First band practice was scheduled one Saturday afternoon at our drummer’s house in Paranaque. Doubletrouble and I arrived early. While waiting for the bassist, we started to talk about our stuff.
He asked me, “Ano gitara mo, bro?”
Confidently, I responded, “Fender, bro. Strat.”
“US?”, he probed.
“Ay hindi, Mexico lang…”, I said, while looking at his kinda disappointed face.
Lots of questions entered my mind.
“Is there really a big difference between MIA and MIM?”
“Would it be worth it to purchase an MIA Strat considering the price tag?
“What is this guy’s guitar?!!”
So I asked, “Ikaw, ano gitara mo, bro?”
“Les Paul”, he said.
“Gibson?!!!”, I probed while trying to hide my “that’s awesome!!!” facial expression.
“Oo, bro.”, he casually replied.
The bassist arrived so we went to our cars to get our stuff. Walking from his car to where I was, Doubletrouble was carrying on his right shoulder a guitar in a gig bag, and a gray thing that looked like a huge briefcase.
When he was close enough, I asked, “Ano yan, bro?”
“Pedalboard…”, he replied.
Me thinking, “WTF is a pedalboard?!!!”
After bringing his guitar and “pedalboard” inside the house, he went back to his car to get something.
Walking back to the house, I asked again, “Ano yan, bro?”
“Lunchbox…”, he said.
Me thinking, “Niloloko yata ako nito ah. Lunchbox daw?!!! Hahaha!”
So there I was, setting up my gear, plugging in my Fender MIM Strat to my Korg AX3000G that was plugged to my Stagg amp.
And on the other side of the room was Doubletrouble, plugging in his black Gibson Les Paul to his pedalboard (as big as my daughter’s study table) that was plugged into a small thing that looked like a friggin’ lunchbox.
“Yan ang amp mo?”, I asked.
“Oo bro. Sumasabay sa half stack yan!!!”, he said.
In my mind, I said, “You must be F’in sh*ttin me…”
The band practice started. I was blown away by Doubletrouble’s gear. His guitar sounded excellent, his pedals produced amazing tones, and his tiny amp spat on my 2 ton amp.
When I left that house after 5 hours of jamming with my new band, I was never the same.
Dang!!!
To be continued again...
(Next: Christmas party time - with photos!!!)