Back in a band

So after going on our own and things not quite working out, we all have ended up back at the music store doing another round of "Adult Rock Band". It wasn't planned this way, but it has turned into a reunion of the lineup we had before without our conga player, but we pick up another guitar player and a sax player.

This will be a 10 week program and we pretty much have our first song down already, so we should be able to do a lot more than last time. Our fist song is "Honky Tonk Woman" and I finally get my wish for a Beatles tune - "Day Tripper". Thanks to Guitar Tricks here, I know the entire song, including the solo!

I was skeptical about having 3 guitar players and they had to twist my arm a bit to jump back in. However, it is working out and I find our potential list of songs expands quite a bit. We can now do Beatles, Eagles, etc. Our mentor is being good about assigning us things parts to play so we aren't creating a muddy sound. For honkey tonk woman, it means each of us playing the chords on various registers. I'll have to figure out what Keith Richards is actually playing, but I was able to fake it well enough tonight. I was able to totally wing a solo too that wasn't too bad.

I have to skip next week, but I'll be picking things back up the following week.

This time I've decided to adopt a much more laid back attitude about it. I will not stress out about song selection, people doing their parts, etc. So far, it's made it more enjoyable and less stressful. The guitar player we picked up is pretty capable and the second guitar player from last time seems to have been practicing since the last session! It takes a lot of pressure off of me...though the pressure from last time forced me to learn a lot.

Oh, and I took my new Les Paul out for the first time. Worked out VERY well. Sounded great and was comfortable to play - as comfortable as my strat. I stood there for an hour playing and didn't get to the point where it felt heavy. It's nice to have another workhorse at my disposal.

Anyway, it should be fun!!

Sounds great! Keep us up on the progress and videos!

Will do ThorfinnFrisken!!

Funny how things can work out sometimes. Having tried to do this on our own, it not working, and going back, I have a new perspective. I've already had a few realizations of what we need to do differently to successfully break out on our own again. There is still interest in doing so, so all is not lost :-).

It's hard to describe. The only comparison I can think of is homework in school. You sit in class and the teacher goes over stuff and it makes sense. Later on, you sit down to do your homework and you find that there are things you thought you understood but you really don't. So you go back to class the next day and ask some specific questions based on your homework difficulties. Again you sit down to do your homework and finally the light bulb goes off and it makes sense. At the very least, it makes more sense than it did before.

So I'm now back in class after having had trouble with my homework the night before :-). At the end of this, I hope to be able to "work on my homework" again.

So far my observations have been:
- When starting out as a band, play what you as a band want to play. Who cares if they are songs an audience would want to hear or if the genres are all over the place. All that matters is that the songs inspire you *as a band*. If you get to a point where you have a paying audience or you are being hired, THEN worry about the audience.

- Try out all songs suggested by any band member. You never know what will work until you try it...no matter how outrageous it may seem. Be open minded. If the song is boring or uninspiring to you, figure out how to make your part more interesting to you. If there are parts that are too hard at the moment, wing them or leave then out intially. You can always go back to them if the song seems to work for the band.

- At least 2 guitars are needed. This is specific to my situation. I'm very surprised at how good it feels to be able to share the burden of the guitar parts with another player. It also greatly expands the list of songs we can consider playing.


Of course these are things that I had read about before and some of you may have very well suggested these things! Sometimes you gotta learn things first hand...I do anyway.

Originally Posted by: maggior- Try out all songs suggested by any band member. You never know what will work until you try it...no matter how outrageous it may seem. Be open minded. If the song is boring or uninspiring to you, figure out how to make your part more interesting to you. If there are parts that are too hard at the moment, wing them or leave then out intially. You can always go back to them if the song seems to work for the band.

