Everybody on board this time, with Bill actually being roughly an hour early. So Bill has now made it for three of the last six, with one more practice before the next show.
I wasn't really in the mood to play, having spent most of the previous day at a memorial service for a good friend (more on that another time), but I don't think it hurt my performance much. I was feeling quiet, but I don't speak much at most practices anyway, so I doubt anyone noticed.
We went through three of the four planned sets, with few repeats. "I'm a Man" has been bumped to the last set because we want to play it in front of an audience, but we're not 100% sure it'll work. Overall, we had the sort of mental lapse mistakes you'd expect from not playing some of these songs for a while, but we still have one more practice to work out any remaining kinks, and don't have any major changes planned.
There was some discussion of getting work at other venues, which we really do need to do. I suspect we'll focus more on that after we get this particular show behind us.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Saturday, November 17, 2012
JW - 11/17/2012
No Bill again, which was the subject of some frustration on the part of all concerned. It's hard to feel prepared when the lead singer has missed three of the five practices since the last show, and we've got another coming up soon. I'm sure we'll be fine for the show itself, in that even the new songs are pretty solid, but it slows progress, and he'll have to catch up on any changes we've made on the back end. We now have two practices left before the next show, so I don't see us getting anything done during those practices except refamiliarizing ourselves with what we plan to play.
We went through the planned first two sets of four, skipping songs that we all felt were still solid, or that we really needed the lead singer to do. I'm concerned about harmonies, since Keith and I aren't practicing them when we're pinch hitting on lead vocals, and for some of those songs, it'll be six weeks since we've played them and been able to sing those harmonies.
On the plus side, the band has been very tight instrumentally, which builds confidence. I know we're all feeling that because Andy had commented on it. So in spite of our frustration with our lead singer, the band itself is still on solid ground.
We went through the planned first two sets of four, skipping songs that we all felt were still solid, or that we really needed the lead singer to do. I'm concerned about harmonies, since Keith and I aren't practicing them when we're pinch hitting on lead vocals, and for some of those songs, it'll be six weeks since we've played them and been able to sing those harmonies.
On the plus side, the band has been very tight instrumentally, which builds confidence. I know we're all feeling that because Andy had commented on it. So in spite of our frustration with our lead singer, the band itself is still on solid ground.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
JW - 11/11/2012
Everybody but Bill again. Not thrilled with that, but we got done what we could.
Most of the focus was on the new songs again, "Boys are Back in Town", "I'm a Man", "Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", "Lights", and a slightly revised grouping of old school rock songs that should work pretty well. We also touched up some things in some of the existing list like the group riff in "Call Me the Breeze" that we hadn't had down.
Keith and I split lead vocals again depending on what was needed and what we could do. We didn't worry too much about finer points, focusing more on helping to keep the structure intact than on truly singing well.
Andy had a new pedal board and was changing up his sounds. Should be an upgrade, once he's worked out what he wants to do with it.
Dale had a new tentative set list for the 12/8 show, with the new songs in and a couple of the old songs out. Not many of the sidelined songs are back, but a lot has been moved around, so we will be shaking things up a bit, anyway. He also incorporated the list I'd given him of 5 string versus Rick songs, which should make my bass changes easier.
We should be able to fit three practices in before the show, and we have the new songs down pretty well, so we should be okay in spite of many partial band practices or entirely missed practices since the last show. I think we could've been a lot further along, though. On the whole, we've been surprisingly tight in general lately, but I'll feel more confident after we revisit the old material.
Most of the focus was on the new songs again, "Boys are Back in Town", "I'm a Man", "Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", "Lights", and a slightly revised grouping of old school rock songs that should work pretty well. We also touched up some things in some of the existing list like the group riff in "Call Me the Breeze" that we hadn't had down.
Keith and I split lead vocals again depending on what was needed and what we could do. We didn't worry too much about finer points, focusing more on helping to keep the structure intact than on truly singing well.
Andy had a new pedal board and was changing up his sounds. Should be an upgrade, once he's worked out what he wants to do with it.
Dale had a new tentative set list for the 12/8 show, with the new songs in and a couple of the old songs out. Not many of the sidelined songs are back, but a lot has been moved around, so we will be shaking things up a bit, anyway. He also incorporated the list I'd given him of 5 string versus Rick songs, which should make my bass changes easier.
We should be able to fit three practices in before the show, and we have the new songs down pretty well, so we should be okay in spite of many partial band practices or entirely missed practices since the last show. I think we could've been a lot further along, though. On the whole, we've been surprisingly tight in general lately, but I'll feel more confident after we revisit the old material.
