After 30+ years of playing what is now called classic rock, no one is more surprised than me that I am now playing bass in a blues band. We are a 4-piece with a combined age over 200. Our band leader (not me!) is really into older and less-familiar songs, with lots of riffy themes that are fun to play. We've been rehearsing for about 3 months, and we sound pretty good in the basement.
Last night was our first mini-gig. There is a local bar that has a weekly open mic. The first Thursday of each month is set aside for complete bands (individual musicians play the other weeks). We played 6 songs in under 30 minutes. It was a bit rough in spots, as we confused which which arrangements we were going to play (is the stop verse the 2nd or 3rd?). But otherwise we were pretty tight and the audience seemed to like us.
Our set list:
Get Busy
Honey Hush (Animals intro)
Mary Had a Little Lamb (SRV)
I Shot the Sheriff (Bad Boys intro)
Messin' with the Kid
Pride and Joy
We're called "Cruisin' for a Bluesin'" and hopefully you'll see us in the 'burbs west of Philly.
Many congrats Laz! :D
And never it is too late to start a new career, classic rock is cool but blues is cool, too!
BTW good set list!
cool blue Laz. way to go. :note2: I agree, it is never too late. I am totally itching to stand in a line up.
never heard of Honey Hush. Animals? I know their stuff by heart.
the blues offers a vast pool of cool songs. audiences love it.
congrats to the band.
cool blue Laz. way to go. :note2: I agree, it is never too late. I am totally itching to stand in a line up.
never heard of Honey Hush. Animals? I know their stuff by heart.
the blues offers a vast pool of cool songs. audiences love it.
congrats to the band.
When I first heard the Honey Hush riff, I immediately thought of "We Got to Get Out of This Place", so now we do the latter as an intro, complete with ride cymbal, for 4 cycles, and then change the second note from the 5th to the 8th, increase the tempo slightly, and bring in the rest of the band. It's kinda fun, and our audiences seem to appreciate it.
Go Sheriff, we do the "Bad Boys, bad boys what you gonna do!" riff as an intro - which also works wells. And since it's a Marley song (I think) it works on several levels.
Cruisin for a bluesin is a great name.....and Dan, if you're as good at keepin' that blues rhythm as you are at keeping a classic rock rhythm, well you're a 1/4 of the way to a good band!
Don't actually know any of the songs, apart from "I Shot The Sheriff" - but sounds like you've got a good set list to build on, with a couple of unusual/quirky intros, which'll catch the audience's attention.
So rock on, Dan - hopefully I might get to play some of these songs with you next year? World Cup this year, hopefully, see you at Sara's next year? With Laura (the VOICE!) and Jacqui (the SAX!) of course?
Oh, and while Liverpool are not playing well this year, I really DO hope the title goes to Arsenal....sorry, Laura and Jacqui, but we can't have the Mancs winning more championships than the mighty Liverpool!
:D :D :D
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
That's Great Dan
An interesting side note,after playing Blues for the last few years
I've just joined a start up Classic Rock band. :?
:note1: :note1: :note1:
John
Congrats that sounds cool :D I wish i could find a band around here 8)
Lmaooo at the combined age comment! That should feature on your advertising, very Spinal Tap, heh heh
congrats on the band tho, sounds like you had bare fun playing out and the songs are a good choice, too. How are you finding the switch in styles? Keep us posted on how it goes, I'm pleased to hear you're bluesing out n having plenty of music fun!
Genre changes are fun, and they keep your chops sharp. I've just hooked up with a country band after about 15 years of rock, funk, and blues. Of course, most of what's coming out of Nashville has more kinship with heavy 70's rock than traditional country - right down to the Marshall amps and Les Pauls.
Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.
Thanks all. I must admit that sometimes I have trouble finding a new way to play the same old shuffle, but I've come up with a few that I like. Plus the 2nd guitar will often play a cool variation of what I'm playing - they compliment each other nicely and make the walks sound different.
Now into the hard work of growing the set list from 10 to 40. Stay tuned.
That's cool, Laz! Have fun with the next batch of tunes! 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
Nooooooo ... come back to the dark side! :lol: Glad your having fun though.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
Nooooooo ... come back to the dark side! :lol: Glad your having fun though.
Tell me about it. We waste about 1/4 of each practice getting distracted by the classic rock tunes that we all know by heart. 8)
Hey we used to be the opposite wasting time every week messing around with some blues thing cuz that's what the bass player likes...don't do that anymore but we do sometimes go off on a tangent with some classic rock songs that are not part of the lineup. Try not to let that happen to much though, but sometimes you just ahev to go with the flow.
Good luck with the band!
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Thanks all. I must admit that sometimes I have trouble finding a new way to play the same old shuffle, but I've come up with a few that I like. Plus the 2nd guitar will often play a cool variation of what I'm playing - they compliment each other nicely and make the walks sound different.
Sometimes a country style I V pattern on the downbeats can be really effective. Sometimes the basic "pound the root" with eighth notes will be the best way. Not all blues is a shuffle.
Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.