This is golden, nothing less. In my own band I'm trying to get together, I've established this as being the most important rule when finding songs to do covers of. As a bare minimum, they should be able to provide a recording of any song they suggest, so the band can actually hear it and decide whether or not to learn it afterwards. At least you've passed the first big hurdle, which I'm still struggling with, even after more than a month, and that is to actually find a time and place for the whole band to jam together. I still can't seem to find a time where both the other guitarist and the Bassist are available.

Good luck on your second season :) keep us posted!

It's more like we tripped over the first big hurdle and we are restarting :-). It's likely we'll try again to fly on our own once this "second season" is done. Hopefully what we learn this time around will allow us to get over that first hurdle!!

We had been practicing in our drummer's living room when we went on our own. It was nice of her to offer that, but honestly is was uninspiring. We'll have to see if we can come up with something else I think. The store we are doing this at supposedly will rent out the space we are using...which is inspiring to me. It has good acoustics and plenty of room to move around in.

One step at a time though.

Unfortunately I won't be able to make tomorrow night's rehearsal since my youngest is graduating pre-school. You read that right - he graduates from pre-school to kindergarten :-). It will be an opportunity for our new guitarist to really show everybody what he's got.

Thanks for the well wishes Kasperow! I'll definitely keep everybody posted...hopefully with good reports :-).

Good luck with your band...hopefully you can get it off the ground!

Originally Posted by: maggiorThanks for the well wishes Kasperow! I'll definitely keep everybody posted...hopefully with good reports :-).

Good luck with your band...hopefully you can get it off the ground!

You're welcome, Rich. I'm still having problems getting this band off the ground. For starters, I haven't heard from the other guitarist in a month now, the Bassist hasn't responded yet regarding whether or not he has time to jam again soon, and every decent drummer I've had lined up in the last two months have ditched me for no reason at all (really. They just cut off all communication. If only they'd give me a reason, that'd be nice).

I'm thinking of finding some other people than those, considering the less than professional attitude displayed, even though I played really well the the Bassist last time we jammed and with the guitarist at my music-school gig last month (after which I've heard nothing from him). I like their styles, but I don't want to let them keep me from reaching my own goal, which Joe Perry pretty much set in stone for me this Friday, when Aerosmith played in Denmark (best 120$ spent and best use of 4½ hours ever! Really. Both Aerosmith and the Opening Acts, Walking Papers and Pretty Maids, rocked!). I'd rather keep looking for a Drummer and another Bassist and maybe some kind of Keys and the others in mind for a side-project, than let some people who don't seem serious about their music hold me back.

In the meantime, I'll follow your adventure (again) with as much anticipation as during "season one" :)

So last week I had to miss for my son's preschool graduation. From what I heard it didn't go well and folks were struggling. I was hoping that wasn't going to be a trend.

Our sax player dropped out. Unfortunately he wasn't ready for playing in a group. So our songs choices will be changing a bit since we were trying to target some songs that featured sax.

Our new guitar player is working out great! He's got some chops with both rhythm and lead and puts in the work to learn the songs. It takes a lot of pressure off me. The second guitar player from last time seems to have stepped things up too. He took the solo for Honky Tonk Women which took even more pressure off me!

So far we are working on Honky Tonk Women, Day Tripper, and Whole Lotta Love.

I'm a bit disappointed that I am playing rhythm on Day Tripper. The guitar player from last time round sounds like he's been practicing it and is getting there. I've got nothing to prove, so I'll let him have it...he seems eager. I asked that I take the solo though :-). The rhythm on that song is kind of fun so I don't mind. I also remind myself that this is a class, so it's good to give others some opportunities if they work at it. If this were a "real band" situation, I would insist on the lead part being played better.

Whole Lotta Love is going to be AWESOME!! My new Les Paul shines here...no surprise! I kind of scoffed at the suggestion at first, but with my new laid back attitude, I said "sure, let's give it a try". I found some tabs for the solos which I agreed to try. I even found one that seemed very accurate! After a couple of nights, I can play them 90% I'd say. The second riff with all of the pull offs in the open position are tricky for me, but I want to learn it for real - it sounds so cool. I was surprised I was able to get that crazy 2 step bend going. I have to smooth out some timing and work on consistency...but I have it under my fingers at this point! I surprised myself on this one...I thought these solos may have been slightly out of my reach. I sense a Zeppelin kick in my future :-).

