Forming a band


maggior
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maggior
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04/22/2014 7:35 pm
Well, it may seem backward to go from "joining a band" to "forming a band", but since the original band was put together by the music store, it was "preformed" for lack of a better term.

We've had a week or so off from the last open mic performance. The adreneline has worn off and the drummer and I are looking to build up a "real" band around us.

Today we invited the guy that played bass for us to continue on as our bass player. His perferred instrument is guitar, but he was eager to jump on the opportunity to keep going with us. He did pretty well on bass, so it should work out well for everybody.

We've decided that our goals are to play "out" 3 to 4 times a year. We were invited to come back to play at the open mic again whenever we want, so that will be a great venue to perform songs as we learn them in front of an audience. Our dummer's husband has a band that will be performing a free concert in a local park in the summer. He's tossed out the idea of us opening for them with a 3 song set that feature the singers from his band. So, we've got some gigs, albeit small ones, lined up.

We've also chosen 4 songs to start working on - "Listen to the Music" and "China Grove" by the Doobie Brothers, "Brown Sugar" by The Rolling Stones, and "Oye Como Va" by Santana. I know more than half of each of these songs, so ramp up shouldn't be too bad, so we can concentrate on getting the groove down as a band. I have some lead guitar to learn too :-).

We plan to meet once a week to rehearse for 2 hours or so. Everybody will be expected to learn their parts oustide of this rehearsal time. When folks worked on their parts outside of rehearsal for the music store band, it worked well and were able to nail about 2 songs down per month.

I was quite surprised to find that my Zoom G5 pedal works VERY well when run through a powered monitor via a mixer! This was a pleasant surprise. The PA we will be using has more than enough power, so this will save me having to haul around a heavy amp. I'll also have a wide variety of sounds to choose from regarding amps and stuff. I'm excited about that.

We are also waiting for a callback from a singer that was interested...

So, that's where we are at. This band is still in its infancy, so there's a long road ahead. At the moment though, it seems to be coming together.

I'll post updates here as we get out legs under us.

Should be an interesting journey...
# 1
markm0926
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markm0926
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04/22/2014 8:13 pm
Very cool !
My band got together about 20 years ago with those same goals in mind about playing out just a few times a year.

We've pretty much stuck to that and it works out well when you have a family and other responsibilities.

Still playing with 2 of the 3 guys I started with (we seem to have musical bass player though)

We practice maybe twice a month for about 3 to 4 hours.
And what has really help us over the years has been coming to practice prepared. When we all do that we can add up to 3 new songs every time.

Good luck and have fun!!
Main Gear: Gibson SG, Gibson Les Paul Sig T, Martin Acoustic, Mesa 5:25+, Orange OR15, Carl Martin Quattro
# 2
maggior
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maggior
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04/22/2014 8:20 pm
That's cool to hear! Hopefully we can be successful just like you guys. That's awesome that you are still with most of the guys you started with. Good to hear that this formula worked for your band. With family and stuff you have to be realistic.
# 3


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04/22/2014 10:04 pm
Sounds good always better to form a band then to join one i geuss..iam real glad ur back being happy with ur g5..i heard that before ppl usein g5 through a PA....
Man theres nothin like being in a band,cover band original doesnt matter as long as your haveing fun...
Is there a name to the new band,,and did you ever post a video of ur other band...
As far for me i been workin on allot of blues playin.
Studying all the kings,makeing sure i dont come in on beet one.lol i have a blues box set by griff hamlin,so i been studying under him,and justinguitar.com its free lessons and the blues lessons are all in order,from chords too lead.playing lead between chords while usein 12 bars.my favorite stuff.2 bars of strum/2 bars of lead.i been tryin to see what i did to stop pm's.i couldnt pm u either cause i somehow turned that feature off...well best off luck to ya.i want to know about ur prs u bought....on reverb.com i seen a 2000 american standard strat,blond in color original case real good cond other then alittle ding.$780.sold i realy liked it i might of bought it...if he didnt sell it so quick.he said he would trade for a prs,so i told him what i had up for grabs,by time i could post photos it was sold.oh well....
# 4
maggior
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maggior
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04/23/2014 2:46 am
Hey Axe -

Yeah, it's fun. My Zoom G5 is awesome through the monitors...and also awesome with my new PRS Custom 24 S2 in Black Cherry. This is the most versatile guitar I've laid my hands on. Combined with my Zoom pedal, I can get Clapton sounds, Beatles sounds, Hendrix sounds...wow!! It's not a strat..but I already have one. I love the sound of both pickups - it has that throaty sound the strat has but not as over the top. Crank up the gain and oh man!!!!

I posted the video of our final performance in my "joining a band" thread. Here's a link so you don't have to go searching:
http://youtu.be/0mFsHAfLkp0

I have an American Standard 2000 strat. It is an awesome guitar. I didn't fully appreciate how good it is until I picked a few up in Guitar Center last week. There is just no comparison. I have the maple neck and fretboard. It is smooth as butter...I'm telling you. I'm sure I'll grow to really enjoy my PRS, but my strat is my first love!! Believe it or not, even with single coil pickups, it's a very versatile guitar tone-wise.

