Jason, Sal, Nick, and I on board. No, you aren't having a flashback. Played with Splunge again this past weekend due to a week off from Jefferson Wheelchair. Had the itch to play and thought it might be fun, and it was.
The other three guys have stayed together since I left the group, now nearly a year ago. They haven't replaced me, in spite of my encouraging them to do so. Instead, Nick has taken up bass in the last month or so, in addition to picking up all of the lead vocals, being the only singer left. So while I played bass for most of the session, I also played guitar for a couple of songs and mandolin on two others (each played twice, since we had the time).
They've cut the song list down substantially. I thought they might just get rid of a few songs that were more my choice than anyone else's, but it's a bigger change than that. I'd say the list has been nearly halved, and only two new songs added (the Kinks' "Victoria" and CCR's "Fortunate Son"), which I picked up right away. They've tightened things up a bit further, as might be expected, but the old characteristic rhythmic lapses still occur.
We played everything they still know, plus Rod Stewart's "Maggie May", with me on mandolin and Nick playing bass and singing lead. Not bad for a first run through, and it gave me the chance to test out my new electric/acoustic mandolin (birthday gift from my wife), which I also used on "Losing My Religion". Nick also played bass and sang Cracker's "Low" and CCR's "Fortunate Son", so I played guitar on both of those.
It was an odd experience for me to play another instrument and have someone else play bass. I kept finding my ears drawn to the bass part and hearing guitar or mandolin as though someone else was playing it. Weird. I'm sure I'd get used to it, but it was disconcerting going through it for the first time.
I'll probably continue to guest with them here and there when JW isn't playing. I'm obviously still welcome, and it'll give me a chance to experiment with playing other instruments from time to time if Nick keeps getting better on bass. It'll also give me the chance to sing some lead here and there, which I don't get to do often anymore (part of what I enjoyed about Splunge).
JW is also off for the next two weeks due to holiday scheduling issues, but another Splunge session should be out due to holiday activities on everyone's part. That's just how this time of year is.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Sunday, December 09, 2012
JW - Third Show at the Horseshoe Pub
Very slick on the set-up this time, done very early and plenty of time to sound check. Good mix and good monitors before we got started.
The place was relatively empty before we started, which concerned me. There was some minor league adverse weather (serious fog in the general area). It shouldn't have kept most people home, but probably wasn't helping us. The crowd picked up during the first set, though. We need to start drawing some people beyond our own friends/family, and that's a slow process. Overall draw was okay, but not impressive.
I had some technical problems, as my wireless rig noisily gave up the ghost during the second set, forcing me to adjust my sound on the fly and limit my movement. We had a serious case of creeping volume, to the point where I couldn't hear the lead vocals at all, making harmonies (and keeping track of where we were in the song) a struggle at best. Definitely not my finest set as a member of this band. On the other hand, Keith prefers to play at high volume and was very happy with that set. He also wore light-up devil horns for "Dirty Deeds", which was fun.
We brought the volume down slightly for the third and fourth sets, and I managed to dial in a good sound on the Rick, so I stuck with it most of the rest of the way and felt I redeemed myself to some degree during those sets. Still too damn loud to really function vocally, though.
Bill's voice sounded ragged to me again, with jet lag (he'd just come back from LA) and the high volume pushing him to his limit. We'll see how it comes out on the recordings. Singing lead on virtually every song for four sets would be challenging for almost any singer, and those other factors didn't help. He always seems to be burning the candle at both ends, which concerns me.
Everybody else seemed happier with our performance than I was. I didn't think it was terrible, but I know we can be so much better than this. The new songs didn't go well, except for "The Twist" and possibly "The Boys are Back in Town". Overall, I think it was better than the first show, but not as good as the second. We're scheduled to be back in February, and I hope we can do better then.
The place was relatively empty before we started, which concerned me. There was some minor league adverse weather (serious fog in the general area). It shouldn't have kept most people home, but probably wasn't helping us. The crowd picked up during the first set, though. We need to start drawing some people beyond our own friends/family, and that's a slow process. Overall draw was okay, but not impressive.
I had some technical problems, as my wireless rig noisily gave up the ghost during the second set, forcing me to adjust my sound on the fly and limit my movement. We had a serious case of creeping volume, to the point where I couldn't hear the lead vocals at all, making harmonies (and keeping track of where we were in the song) a struggle at best. Definitely not my finest set as a member of this band. On the other hand, Keith prefers to play at high volume and was very happy with that set. He also wore light-up devil horns for "Dirty Deeds", which was fun.
We brought the volume down slightly for the third and fourth sets, and I managed to dial in a good sound on the Rick, so I stuck with it most of the rest of the way and felt I redeemed myself to some degree during those sets. Still too damn loud to really function vocally, though.
Bill's voice sounded ragged to me again, with jet lag (he'd just come back from LA) and the high volume pushing him to his limit. We'll see how it comes out on the recordings. Singing lead on virtually every song for four sets would be challenging for almost any singer, and those other factors didn't help. He always seems to be burning the candle at both ends, which concerns me.
Everybody else seemed happier with our performance than I was. I didn't think it was terrible, but I know we can be so much better than this. The new songs didn't go well, except for "The Twist" and possibly "The Boys are Back in Town". Overall, I think it was better than the first show, but not as good as the second. We're scheduled to be back in February, and I hope we can do better then.
Sunday, December 02, 2012
JW - 12/2/2012
Last practice before the 12/8 show, and everybody was there. Bill was a bit the worse for wear due to his activities the previous night.
We ran through the fourth set (the only one we didn't play last session), then reviewed some of the new material and some odds and ends to make sure we're ready, and we are. Sounded pretty good, all in all, but very loud. I had my earplugs in all of the way by the end, which is something I don't usually need to do.
Still wasn't feeling much like talking, which has gone on now for over a week, and I'm not sure why. Just in a phase where I'm taking everything in, I suppose.
Looking forward to playing in front of an audience again next week, and to taking on some new material after that show.
We ran through the fourth set (the only one we didn't play last session), then reviewed some of the new material and some odds and ends to make sure we're ready, and we are. Sounded pretty good, all in all, but very loud. I had my earplugs in all of the way by the end, which is something I don't usually need to do.
Still wasn't feeling much like talking, which has gone on now for over a week, and I'm not sure why. Just in a phase where I'm taking everything in, I suppose.
Looking forward to playing in front of an audience again next week, and to taking on some new material after that show.
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