So I'm feeling good about this group. The new laid back attitude I've decided to adopt about it and having some competent players to share guitar duties with are really making a difference.

Until next time...

That's great rich.
U came out a much better player the first time around.
Now think about ur skills after another ten weeks!
Some guys have all the luck lol.happy for ya,kick some a$$....
Glad ur enjoying ur new gibson. I hope I will play my prs one day.
I just dont look @ that prs as a guitar to practice with.thats what my other prs guitars are for.

Hey maggior- Grats on the smooth sail at practice. I'm coincidently in a Zep kick. Been trying to work up a good 1 guitar arrangement of Since I Been Loving You. Toying with WLL too, that's a pretty ambitious tune. You can be pretty proud of having that solo under your belt :)

Go Get'em

Axe, Fretsmith...thanks!!

Axe - all guitars can be used for practice!! Don't let that guitar become a "case queen". Learned that from somebody else here. Otherwise, you'll be moving it or something one day thinking "wow, this is really a great guitar, I should have played it more!".

Fretsmith - Since I've Been Loving You is a great tune. Good luck with that, that will sound really cool with a single guitar rendition! I have to admit I feel pretty pleased with myself that I can pull off the solos in Whole Lotta Love. I honestly didn't think I was quite there yet. What I'm *really* excited about are the possibilities this opens up... :-). I feel like I've stepped onto a new level. I may start looking at things like SRV's "Crossfire" and Jimmi's "Voodoo Chile"!! THAT is where I want to be!

During rehearsal last week, the drummer and bass player kept egging me on playing the hits between the little mini solos...and of course I obliged by running through the solos! With the gain and volume turned up...oh MAN!!! Everybody was enjoying it!

What's funny is that when I started looking in the tab, I was thinking "oh, I've seen that before, that's that chuck berry thing. Bunch of pull offs in open E, ok...descending chomatic stuff". The way Jimmy puts it all together though...wow!! It's nice when new things start looking familiar.

In the meantime, I'm kicking a$$ and takin' names!

Things are really starting to gell with this new group. Last night, we learned "Your Momma Don't Dance" by Loggins and Messina. Fun tune - haven't heard it in ages!!! Two people were missing, so we were in our power trio configuration. We made it work and were able to rip through Day Tripper and Honky Tonk Women. A good session all in all.

At the end, we talked about what out next song should be. As people were tossing out names, I started playing China Grove. Our mentor completely lit up - "that's an awesome song, let's do that one!". Yeah!!! So the work I did on this song a couple of months ago will pay off! I just have to learn the last part of the solo...shouldn't be a problem.

SRV came up in discussion for yet another song. I'm thinking Crossfire. I attempted that song years ago and my chops weren't up to the solos. Now I'm think it might be possible. We'll see...there are some sick, fast, long runs in there...

Next week our mentor won't be around because he has a bunch of gigs. However, the store was kind enough to allow us to use the space on our own. Hopefully everyone will be around so we can firm things up.

Feeling good about things now...hopefully we can carry this momentum through.

Until next time...

Sounds like things are going pretty well for you guys :) Are you going to be playing a small set at the end of this "season" like last time or is it just for the sake of learning to play as a band without hitting a stage? Either way, keep up the good work :) I have a feeling you'll be able to do even better than last time.

It's the same format as last time - we will play at two open mics in front of an audience. There will be video too I'm sure. At the very least, I'll have audio recorded. Assuming it's not a disaster, I'll post links here.

Our first open mic will be on July 10th. The following one will be in August sometime.

For me, these open mic performances are the point of the whole thing...it's what it's all about - getting up there and hitting the stage under the lights!

