So we are now halfway through our program - 4 weeks down and 4 to go. Issues regarding schedules and who is playing what and who is going to sing have all been resolved thankfully! Our mentor volunteered to take on bass duty for the last song we are doing which is a relief to me. I think he realized I make a much better contribution on guitar than bass.

We started on Long Train Running last night. I guess the groove in the beginning hammering on the G7 chord is more difficult than I realize since I'm the only one that can do it. So I have the main rhythm part and the other guitar player will take a solo to fill in for the harmonica solo. It is such a fun groove to play that I don't mind really. It's a more complex groove than is apparent on the surface.

It was frustrating that despite repeatedly playing my "Hard to Handle" solo over the backing track on GuitarTricks 20 times or so, I still couldn't hit it with the band. With my own practice, I did realize where I'm having my problem finally. I was focusing on the rhythm guitar to keep time...which has a syncopated rhythm. I found that if I focused on the drum, I could nail it and the timing made sense, making it much easier to keep time. That's probably what I should be doing anyway...and illustrates the fact that the dummer is the pulse of the band and holds it all together!

So I'll keep working that. Hopefully I'll be able to nail it with the band at some point.