Attendees: Nick, Sal, Jason and I, with no guests. We had quite a debate at the beginning regarding our set up, trying to avoid feedback while simultaneously trying to make our situation more recording-friendly. The results worked, but cost us a fair amount of practice time.
Highlights: Sal trying a harmony on "Hotel Yorba" rather than singing unison, as he's done before, and getting it right from the second try on. Nick singing lead on "Dani California" and the group as a whole getting closer yet to getting the timing right on the chorus. "Low" working out pretty well from the start, as has been the case for the last couple of new songs we tried.
Lowlight: "She's Electric" just not working out this session for some reason, even though it had been one of our best songs for the last half dozen sessions or so. None of us is sure why. Jason thinks it might have been something different he was doing on drums.
I tried my new Ashbory bass in a group setting for the first time, and it was awesome. My original intent was to play it for one or two carefully selected songs, and I ended up playing it for half a dozen or so, including "Psycho Killer", for which it had a perfect sound. Good reviews from the other band members as well.
Next session will be in two weeks again, which is a Good Thing, though we may not have Sal due to family reasons.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
"Life" by Keith Richards
Just finished this book, and I'd give it a big recommendation. I like the Rolling Stones, but wouldn't call myself a hard core fan. I've always had the impression that Keith wasn't that articulate or interesting in and of himself, but this book has proven me wrong in a big way. If he had a ghostwriter, he had a good one.
The guitar-playing specifics included are likely to go right over the head of the average reader, while the guitar playing readers will be going over them in detail. I've heard a lot of bands cover Stones songs, but very few play them so they sound right, and he explains some of the reasons for that. Beautiful!
He also explains in detail how he managed to stay so functional while under the influence of several illegal substances on a regular basis, even as he says he wouldn't recommend anyone else try it. I don't enough personally about substance abuse to say how plausible what he is telling us is, but found it fascinating in a train wreck sort of way.
I'd like to have read more about the recording/creative processes involved in making the various Stones records than was included. He does explain his writing relationship with Mick Jagger well enough that I have a good idea how they wrote their songs, for the most part. There are a few insights into his relationships with the other members of the group, especially Mick Jagger, but most of it feels strangely removed, as though he barely knows them or wants to say as little as possible about them to keep band relations functional. He certainly doesn't say much about Bill Wyman (he talks almost as much about the Vox amp that Bill brought when he joined the band!), and band relations wouldn't be a factor there anymore. Ditto for Brian Jones, who doesn't get much credit for his role in the early days of the band.
There's not a lot of celebrity gossip for those who like that sort of thing. There are a few names dropped here and there, but nothing terribly new or surprising.
And ultimately, I found Keith surprisingly likable, even as he was honestly laying out some not-so-flattering truths about himself. He clearly truly understands what makes the Stones work well together and doesn't try to overstate his role in it. He attributes their success to their chemistry (correctly, in my opinion) and doesn't hold back praise for Mick's singing, playing harp, and performance skills or Charlie's steady bed of rhythm.
On the whole, very highly recommended if you like rock biography.
The guitar-playing specifics included are likely to go right over the head of the average reader, while the guitar playing readers will be going over them in detail. I've heard a lot of bands cover Stones songs, but very few play them so they sound right, and he explains some of the reasons for that. Beautiful!
He also explains in detail how he managed to stay so functional while under the influence of several illegal substances on a regular basis, even as he says he wouldn't recommend anyone else try it. I don't enough personally about substance abuse to say how plausible what he is telling us is, but found it fascinating in a train wreck sort of way.
I'd like to have read more about the recording/creative processes involved in making the various Stones records than was included. He does explain his writing relationship with Mick Jagger well enough that I have a good idea how they wrote their songs, for the most part. There are a few insights into his relationships with the other members of the group, especially Mick Jagger, but most of it feels strangely removed, as though he barely knows them or wants to say as little as possible about them to keep band relations functional. He certainly doesn't say much about Bill Wyman (he talks almost as much about the Vox amp that Bill brought when he joined the band!), and band relations wouldn't be a factor there anymore. Ditto for Brian Jones, who doesn't get much credit for his role in the early days of the band.
There's not a lot of celebrity gossip for those who like that sort of thing. There are a few names dropped here and there, but nothing terribly new or surprising.
And ultimately, I found Keith surprisingly likable, even as he was honestly laying out some not-so-flattering truths about himself. He clearly truly understands what makes the Stones work well together and doesn't try to overstate his role in it. He attributes their success to their chemistry (correctly, in my opinion) and doesn't hold back praise for Mick's singing, playing harp, and performance skills or Charlie's steady bed of rhythm.
On the whole, very highly recommended if you like rock biography.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Five Person Splunge - First Full Session in Two Months
Attendees included Sal, Nick, Jason, and myself, plus prospective lead singer Jess. Sometimes it's good to step back for a while so the songs feel fresher when you return. It also helped that we were trying some new songs ("Teen Angst" by Cracker, "Psycho Killer" by Talking Heads) and bringing back "Dani California", not to mention that this was only the second session for "Sherry Darling" and "The Kids are Alright".
As for Jess, we liked her as a person, but she's not the right voice for us, so we're still looking. She did help in a couple of respects, though. We hadn't formally chosen "Psycho Killer", but she thought she could sing it, and the rest of us thought we could play it, so we took a shot in the dark and it really worked out well, though I ultimately took over the lead vocal on it. She was also helpful in keeping us together for the chorus of "Dani California", which has been a significant problem. Now we've at least isolated the core of the problem and can try to fix it.
Highlights of the session: "Teen Angst" and "Psycho Killer" immediately sounded as though they'll be among our best songs, right out of the gates. "The Kids are Alright" was right up there, too.
Lowlight: Winging our way through the Beatles' "Day Tripper" because Jess thought she might be able to do it. Turns out that none of us really could.
I've taken the lead vocal on the last couple of new songs, except for "The Kids are Alright", so in the absence of a new lead singer, we need to find some material that suits Nick's voice.
We're still tightening up gradually, in spite of the long layoff. Good session this time.
As for Jess, we liked her as a person, but she's not the right voice for us, so we're still looking. She did help in a couple of respects, though. We hadn't formally chosen "Psycho Killer", but she thought she could sing it, and the rest of us thought we could play it, so we took a shot in the dark and it really worked out well, though I ultimately took over the lead vocal on it. She was also helpful in keeping us together for the chorus of "Dani California", which has been a significant problem. Now we've at least isolated the core of the problem and can try to fix it.
Highlights of the session: "Teen Angst" and "Psycho Killer" immediately sounded as though they'll be among our best songs, right out of the gates. "The Kids are Alright" was right up there, too.
Lowlight: Winging our way through the Beatles' "Day Tripper" because Jess thought she might be able to do it. Turns out that none of us really could.
I've taken the lead vocal on the last couple of new songs, except for "The Kids are Alright", so in the absence of a new lead singer, we need to find some material that suits Nick's voice.
We're still tightening up gradually, in spite of the long layoff. Good session this time.
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