If I haven’t already told you the story of how I almost performed “Times Like These” (with lead guitarist Barry Belmont and violinist Brandon Summers) at my high school commencement, here’s the TL;DR: We auditioned; we got the gig; we rehearsed; we performed again a couple of times for staff; the principal already wasn’t feeling it; I got sick and another classmate was subbed in on vocals; we didn’t gel and the principal pulled the plug with a week left.
I’ve spent the last 11 years pissed off to varying degrees, because I put two years’ worth of planning and practicing into that moment and we got yanked at the last minute.
Eleven years later, I woke up this morning and, out of the blue, realized I had another option: Gather with Barry and Brandon. Keep rehearsing. Have our parents bring our instruments to the ceremony. When everyone’s gathering outside of Orleans Arena afterwards, play anyway. We didn’t need the fucking stage. We should’ve played anyway.
That’s ambition.