The other day at school, my class was discussing possible fundraising for a trip we want to take to England and France next spring. Michael (that's acapella to those of you not in the know) suggested a benefit concert, where we rent a hall, get some local bands from around here to play for free, and charge $5 admission. Of course, our band, the Greasy Knots, would be on the bill as well. It seemed like a good idea to everyone at first, but then we discovered that even if 100 people came (which is pretty iffy in a small town like this), we’d only make a profit of about $70.

So I said we all might as well do something worth the time and effort. Seventy bucks is nothing in a situation where you need over 20 grand. I started to carry on with my schoolwork. After a while, I noticed that everyone else was still talking in a big circle. I heard Michael remark “So then, we’ll play it anyway, and if Brendon doesn’t like it, we’ll get someone else.”

Needless to say, I was horribly angered by this. It seems unfair to me to be threatened with replacement simply because you don’t think a fundraiser will be a worthwhile moneymaking venture. I don’t think the concert was a bad idea overall; it actually sounds like a lot of fun to me. However, we’re trying to raise money at the current moment. We can always do this concert thing some other time, when it isn’t about the money.

Today I thought about the whole situation all day at work. In the morning, my teeth were clenched and I was ready to bust open some skulls with a section of pipe. By the time work was over, I no longer cared. I figured at the very least, we would make little money. But at least it would be fun, right?

So I get home from work, and decide to check the Greasy Knots’ homepage. ‘Maybe there’ll be something about the concert on there,’ I thought. Instead I am greeted with the headline “MAJOR UPDATE!!! The Greasy Knots acquire a new member...see blog page for more information.”

I go to the blog page and read the blog. In it, I find out that this girl from school has been offered the role of lead singer by the other 2/3 of the band. And I feel the rage flaring up once again.

I get along pretty well with this girl, and she is a very good singer. In fact, when I heard her sing in music class a month or two ago, I suggested to Luke and Michael that she should be our singer. They both made it pretty clear they didn’t want that. Fair enough. That’s why I ran the idea by them first. So here’s what I’m worried about:

1) Luke and Mike and myself have known each other forever. We’re very close. I’m worried that if this girl is around, we’ll be more inhibited, and less ourselves at practices. Practices are all about having fun for me, so this is not very desirable.

2) This girl likes a lot of music I don’t, like Avril Lavigne and Simple Plan. I don’t want to have to play this music. At all.

And most of all….

3) They DIDN’T EVEN FREAKIN’ ASK ME WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT ALL THIS!!!!!!!!!!

Am I being a dick, or are bands supposed to discuss things before making drastic changes? Seems to me that things are getting mighty fascist might quick.

Also, I had to type this whole thing out 3 times on account of computer failures, so I am unbelievably pissed.