THE FIRST BAND 
 
And so in the dark of night the Lord awoke Noah, and spoke to him. 
"Noah, awaken and heed my words!" 
 
And Noah, being sore afraid and disoriented, didst cry out, 
"Who goeth there?" 
 
And the Lord didst smite him upside the head, saying, 
"It is the Lord of all things, dummy!" 
 
And Noah didst tremble, saying, "Lord, why hath thou wakened me?" 
 
And the Lord didst say, "Noah, build me a Jobbing Band. For the 
earth will be visited by a plague of Brides, followed by forty 
days of Trade Shows and forty nights of Awards Banquets." 
 
And Noah didst say, "Command me, Lord." 
 
And the Lord didst say, "First, thou must find me a Leader." 
 
And Noah replied, "But Lord, will I not be thy Leader?" 
 
And the Lord didst smite him again, saying, "Fool, thou will 
be my Contractor. Ask not why!" 
 
And Noah didst bow his head, saying, "Yes, my Lord. And what 
will this Leader play?" 
 
And the Lord said, "It mattereth little, whether he play or not,

or whether he be proficient or not. For his job shall primarily be to

talk to the Brides and their Mothers, and to deal with Clients,

and to count off Tempos wrong, and to inquire as to whether

Overtime will happen, and to try to segue tunes that should not be segued.

If he playeth any instrument, thou must always have another player of that 
instrument on the band, just to be safe." 
 
And Noah didst say, "And what else shall this Leader do?" 
 
And the Lord replied, Curves therefore. It shall be his job to spread

Bad information and Confusion amongst the Sidemen, and to pit 
them one against the other, and to delay all payments." 
 
"Further shall it be his job, until we can afford a 
Soundman, to create Feedback, and to invent new Equalization 
 
And Noah didst shake his head in wonder, saying, "Lord, 
thy ways are Strange and Mysterious. What more shall I do?" 
 
And the Lord said, "Next, find me a Rhythm Section. First, 
find me a Drummer. And Three Things above all must this  Drummer possess." 
 
And Noah didst ask, "What are these Three Things? Double 
Bass Drums? An Electronic Kit? Congas?" 
 
And the Lord didst smite Noah again, saying "Second-guess me not, my servant." 
 
And Noah didst beg, "Forgiveth me Lord, for I know not what I say." 
 
And the Lord didst forgiveth Noah, and continueth "First, this 
Drummer must have slightly imperfect time, so that whenever 
he playeth a Fill (and he shall play many), he always emergeth at a 
different place, sometimes early and sometimes late, but thou 
may not guess which." 
 
"And second, he must be Supremely Discontent, always hoping 
for the Big Break which will lead to him playing with Chick 
Corea or Madonna, so that he despiseth Jobbing." 
 
"And third, he must always be convinced of his Righteousness, in all 
things, including Time, Volume, Tempo and Feel, so that he argueth 
always with the Bass Player." 
 
And Noah didst say, "As you command, Lord. And what next?" 
 
And the Lord didst say, "Thou art learning, Noah. Next shall be 
the Bass Player. And he shall be Bored. That is all." 
 
And Noah didst say, "Of course. And next, my Lord?" 
 
And the Lord didst say next, "Next shall be the Piano Player. 
And he shall play as if he has twenty fingers, and he shall 
play Substitute upon Substitute, until no man may name the Chord,

and he will not be helpful. Furthermore, he shall always be 
Late. And he shall always be trying out New Gear, of which 
he has no knowledge." 
 
And Noah didst wonder aloud, "Lord, Great is thy Wisdom!" 
 
And the Lord didst wisely continue, "Next shall be the Guitar 
Player. And he shall be a Rock Guitar Player. And he shall be 
Loud, and he shall sing \'Old Time Rock n\' Roll\'. Also shall 
he know not The Page, and so shall rely upon his Ears, which 
have been damaged by exposure to High Sound Pressure Levels. 
For the Guitarists who Read shall already be playing Shows, 
and will be making the Big Shekels." 
 
"And his tux shall be the Rattiest." 
 
And Noah didst say, "It shall be done." 

And the Lord didst say, "Next thou shall need Horns." 
 
"First shall be the Saxophones. And they shall be Beboppers.
And they shall play their Bird Quotes in every song, yea, 
even the Celine Dion ballad medley. And they shall Get 
High on every break, and make the Long Faces all night long, 
but especially when \'In The Mood\' is called." 
 
"Next shall be the Trumpeters. And they shall every one attempt to take 
everything Up an Octave, and fail frequently. And of Changes they shall 
know nothing." 
 
"And finally shall be the Trombone Player. And many jokes will be made 
about him, for he will have a Beeper, as well as a Day Job, and he 
will be the first to be Cut from the Band." 
 
And Noah, taking many notes, didst say, "Mighty is the Lord!" 

"Next shall be the String Players. Find me Three Women, and attach 
Pickups to their Violins that are more ancient even than Myself, 
so that their instruments screecheth and causeth great pain." 
 
"And their job shall be to dress in Evening Gowns, and to Fake Parts on 
all Ballads, and to occasionally Stroll, and to complain about the Volume, 
and the Intonation, and to impede the Swing." 
 
And Noah didst say, "What else can be left, Lord?" 
 
And the Lord didst say, "Finally, find me the Singers." 

"And they shall be Three, one a Male, and two Females." 
 
"And the Male shall be a Strutting Peacock, with the Rock \'N Roll Hair, 
and he shall never have to wear The Tuxedo, and also shall he play The 
Harmonica." 
 
"And of the Females, one shall be Black and one shall be White. And the 
Black one shall ALWAYS sing the Aretha songs, and the Disco. 
 
"And the White one shall ALWAYS sing the Power Ballads, and the Country 
Songs. But both shall share the Motown Medley, and shall sing Backup for 
the Male, and forget the Words, and be Late, and know nothing of Keys or Form. 
 
And they shall leave every gig immediately, having never touched a piece of Equipment." 
 
"And they shall be paid many more shekels than the Sidemen. Ask not why." 
 
And Noah didst say, "As Thou sayest, my Lord." 
  
And the Lord didst command him, "Search high and low for these, 
as not every musician can fulfill these requirements. And though 
we have No Work yet, a Commitment must be secured from All. And 
while you\'re at it, start looking for Subs. 
 
And Noah didst say "Lord, thy will be done. 
 
And it was.