Oh my, we got a gig in two days (Saturday night block party in Lombard, IL) and they just fired the guy who started the band! Frank taught me, Joe (his brother) 25 years ago how to drum and the bass player (Jim) who learned from him how to play 15 years ago. I'm SOOOOOO stressed.
It was not a normal No Trace practice. But what happened is Frank decided to take a better playing gig ($150) instead of playing this gig for like $60 apiece. I understand his point, but man, there was a huge fight (yellin' and screamin' among the Palmeri brothers). They've been playing under the No Trace name for 15 years and it comes to this. Joe to Frank he'd still talk to him but not play with him for quiting a gig 2 days before.
Last year, a similar thing happened where Frank took a better paying gig a week before so we had time to adjust the set list and practice without him. But on this short notice, Joe blew up.
So now (instead of 3 guitarists) we're down to two guitarist who have to take over extra parts. And, we have to reconfigure who will sing some of the songs Frank sang.
It's ugly. I was so stressed after practice. Jim took all his equipmement and the extra PA speakers. Joe took everything. The place was gutted. Stressful.
So I guess I'll run through the songs I know we'll do without Frank and some other ones we have not practiced in awhile. I'm happy in some ways because now we'll be able to rock out more, but sad because I was taught by this guy.
And I worry I have to ramp up my playing because we're down to 2 guitar players and I had my parts down as a trio via guitar. I guess No Trace will reconfigure.
Literally, we took all the equipment home so I know we're not going back. Joe even said to his brother Frank "I'll still see you but I won't play with you again." Nuff said.
STRESS..................
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
Oh boy. YOU will pull through my man! You better, we love hearing your stories.
Dennis, I know your gig is Saturday; if you want to come over tomorrow I'll give you whatever help I can with reworking the guitar parts.
(EDIT: looks like it's already tomorrow, huh? I mean today/tonight!)
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Hey Taso, I just practiced about 10 songs not knowing what we're gonna pull off. I practiced the "Encore songs." I'm going to bed not knowing what the h*ll is going on. I assure you all, I will give a ver detailed report as always. As far as pic. TBD. My digital camera died a month ago so I'll have to rely on others. For now, to bed with that whole yellin' angry band stuff in my head......
:(
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
Dennis,
So you wanted to be a rock star..!!!
I'm sure you'll be fine, hang in there
Chris
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Hey Tom, thanks for offering. I know you'd be great at that for sure. I'm lucky in that I'm just a rhythm guitar player so it's not like I have to learn a bunch of leads for the gig. Last night before the guys left we decided we'd practice at Bill's house maybe 7-10pm so I'll be out there tonight. There's a lot more to this I didn't type because of time. I'll definitely have a full elaboration about the gig and what happened when it's over tomorrow night. I was actually suppposed to pick up my second HRD tonight out in Mokena but obviously practice trumps that. Off I go to work for now...
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
Dennis
What do the Marines say?
ADAPT AND OVERCOME
First, quit worrying. All that's going to do is stress you out and will not accomplish anything.
Formulate a simple plan. Write down all the songs you can perform without your singer. There is your basic set list.
Stretch the songs out. You can always play a 2nd solo or draw them out.
Invite other musicians to your gig. Let them get up there and perform a few songs. I've done this many times. Let 'em play a whole set if they want to. You sit back and have a beer. 8)
So quit worrying. Everything will be fine.
We want that gig report.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Hey Wes, yeah, I'm a little nervous but NOTHING like my first gig ever last year. And when we played my second gig ever Frank didn't play so just Bill and I handled the guitar duties. The bass player said that's the most fun he had in any gig is his career. So it will be a good thing cutting down to two guitar players. At practice I got some compliments because I turned up and got that overdrive workin'. I only do that when we're down to two guitars. With three I like to sit back and make sure they are heard.
Well, we're having another rehersal tonight so I'd better get going. So far our revised set list is:
----1st Set
1 Franklin's Tower Jim
2 Taxman Jim
3 Runaway Jim
4 One Of Us Jim
5 I Need You Jim
6 Boys Joe
7 Last D.J. Jim
8 No Other Baby Jim
9 Get Off This Jim
10 If I needed Someone Jim
11 Joe Joe
----2nd Set
1 Suffragette City Joe
2 House Is Rockin' Bill
3 Stay With Me Joe
4 Wipe Out
5 You Wreck Me Jim
6 I'll Be Back Jim
7 Hey Jude Jim
8 Rockin' In The Free World Joe
9 Should I Stay Or Go Jim
10 Psycho Killer Jim
11 Twist Bill
12 Old Time Rock 'n Roll Bill
13 Revolution Jim
14 I Wanna Be Sedated Jim
15 What I Like About You Joe
----Encore songs:
Louie Louie Jim
Takin' Care of Business Jim
Hound Dog Jim
Mr. Postman Joe
Feelin' Alright Jim
Twist Bill
Sugar Mice Jim
First Cut Is the Deepest
Old Time Rock 'n Roll Bill
We're only playing 2-2.5 hours so it's cool. Just that some guys gotta sing songs they don't normally do. But I was pretty shook up last night about the whole fighting/yelling thing. I think I'll be all better tomorrow! :D
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
I hope everything works out for you, Dennis. You have an impressive song list, I'm sure you'll do fine.
Unless you guys just watched while Frank played, I doubt you will have a problem.
If all else fails, smash your SG on the floor and into the drums after the first song. Make sure you drag it out though. You don't want to do it fast, go slow like you're an axe wheedling maniac looking for a target. Oh, make sure you have big bulging eyes…… that should give it a nice touch.
WHAT???!!! It was just an idea!!!!!!!!!
Knock'em dead, Dennis. :roll:
What don't kill you will make you a better musician :D So...Frank sold you guys out for $90.oo after being with the band all these years :? Sounds pretty cold to me :( Looks like things needed a change any way. It may be hard to deal with now but this may be an opportunity to grow as a band :D GOOD LUCK--the dog
I apologise if I sound like "Dear Abby" :lol:
My wife and I headed over to hear Dennis tonight... he did just fine.
The band is pretty tight. A little vocally challenged on a couple of numbers (those must be the ones the old singer did), but all in all they did quite well.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
Well, yea, we had to have some guys sing songs they don't normally sing. It was crazy. I'm on minus sleep and food (ie Survivor). Itt went better than I would have thought. But I miss having 3 guitars because we had the opportunity to each play our parts. I'll post more 'cause I'm goin' to bed. I'm dead and just lookin' to close my eyes. Another day tomorrow.....
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
Nice rhyme. That is why YOU are a musician.
My wife and I headed over to hear Dennis tonight... he did just fine.
The band is pretty tight. A little vocally challenged on a couple of numbers (those must be the ones the old singer did), but all in all they did quite well.
It's good to hear it went down well.
Dennis: This is another reason I'm against overplanning sets -- there's always something to disrupt the plan. You should have your tunes down, plus have good communication among the band members (easier said than ...), but you never know what will happen, and cannot plan for every contingency.
Kudos for pulling it off!
-=tension & release=-
Dennis
Glad to hear everything went well, I thought it would.
You never know what's going to happen. We had our very dependable bass player not show up for a gig a few years back. No advance notice whatsoever, just didn't show.
That night I just turned my tone all the way down and played bass riffs to try and cover. Our other guitarist took the leads I normally played. We pulled it off. In some ways it was more fun than usual. Sometimes you get tired of hearing yourself, so the change was actually refreshing.
I think this Frank guy has been a problem from the beginning hasn't he? You guys will probably be better off in the long run. Just practice your vocals until they come around.
Write us a detailed report when you get a chance.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
