Five Person Splunge - New Beginning

Participants this time included Jason, Sal, Nick, myself and a singer potentially joining us, LadyK. The regulars ultimately agreed that her style wasn't a good match. After the session, we discussed what we are going to do about having a lead singer from here, and I was surprised to find that we were not seeing eye to eye. The bottom line result of our discussion is that we're not actively looking for one at this point, though we'll keep our eyes open in case any of us stumble across just the right person.

Which means Nick and I will be sharing lead vocals as quickly as he can pick up the songs, and I'll continue to handle the bulk of them in the meantime. I'd prefer to have a third singer to work with, but the practice could really help Nick, so this could be a good thing in the long run. He and I have some harmony work to do.

Sal and Nick had spent some time working with just the two of them during the week before this session, and it really made a difference. Our previous rhythmic problems were largely resolved, and my understanding is that they plan to do it again.

Jason brought a laptop computer with Garageband on it, and recorded most of the session from a single microphone in the middle of the room. The results were surprisingly good.

We also had a long talk after the session about how we're going to proceed from here. We're going to become a more conventional band and vote on new material, allowing for the occasional personal choice. Though Bob and Jared are still welcome to guest with us whenever they like, we're going to focus on making this core group of four the best it can be. And rather than the eclectic approach we'd taken to material, we're planning on focusing on classic rock, with occasional choices from more current music. I think we're about to become a heavier band, if the early points of agreement are any indication.

We're still looking at bringing in a potential keyboard player for the next session, which would be the first time we'll have one. I'm very much looking forward to that.

Married Over Twenty Years...

and what did I do today? Went to play music with other people while she stayed home and did on-line shopping. She was fine with that, and that's one of the reasons we've been married for so long. :-) I'm sure the fact that we're on vacation together all this week helped, but it was still cool of her.

Why have a music session today? Because it was the only day we could get everybody in the same place this month.

Definitely Refocused, and a Nasal Revolution

I started using a new combination of allergy meds the other week after doing a lot of research. I suppose I got tired of being functional without really feeling clear, and wanted to try to do better. I don't remember a week ever when I've felt as clear as I have this past week. It hasn't been without problems (not worth getting into), but I'm really onto something here.

I've been keeping up my meditation/yoga schedule consistently and revising my musical practice to work more on developing technique than learning songs. I've reached a plateau musically and was getting bored.

I've also figured out a metabolic problem that was contributing to my being short-tempered in the afternoons at work. Between solving that problem, breathing more easily, having a more reasonable workload, and keeping my meditation/yoga practice consistent, I've been very easy to get along with lately!