emotional scene where the titular character Jerry, played masterfully by the never-aging Tom Cruise, embraces Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr. in his Oscar winning performance) during a post game celebration. Looking on from a distance, one of the villainous agents from the impersonal large firm stands next to one of his many clients who turns to him and says, “why can’t we have a relationship like that?”

I was reminded of this scene this weekend when someone remarked to me how they noticed that the band members of Fun DMC really seem to hang out with each other a lot. And I suppose we do. On any given weekend, on those rare occasions when not taking the stage, the members of Fun DMC can often be found running a 5k together, attending a highly anticipated Marvel movie premiere, or just enjoying a day on the lake. Not that band members socializing outside of performances is an unheard of practice. However, I like to think that the friendship between band members and the time we have invested in each other is reflected on the stage. In fact, one of the most recurring compliments we receive following a Fun DMC show is that we all look like we are “having a lot of fun together.” This camaraderie is an honest response to having been afforded the opportunity to make music with some of your closest friends on stage week after week.

This past weekend found the musical quintet tirelessly pushing through late nights and early mornings. Albert Capati definitely deserves the Cal Ripken award, performing lead vocals Thursday through Sunday with Take Ten, The Mix, and two shows with Fun DMC respectively. Saturday night the band returned to their favorite Taylorville venue, Y-Zoe’s. The night was one full of familiar faces as many who attended the recent Emmerling wedding in Litchfield three weeks ago were in attendance.

The next day, Fun DMC shared the stage with one of Central Illinois’ favorite country bands, Lick Creek, in a joint show to benefit the Friends Of Sangamon County Animal Control held at The Blue Grouch. In spite of being very short on sleep, it is the opinion of this author that our Sunday afternoon performance was about as good as it gets. We had the privilege of introducing many new faces to the Fun DMC concept as well as connecting with many other musicians from the area.

As the day turned to dusk and the last of the equipment was loaded into the trailer for the final time, I considered for a moment the last 48 hours I had spent with four other musicians and the miles we have traveled together in a few short years together. In spite of the crazy schedules, the late nights and early mornings, the long highway treks spent pulling a trailer through the darkness, it has been nice having friends.