Well after almost 2 years together it looks like the "garage" band is no more... :shock:
So I guess it's time to re-evaluate my musical goals and decide whether or not I continue with this. I guess my gut feeling is that I will continue since I've put so much time into it and still haven't reached my goals but playing in my basement by myself doesn't really cut it.
The main problem was that the other guitar player didn't want to play out and the drummer and bass player have been pushing to play out. They started playing open mics a couple times a week and it slowly started to impact our practices.
I've played 2-3 times with them but the open mic thing doesn't do much for me either. It's Ok but I got into this to play with them not to play with random people a couple nights a week. To me going to these open mics (which are a little like an open mic and a little like an open jam)is like going down to the park and playing a pickup game of basketball. Sure I can do that and there are some good players and some games might be OK but at the end of the day I'm more of "team" player kind of guy, I want to play with my boys not starngers. maybe I'm weird like that.
And I never was nor will be a solo artist nor do I have any desire to be one so that ain't going to happen.
Who knows this could be a blessing in disguise and maybe something new and exciting will come out of it.
Or maybe I can start a metal band with the wife...wow I'm not sure what I was thinking there.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
How far do you live from my house? Can't be more than an 8 or 10 hour commute. :lol:
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
TR in a heartbeat bro!
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Commute to my place would be longer. (I'm in Seoul now.) :-) You're both sure welcome, though.
Or start a band. (With the wife if she's game. Without if not.)
Or keep practicing and keep looking. I can totally see where you're coming from, but it's really clear that you still WANT to do this.
So do it!
Ande
I'm sorry to hear about your band's demise. My band split up for just about the same reason last month; where and when to gig. At least you made it out of the garage a couple of times, so you weren't really a garage band :mrgreen:
I hope you stay motivated to practice and find new people to jam with.
Thanks guys. Since I've moved back to CT and started playing with the guys I've been with, I've met alot more people that play instruments and if I really get the band bug I can probably round up some people, but we'll see.
I think me and the other guitar player are going to continue to play at least once a week together. We talked about putting the covers down for a bit and either working on some songs he has written or try and work on some originals together as a change of pace. That actually might be fun. I heard some of his songs a few months ago and he had a couple pretty decent ones. Plus we had talked a few weeks ago about sitting down and writing some harmony parts we could each play in some of our songs.
But now the drummer is saying he will play with us on Friday's as long as he doesn't have a gig and right now he doesn't have any scheduled so we'll see how long that lasts.
But I was thinking we all come to this forum because we share the same interest and if this wasn't a "virtual" community there are so many of us that have similar musical tastes and would like to play have people to play with that it kind of sux that we are all thousands of miles apart.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Well, best I can figure I'm only 400 or so miles away but you are right. It would be most cool if we could all get together. Hard to believe someone in NY could be that far away isn't it.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
The main problem was that the other guitar player didn't want to play out and the drummer and bass player have been pushing to play out.
A drum, bass, guitar trio can be very effective, and it will stretch you as a musician. You just have to keep these things in mind:
1) Doing the songs note for note ain't gonna happen for the most part. Learn to decide what the key parts of a tune are, and do your own arrangements.
2) Silence is your friend. A moment of silence followed by a crashing power stab by the trio can literally knock people off their feet. I've watched it happen.
2a) It's not "empty" it's elbow room. Don't worry about filling it up.
3) Imply the harmonies. People will hear things that aren't there. Use double stops and triads during your leads to imply the rhythm underneath. People will swear on a stack of Bibles they heard you play both parts at the same time.
Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.
Moon,
All good stuff and it makes sense and a power trio would definitely push me musically mainly because I never felt I could fill up the "space" by myself with a single guitar. Don't get me wrong I've heard many guys do it and some do it very well I'm just not sure I could pull it off well enough well at least not with some serious changes to the way I have played in the past.
As for double stops and triads it is something I have begun to work on with my teacher trying to incorporate that into the little lead playing I've been doing.
In a sense this could lead to me to a new level of playing as I might get away from the comfort zone that I have right now in the group. For the most part I play the rhythm with a few short solo's thrown in. This may force me to get a little more into the game.