Blues is great...enjoy!!!
# 5
maggior
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maggior
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05/01/2014 7:21 pm
So we had our first rehearsal as a 3 piece. Our bass player, who was one of our guitar players at the music store, did very well. We now have a new song in our repertoire - Listen to the Music. We will probably drop "Heard it Through the Grapevine" since that was more of a piece to introduce the band and give everybody a solo opportunity. When we get a big enough setlist where that is warranted, maybe we'll bring it back, or do something similar with another song.

We also ran through the songs we knew from the music store and got through them well. So we have 4 solid songs!

I had setup patches in my Zoom G5 the night before, but apparently I didn't save them because they weren't there last night :-(. As a result, I wasn't really happy with my tone. Part of the learning process...I'll have to figure out what went wrong there.

China Grove will be put to the side at the moment since it was determined that we are too heavy on Doobie Brothers songs. It's too bad because that is a really rockin' fun song to play. I still learned how to play it, so you can't take that away from me :-).

Our drummer's husband is trying to help us out by trying to incorporate his band into our gigs. One problem is his band is a vocal group that sings over MIDI tracks. The other related problem is a genre gap. I informed them today that I appreciate the offer, but I really think it would be best for us to perform an opening set rather than "sit in" with his group for the opening songs. If the others want to do it, I will step aside...it bothers me that much. I feel like it wouldn't be "us" because of the song selection and because we would be accompanying a MIDI track. They are so used to singing with the MIDI tracks that they insist on incorporating that even though we would be playing.

So we'll see what happens there. It really bothered me, more than I thought it would, so I figured it was best to get it out there now so people don't get dissapointed later.

I'm hoping he'll agree that we could be their opening act. If we could borrow one of the singers to be our lead singer for our set, that would be cool...at least it would be our thing. Even better would be if we get our own singer by then. It's not until August, so we still have time to find somebody.

So yes, we are still in search of a singer. I figure that should be easier to find than a bass player. We had the idea of scouting at open mics and karaoke nights. The issue there is time and these things run late on a week night. I should have gone on this endeavor when I was single with no kids and had all of the time in the world :-).

Now we need to figure out what songs to work on next. We need to find songs that each of us like and are within all of our playing abilities. La Grange was suggested, but I said that would take me at least a month to get down to my satisfaction. Santana songs require too much instrumentation... We'll find something...

So at the moment I feel we are stalling a bit. Hopefully we can get some focus on songs to add to our repertiore as we search for our singer. I also hope we can all agree on the opening act vs. backing band idea.

Until next week...
# 6
haghj500
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haghj500
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05/02/2014 3:41 am
Bring it on Home.

I think thatā€™s the name.

Starts on G
Well if you ever, change your
Go to D
Mind, about
G
leaving, leaving me
C
Behind, oh so
G
Bring it to me
D
Bring me your sweet
C
Love
Walk up C C# D
Bring it on home
G
To me ā€¦ā€¦..
C G C C# D

I was surprised how many people sang it trying out for
Idol this year.

Always got people up, you can spice it up walking up and back down between the chords.
# 7
Spiritinthesky
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Spiritinthesky
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05/02/2014 6:33 am
My last band topped playing in 1985, (we formed in 1978), so we are all getting on now! But we got back together this year for some small gigs anf we are having a party! Its great to making a loud noise again!
# 8
maggior
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maggior
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05/02/2014 12:24 pm
It bet it is fun getting back together again. haghj - thanks for the song suggestion.

On the way into work today, I was listening to Live at Leeds by the Who. Tons of inspiration in there!!! The best live album EVER!! There are songs on there I forgot I knew how to play "...and a young man ain't got nothin' in the world these days!!!" Pete Townsend the power chord riffing king!
# 9
maggior
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maggior
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05/14/2014 1:41 pm
This will serve as the conclusion of this saga. Weeks have been passing by and no progress has been made in the area of song selection. I kept pressing the issue by making my own suggestions of songs and approaches of choosing them. At the last minute, rehearsal was cancelled last week because our drummer was frustrated by the song selection issue.

As I took the time to think about it, I realized that the issue we were fighting now was the same one at the music school. The difference though was at the music school, there was somebody to step in and make the decisions for us.

There also appears to be a significant gap in musical taste. This may be due to a generational gap - the other members are 10 and 20 years older than me.

None of this is in any danger of changing soon, so I decided to bow out of the project. Frankly I'll get more satisfaction learning songs and making recordings in my basement. The indecision of song selection was driving me crazy!

It shouldn't have been so hard and it felt like it was being forced. Just like any relationship, if it's being forced, there is something fundamentally wrong. Best to acknowledge that early on and move on.

So who knows, other opportunities may come my way. In the mean time I'll get back to honing my skills.
# 10


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05/14/2014 3:15 pm
Good show rich.
But did i see 3 guitar players?
# 11
maggior
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maggior
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05/14/2014 3:51 pm
Yes Axe, you did see 3 guitar players! One of them played bass most of the time. I'm the white haired guy on the left of the screen playing a strat. In the video where we perform 4 songs, I'm wearing a Beatles shirt.

