blue train   Well, I just had to revisit the male-rock concept - and I went for the power trio. I placed an ad for a bassist and a drummer, and got both very swiftly. All over 40, married with kids and "real" jobs - none of us anywhere near what you'd call pretty - so we no longer cared about anything but the music.

We served up some steaming covers by Cream, Hendrix, ZZ Top and others, and were laying plans to take the Western NC club circuit by storm. The drummer came up with the name - gotta give credit where it's due - but deep down he didn't really want to be in a power trio.

So we ran an ad for a front person. After auditioning some singers whom we all thought must be joking, we brought on another axeman. Now we're a power foursome, adding tunes by the Allman Brothers, Steve Miller and Thin Lizzy.

But our drummer displayed increasing control-freak tendencies, and started booking gigs without consulting the rest of us. I was ready to change the name of the band to Loose Cannon in his honor! Ignoring the fact that I'd started the project, I quietly left. They played around the Carolinas for a couple years and ran out of tracks.