I have a feeling you are right...this will be even better than last time. All of us have become better players since the last time around, so definitely helps.

Last time around, we had 4 songs in the end. This time, it's looking like it will be 6! 2 of the songs are songs I knew already, so I almost feel like I'm cheating :-).

Hey Rich - why not throw in a Gilmour-style blues as #7 ? I loved your blues jam in Bm and it would be great alongside the other selections. Anyway, good luck with the open mic - I'd love to be in something similar. Yours Steve

Sadly I'm outnumbered - so far I'm the only person in the band that likes Pink Floyd. Even our mentor said something about having to be in a slightly altered state to listen to Floyd. I was like "well, David Gilmour is my guitar idol, so, you know, whatever..." :-). We made a joke out of it and everybody laughed.

I'm really glad you like my blues playing and you were quite keen to note the Gilmour influence. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think only other guitar players can really appreciate something like that. Perhaps I'll try it or something similar out at an open mic as a solo performer (with my backing track!) and see how it is received.

Gilmour is awesome. He truly a guitarist who understands that a solo is a part of a song and not an opportunity to show his chops. He has a subtlety in his playing that few are lucky to have. I mean, c'mon...the solo in Comfortably Numb heightens the song in a way nothing else could. That is skill and in only a few notes.

Too bad your mates don't want that. I would not say I am a crazed fan of Flyd but I do dig them and if someone in a band said, 'hey, lets do this Floyd song'...I'd be down for that.

Originally Posted by: JeffS65Gilmour is awesome. He truly a guitarist who understands that a solo is a part of a song and not an opportunity to show his chops. He has a subtlety in his playing that few are lucky to have. I mean, c'mon...the solo in Comfortably Numb heightens the song in a way nothing else could. That is skill and in only a few notes.

Too bad your mates don't want that. I would not say I am a crazed fan of Flyd but I do dig them and if someone in a band said, 'hey, lets do this Floyd song'...I'd be down for that.

I couldn't agree more!!! When I took guitar lessons, the first thing I wanted to learn were the solos in Comfortably Numb. Those solos are EPIC!! With gilmour, it's not about the notes, but how they are played. I learned those solos 14 years ago and I am STILL trying to get his feel. I've gotten closer, but I'll never completely get there...not to my satisfaction. That's OK because striving for it though has made me a better player.

I recently watched Anders' artist study on Gilmour. He describes Gilmour's style as "kicking in the door" when be begins a solo. I thought that was a great description...never really though of it that way. I tend to do the same thing...no real surprise there! :-).

So last week our mentor came by even though he said he wouldn't be around. That was a pleasant surprise...though he had an alterior motive - he is going to see Steely Dan in August and it conflicts with one of our sessions. Can't blame him there :-).

The other pleasant surprise we had was our drummer brought in one of the singers from her husband's band. He is AWESOME!!! We played Honky Tonk Women, Whole Lotta Love, and Day Tripper with him. It was incredible how much energy that added. He belted out WLL like you wouldn't believe, channeling his inner Robert Plant!! Unfortunately he won't be able to make our open mic this week, but he will make the one in August. That will be an incredible experience sharing the stage with him.

This week our 3rd guitarist will be back after not being around for 2 weeks. I'm concerned about how we are going to fit in a 3rd guitar to some of these songs, but that's really for our mentor to sort out :-). Hopefully he's been practicing in the meantime...

Our setlist for our first open mic this week will be Honky Tonk Women and Day Tripper. I think we are set for 5 songs for our second open mic. The last song we are working on is China Grove and WLL still needs work, so I think adding a 6th song would be a mistake. We may surprise ourselves though.

I am really psyched about playing China Grove. It is such a fun song to play! I still have to learn the 2nd half of the solo, though I have enough of the key elements of the 2nd half down that I can fake it. That takes some pressure off since the worst case scenario is I pull my faked version out. I spent so much time getting the first half down exact, I'm going to try to do the same with the second half. I should have more than enough time.

