Mark comes aboard

Mark's younger brother, Barry was only seventeen years old when I salaried him to rehearse for the New York audition. He had only been playing drums for a few years at that time, but he had a lot of natural ability... and he had a lot of desire to learn, and improve. He was always "ready" to play...and so when Charles came to Conn. to stay, and he wanted to start learning some of the many new songs that would become the heart of the new band, Barry jumped at the chance to just jam with us. I don't think at that time that I was considering Barry for the job as drummer for the new band, because Charles and I had discussed it, and we were both thinking we needed someone with more experience, and experience is not something one can just "learn"...it can only come from doing something over time. But we wanted to play, and what Barry lacked in experience, he made up for with enthusiasm. After a few weeks of us rehearsing some of my new music, it became obvious to us all that this new music had real power...and real potential. But it was missing that crucial element that I knew Mark could bring to the band. Everytime I talked to Barry about Mark, he would just tell me that Mark was withdrawn and depressed, and just wasn't interested. I didn't know it...but Mark told me years later, that he was wrestling with heroin at that time, too. Finally Barry was able to convince Mark to just come to one of our jam sessions to check it out...because I thought if Mark saw what was happening with this project, and he knew he had a chance to be a part of it...it might help him to find himself and get back to what really mattered most to him...his music. The next day, Mark came to play with us. I could see he was not himself, and was pretty shaky, but after he started to play with us, it seemed like the music was the thing he needed...and by the end of the day, the hope was back in his eyes. The next day Mark decided to join Charles and I in this new band, and I realized that I had managed to bring the two guys I most wanted to do this project with on board with me. The band was really starting to take shape now...and there was only one position left to be filled...the drummer, and I soon found out that what Charles and I had in mind for that position...wasn't what Mark thought was happening...and I was going to have to make a choice...