Isolation

No Jefferson Wheelchair session this past weekend because singer Bill wasn't up to it after sitting in with another band on guitar the night before. 

Also feeling a bit isolated in general anyway, which doesn't help.  Not getting along well with several of my co-workers recently, for reasons best not posted publicly.  Let's just say we approach work (and life) very differently, and they're not terribly interested in any form of compromise.  The closest we've come is an unspoken agreement to leave each other alone, which works from a functional perspective (since most of what we do is talk to other people outside the company), but it's not what you'd call a particularly pleasant working environment from my perspective.

And I haven't been doing anything socially, either, outside of family stuff.  It's mostly due to a lack of time after work, family obligations, yoga, and musical practice is factored in.  Splunge had been as much (or more) a social event as a band, and while I still think I made the right move musically, I miss hanging out with those guys.  I get along well enough with the guys in JW, but we're all busy and don't have a lot of opportunity to really get to know each other personally.

I've talked about this with my wife, and we agree that I seem to need some time to simply hang out with people I get along with more naturally, which has been in short supply.  I have a RPG session scheduled this upcoming weekend that includes some of the people I've been missing, but once again, work, family obligations, and musical practice are threatening to force me to cancel.

I really have to reorganize my time somehow, and don't know how to do that without giving up something important to me, but I've got to come up with something.

JW - 4/13/12

The song list has been pared down to focus on creating a smoothly flowing four set list with a few "string break" and cushion songs in case we're running short. Some of the songs cut will be back later for variety's sake.

So the plan for this practice was to work on the first two sets, plus a few other songs here and there, and whaddaya know, that's what we did! The first set (mostly easy songs we haven't played for a while) seemed a little ragged, but after we took a break, the second set reminded me how good this band could be once we file off some rough edges. Keith and I were doing a better job of giving each other vocal room, as I decided to back off worrying about vocals and focused on my playing, singing where I could. He appeared to be doing more or less the same, and it worked.

I went in with something of a different attitude this time, thinking of myself more as a hired gun than a band member. The irony is that the result was much more what I had in mind in the first place. I think the lesson here is to shelve my own ego, focus on making the instrumental groove work, and the vocal opportunities will come.

I'm really looking forward to next week, when we play the third and fourth sets, which include most of our strongest material.

JW - 3/24/2012

I missed the session last week because of house issues, but received an e-mail telling me that the group had added "Substitute" and "We've Got to Get Out of This Place" officially, but also Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69" and "Cuts Like a Knife", Guess Who's "American Woman", and the Who's "Pinball Wizard". I was mildly annoyed that they'd added several songs without my having any say in the matter, but figured I'm still the new guy and had missed practice to boot, so couldn't say much. So I came prepared for all of the above, and naturally we didn't play "Place", "Knife", or "American Woman".

We did, however, play "Born Under a Bad Sign", "Jean Genie", and "Suffragette City", none of which had even been mentioned before. WTF? And the bandleader indicated we'll probably drop "Bring It On Home", the most vocal-heavy song we do because he thinks it's not really working, when to my mind, we've barely touched it. Very frustrating for me, since we'll put 30 minutes of practice time into working on some subtlety of getting everybody on the same page re: some guitar riff I barely notice is in the song, but we won't put any time into getting a vocal harmony right that an audience would certainly notice. That's just where the priorities of most of this group are, and I'm not going to be able to change that. I think singer Bill would do it, but the others won't. The problem is that having three voices requires some coordination, where with two, you can just have the lead singer do his thing and the backing singer just sings whatever other parts he can.

Again, there was some discussion of having gotten into contact with management at a place they used to play, but still nothing definite lined up.

"Substitute" is now part of a medley, preceded by "Pinball Wizard", which is fine, but they've cut the bass solo part out because it isn't in the Live at Leeds version. It's not as though I can't play it, and adding to the length of a song is generally considered a Good Thing in cover band circles. No reason given, even when I brought this up. Again, annoying, but not a huge deal.

On a more positive note, the bandleader at least noted that we need to play the easier songs we've been skipping more regularly, if only to tighten them up, which is something I've been saying for the last two sessions. This was prompted by our playing some of the easier songs we haven't touched for a while, and they just didn't sound that good.

I'd thought we were going to have a lot of songs on our list, since we're over 60 songs or so now, which would give us flexibility, but apparently the idea is that we'll drop a bunch of the ones that aren't working as well rather than try to improve them. Not really on board with that, either, since anything vocally oriented hasn't had much of a chance.

I'm very frustrated at the moment, but leaving the band so soon isn't something I'd want to do. Some of this is on me, because I knew from the outset that they weren't vocally oriented; I just saw that as an opportunity for me to step up and add to the band, as I did in my old band Mirage, when it appears it's something most of them don't really want. Still, I'm not going anywhere at this point unless they kick me out. We're still at a relatively early stage, and I want to see how the situation ultimately stabilizes. I may do better just to get my vocal "charge" from recording at home or having some sort of side project. I'd consider going back to Splunge on a once/month basis if I thought I had the time for it.

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.