That was fun. Since then, it's been nothing but frustration, so I'm moving onto other things.
# 12
Steve Barrow
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Steve Barrow
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05/14/2014 4:23 pm
Hey Rich,
Sorry to hear about the disappointing fate of the band. I hope you link up with some more like-minded musicians in the near future - you deserve it! Of course it ain't easy to start a band, however informal - I've been trying without success to identify some other people to jam with myself. For this purpose it would be great if GT could set up some online facility to permit us to search the members' register by location, musical preference, skill level etc. (Not that this would solve the bass / drums problem in forming a band!). Anyway, good luck with the quest; it's been great reading your story.
Yours, Steve
# 13
maggior
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maggior
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05/14/2014 4:38 pm
Hey Steve -

Thanks for your kind words!! Yeah, you never know what opportunities lurk around the corner. When one door closes, another one open :-). Now I have the confidence that if an opportunity presented itself I'd jump right on it.

In the meantime, I have some songs I want to learn and some skills I'd like to further develop. Never a shortage of things to work on!

Cheers!
Rich
# 14
markm0926
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markm0926
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05/14/2014 6:31 pm
A lot of bands start slow, and gather steam.

My band started as two guys; one teaching the other to play guitar.
Then onto playing together with a drum machine and adding vocals;
Then to a full fledged band two guitars, bass and drums.

If you have one other person you can start with and feed off each other the other members will come in time.
And all that time spent jamming just improves your skills all that much more.
Main Gear: Gibson SG, Gibson Les Paul Sig T, Martin Acoustic, Mesa 5:25+, Orange OR15, Carl Martin Quattro
# 15
maggior
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maggior
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05/14/2014 6:43 pm
I hear you, and I'm OK with that...I expected that. But there has to be some sort of musical conneciton and enthusiasm for the music. Both of those things seem to be missing. I noticed it during the music school gig and thought it might change...but it hasn't. When a month goes by and nobody can decide on a song to work on, there's a problem.

Back in my high school band, all 3 of us were music nuts...we listened to music constantly. We talked about music and making music all of the time. We all pretty much started playing at the same time and grew as musicians together. With these folks today, I get the sense that they like the idea of being in a band but aren't really into the music. It sounds strange, but it's the only way I can make sense of the attitudes I see.
# 16
haghj500
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haghj500
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05/15/2014 12:42 am
Well this has turned into a sad thread. It's really too bad this is not going to work. It does sound like you are making the best choice considering what I have read.

You may still find it useful to make a list of the songs you know and post them where others can see. That way if you do get a call you know it's someone with the same taste in songs. It might only work into a jam session every so often, but still you would be jamming and maybe learning new stuff at the same time. From there who knows................

I do wish you the best in your adventures.
# 17
maggior
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maggior
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05/15/2014 12:53 am
Hey Haghj -

Yeah, I think I made a good go of it. Now that I've followed through with my decision and informed my former bandmates, I feel a sense of relief. So I know I made the right decision for me.

I think I will do as you suggest - post on a musician's website a list of songs I know. You never know what will pop up.

Thanks for your well wishes!!
# 18
fretsmith
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fretsmith
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05/15/2014 4:07 pm
"A lot of bands start slow, and gather steam.

My band started as two guys; one teaching the other to play guitar.
Then onto playing together with a drum machine and adding vocals;
Then to a full fledged band two guitars, bass and drums.

If you have one other person you can start with and feed off each other the other members will come in time.
And all that time spent jamming just improves your skills all that much more."

You got a great attitude- unfortunately it does not find a lot of company in the musicians community ( here anyway). I am constantly searching for a "casual project" and here's the choices: A) People who are (too) early in their learning curve to do something meaningful and satisfying (first clue: "originals")... or B) People who regard themselves as "pros" and make it very clear they do not associate with anyone less than "pro" level. Which I'm not.

Every once in a blue moon it goes like this: (true story-3 weeks old) I'm selling a guitar. Guy comes to buy it. He's my age and we hit it off immediately. We laugh it up for an hour trading guitar stories. He's got a trio project going that's got about 15 songs done so far. The music is right up my alley (70's rock - more or less). He is open to the notion of a 2nd guitar player. I play a little for him, he likes it and implores me to come play with them. They have space, PA, etc. He draws me a map to the space and we clarify what I need to bring equipment-wise. It's a done deal- I'm stoked - the only variable left is WHEN... he will e-mail me a song list and tell me when to come. (they prac 2x/week). Never heard from him again. No reply to voice message/e-mail. I come close but it never really materializes.

I will cease my frustrated rambling here.

PS: can someone tell me how to use the "quote" function properly?
# 19
maggior
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maggior
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05/15/2014 4:43 pm
Wow fretsmith, that's a bummer!!! That's pretty lame of him to get you all pumped up and then totally leave you hanging!
# 20

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