is this how this works? Allman's drummer quits his band and the whole group falls apart. I read this not long ago here, and it was sad news. at the same time I was trying to get a band together. what's this? rising from the ashes?
today it happened. the drummer and bass came over and we had a load in to the studio space in my gynormaous garage.
so far we are bass, drummer and two guitars. the other guitar is my best mate of too many years. the drummer is from my mates previous band. killer drummer. the bass we found on the local craigs list. he teaches music full time. what an asset.
I had thought we'd only be setting up the drum kit, sorting out who stands where, running monitor cables and such. but in no time at all the they were all set, tuned and looking at me.
I had been sorting the lead sheets of some songs I would like to do. I passed them out.
Shine by Soul Collective was on top. the drum said cool and started it off. I had been working out the rhythm thing so I stepped on my pedal and off we went.
for the most part we sounded good. I didn't play the actual lead lick, but I did something. I did know the intro. we played it again and there was improvement.
it was evident that all of us were listening to one another. this might work. I am so excited.
so now we work up the song list. we decided to cover from the 50's on up. 50's =Elvis and Sun Records stuff.
we all know enough 60's music to choke a horse. the drummer knows all Zeppelin, we closed on a long droning 'When the Levee Breaks'. the drummer was smiling.
'Cherub Rock' by the Smashing Pumpkins is on our list. 'Black' is a great song. Veder is hard to cover.
I love old and alt country, Stones and Neil Young. my mate and I always jam on Youngs work. he and I do Cinnamon Girl and Everybody Knows... well. we tried them out on the band and despite the rough changes it sounded nice. the drummer isn't into country. I said if I feed you Zep you'll play Dead Flowers and Waylon too?
we are agreed.
here is a pic of the studio. bass will be left. he has a nice 4x12 cab. the guitars face them. we made a circle so we can hear and see each other during rehearsal. the studio sounded good. I damped half of the hard surfaces with carpet foam/rubber backing. carpets on the floor, remnant fabric pinned to cover ugly foam.
I am pretty psyched. after too many years. I got me a band. hope the band soap opera drama doesn't appear for months. 
Didn't Almann1979 lose his vox and keys? Chris has a dead guitarist and I have a dead drummer. :roll: I don't want to think of what the 1979 means cause I graduated high school on 1978. :lol: Go for it Dog! Can't wait to hear some stuff!
Anybody got a spare drummer? :roll:
Oh .... we started out facing each other too. Once we started getting things down, we started morphing into more of a performance setup.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
Many congrats! Finally you got it! :D
My best wishes for the new band and I hope I can listen you live in the near future (meanwhile I'd love to listen some recordings when available).
That's awesome news. I can't wait to hear some clips. 8)
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
Who let the dog out? Sounds like it's full speed ahead, that's the only way to go jump on the momentum while you have it.
Nice practice area I like the room.
I'm curious to hear how you guys end up with the arrangement. I've always set up like TR mention in "performance"type so the drummer is in the back and everyone else is in front. I don't have floor monitors so we'd set the PA speakers and amps in front facing towards us, which isn't the way we'd do it in a "real" live situation but it seemed liek the best setup for the room and equipment.
Kind of funny because over the weekend our old drummer who had joined a new band last fall quit the band and brought his kit back to my house and we are going to start up again with myself, the drummer and our bass player and try looking for another guitarist/singer. I know I'm not skilled enough to carry the band as a solo guitar but I have learned a few solo's for some songs we used to play but haven't played them with anyone so will see.
It'll be good to get back to the regular Friday night jams if nothing else.
Good luck with the band Dog...Black is a cool song we used to play that one too!
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
That sounds great, I particularly like the idea of feeding your drummer Zeppelin (and When the Levee Breaks is awesome). Best of luck with it.
That's fantastic, db. Can't wait to hear the first audio clip.
All the best.
:)
Don
Black is a cool song we used to play that one too!
Tommy wanted us to learn that one. :(
As far as the setup, facing each other was ideal for learning to play with each other and getting the songs down. We started out in the 4 corners of the room. (Remember, we had a singer at first) As the possibility of a gig started looking near we started moving the equipment. Don't want to get out to a bar and not be able to hear of find out you can't play unless you are looking at each other. We have a pair of 15" speakers with horns on stands for front of the house, a pair as 15" wedges with horns on the floor for side fill (pointed at the drummer) and a small pair of 10" wedges with horns that just have vocals on the floor in front of the mics. I add a little guitar to the main mix via a Shure mic as my amp cab is very directional and the other guys don't get the volume from it that people in front of it do. (Lights one light intermittently on the meter) The bass seems to envelope the room so just the amp is good there. It seemed to work well. Amps, instruments and monitors all make a box around us. Obviously the back line and FOH would be for the house to hear.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
thanks everyone. yeah, the rehearsal set up will work. it is very different on a stage. we have a good PA and monitors.
personally, I really need to hear the others when I play. who doesn't. lots of players don't realize that a stage setting is completely different from a basement or rehearsal space. in the past I could only hear half the band. I figured we were well rehearsed just play my part as best I can and hope it sounds good in the house. it is disconcerting for sure when you can't hear.
Wow! That's excellent news - congratulations!
I hope you all have a lot of fun :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Wow! That's excellent news - congratulations!
I hope you all have a lot of fun :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
having fun is our main goal. of course all the other good things come along; playing with others, learning songs, getting better on the instrument, and playing out. yeah. :)
Great news. Have a ton o' fun.
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
The green smileys are to indicate both enjoyment of your excellent news, and DEEP jealousy at the same time....
Chris
Looks like a very sweet setup. At practice, we do the circle thing as well, only it is in our drummer's kitchen.
i havent been spending much time here over the last two weeks, so sorry i missed this one!!
dogbite, you know i think your playing is great so im glad your in a band!! any vids soon??
oh, and TR, 1979 is when i was born, but age is relative, to the kids at school i am, and i quote "just an old bloke who wasnt clever enough to become a proper scientist" :lol: i tell them i am not getting older, just more experienced than them :lol:
"I like to play that guitar. I have to stare at it while I'm playing it because I'm not very good at playing it."
Noel Gallagher (who took the words right out of my mouth)
Awesome! Now you need to get some vids going of the band!! Congrats on getting one together!
In Space, no one can hear me sing!
