No Bill this time, so it'll be over a month since all five of us have practiced together. Not good in terms of keeping things tight, but at least we've had a couple of productive practices with four of the five of us. Might even be a good thing in terms of stepping away from the material a little and keeping things fresh, to a point.
Dale gave us the good news that we have our next show lined up at the Horseshoe Pub in December and two more in the coming year. We'll probably have four practices or so before the December show, so that gives us some time to regroup and tighten up again, as well as adding some new songs. Now what we really need is one or two more venues, preferably some distance from the Horseshoe.
We continued to focus on new songs, spending time on "Boys are Back in Town", "Lights", "Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", and "Wicked Game". There was also some discussion of which of the sidelined songs we were going to bring back for the upcoming show, the possibility of bring back some songs from before Bill and I had joined the band, and which new songs we've discussed that we'll actually start playing. We didn't touch "867-5309", "Jessie's Girl", or "Some Kind of Wonderful" this time.
Keith and Andy don't seem especially interested in "867-5309" or "Jessie's Girl", saying that the guitar parts are more complicated than they sound, so these songs aren't as easy as they seem to be. They both said the same thing regarding Badfinger's "No Matter What". The thing is, I believe it would do us some good commercially to be a little more female-friendly and play more danceable, somewhat more current, material. The right mix of guitar heavy '70s rock and danceable '80's rock could have enough appeal to both genders to make us popular with general audiences. I learned a long time ago to put commercial considerations ahead of my own tastes, but each musician draws that line in a different place. The place where the band as a whole draws that line is going to depend on all of us together, and will have to be worked out over time. We pick up material faster than any other band I've ever been in, so we can have a large enough song list to draw that line differently every night if we want to. It's good to have options.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Saturday, October 20, 2012
JW - 10/20/2012
No Andy this time. It's been a couple of weeks since we've played together, between scheduling issues and illnesses. Turns out Bill and Keith both had the same bug I'd had. My voice was still weak, and I stopped being able to hit high notes about halfway through the session.
We stuck to new songs rather than going over old ones without Andy. Consensus was that the ones we'd been playing were fairly solid and that there wasn't much point in reviewing them while missing a member. So, we went over "I'm a Man", "Lights", "Jenny (867-5309)", "Jessie's Girl", and "Some Kind of Wonderful", spending some time on the vocals for "Lights" in particular.
All sounded good for a start, though they still need a few runs with Andy on board, obviously. So for next time, we'll have those songs, plus "Boys are Back in Town", plus we're going to bring back some of the songs we'd sidelined next practice. And we're going to start on BTO's "Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", which the original members had played before, but Bill and I haven't played with them yet. So, plenty of new songs for next time.
Dale has been in touch with the Horseshoe Pub about playing there again. Nothing set yet, but it sounds promising for the future.
We stuck to new songs rather than going over old ones without Andy. Consensus was that the ones we'd been playing were fairly solid and that there wasn't much point in reviewing them while missing a member. So, we went over "I'm a Man", "Lights", "Jenny (867-5309)", "Jessie's Girl", and "Some Kind of Wonderful", spending some time on the vocals for "Lights" in particular.
All sounded good for a start, though they still need a few runs with Andy on board, obviously. So for next time, we'll have those songs, plus "Boys are Back in Town", plus we're going to bring back some of the songs we'd sidelined next practice. And we're going to start on BTO's "Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", which the original members had played before, but Bill and I haven't played with them yet. So, plenty of new songs for next time.
Dale has been in touch with the Horseshoe Pub about playing there again. Nothing set yet, but it sounds promising for the future.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Sick, Sick, Sick
I don't get sick very often in recent years, maybe once/year on average, but when I do, it's serious business.
I picked up some sort of cold last weekend, missed three days of work, and I'm still feeling the effect today. I have virtually no voice, and I'm still coughing constantly. It's too frequent for me to meditate, and yoga is tough to do when you start hacking every time you bend over even a little.
This particular cold variant involved a very sore throat, which is deadly for me. I'm used to coping with nasal congestion due to my allergies, but adding in the serious sore throat left me struggling for every breath for a couple of days. Breathing felt as though someone was scraping a razor blade across my throat with each inhalation. I wasn't able to get more than 2 1/2 hours sleep at a time, which doesn't help the healing process one bit.
JW had to cancel practice this weekend because Keith is sick as well (wouldn't surprise me if it's the same thing I've got), which would ordinarily annoy me, but turns out to be a break in this case. I really dislike that we're missing two weeks in a row after the gig again, but there it is.
Work stress certainly has something to do with this. I've been buried for a little over a month now, and was trying to get things cleared up in time for my anticipated October vacation and a big organizational change at work starting 10/22. Got to put credit where it's due, though, and say that my boss did cut me off from receiving new claims for the two days I made it in this week, to give me the opportunity to get my feet under me before my vacation.
So I'm definitely worn around the edges today, and still coughing up a storm. I've got some work to do around the house, but I absolutely must get some rest and truly recover before work goes crazy on 10/22.
I picked up some sort of cold last weekend, missed three days of work, and I'm still feeling the effect today. I have virtually no voice, and I'm still coughing constantly. It's too frequent for me to meditate, and yoga is tough to do when you start hacking every time you bend over even a little.
This particular cold variant involved a very sore throat, which is deadly for me. I'm used to coping with nasal congestion due to my allergies, but adding in the serious sore throat left me struggling for every breath for a couple of days. Breathing felt as though someone was scraping a razor blade across my throat with each inhalation. I wasn't able to get more than 2 1/2 hours sleep at a time, which doesn't help the healing process one bit.
JW had to cancel practice this weekend because Keith is sick as well (wouldn't surprise me if it's the same thing I've got), which would ordinarily annoy me, but turns out to be a break in this case. I really dislike that we're missing two weeks in a row after the gig again, but there it is.
Work stress certainly has something to do with this. I've been buried for a little over a month now, and was trying to get things cleared up in time for my anticipated October vacation and a big organizational change at work starting 10/22. Got to put credit where it's due, though, and say that my boss did cut me off from receiving new claims for the two days I made it in this week, to give me the opportunity to get my feet under me before my vacation.
So I'm definitely worn around the edges today, and still coughing up a storm. I've got some work to do around the house, but I absolutely must get some rest and truly recover before work goes crazy on 10/22.
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