Last night, our band had our first practice. We've done things a little out of order, since the singer and I have already recorded 3 demos before I even met the rest of the band. Met everyone last night and they all seem pretty cool. The 2 guitarists and drummer are all in their 20's, but I'll (36) never be the oldest one since the singer is 40.
We started out jamming a chord progression one of the guitarists had with the singer improv-ing some lyrics. I think it's going to turn into one of those 50's pop ballads. I taught them one of the originals I wrote (Rock n' Roll Zombie) and the original our singer wrote (He Won't Stay Dead). Then we played The Misfits' "We Are 138" a few times and got pretty good at that one. Then we ran through all the songs one more time. Overall, a pretty good practice for a 1st.
A few things I learned....
1. We need a better PA, we could barely hear the vocals
2. Addictive Drums (MIDI) is a great product and has a great sound, but having a real drummer on a song is 1000% better. For the demos, I used AD and it sounds ok, but I'm lazy so I tend to just have "Verse beat" and "Chorus beat" and a few fills and just copy and paste it. Our drummer is pretty good and was throwing in different cymbal beats and little touches throughout the songs, drastically improving the songs.
3. Playing bass is not "easier than playing a guitar cause it's got fewer strings and you just play a few notes" (not my words, but I've heard that before). Even playing punk rock, where I'm basically just hammering away at the root note, isn't "easy". Staying tight with the drummer, especially on fast songs, is hard.
4. I'm not one of those former-smokers that become anti-smoking nazis, cause it doesn't bother me too much while I'm around a smoker. But I hate the smell of it in my clothes and hair. I had to miss going to visit my girlfriend after practice cause I smelled like an ashtray.
5. Apparently, I'm going to be the Prepared Guy :shock: in the band. I showed up w/ a CD with our demos and the covers we were wanting to do and printouts of lyrics and chords. Some of the guys didn't even know what songs we were going to do.
Congrats on your first successful band night/practice. 50's pop music from 20 somethings? That's gotta be rare. Sounds like it all went well. Yay for you! 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
Sounds cool. Hope it all works out. 8)
Dan
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
sounds about right. totally envious here.
I absolutely agree with #3 and #4 :lol:
Congrats!
jw,
Way to go man, and yes it is so much better with a drummer. I agree with you on the smoking thing. I'm not a smoker but the other three guys in the band are and since we practice at my house in the rec room I have instituted a no-smoking policy and make them smoke out in the garage or outside.
But the problem with the smokers, besides the smoke itself, is we can't go more than 3-4 songs without taking a break. That annoys me more than the smoking itself, but you have to be a little flexible.
There is one thing I learned from Wes here and I don't practice it as much as I should but someone does need to be the prepared guy or things will bog down quickly. I haven't been able to hold that job down very well and no one else seems to want to do it so I need to step up a bit.
BTY, bass = 4 strings = easy.....guitar = 6 strings = harder...Ha J/K it's just simple math.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
We practice at the drummer's house and he smokes while he's playing. And, of course, I'm playing bass so I'm right there next to him. At least is a bigger room w/ good ventilation. I jammed with a couple guys once and they both smoked liked chimneys and we were playing in a 12x14 shed. In November. With the heat on. :? It's not so bad while I'm there, cause I can ignore it. It's when I get in the car afterward and can smell it on myself. I smoked for 12 years, so I guess there used to be people that complained about me.
If I have to be the prepared one to make it work, I don't mind. But that's about the same as asking a deaf guy to pick out the music for your party. I consider it a good day if I make it home with all the things I left it with in the morning like keys, wallet, etc. I have a book called "Organization Solutions for People with ADD", but I don't know where it is.