Sunday, November 04, 2012
JW - 11/4/2012
Hooray! We had everybody for this practice!
Still focused on the new songs, though we touched on a couple of old ones. "Lights", "Wicked Game", "Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", "No Particular Place to Go/Johnny B. Good/The Twist", "I'm a Man", and "Boys are Back in Town" were practiced.
"867-5309" and "Jessie's Girl" are still on the agenda, but probably not for the December show. That's fine; it gives us new material for the next one.
Overall sound was surprisingly good in light of the fact that we haven't been able to get everybody together before now. I attribute that to relatively low group volume and the fact that nobody is bored of the new songs yet. We're still having scheduling problems for next week; we're either going to have to practice on a weekday or missing a member again.
We had some discussion of which sidelined songs to bring back, without much of a conclusion. The main concern seems to be potential drop-off in quality if we bring back too many. I think it's worth a slight drop in quality to show substantial variety, as long as it's a slight drop. Looking forward to the next set list to see which songs made the cut and where the new songs will be.
Still focused on the new songs, though we touched on a couple of old ones. "Lights", "Wicked Game", "Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet", "No Particular Place to Go/Johnny B. Good/The Twist", "I'm a Man", and "Boys are Back in Town" were practiced.
"867-5309" and "Jessie's Girl" are still on the agenda, but probably not for the December show. That's fine; it gives us new material for the next one.
Overall sound was surprisingly good in light of the fact that we haven't been able to get everybody together before now. I attribute that to relatively low group volume and the fact that nobody is bored of the new songs yet. We're still having scheduling problems for next week; we're either going to have to practice on a weekday or missing a member again.
We had some discussion of which sidelined songs to bring back, without much of a conclusion. The main concern seems to be potential drop-off in quality if we bring back too many. I think it's worth a slight drop in quality to show substantial variety, as long as it's a slight drop. Looking forward to the next set list to see which songs made the cut and where the new songs will be.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
JW - 10/26/2012
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
JW - 9/29/2012 - Second Show at the Horseshoe Pub
Much better than the first show in several respects. Everybody seemed to be more confident and comfortable, since we knew the venue and had one show together under our belts. Bill had been at a Weezer performance earlier that day, and was clearly having some vocal trouble from the very beginning. Andy made some changes to the light set-up that made everybody more visible and allowed us to see the audience better. Good monitor mix. Andy and I were still having trouble hearing each other most of the time (because we're on opposite sides of the stage), but we could hear well enough to function.
The crowd stuck with us virtually all night, and was very enthusiastic at times. Volume was apparently not a problem, as the venue wants us back; it's just a matter of scheduling.
We still have a tendency to make some peculiar mistakes that are probably just lapses in concentration. These occur more frequently toward the end of the night, and I'm sure they are just the result of everybody getting tired. There was a notable timing problem (due to a long second set) that caused us to play the third and fourth sets back to back without a break, so a little wear around the edges is to be expected under that circumstance.
Keith really had the audience eating out of his hands with his soloing in spots. Most crowds appreciate a good guitar solo, but this was the next step up from that, where several audiences members were utterly focused on what he was playing. And Bill seemed more comfortable as a front man in spite of the issues with his voice.
Andy and I both did some audience time with our wireless rigs, but I think we're going to have to plan those things out better to make it effective. I'm sure it seemed random and pointless to the audience.
All in all, a good show, though I think we can still be better.
The crowd stuck with us virtually all night, and was very enthusiastic at times. Volume was apparently not a problem, as the venue wants us back; it's just a matter of scheduling.
We still have a tendency to make some peculiar mistakes that are probably just lapses in concentration. These occur more frequently toward the end of the night, and I'm sure they are just the result of everybody getting tired. There was a notable timing problem (due to a long second set) that caused us to play the third and fourth sets back to back without a break, so a little wear around the edges is to be expected under that circumstance.
Keith really had the audience eating out of his hands with his soloing in spots. Most crowds appreciate a good guitar solo, but this was the next step up from that, where several audiences members were utterly focused on what he was playing. And Bill seemed more comfortable as a front man in spite of the issues with his voice.
Andy and I both did some audience time with our wireless rigs, but I think we're going to have to plan those things out better to make it effective. I'm sure it seemed random and pointless to the audience.
All in all, a good show, though I think we can still be better.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
JW - 9/23/2012 - Wig Day
Last practice before our second show, and everybody was there. It's not unusual for Bill to be the last to show up for practice, but it certainly is unusual for him to show up wearing a wig and a second pair of glasses (without lenses), and having shaved his beard off. Obviously the rest of us asked questions, but didn't get solid answers. As much as we know is that Bill hadn't slept for 36+ hours and told us he wasn't really sure what he'd done last night. Did he lose a bet? Was it a bet? Did he want to see what we'd say, if anything? Was it some acting class exercise about lowering inhibitions pertaining to one's appearance. We may never know.
