UPCOMING DATES

HISTORY

Nov. 4, 2023. Pearl Street Warehouse. Washington, DC. Nearly midnight.

One of the happiest moments of my life is 17 minutes and 30 seconds into this video:

I’m playing with a group of considerably younger musicians who are brimming with skill and charisma. The next oldest person is nearly 20 years younger than me. The lead singer is nearly 30 years younger, and she has the crowd in the palm of her hand.

I knew I’d won the lottery when I wound up in this group, even if it was a group that only exists for about six weeks and plays a little more than 15 minutes. The program is called Flashband, in which 25-50 people are gathered for some jam sessions from which we form these groups that live short, energetic lives like the particles produced by the Large Hadron Collider. I couldn’t have asked for a better band — capable musicians, friendly people.

In our last full song, we planned a pause of a couple of seconds. It was up to the singer to restart us, and we would follow

Her timing was perfect. The crowd roared as we resumed. As I pounded a floor tom and a drum pad, on which I’d programmed a big booming drum sound, I could feel the energy.

Cliche? Maybe. But why does it work?

My theory is that it reinforces a connection between performer and audience. We’re taking a journey together. A live rock concert is an interaction.

Consider this Green Day performance. Nearly nine minutes into the punk-rock mini-opera Jesus of Suburbia, Billie Joe Armstrong sings almost all of the final line (“tales from another broken …”) and stops for about 20 seconds while a piano tremolo sounds. Drummer Tre Cool makes some comical faces, then yells, “ONE TWO THREE FOUR!” to cue the finishing pyrotechnics, both literal and figurative.

For a more extreme example of building and releasing tension, consider this performance of the Pink Floyd song Echoes. This is a David Gilmour solo show, but with keyboardist Rick Wright in the band, it’s also half of the Floyd lineup that recorded the original and memorably played it at Pompeii for a film in 1971. It’s a journey — at times, to be honest, a meandering one. To get the gist of it, come in around 16:30, when the guitar and drums slowly and steadily ramp up while Wright and another keyboardist hold pensive organ chords and play the distinctive “ping” that sounds like a call from a distant land, maybe even a distant planet. At 18 minutes, Gilmour suddenly breaks into a loud, swirling guitar riff accentuated by a lot of lasers and flashing lights. A minute later, Gilmour and Wright (and the other keyboardist) abruptly shift into the song’s last verse …

And no one sings me lullabies / And no one makes me close my eyes / So I throw the windows wide / And call to you across the sky

Then they break into the riff that Andrew Lloyd Webber swiped for Phantom of the Opera and ratchet up the intensity once again. They peak around 20:45, and note the stage presentation here — the overhead screens showing the band members showed mostly hazy light and fog during the quieter portions, but the fog has receded, and the audience in a Gdansk shipyard has a clear view of six musicians playing with power and urgency. Then it fades, and Gilmour and Wright spend the next few minutes trading beautiful melodies, slowly disappearing into near-darkness as they trail off. The last sound is a Shepard tone, an auditory illusion in which it seems the pitch you’re hearing is continually ascending.

Echoes is all about making connections, no matter the distance — physical or metaphorical. Let’s forget for a moment that the man who wrote the lyrics, former Floyd bassist Roger Waters, seems determined to spend his twilight years on the wrong side of history, and let’s forget that Echoes does indeed sync up with the closing sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey in eerie fashion. This performance is powerful and poignant, all the more so because it is the last one. Wright died two years later, and Gilmour refuses to play the song without him.

But these connections don’t have to be so grandiose, with thousands of fans watching overhead projections and lights. Sometimes, smaller is better.

I’ve played in front of thousands of people. I played string bass and percussion at four consecutive Duke graduations, including my own. I’ve played in front of hundreds of people in pit orchestras, including one show with Ken Jeong, then a Duke undergrad taking a small role in Kiss Me Kate on his way to med school.

While Jeong was doing something practical with his education, I was majoring in philosophy … and music. My fellow music majors thought I had the potential to be the next PDQ Bach — basically the Weird Al Yankovic of classical music. Somewhere along the way, I realized one PDQ Bach was enough, and I went into journalism.

Funny thing — I didn’t care for music as an elementary school student, which haunts me today as I do substitute-teaching stints in elementary school music classes. But I started piano lessons in fifth grade, took up clarinet in middle school, and taught myself guitar. That coincided with a momentous occasion for any Gen Xer — we got MTV. Even better, I transferred to a small private school and thrived in a unique musical environment led by the free-wheeling Jim Sherman, who inspired me to try anything. If you don’t know how to do it, figure it out.

Fast-forward a couple of decades to the realization that School of Rock isn’t just for kids, and with my kids growing older, I had some spare time. In 2019, I did my first performance program, leading up to a gig in which I played guitar, bass, drums and keyboards.

I did several more School of Rock sessions, then started doing Flashband in 2023. Inspired by some fellow School of Rock people, I’ve joined a band of my own. If you have any old gear you want to donate, or if you want to book a band that plays an eclectic selection of music, please let me know.

THE RANDOS

We’re on Facebook and Instagram, and look — it’s an actual website! And we have a YouTube channel (see the playlist of our highlights) …

GLITTER ON THE HIGHWAY

Not enough? One of my Flashband groups decided to keep going. See the first of the videos below. (Yeah, I’m not a fan of that thumbnail, either.)

We’re on Linktree.

June 1, 2024 – Pride showcase

This group, Glitter on the Highway, regrouped a few months later and has been playing together ever since, though we’ve had a bit of turnover. Artists covered here: Brandi Carlile, Janis Joplin, Melissa Etheridge, Indigo Girls and the B-52s. I’m on drums.

