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.