I'll report back next weekend hopefully with video of our first performance. Wow the time is flying...

So, tonight is open mic night. Last night's rehearsal for it went well, though unfortunately we will be doing instrumental versions since we won't have a singer. It will be Honky Tonk Women and Day Tripper. Nothing overly exciting for me since the other guitar player will be taking the HTW solo and Day Tripper is something I've been playing since I first learned guitar. I have a consistency issue with the bridge in DT (I'm about 95% consistent), so I'm sure the adrenalin will start pumping as that part of the song approaches.

We made some progress with Whole Lotta Love. The rough parts there are going into and coming out of the stops. It was a mess starting out, but was greatly improved when we were done. As long as there was improvement, I'm happy. It's a challenge for our drummer, but she is stepping up to it and meeting it head on! I've got the solos down and came up with a cool riff to echo the part where Robert belts out "Way down inside....woman...you need me". It was a great exercise in using the guitar to mimic a singer's phrasing and motion from one note to another - lots of partial bends that I can't even identify what they are - quarter step, half step.... Then, for the sustained "Loooooovvvvve...." I do a bend and tremelo pick as I bring it down, giving it some good vibrato once it's come down. That was fun!!! I don't know if we will keep it in the song, but it was a great learning exercise. We can keep it in our hip pocket in case the singer's voice is shot and can't do that part. Oh, and it's the first practical application I've found for tremelo picking.

With this new guitar player we have already started looking for rehearsal space for when we are done with this music store gig in a month. We've decided we'll give it a go and see what happens. Our bass player is really taking to his role on bass...which is good since his main instrument is guitar. The new guitar player is a pretty solid rhythm player that can play some riffs, so it looks like I'll be the lead guitarist. Learning WLL has really brought my chops up to a new level and has given me a good boost of confidence, so I'm more comfortable with this role that I was before.

We did Your Momma Don't Dance and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to play a good solo at tempo. Well I've improved in that area too. My speed bursts are longer...just need to work on extending them further. Listening back to the recording, I said to myself "wow, that sounded really good!". Love those moments!!

Our first run through of China Grove was pretty good too. So we may be able to add another song or 2.

The ongoing challenge with this group is keeping enough space for 3 guitars. For this reason, I'm REALLY looking forward to when we can break out on our own. Though the down side is we will lose the awesome guidance of our mentor. Maybe we'll be able to bring him in periodically to help us out and give us advice on a consulting basis.

Until next time...

Not sure if anybody is reading this any more, but if so...

Open mic last night was...interesting. Before the open mic started, they had junior rock band, teen rock band, and the junior precussion ensemble. It was really cool to see young kids getting into it and performing. Rather than having us go on then when the room was full to capacity, they scheduled us as a "headliner" at the end of the open mic. The problem was that nobody there understood or followed open mic ettiquette, so people did their thing...and left. There were maybe 5 people in the room by the time we went on, including my son :-). We joked about it when we got up on stage. At the end, I couldn't help myself and threw out the John Lennon quote from the infamous Beatles rooftop concert "I hope we passed the audition", which got a good laugh...at least somebody got it! The guys running the open mic acknowledged that this was all a bad idea and would set it up differently next time.

We really weren't into playing...we felt like we might as well just head home, what's the point. We waited 2 hours to be on stage for about 10 minutes - 4 of those spent setting up :-). I worked on my stage presence since I was in a "I don't really care" mood at that point. So I bounced around a bit getting into Honky Tonk Women. We did Day Tripper too.

Listening back, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Aside from my amp being way too loud which I couldn't tell from the stage, it sounded pretty good.

All in all, it was good and it was a learning experience and it was fun. We didn't have our singer and there really wasn't anything special about this performance, so I'm not going to post any video. In a month when we have our final performance, it will be a different story.