JW - 3/10/2012

Still struggling inexplicably with "Mississippi Queen", though I've got it at least functional now. It's crazy how tricky this has been for me, when I learned far more difficult songs much more quickly. Just one of those blind spots. It doesn't help that I just plain dislike the song.

Volume was a little lower this time, and we had a decent run through "Bring It On Home" with three part harmony. Still some rough edges, but improving. My vocal role with this band is becoming clearer. I'm singing the higher parts, because I can. Keith and I still instinctively go for the same parts, so I'm going to have to get used to the next part up. This isn't a bad thing; it's a new challenge for me, and largely successful.

Again, some discussion of playing out. Consensus seems to agree with my thought from last time, which is that we're really just about ready, and by the time we get any work scheduled, we will be ready.

Jammed our way through the Who's "Substitute" and "Won't Get Fooled Again". I think we'll be keeping at least the first.

We also played through "We've Got to Get Out of This Place" by the Animals after Bill heard me noodling around on bass and heard something that resembled the bass part for that song. The first time winging it sounded good enough that we rounded off some edges and tried it a second time, which was better, so that was a completely unplanned new song that we've added.

Finally successfully used the Ashbory bass (the one with the silicone rubber strings) on a song with this band. "Hash Pipe" by Weezer really suits the sound I found with a new amp setting. I'd like to find another song or two I can use before it's really worth bringing the Ashbory when we play out. I have a few other songs to try in upcoming sessions.

JW - 3/4/12

We had everybody on board this time out. Again, not much new to say. We got through about two full sets of material, and continue to tighten everything up. I really goofed up "Mississippi Queen" again, but for different reasons.

Still a problem getting vocals down because the band as a whole plays so damn loud. It's just not the focus of this band, so I'll just have to do the best I can.

Andy brought his camera and took photos, primarily of Bill and I (because we're the "new guys"), for use on the band web site. I really need to remember not to wear light colored t-shirts on stage, and perhaps not ever, since they clearly make me look heavier than I realized. I've got to give Andy credit for keeping up the tech end of things. He posted recordings within a day after the last time we played, and posted photos by tonight.

Some talk again about playing out, but nothing at all solid. I get the sense that the original band members don't feel things are truly tight enough yet. My own opinion is that we could play out right now, though there would be mistakes. I don't think we should wait to look for work, because it'll take us at least a couple of weeks before any would be available, and in that couple of weeks we'll tighten up those remaining problem areas. Still, it's not within my control, so I'm not going to worry about it. If we still don't have anything scheduled in a couple of months, maybe I'll start getting concerned.

JW - 2/26/2012

No singer Bill again this time, due to a funeral. Everything worked well this time, apart from missing our lead singer. Two new songs for the group, Z Z Top's "Sharp Dressed Man" and Aerosmith's "Walk This Way", though some members had played them before. We also played through the string change song "Red House" with Andy on lead vocals, which went without a hitch as well.

Had the Ashbory working, but didn't actually use it on any songs. I'm going to have to experiment sooner or later, though.

Some talk about playing out, and when we're going to do it. Some discussion of hitting some open mikes to "test drive" ourselves in front of an audience, which isn't a bad idea. Consensus is that we may need to give Bill more time, primarily because he has a lot of lyrics to know. I know I wouldn't want to want to have to know the lyrics to 40 songs from memory.

I'm still amazed at the consistency of this group. At the very worst, a particular time through a song might lack energy. At best, a song will be really, really good, but we haven't quite hit that transcendent level for more than a few bars. It's still early in the process of getting to know each other, though.

JW - 2/18/12

Not much to say about this session, really. Things continue to tighten up nicely. My first attempt at "Ziggy Stardust" with JW, and I was surprised at how much energy they bring to it. I like the song, but didn't think it'd work that well live. I'm sure it's fine the way they (I should start saying we) play it.

Brought the Ashbory bass this time, which intrigued everyone, but then the battery failed, so they couldn't hear what it sounds like. I'll have to bring it again another time.

Harmonies continue to shape up. Keith suggested a couple of places for me to come in with a high harmony. Sounded good on the recordings afterward, but very quiet. I really have to make sure I'm singing directly into the mike, because I'm barely audible otherwise.

JW - 2/11/2012

Had everyone on board for this one. This was the first time we did anything with three part harmony, and overall I'd say it went well, though not without some work. We were working on Dave Mason's version of "Bring It On Home", which even the established band members hadn't gone over in a while. After a couple of experiments, we settled on harmonies with Bill singing lead, Keith singing the next part up, then me. I found it unusual that Andy and Dale were as involved as they were in the process, because usually the non-singers stay out of the harmony work, but I think it really was helpful to get opinions from two people who could truly listen to the group effect without being part of it. We still need practice on this front, but overall, I was pleased with the resulting blend.

I still don't have "Mississippi Queen" down, and just can't get into this one at all. I've always prided myself on being able to find something about any song to like, but haven't found anything about this one yet. Gotta keep trying.

Still really enjoying "Kryptonite" and "Sweet Emotion", the second of which is my favorite song with this band so far. Started singing harmony on these, now that I can play them without thinking so much about what my hands are doing.

