So, the rehearsal with the drummer is tomorrow evening, and the nerves are starting to come back, not yet as uncontrollable as last week, but they're there. I actually think having had this extra week to learn my parts helped. At least I now have the riffs in "Highway Star", "Summer Of 69" and "Red Hot And Heavy" down. That's 3 out of 4, which I consider to be pretty damn good in one week, even if there's still plenty of room for improvement. And I've found a way to play the main riff in "Back In Black" that doesn't put excessive strain on my hands. Actually, I just changed the turnarounds a bit, by moving some notes to different positions or using hammer-ons and pull-offs for the "fast" turnaround. It might not be 100% correct, but it's good enough for me, really.

On a slightly related note, I decided yesterday to listen to one of the bands that originally made me want to learn to play the guitar, way before I discovered GNR, Deep Purple, Dire Straits and most other bands I like today... And they still motivate me to go pick up my guitar and practice. It doesn't really matter who they are or where they're from in my opinion. There's just something about that band's style, tone and music that motivates me like crazy. And trust me. I really needed that added amount of motivation. It's the main reason I managed to get the "Back In Black" riff down as well... Because I wanted to get that riff down, even if I had to make changes here and there.

Let's see how things work out this time... I've already prepared most of my gear that I'll need tomorrow. Les Paul and ES-345 in separate bags, packed plenty of picks (as in all 250+, except for my "collector's picks" I've gotten from gigs in the past), Mustang Amp ready, stands for guitars, and the dusty old suitcase I turned into a functional pedal-board is as ready as it gets (it's a long story). I intend to make this rehearsal go as smoothly as possible, so I'd really rather be overly prepared than missing a thing or two when I get there.