Between the physicality and competing volume levels, I think you've heard all the reasons there are. Well, that, and ego. Some people just gotta go to eleven.

I remember a session in New Orleans with a particularly loud band in which I was playing lead guitar. The notes resonating in my body while playing really loud are as close as I have gotten to an out-of-body experience without being in an altered level of consciousness. (I liked it, but the neighbors didn't.)

In the more recent past, I auditioned for a band that wanted to play some funk rock. I was putting in my ear plugs when one of the band members asked me why. "To deal with the drums," I said. The drummer countered by playing at a reasonable volume during the entire session. Drummers who are more than just ROCK players can do that. Learn something new every day.


"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."