Lessons from the Mouth of a Rolling Stone
Part 2
by: John Miller
Here are my lessons on being Darryl Jones:
Hone your craft to a high level and never stop learning.
Growing up in Chicago in the 1960s, Darryl had access to some of the best music in the world, especially Chicago Blues and Rhythm and Blues. Coincidentally, my favorite music is 1950s era electric Muddy Waters blues. While Darryl played many gigs in blues venues, Darryl's heart and true musical love was always jazz. This pushed him to expand his vocabulary on his chosen instrument, the electric bass. The irony, of course is that he ended up playing bass for “the world’s greatest rock 'n' roll band.” There were a few bumps and bruises along the way.
As a young player, Darryl was extremely confident. What seemed to be his first big break was an audition with a well-known Chicago rhythm and blues group. This try-out took place so early in his life, that his mother drove him to the audition. Darryl had listened to the popular records by this group and thought that the music was easy and that he could play it with no problem or preparation. Once the band started to play, Darryl realized that he had not properly prepared and admits that his playing was nowhere near good enough. He did not get the job. As he related a story to me, the chewing out that he got from the lead singer and bandleader for wasting their time was nothing compared to the lecture he received from his mother in the car on the way home. She told him that the family was fully prepared to support his decision to pursue music full time, but if that was his chosen profession, he would never again be embarrassed by not being fully prepared for an audition.
The next time Darryl had an audition, he was fully prepared, and landed the job playing with Otis Clay (I believe). (If you ever want a good story about a bass player being intimidated by a Chicago blues man, buy me a beverage and ask me about the night I sat in at Buddy Guy’s club in Chicago.)
In or outside of music, nothing could be truer than the lesson of learning your craft to the highest level, and to never stop learning. No matter how skilled one is, it is absolutely necessary to fully prepare for any given opportunity. Even if you know you are the best, or at least extremely competent, it is important to do your background research, so that you were fully prepared to impress and win the day whether it be a musical gig, a business transaction, or any other area of life. One day, you might find yourself being Keith Richards’ left hand man.