JW - 1/29/2012

First session as a full fledged member of Jefferson Wheelchair. I'd known roughly half the set list before ever joining the band, and had a week (albeit a busy one) to brush up on the details of songs I knew and add some new ones. I now have the first two sets down reasonably well, plus a smattering of songs from the other two sets.

I still have a lot of work to do. JW is more prone to idiosyncratic arrangements than most other bands, so even the songs I know, I don't know the way they play it. They also sometimes play songs in different keys than I expect, and not just by a half step or a full step.

There is definitely vocal room for me, which is a Good Thing, but for right now, I'm more concerned with getting my bass parts down than getting the vocals in as well. I started wearing ear plugs again, which paid off right away in terms of being able to hear myself as well as protect my ears.

Highlights of the session for me? Seeing some of the other guys' eyes light up when I played "Sweet Emotion", hitting the harmony in "Take It Easy", and jamming through three or so songs I'd never played before. Splunge did very little of that, and I've been missing it.

Lowlights of the session for me? Playing "Rock and Roll All Night" in a radically different key than I'd learned it. I wouldn't have been able to pull it off without the five string. And struggling to find vocal parts on some of the songs is frustrating.

We still don't know much about each other personally, though of course that will come with time. There's a generally boisterous vibe to the group, so I'm certainly going to be the Quiet One, which is fine.

Some early impressions of the other band members: Dale is the drummer/band leader, and a surprisingly quiet personality in that role. Definitely not an autocrat; everybody gets plenty of say. He seems to be more the administrative leader than musical leader (not to downplay the difficulty of that role, because I've done it), though he does have ideas about how the music should be. I can see him being good at dealing with venue owners, calm and friendly.

Keith (lead guitar/vocals) is more the musical leader, but not dominant. Loves to solo, like a lot of lead guitar players. He has also been the most helpful to me in terms of finding my way through songs when things get confusing. He's not a great singer, but he knows that (same as me), so it's not a large problem. He sings a lot because there wasn't anyone else to get it done. With three voices total now, we're going to have to work out our roles.

Andy (rhythm guitar/keyboards/harmonica/very occasional backing vocals) has an English accent. I'm not sure how long he's been in the US, but it's at least since 2009 based on the band web site. Very big on quality equipment, and knowledgeable about technology. He's an economical player, doesn't tend to do anything fancy, but makes things sound as full as they need to be. He can play lead, but generally defers to Keith.

Bill (lead vocals) does some acting. I know he plays guitar, at least, but not with us at this point. He is also relatively new to the band. Fun personality; I can see him being a very entertaining front man. I like that I can't tell if there are any of the songs he doesn't enjoy. He used to be in a Pink Floyd tribute band, for which I envy him. He said they sounded wonderful and didn't make any money. Dale said JW had done a medley of Pink Floyd songs taken directly from part of the "Dark Side of the Moon" album, including effects and all, but it wasn't popular and they had to drop it. I know Floyd isn't what people want to hear when they go out to party, but a fairly limited dose, well executed, should go over better than that, damn it.

I should know all of the songs well enough to get by in another week or two, but it'll take a little time to feel really solid and to get my vocal parts down as well. I could see this group being able to play out by the end of February if we pushed it, and by the end of March we should be really good.