well the nightmare continues. After working for several months to try and play out our lead guitar player tells us he can't play in bars etc. I won't go into the whys' but we had started playing at some open mics and we were going to do a band thing this past Tuesday but he didn't show up. We've been going through stuff like this with him since we started but have been reluctant to do anything because we didn't have enough material to play out anyway and he was the most experinced of all of us and kind of was the glue that kept us going.
So we are going to have to part ways with him and even though I like him and really want to play with him we are going in different directions at the moment.
But the good news if there is any is that we met another guy at the open mic we've been going to and he's an excellent guitar player and bass player. We told him our story and asked if he was interested and he is. We are hoping he'll come to practice tomorrow. Supposedly he can sing too and if that is the case it would be a home run.
So now the issue will be do we make him learn the 20-25 songs we have or start all over. I think we'll probably keep most of the stuff we are already doing and hopefully add some more modern stuff to our set list, stuff the other guitar player didn't want to play.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
I think it's much more important to have someone who is on board, and going in the same direction as you. As long as he has the ability to learn the things you need him to learn in a reasonable amount of time. By the sounds of it, I wouldn't worry too much about it, although I'd definitely give him a lot of practice time with the band before you did any live shows.
So now the issue will be do we make him learn the 20-25 songs we have or start all over. I think we'll probably keep most of the stuff we are already doing and hopefully add some more modern stuff to our set list, stuff the other guitar player didn't want to play.
Well, the biggest thing about joining any band is that you only have so long to learn all their songs before you're going to be expected to get up on stage and do your thing, so give the guy a tape/ CD and let him lock himself in a room between rehearsals to get 20 of them nailed and the rest bubbling away.
No point making it any harder than it already is.
A :-)
"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk
I'm not worried about him being able to learn our songs I've played with him and he is definitely a good musician and picks songs up very fast. It will depend on if he feels comfortable singing also.
Being that we are playing alot of classic rock almost every song has a solo in it and from the start we had decided that we would try playing songs as much as possible as how the original was played. I know he could probably improv a solo that might sound OK but not sure about how long it would take him to learn all of them note for note.
But it's exciting and scary at the same time. Exciting that we might finally be moving in the right direction and scary in that we are losing a familiar face and someone we all know well and like and to me that's still a big part of being in a band. It's almost like a family and it's not always easy to bring a new memeber into the family. I don't ever see my self as some freelance player that would get in a situation playing with starngers. I want the people I play with to be my friends and people I feel comfortable around and want to hang with them even when we aren't playing music otherwise it's liek a job.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
not to bring you down, but a portion of being in a band is like a job.
it's important to see that in a very positive sense. simply put, it's professionalism.
easily defined.
I auditioned for a band. what they expected of me that first night was to be able to play two or three of the original songs.
I was able to download them and practice. that night, I could follow along. my lap steel sounded great to me. man, drums, bass, guitar, singer; woohoo! of course I could not play with huge feeling. it was a bit mechanical and accurate. rehearsal is the time to get the real feel. when the band works out stuff.
so allow this new guy a bit of time. setting down expectations is not rude nor unfair. it is a goal that he will eventually meet.
and the whole band will get to know one another.
twenty songs is not a lot for this guy it sounds. especially because they are covers.
personally, I like to be a bit interpretive with covers. as long as the essentials are there and that 'hook'
is present with a fair representation of the lead.. is ok by me.
cnev. I hope this comes together for you.
I saw this topic and thought "Yikes!". I know more issues are the last thing you wanted. I hope the new guy works out.
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
Hey, if I didn't live so far away I'd say give me that gig! 8) Best of luck.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
well the nightmare continues.
So we are going to have to part ways with him and even though I like him and really want to play with him we are going in different directions at the moment.
hey, Nev...in retrospect I can see that it's not really the level of talent all band member have that counts...but the dedication. Ya can't hitch yer oxen to a plow facing in opposite directions and make a furrow.
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
cnev - you ever hear of Future Tense out of Danbury? They've had a successful 20-year run playing covers note-for-note. Their lead guitarists hate it, but it works well for them.
Laz,
Not sure if I've heard them but the name sounds familiar. The note for note thing is not really a hard and fast rule we absolutely adhere to but we aren't rearranging the covers or making any major changes.
Obviously alot of originals, especially if you are using the recorded version as the guide, just fade out and that doesn't always work easily for all songs in a live setting so we have changed many endings, so when I say note for note it's not always 100% but close enough.
dog - Yes I'm well aware of the job part. Unfortunately it's kind of a necessary evil to the whole thing. But the band was really more about the friendship/companionship ( OK that's sounds a bit weird) than the band itself. In that I mean we could replace anyone of us with better musicians but the whole point was to do it with these guys but since we have one person who is going in a different direction we are forced to drop him.
We told the guitar player that we need to move on without him and now he's kind of acting like we are kicking him out. I know he's going to have serious withdrawals if he's not playing but there's no way we can keep going with him this way.
So hopefully we'll see what happens tonight and of course the drama of today is that our drummer drives a truck and they have him running all over the place today so hopefully he'll make it back.
TR - Come on down we'll get you in
And for all the beginners out there that are worried about changing chords fast enough and learning scales...keep playing and soon enough you'll have these kind of things to worry about 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!
This for all the beginners out there that are worried about changing chords fast enough and learning scales...keep playing and soon enough you'll have these kind of things to worry about too!!
And then the groupies????
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,
I live for groupies, but, the problem might be the groupies we'd attract take their teeth out 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!
actually I have one groupie our new dog Star she has to come down and see what's going on everytime we pratice. the other dog is deathly afraid of the drums and won't come anywhere near the room until he knows all the music is over.
But as of an hour ago all things are on schedule for tonight so it should be quite interesting the only thing I worry about now is that the new guy was discussing music with my buddy the bass player who happens to like blues....and I HATE the blues, but I'm not saying anything..yet. If I have to play some I'll play some if it gets us out there soon.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
and I HATE the blues, but I'm not saying anything..yet
Yet? You JUST did, Nev. And here I thought that yours truly had the monopoly on making people cringe!!! :lol:
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
Here's the latest and greatest update. We had the new guy come by and play with us Friday. The other guitar player who he was replacing showed up also which in the end worked out fine. We were able to play our songs so he could get a feel for how we played them etc.
So everything went well he played a bunch of our songs, jumped in and played a few solo's etc and turned us on to a new song by Foghat, well we all knew it but we hadn't played it before so we might keep it.
Then there was good news, bad news and oh well news.
First the good news. He is pretty much on the same page with the music we are playing although he's not into the 80's stuff we are doin he didn't have a problem playing it.
The bad news is that he's like half or age and he has many musical friends and I really couldn't see him playing with a bunch of old men for too long..heck I would feel bad for him.
But the oh well news was that after sitting around and drinking a few beers and playing a few games of darts he told us he would be around for another month or so until his job opens up for him in Montana...yippeee I O kayee looks like we'll be looking for another guitar player again.
So I guess we are going to continue with the current lineup playing in my basement until we can find someone else.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