I was introduced to the "guitar string change" songs today, which are not regularly on the list, but are songs we can play with only one of the guitarists if the other has broken a string. I've had those in other bands before, but the fact that this band has songs for that purpose hadn't been mentioned until they were needed. "Crossroads", "Ain't Talking 'Bout Love", and "Red House" are apparently the songs I need to pick up for the occasion for future reference.

"Brown Eyed Girl" also didn't turn out well for me this time, as that turned out to be another song with a serious key change from the original (G to E). Back to the drawing board to make sure it sounds right, and I'm again thankful to have the five string. I've got three or four songs now that I really wouldn't want to play without one.

On a brighter note, I'm starting to see how good this band could be, given time to tighten things up. There's definitely work to be done, but if "Bring It On Home" is an indicator of how good the vocals can be, and the instrumental parts are already good, we'll do fine playing out. It's hard to know how well the group really functions until we get past the point where I'm fully integrated into the band and we start picking new material that takes the lead singer and I into account. That's going to take a while.

JW - 2/4/2012

Second session with this band as full member, third session overall. No lead singer this time due to a personal emergency, so a definite change in the group dynamic as I'm trying to get a feel for things and learn the material. I've learned all of the songs in at least a rough form by this point, but as I'd said, JW sometimes does significantly different key changes or arrangements, so there's still a lot of learning for me to do on finer points.

Bill's absence was a plus for me in one respect. It meant that Keith was handling lead vocals, leaving the door wide open for me to sing whatever harmony parts I could find. There were a couple that worked out well (Three Doors Down's "Kryptonite" was one particular example), so I think I proved that I have something to bring to the table in that respect.

I also fell down in a couple of places. Frankly, some of the stuff these guys like falls heavily into what I'd consider "guitar wank", music with a primary focus on a guitarist indulging himself. I personally don't enjoy listening to that sort of thing, but I know some people do, and a lot of guitarists, unsurprisingly, love that stuff. So I didn't listen as closely as I should have to a couple of songs (Foghat's "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "Mississippi Queen"), and got caught missing some riffs here and there in the bass parts. I rolled with it and have to accept that I have some things to work on after all.

This group has had a tendency to focus on the instrumental because their vocals just weren't that good before they were able to find a lead singer. I can see real possibilities here if we can play to that strength of the guitar players and I can step up into a stronger vocal role to give the lead singer more support. For that to happen, Keith is going to have to back off a bit vocally. That could work out, since he has plenty of spotlight time as the lead guitar player and the material lends itself to giving that role major focus, but people aren't always willing to give up a musical role that has traditionally been theirs.

"Sweet Emotion" was a monster song again, even missing the lead singer, and we also played through "All Right Now", which had a small piece of minor technical challenge to it for me, but went without a hitch. The former bass player apparently glossed over that part previously, so I got a pat on the back for getting that part right. I was told a couple of times that I seem to be fitting in well, so even though I'm not that comfortable yet and don't think I truly have the feel of the band, things are looking pretty good.

For the third time in three sessions, we played through at least three songs that aren't on our official list, just because someone started playing it and everyone else jumped in. Good exercise, if a bit of a waste of practice time.

We're now officially looking for work, since it'll be at least a month before any place would have an opening for us, and we'll easily be ready by that point. It's much more likely that it'll be a couple of months before anyone has room in their schedule.

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.

Whatever Happened to "I Don't Need an Audience"?

I wrestled with this one a lot when I was deciding which band I was going to play with. The main reason to leave Splunge was so I could play out again, and the move wasn't without risk. It was entirely possible things wouldn't work out with the new band and I didn't feel as though going back would be a good idea if I left. Instinct told me it was time to move on, but I like to understand my own mental processes, and I didn't this time.

It took me the better part of a week to think it through. I truly don't need an audience, though it can be Big Fun when they're receptive. I don't have anything to prove to anyone, and I don't particularly need the money anymore (though it's nice to get paid). But I do like to have a goal. Without one, the work I put into songs feels empty somehow, like a waste of time, even though I do enjoy the process itself to a point. And with a goal, I know the standard I'm working to. There's a *reason* the performance has to be good. With Splunge, I was starting to get sloppy because I knew I didn't have to be any better than I already was and I couldn't challenge myself without making things even harder on the band members who were already struggling. What I needed to do in that situation was make others better, and I only had a certain amount of control over that. The choice came down to joining another band that required me to push myself, or to stay with a band that required me to push others so I could get to a point where I'd be pushing myself, making that band Not Fun for everyone else in the process.

Splunge - 1/22/12

Jason, Sal, Nick and I, all on board. I had to begin the session with the unpleasant news that I had decided to leave the band and why. Sal's reaction was that he'd assumed from the beginning that something like this would eventually happen and that the band had always been on borrowed time as far as he was concerned. Nick was clearly depressed by the news, describing it as like finding out that your girlfriend was dumping you because she'd been offered a great job on the other side of the country. He said you'd be happy for her and sad for the resulting situation for you personally. Jason didn't say much of anything, but was clearly down as well. All wished me luck and said they'd want to come out to see my new band when we played out. The general sentiment was that they'd known I wanted to play out again for some time and were not surprised I'd take the chance when it was offered. I couldn't have asked for a better reception to such bad news, and I was very thankful to all of them for that.