Well, we had our 2nd practice last night (don't worry, I'm not going to update this thread with every practice). It got cut a little short because of some neighbors. First, a neighbor across the street called our drummer (it's his house) and said we were too loud. It was only 7:00 and we couldn't have been THAT loud all the way across the street. His landlord lives on the same property and he came by and said we were fine, to keep playing. So we did. Around 7:45, his landlord came back and said we would have to quit because the neighbor and another neighbor had called the cops. The police called the landlord, they didn't come out there. I haven't had the cops called on me in at least 15 years! :D
The good thing is, we had already been looking into renting a practice space in Nashville. We found a place that rents by the hour or you can pay a monthly fee and get 2 hours per week. The prices really aren't bad ($15/hr, $80/month for 2 hrs/week , if you are interested). The space already has a drumset, PA, mics and mixing board set up. So for $16 a month per member, we can play as loud as we want. When I called them, she said she has all kinds of openings as the economy has really hit her business hard. I've already booked our space for next week.
. Around 7:45, his landlord came back and said we would have to quit because the neighbor and another neighbor had called the cops. The police called the landlord, they didn't come out there. I haven't had the cops called on me in at least 15 years! .
In Nashville? Music City? People complaining because the music is too loud? Are you outside the city like Franklin or something like that?
I plan on being down there (Nashville) in April to see my Brother, niece(s), etc. If you're playing somewhere let me know.
Bob Jessie
Nope, he's in the city. His neighbor is apparently old and cranky! Plus, we aren't playing country classics, either. Just loud and fast punk.
I will post on here when we play our first show. We already had an offer to play on the 23rd of this month, but we didn't think we would have enough time to get enough songs ready by then. Maybe by April, we'll be ready. We've got several songs written, but haven't gotten where we play them real tight yet. We play 1 cover that is ready to go. Our goal is to get 20 minutes of stuff down cold before we play a show.
jw,
Second practice and the police are already on their way...Now that's Rock n Roll way to go..but if your playing punk music you shuld have just laughed it off cranked it up louder and kept on playing!
We practice in my basement and haven't had any neighbors come by yet. But I did have a neighbor about 3 houses down tell us he could hear us playing AC/DC music at 2:00 AM...now that was a lie we never played much past 1...but we've been good boys lately and are practices are usually from 7 - 10 on Friday nights and if you can't make noise on Friday night when can you!
Actually i didn't think there were restrictions on noise until something like 9 - 10 at night
"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's what we thought (9:00), but apparently if enough people complain, it's whatever time they want it to be. I actually researched it today and Metro Nashville (Nashville gov't is city/county combined) has a noise ordinance that says you can't make noise using radio/tv/amps/etc. that is "plainly audible" from the adjacent property line. Of course, downtown is exempt because of the tourist trap bars. That's yet another reason I don't live in Nashville. Unfortunately, it's an older house and not well insulated, so I guess the sound just can't be contained. I just need to hurry up and build my compound on about 10 acres, so I can play as loud as I want. :D
jw, that little band place sounds sweet. Does 2 hours cut you guys too short though? Still gotta set up and dissassemble. Leaves you 90 minutes for practice. Sounds kind of tight.
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
Roy (or is it Ray?),
That is a concern, because your load in/out time is part of your 2 hours. I don't think it will be too bad because the drum kit is already there, both guitarists are using combo amps for practice and I've heard that the stairs going up to the practice space are steep enough for a mountain goat to feel at home, so I'm thinking of just brining my bass head and running thru the PA system. I'm also hoping since the space isn't really booked much right now, that if we get there 10 minutes early, they won't mind letting us go ahead and start setting up. If it cuts too much time out of practice, we can go to 3 hours per week, which is $120/month.
Ahhhh the good old days of the cops getting called. It's been 12, or is it 13 years I've been in my house. Not once a complaint from my neighbor, no cops, all the volume I want. Life is good. Best of luck on the rehersal space rental. Sounds like a great gig you got going. Did almost the same thing, me, an old friend and three young whippers. Problem was the old friend had a poor work ethic and the young'uns tired of it quickly and booted him. Asked me if I would quit if they did it first though as they didn't want to lose my guitar. :mrgreen: Enjoy! I envy you too.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
