2 Practice Makes Perfect

CHAPTER 2 Practice Makes Perfect After Bruce finished the eighth grade in 1963, he switched to a big public high school in Freehold. Bruce still mostly kept to himself. He didn't care much about the other kids or his classes. Sometimes he would sneak out of class to practice guitar in the band room. He taught himself to play "Twist and Shout" the way the Beatles played it.

Bruce would practice for hours—sometimes for ten hours a day! He wasn't interested in drinking or doing drugs, because he felt it would take him away from his music. Bruce started to grow his hair long because some of his favorite rock stars did. He wanted to look like a rocker, too.

Some boys in Bruce's high school had a band. One day, Bruce heard the band was looking for a new guitar player. There was a tryout. Bruce showed up and played some music. He mostly played bits and pieces of some popular songs from the radio. The band was not impressed. The boys sent him home. But Bruce didn't let that stop him. That night he taught himself a whole set of complete songs. He went back to the band the next day. He played six new songs perfectly. Bruce was in the band!

The band was named the Castiles. Castile was a kind of soap that was popular with teenage boys. The band played at school dances, swim clubs, and at "Battle of the Bands" contests. They even went to Manhattan to play at Cafe Wha? It was a famous club in Greenwich Village where Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix had played. This

meant a lot to Bruce because Bob Dylan was one of his idols. Bruce admired the words of Dylan's songs. They were like long poems or stories. And Dylan was great at so many kinds of music— rock, folk, and blues.

Bruce played with the Castiles throughout high school. On the morning of graduation, Bruce went to pick up his cap and gown. But there was a problem. A teacher said that Bruce had to cut his shoulder-length hair or he would not get into the ceremony. That made Bruce mad. He decided to skip graduation. Instead, he took a two-hour bus ride to Manhattan and listened to bands at different music clubs. Bruce's mom was disappointed. She had planned a big party for him! But Bruce wanted to do his own thing.