So would Splunge continue without me? It was certainly possible. Nick could handle lead vocals while they looked for my replacement, but sentiments were clearly mixed. Sal clearly wanted to go on, and said as much up front. Nick shook his head, and didn't seem very warm to the idea. Jason, again, didn't say much. He very much wants to play out, and he may not feel this is a very promising situation for him to achieve that goal. I'd truly like to see them continue, since everybody gets along. Sal volunteered to step up and take leadership, at least for now.

Everyone still wanted to play, for which I was again thankful. We didn't put a lot of time in on any particular songs, deciding to just enjoy ourselves and get the best recordings we could. Our recorded sound had improved so much the last time that I hoped there would be at least a couple of keepers among the tracks to document what we'd done together. Unfortunately, with morale so low, it showed in some of the performances, and even my own showed serious signs of being distracted.

I would've passed on playing my own song, "Can't Go Back", but the others insisted and I went with it. The irony of playing a song that was originally written about coming to terms with the breakup of my first band hit me hard in this situation. We closed with Nick singing "Celluloid Heroes", then me singing "Keep On Rockin' in the Free World", which had always been our best song.

Nick asked if I'd come back if the other band didn't work out. I honestly answered that I hoped I wouldn't have to find out the answer to that question. Even if things played out that way, I think they'd always wonder when I was going to leave again, and that wouldn't be good for any of us. We left open the possibility of getting together again some time, just for fun. They're a great bunch of guys and I hoped I'd helped them improve musically while we worked together. Playing with Splunge gave me the chance to sing a lot of lead (too much, really) and experiment in ways I'd never had the time to do in my previous bands. We were certainly going to stay friends, and not every band departure plays out that way, so I'm grateful.

JW - 1/15/12

I received a message from a band called Jefferson Wheelchair on the bandmix.com web site. They were looking for a bassist and wondering if I might be interested. I wasn't looking for another band at the time, but had decided that it would be a good idea to get some perspective by playing with musicians other than the guys in Splunge, and this seemed like an easier option than trying to organize a jam with random people on my own. Nothing said I had to take the job (even assuming they offered it to me), and it was about a forty minute drive away, which was a reason to say "no" all by itself as far as I was concerned.

I did a little research on the band and found some video footage of them. My initial reaction was a shrug, but I also know that the quality of sound on home video is really poor, and not a fair reflection of the actual sound of the band. On the plus side, they had a keyboard player and a lead singer (two things Splunge did not have), so I'd be able to focus on bass for a change, which was very appealing after singing so much lead the last couple of years. And so I agreed to go.

We had plenty of material to work with, as I knew 17 songs from their list from previous bands, and was confident that I could jam my way through another half dozen or so, so I didn't even have to practice anything in advance. Most of the list was basic classic rock from the '70's. Seemed a bit cheesy to me, to be honest, and not as much fun as Splunge's diverse list, but at least they knew who they wanted to be as a band.

Dale, the drummer and band leader, was a personable enough guy and helped me load my equipment in. The other band members showed up shortly thereafter, and all seemed friendly and intelligent. I was actually sort of hoping I wouldn't like some of them, which again would've given me an excuse not to join, but that wasn't an issue at all.We got down to playing, and it became immediately obvious to me that I'd been losing focus with Splunge because I had to work to keep up with these guys, something I hadn't had to do for a long time. Whether I joined this band or not, I made a decision at that moment that I had to do something to challenge myself more in the future. I stumbled here and there because I was not only unfamiliar with the players and the songs (I hadn't played some of them in over 25 years), but I was unfamiliar with my own bass because I'd bought it just the day before (an Ibanez SR 505, an early Valentine's Day gift from my wife). Maybe not the smartest move, but it sounded great, and I'd brought my Rickenbacker in case I truly needed a familiar instrument. Vocals were a bigger problem. I could hear the lead singer well enough, but the only other singer there (the lead guitar player) was almost completely inaudible to me, and I could barely hear myself, never mind hit a particular note with confidence. I still managed some harmony here and there ("Call Me the Breeze") and they had me sing lead on one song ("Takin' Care of Business").

Things went well overall, and they offered me the job a few days later over the phone. I consulted with my wife at length about the two band situations and what she could live with, because JW practiced far more often than Splunge. The choice was not at all clear, but in the end, I decided to take the job with Jefferson Wheelchair, primarily because I could step back into my comfortable traditional role of bassist with occasional vocals and leave the organizational/business end to the JW band leader. I knew I'd be able to play out relatively soon with JW, since it was just a matter of my learning their material (and I already knew most of that), while Splunge needed to find a lead singer (difficult at best) and learn at least another dozen songs (a long process with that group) before playing out was even a possibility.

I was going to have to explain to the guys from Splunge why I was leaving. Not easy, but it had to be done, and I wasn't looking forward to it.