Hurts

Currentish Events

Wow, I'm what 2 weeks into this blogging thing and already I'm getting lazy? Hmmmp.

Monday
Had a band rehearsal. We didn't play very much because I bought these. I was a little late getting there and set up took a while. I must say that they sound pretty good, much more natural than what we've been using. Of course this means that I have to start over again in terms of mixing. We're now using separate mics for each guitar amp so I'm mixing 5 sources instead of 3.

Tuesday
Practiced guitar for a little while, maybe a 1/2 hour or so. Didn't accomplish anything.

Wednesday
Practiced for almost 3 hours. Made some noticeable improvement. It felt really great, until I stopped that is.

Relevant Backstory
I broke my left fore-arm last year. It was bad enough to require surgery so now I'm the proud owner of a stainless steel plate. It's bolted to the bone with 4 screws. This was a pretty hard time for me. I couldn't play, I couldn't ride my bike and I was in constant pain for months. It almost made me quit the band. We had a gig lined up in October, I had the accident in August. I went to one rehearsal whilst still in the cast and felt just like the kid I used to be. You know, the one who's picked last for softball and spends whole game sitting on the bench. I didn't go again.

I was feeling pretty miserable and the possibility that I'd never play guitar again was real. But then a friend suggested that I try playing slide guitar. Holding the guitar on my lap and using a steel bar requires much less bend of the wrist. I was saved! I went to practice, about 2 weeks before the gig, to show off my new skill and to tell them that we could play the show. I wasn't greeted very enthusiastically to say the least. In fact they seemed put out that I was there. It wasn't until after we finished practice about 2 hours later that they told me that they'd decided to do the show without me. I was informed that I could participate, but "Just don't f@#k us up.". I'm not sure I've every been more angry. In the end there were apologies all round and a general clearing of the air; it all worked out. I worked my ass off getting ready for the show and acquitted myself reasonably well.

Back to the Plot
It still hurts. I can't rotate my wrist quite far enough to play in proper position. The mountain biking a couple of weeks ago aggravated it and I'm back to taking ibuprofen and icing it. When practicing I don't feel, or perhaps don't notice, the pain. But when I stop and let my arm relax into a more neutral position, well, it speaks up. I'm going to have to deal with this for a long time to come.

It still hurts. Most of the time I don't think about it, never when we're actually playing. But every now and then, mostly when I'm tired, I have to ask myself "Why are you associating with people who treated you that way?". I know I've been hard to get along with at times and they've had to make allowances for that. But really, in any other part of my life with the possible exception of work, I'd have walked away and never looked back. I'm going to have to deal with this for a long time to come.

Is this why so many musicians get hooked on pain-killers? Good thing I don't really live the "rock n' roll" lifestyle.