"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 wondered about the other guitarist. It sounded like he was happy with the garage band set up. So that makes two of you. I'm not so sure I like the idea of the dummer being the wild card, playing when he has nothing better to do, which is really what it comes down to. You guys may want to play and set aside the time, then on short notice he has a gig. I don't know him, but it's human nature.
A short description or resume' of your musical abilities, tastes and goals for a band could be posted at music stores and studios. You could say what you you are looking for in bandmates. Some studios, my former for example, runs periodic workshops for all levels and genres of music. It's a good way to meet other musicians. And who knows, something may click with other guys. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I myself am at a point where I don't know what I want to do, and how to go about it. I feel my playing still sucks; but I think it would suck less if I played with other guys who sucked as much as I think I do. We could learn from each other. We could play each others' preferences and learn from each other. I like playing by myself to a point, but too many times I cannot follow iTunes, as they are too fast and have too many tracks and layers to hear and follow.
It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.
Frank,
The other guitar player is happy to play as a garage band which for me is OK but playing out is OK for me too it's just that I want to do it with the whole group. The reason I'm OK with the garage band thing is that it still is a vehicle for me to improve my guitar skills and that's the whole point.
It's definitely 100 times better playing with other people rather than playing by yourself so I really need to keep doing it or else eventually I think I'll lose interest.
"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've been a musician for a long time. One thing I know is that when a band isn't gigging, it's hard to keep it together.
When you get your new act together, gig. Even if it's those cheapie gigs that not too many musicians want.
It's not only the money, it's a common focus and it's the audience.
Gigging forces you to learn the songs that you need to learn to please the audience, it makes you practice more seriously since you don't want to fall on your face on the gig, and it gives the band a team direction.
Music is fine if only you and your buddies hear it, but it's even better to share it with an audience.
♫ Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton
Owner, Norton Music http://www.nortonmusic.com Add-on Styles for Band-in-a-Box and Microsoft SongSmith
The Sophisticats http://www.s-cats.com >^. .^< >^. .^<
Notes your right. It's hard to keep the focus going without the gigs but in the end, for me music is a social experience and meant to be shared with other people even if they are just covers.
But the more this has had time to sink in the better I am with it almost to the point of being happy about it because in some ways it wipes the slate clean for me to go off in a different direction.
We've had different issues with the "band" anyways that probably would never really have gotten addressed and this will force the situation. Our bass who is one of the biggest ones pushing to get out there and play has the worst work ethic of all of us and doesn't really enjoy the "practice" part and just wants to get out there and play. I think that for him it's kind of an ego thing, he's more about the perception of being a musicin than actually being one. we would have learned alot more songs than we have now but he always dragged his feet learning any new songs and probably doesn't play any "real" basslines to any of our songs. Now I'm not being a stickler on the note for note thing and if he was good enough to wing it on every song it wouldn't be a problem but he's not. But he's a good friend of mine that I've known for 30 years since we were young so there was never any thought of kicking him out though we probably should have awhile back. But now with him wanting out we have the perfect out.
The other guitar player is like me (but good) he likes to practice and work songs till we get them tight if we have to play them 10 times in a row or break them down. The bass player can't handle more than twice and he's done.
So the saying may be true one door closes and another opens.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
cnev, sorry to hear the band split up - it must be a bit disheartening at the moment, the rehersals become a part of weekly routine and a good bit of fun, so missing that alone is a bummer.
I dont know what to suggest but i will keep my fingers crossed that in a few weeks i read a post showing that this cloud does have a silver lining!
"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)
Thanks Al and I do enjoy practice when we get together on Friday's play some music, hang out a bit, have a few beers it was fun and I'll miss that for sure but I'm thinking this won't be a bad thing maybe it'll shake things up a bit which it seems to have already since now I get an email from the quitar player that didnt want to play out that now he kind of wants to try it out so we'll see we may go from breaking up to going out there and playing at least at some open mics and that's another bonus, we have connected with a guy who's now running two-three open mics a week and we won't have any problem getting to play when we want.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