We buzzed through the full list of material we're planning to play next weekend, and it went smoothly for the most part. Vocals should be much improved since last time, though still not as smooth as I'd like to see on "Take It Easy" yet. Admittedly, that's the most vocally challenging song we've got. There were a few speed bumps, but it was more lapses of concentration than that somebody didn't know what they were doing. All agreed that if the show goes as well as practice did, we'll be fine.
That said, one of my old bands had a superstition that if the last practice before a show went well, the show would go poorly, and if the last practice before a show went badly, the show would go well. Let's hope that doesn't hold true in this case.
I'm more worried about whether or not we can keep the volume down than whether or not we can play well because I think the volume issue will be more of a determining factor regarding future bookings.
I'm looking forward to see where we go after this show. Obviously, "The Boys Are Back in Town" and "Lights" will be on the agenda for future practices, but which other songs will we be picking up? I know we'd discussed some simpler, danceable songs. And which of the sidelined songs will we bring back from the vaults for next time?
We buzzed through the full list of material we're planning to play next weekend, and it went smoothly for the most part. Vocals should be much improved since last time, though still not as smooth as I'd like to see on "Take It Easy" yet. Admittedly, that's the most vocally challenging song we've got. There were a few speed bumps, but it was more lapses of concentration than that somebody didn't know what they were doing. All agreed that if the show goes as well as practice did, we'll be fine.
That said, one of my old bands had a superstition that if the last practice before a show went well, the show would go poorly, and if the last practice before a show went badly, the show would go well. Let's hope that doesn't hold true in this case.
I'm more worried about whether or not we can keep the volume down than whether or not we can play well because I think the volume issue will be more of a determining factor regarding future bookings.
I'm looking forward to see where we go after this show. Obviously, "The Boys Are Back in Town" and "Lights" will be on the agenda for future practices, but which other songs will we be picking up? I know we'd discussed some simpler, danceable songs. And which of the sidelined songs will we bring back from the vaults for next time?
Saturday, September 15, 2012
JW - 9/13/2012
Third of three Thursday practices. Say that ten times fast.
Disjointed sort of session, with Andy showing up late due to an unavoidable problem. In spite of all the focus on it, "The Boys Are Back in Town" just isn't going to be good enough in time for the show. So be it; it'll be ready for the next one.
Because Andy was late, we spent a little time on vocal issues, and yes, I forgot some of the parts again, though I found them again quickly enough. I'm going to have to suggest that we rotate some of the vocal-heavy songs through more often so these stick. For the most part, the group vocals are improving, but I'd like to sharpen them more.
We also worked on bringing the volume down, which is going to be important for the upcoming show. Shouldn't be a big thing, but it seems to be with us. It's a problem with a lot of bands, actually.
We brought "Lights" back for a quick run at the end of practice, though we know we're not going to play it for this show. Sounded pretty good for a quick run-through, though.
Bill, Dale, and I were talking before practice about adding new songs after the next show. Consensus was that we'll add a few quick and easy songs to build the list a bit before taking on a project song like "Boys" again. I'm not crazy about some of the songs under discussion, but I know they'll go over and they're easy, so it makes sense to go with 'em. I'll get over it if they succeed with audiences.
Disjointed sort of session, with Andy showing up late due to an unavoidable problem. In spite of all the focus on it, "The Boys Are Back in Town" just isn't going to be good enough in time for the show. So be it; it'll be ready for the next one.
Because Andy was late, we spent a little time on vocal issues, and yes, I forgot some of the parts again, though I found them again quickly enough. I'm going to have to suggest that we rotate some of the vocal-heavy songs through more often so these stick. For the most part, the group vocals are improving, but I'd like to sharpen them more.
We also worked on bringing the volume down, which is going to be important for the upcoming show. Shouldn't be a big thing, but it seems to be with us. It's a problem with a lot of bands, actually.
We brought "Lights" back for a quick run at the end of practice, though we know we're not going to play it for this show. Sounded pretty good for a quick run-through, though.
Bill, Dale, and I were talking before practice about adding new songs after the next show. Consensus was that we'll add a few quick and easy songs to build the list a bit before taking on a project song like "Boys" again. I'm not crazy about some of the songs under discussion, but I know they'll go over and they're easy, so it makes sense to go with 'em. I'll get over it if they succeed with audiences.
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