MORE FLASHBAND

July 12, 2025 – 2000s remixes

Back with the same lead singer from the big Pearl Street show from 2023 for a collection of remixes that meant we crammed bits of nine songs into a 15-minute set at The Atlantis in front of a sold-out crowd that screamed for some of the songs we did. One bandmate said it felt like an out-of-body experience. To me, it felt like every nerve was aware and yet calm, carried by the energy of 450 people.

Nov. 2, 2024 – Night of the Living Dead

The theme – artists who are no longer with us. We opened with Prince and continued with Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Amy Winehouse and Aretha Franklin. Most of these songs had key changes that kept us on our toes. Especially if you’re the keyboardist, which I was.

July 28, 2024 – Motown

What could be better for a bassist than working through some tunes by Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Etta James and a couple of legendary girl groups?

Dec. 16, 2023 – Holidays

I did double duty in this one, working through some traditional holiday fare on bass with one group and then doing some funnier stuff with a second group.

Nov. 4, 2023 – Soundtracks

My second Flashband. I’m on drums.
Highlights:
1:30 – Lady Marmalade
7:00 – A transition from Go Your Own Way to Call Me.
14:20 – Dog Days Are Over, bringing in the drumpad

Sept. 26, 2023 – Trios

My first Flashband featured five people playing songs by trios, including Rush, Muse, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (itself a Stevie Wonder cover), and Green Day.

SCHOOL OF ROCK

One of our early School of Rock gigs. The finale: Runnin’ Down A Dream.

Another early School of Rock gig, this one at a scenic winery.

June 2022: I was pressed into vocal duties when a singer got COVID a few days before the show.

October 2022: A jam on Bold As Love.

October 2022: Fun with drums on Dear Mr. Fantasy.

June 2023: My multieffects bass pedal shines on Take On Me.

A highlight reel of our two-hour School of Rock New Wave show.

PAST GIGS

2019

  • March 23: School of Rock Vienna show, Epicure Cafe (three or four members went on to join The Randos in 2023)
  • Aug. 17: School of Rock Vienna, Bluemont Vineyard
  • Nov. 2: School of Rock Vienna, Epicure (four Randos involved)

2020

  • March 7: School of Rock Vienna, Ned Devine’s

2021

  • April 3: School of Rock Vienna, streaming show from Ashburn School of Rock

2022

  • June 3: School of Rock Silver Spring, McGinty’s
  • Oct. 14: School of Rock Silver Spring, British Invasion show, McGinty’s

2023

  • June 25: School of Rock Silver Spring, New Wave show, McGinty’s
  • Aug. 26: Flashband (Trios), The Pocket
  • Sept. 26: The Randos, Shipgarten open mic (debut; only appearance with two original guitarists)
  • Oct. 25: Flashband Soundtracks band, open mic, Madam’s Organ
  • Nov. 4: Flashband (Soundtracks), Pearl Street Warehouse
  • Dec. 12: Flashband Holidays band, open mic, The Pocket
  • Dec. 16: Flashband (Holidays), The Pocket
  • Dec. 20: The Randos, Solace Outpost open mic (first appearance with new guitarists)

2024

  • Jan. 8: The Randos, Jammin Java Battle of the Bands
  • Feb. 22: The Randos, Earp’s Ordinary open mic
  • March 9: The Randos, Ned Devine’s Battle of the Bands
  • April 26: The Randos, McGinty’s Battle of the Bands
  • May 10: The Randos, McGinty’s Battle of the Bands
  • May 28: Flashband Pride band open mic, The Pocket
  • June 1: Flashband (Pride), Union Stage (this group, Glitter on the Highway, continued beyond Flashband) 
  • June 8: The Randos (with The Last Match), McGinty’s
  • July 12: The Randos (with The Breakaways), McGinty’s
  • July 27: Flashband (Motown), Pearl Street Warehouse
  • Aug. 31: The Randos, Celtic House
  • Sept. 6: The Randos, Clare and Don’s
  • Sept. 13: The Randos (with The Breakaways), Solace Outpost
  • Oct. 8: Glitter on the Highway, Shipgarten open mic (first non-Flashband appearance)
  • Nov. 2: Flashband (Dead artists), Pearl Street Warehouse
  • Nov. 16, The Randos and Glitter on the Highway, McGinty’s
  • Dec. 3: Glitter on the Highway, Earp’s Ordinary open mic
  • Dec. 6: The Randos, Celtic House

2025

  • Feb. 28: The Randos, Solace Outpost
  • March 2: Glitter on the Highway, Dew Drop Inn
  • April 12: Glitter on the Highway, American Legion
  • April 27: Glitter on the Highway, Petworth Porchfest
  • May 3: The Last Match (fill-in bassist), Adams Morgan Porchfest
  • May 10: The Randos, McGinty’s
  • May 18: The Randos (R.E.M. tribute), Jammin’ Java
  • May 18 (yes, same day!): Glitter on the Highway, Pie Shop
  • May 31: The Randos, pool party
  • June 1: Glitter on the Highway, Dew Drop Inn
  • June 7: The Last Match (fill-in bassist), Woodmoorstock
  • July 12: Flashband (2000s remixes), The Atlantis
  • July 25: The Randos, Celtic House
  • Aug. 17: Glitter on the Highway (21st century women tribute), Jammin’ Java
  • Aug. 22: Glitter on the Highway, The Pocket
  • Aug. 24: The Randos, Clare and Don’s
  • Aug. 29: The Randos, Celtic House
  • Sept. 6: Flashband (trios+), Black Cat
  • Sept. 20: Glitter on the Highway, Mt. Pleasant block party
  • Oct. 10: The Randos, Solace Outpost
  • Oct. 16: Glitter on the Highway, McGinty’s open mic
  • Dec. 7: Glitter on the Highway, Public Bar
  • Dec. 10: The Randos (Educate Fairfax benefit), Jammin’ Java

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