Perhaps my favorite part of playing in a rock n roll band is hearing the pre-show music right before going onstage. So much work/waiting goes into pulling off a gig that it’s exciting to have the gear all set up knowing it’s finally time to plug in and make some noise. Over the years Watershed has rotated different pre-show songs through the years with varying degrees of success. In our younger days we would mostly just roll with AC/DC and especially “For Those About To Rock” as our intro music. The problem with this approach is that you can inadvertently blow yourself off the stage because folks would rather keep listening to AC/DC than you. I saw this happen to a band at SXSW with tragic results. Ask me about it at Reelin and Rockin at the Gateway Film Center on Friday November 18th. (We will be screening The Last Waltz.)

So for a while we went with Little Richard because everyone loves Little Richard and there are no huge guitars to dwarf Watershed’s “Castrated AC/DC meets surly REO Speedwagon” sound. That’s a real quote from a review of Watershed. Who printed that? (editor’s note; I believe it was the now-defunct “alternative weekly” The Other Paper.)

However, my personal favorite intro song we used was “Eyes Like Sparks” by Grandpaboy, better known as Paul Westerberg. It’s just kind of a droning repetitive thing that gets the blood pumping. We used that for years. I love bands that have the same intro and opener for years at a time. Joan Jett is the best example of this tactic. The house cranks up “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who and right when it ends she and her band blast right into “Bad Reputation.” She does this EVERY TIME SHE PLAYS, and it crushes EVERY SINGLE TIME.

On the dark side, a fun tactic is sabotaging another band’s pre-show music just for kicks. Watching a hipster band take the stage with confused looks as Whitesnake’s “Slide it In” is blasting is always good for a laugh. 

Anyway, I went to see Cheap Trick this summer at a BBQ festival in Maumee, Ohio, because that’s how Cheap Trick rolls, and I was in awe of their pre-show tune. 

First, as the giant checkerboard backdrop was rising behind the drums, the crowd was treated to the awesome “Whatever Happened to My Rock n Roll” by my new favorite band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Click here to read more on that subject. Then as the stage lights turned on, the PA was cranked up a notch for “Turkish Tram Conductor Blues” by The Move. I must admit, I had to do some digging around to find this song online though I had a pretty good idea it was a song by The Move. Cheap Trick’s love of those English blokes is no secret considering they have covered “California Man,” “Brontosaurus” and “Rock N Roll Tonight” throughout the years. 

It was a potent one-two rock n roll punch that got me ready for the real McCoy. Well done, you crazy Tricksters. 

Colin Gawel plays solo and in the band Watershed. He wrote this at Colin’s Coffee.

So those two songs played right before this happened…