The Total Eclipse band (or at least some of us) band appeared in the base paper along with a nice article following our first performance, the "audition" gig.
The military actually paid bands to play on the club circuit, but a collection of NCO Club managers had to audition each band to determine the pay level. There was a three or four tier scale that determined how much the band would get for each performance, and after the audition you were given a grade by a group of "judges".
I don't remember all of the details, but I do remember how nervous I was. I hadn't played a gig or even drums in over four years and to top it off, I wasn't completely comfortable with the style yet. We survived the audition and the kindly worded article can be viewed by clicking on the picture at the right.
Along the lines of being nervous, Carlos showed his leadership qualities before a gig later in the summer. He told the band there were going to be a few judges in the audience as we were being reviewed again. The first set was horrible. Poor time, missed breaks and endings......you name it. After the set, Carlos pulled us aside and said, "There ain't nobody out there....." and walked away. He had given us a test and we failed miserably, but we all learned something from that experience. The rest of the night produced some of the best music we ever played..and we were able to laugh at ourselves for being so uptight.
