The ever-progressing musical career of Daniel Dorris, Part II - Whoa Oh! I Wanna Rock and Roll!

(Continued)

Hmm...Anthem! That's it! The band will be called Anthem!


Goose, Brent and I had our new rock and roll band and were off to the races. We signed with an up-and-coming new record label called Four Ring Records (started by a co-pastor at Faith Life Fellowship) and went in to the studio (read: our friend Dave Rigg's house) to record our full-length album, 2 Close 4 Comfort. We never actually finished the album, though we did compile enough recordings to create what could be construed as a full-length project.


About two years into the Anthem era, it was evident that Brent was the animated-frontman type and that being behind a bass was holding him back. Enter Doug E. Knight.


Oh, before I go any further, there is something I neglected to mention earlier...stage names. Brent (whose given name is James Brent Dorris), became Jimmy B. Anthem. I (Daniel Martin Dorris), became Danny M. Anthem. Goose...well, he's Goose. His real name is David Mark Bilsland, but ever since I met the guy, he always has been, and always will be Goose. Douglas Edgar Banks became Doug E. Knight...he's a fan of Batman...you know, the Dark Knight.


Anyway, as a four-piece, we persevered forward. We were all decent enough musicians. Nothing spectacular, but it got the job done. We were playing clubs and bars regularly (and the occasional outdoor Christian music festival). Our first show at The Last Great Watering Hole, a bar that would soon be one of our regular venues, was with a band we were friends with called The Last Chucks.


As time went by, we were playing more often, and it became apparent that we really needed a second guitar player. We were a little pickier this time than we were when Doug joined. Not that Doug wasn't good, mind you...but when he joined, he hadn't played bass before. He learned how to play as he went along. He progressed very quickly. But as for a second guitar player, this guy needed to be good. He needed to be the one musician that put us over the top; that made us a genuine good rock and roll band. The first guy we tried was Jason Mask. We went over to his house and set up the band in his basement. We ran through a few songs with Jason, and after we finished, we asked him to stay inside while we walked out and talk about some things. I believe once we got outside, the conversation went something like:


"Wow"
"I know, right?"
"He's pretty awesome"
"So, we don't really need to discuss this, do we?"
"I don't think so"
"So, he's in?"
"Yeah."


Enter C.J. Mask.


As a solid five-piece, we spent the next few years playing out quite regularly. We never made our way out of Atlanta, but we played a pretty heavy rotation of The Last Great Watering Hole, Anthony's, 9 Lives Saloon, Presidio, etc. There are a ton of "war stories" from this time period. Maybe I will create a blog series on that one day soon. Although, some of those involve rivalries, hard feelings, and various shenanigans, so I may have to choose wisely.


The problem with this is that we became comfortable. Or, at least that was my problem. We were comfortable with playing out regluarly. We never persued more; never tried to sign with a real label (Four Rings had long since folded); never tried to tour.

Understandibly, this frustrated Jason. He was the real premier musician in the group. He had hopes and dreams that included a musical career. We weren't in the same place as Jason. In June 2004, I got married (to the aforementioned hot little number, Kimberly). A month later, Goose married Lily (that story you can read for yourself at bilslandfamily.blogspot.com - sorry, no link, because I don't know crap about html). We were starting households. We were starting families.

Jason approached us in 2005 and told us he was moving to Orlando. Brent was also looking for some kind of a change, as his life had fallen into somewhat of a rut, so he went with Jason. We played our last show in July of 2005.

I still listen to the recording of that show regularly. The sound quality is crap, but the memories are as clear as can be.

(to be continued)