At the commencement of a new year, one thinks “now what?” It’s a question that stirs a hidden desire to try something new, to freshen up this existence on Earth. How will I fill the coming 365 days? A year in the life of an average human can be broken up like so:
- 236 working days
- 105 weekend days
- 14 public holidays
- 10 days of leave
On a typical working day we spend on average seven hours sleeping, one hour eating, ten hours working (including travel to and from) and another hour for essentials (brushing teeth, toilet, shower etc.) thus leaving five hours a day toward leisure time, doing whatever we want. Broken down, a year looks something like this:
- Work: 2360 hours = 99 days
- Eating: 365 hours = 15 days
- Essentials: 365 hours = 15 days
- Sleeping: 2813 hours = 117 days
- Free time: 2857 hours = 119 days
Obviously this is a basic calculation yet it indicates a surprisingly large portion of time allocated toward leisure.
In 2016, the “now what?” question steered us Talbots, I Ned and brother Adam, in a new direction we never perceived possible. As lifelong music fans the nagging want to learn an instrument became ignorable no longer.
Why it has taken us a combined 53 years to commence our music journey, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the belief evoked on all youth that we have plenty of time? Finally the reality hit us, we haven’t a second to lose.
The two of us bit the proverbial bullet and purchased our first instruments, I an electric drum kit and Adam a keyboard. For the 365 days of 2016 we used the 2857 hours available for leisure to practice our craft, hitting those keys and drumheads in increasingly intricate patterns and advanced songs. The beginners became the amateurs became the adept became the pros.
In 2017 the goal advances with the skill. By late 2016, the musical juices were rapidly flowing as intense as the Colorado River. The next stage of development was to join forces as a band under the name, The Talbot Brothers, shortened to Talbot Bros.
Named after our surname and status as siblings, our mission was to produce modern, classic progressive (prog) rock for all ages beyond 21. Zero gigs came rolling in however the fan base grew by 200%, from 1 to 2. Things were happening quickly, we needed to take a deep breath and plan our future.
Following a ten second brainstorm, two courses of action were decided upon; make an album or hit the road and head on tour. Lacking a recording studio and skill, the later was decided upon with resounding optimism. Only problem was, which country should we tour?
Australia was quickly eliminated. The reasoning behind this decision was the fact we had engineered a solid fan base of two (mum and dad) and thus required a greater challenge to whet our appetite for fandom.
No, we needed to strike whilst the iron was lukewarm and get the frequent flyer points soaring. Our ambitions lead us overseas.
Using history for guidance, we looked at the big bands of the past and how they had landed their start. Where had they travelled? What music had they played? What airline had they used? These were the questions we asked and subsequently googled.
The answer was America. Touring the States has become a necessity for any functioning band and can determine which group will make the cut. The Beatles in 1964, Led Zeppelin in 1971, to name three, became global megastars following sell out tours of the US. Our path was clear.
Tour scheduling commenced, a grueling process involving ringing every promoter and venue known to man within the borders of America asking, requesting, begging for the opportunity to play at their establishment. Brainstorming the biggest venues located within America, our list grew long and arduous.
Famous names such as The LA Forum, The Rosebowl and The Filmore. Top of the list was the most famous garden of all, Madison Square Garden. After numerous requests and explanations of our band and the notion of prog rock music, our request was humbly rejected with the cut throat statement “We’re busy that day”. What snide pricks.
Then out of the blue came a phone call from Tampa, Florida. A promoter representing prog rock bands from across the globe was organizing a cruise featuring prog’s biggest names to play a series of concerts whilst aboard the Royal Caribbean ship, Brilliance of the Seas.
The event dubbed Cruise to the Edge included some of prog’s biggest bands including Yes, Steve Hackett, Neal Morse Band, Mike Portnoy to name a few.
These were our heroes and an opportunity to play with alongside them as unequals was like a pilgrimage to prog Mecca. The promoter declared his desire for a band from each first-world country to perform at the event.
Australia’s lack of progressive talent had the Talbot Bros name sifted from nowhere to be invited along for the ride. After a microseconds deliberation, we accepted.
This bolt from the blue drove a dramatic change of fortune for the band. Suddenly the phone was rung off the hook, four times.
Promoters from Los Angeles, Atlanta, Orlando and Tampa requested our noble presence to deliver a heavy dosage of prog rock magic. Quick to facilitate, we agreed instantly.
The tour schedule was locked in like the Maimsbury youths. Next step in the road to America, the rehearsals.