Michael Buzzy

I have played the electric bass since the 7th grade. I started out in my middle school orchestra playing the upright bass, but I was soon lured into dreams of childhood rock stardom and joined my schools jazz band. The purpose of the jazz band was to play at school functions such as pep rallies. It was through these experiences that I learned that I hated being bad at things. As a kid I never had stage fright and was very confident, but the second I was on stage doing something I was bad at I instantly wanted to jump off a cliff. At the ripe age of twelve I resolved to do the only sensible thing — to copy kung fu movies. So I willingly revoked my title as a bass player a sought to enter a metaphorical cave to study the art until I was a true master. I am still in that cave, and it sucks. What my young mind couldn't comprehend at the time was that you didn't have to be the greatest to start out with. Other things such as school and sports never taught me this. As a kid things came easily to me, so it was odd to find myself utterly at the bottom of barrel. Little did I know being at the bottom of the barrel is the BEST. It’s there where you have the most to learn and the most exciting things ahead. There are so many people who want to teach you and show you the way, and most importantly, it’s humbling. I missed out on a lot of things because of my cave expedition. I never got to be in a really crummy high school rock band or look like a complete idiot in front of my peers. So while I have gotten pretty good at bass, I learned a more important lesson — being bad at something is the best.