Joining a band

Originally Posted by: Slipin LizardSounds like its going really well Rich! If it were me, I'd be selfish and hold out against playing bass... but that's just me. It also sounds like you're one of the stronger "I know what I'm doing with my instrument" members, so to me it wouldn't make sense to have that person moved to an instrument they are not familiar with.

So faced with playing a bass part I'm unfamiliar with, I'm moving more toward this way of thinking. In some of our communication, which also involves the store, I asked what was being done to find us a bass player because playing bass wasn't part of the experience I signed up for. I figure nothing will change unless we make it the store's problem - they put the band together lacking in this area...what are they going to do about it? We still don't have a singer, which is an even larger problem.

I'll be playing guitar on Long Train Running since the guy that has been playing bass said he'd probably do better with the bass part. So that's cool. The only song left hanging is "Heard it through the Grapevine". Only because the guy that has been playing bass has been so gracious, I said I'd consider taking bass on this last song provided somebody teaches me what I'm suppose to do. I'm not going to instantly become a funk bass player :-). So maybe I'll get a free bass lesson out of the deal...

So we are now halfway through our program - 4 weeks down and 4 to go. Issues regarding schedules and who is playing what and who is going to sing have all been resolved thankfully! Our mentor volunteered to take on bass duty for the last song we are doing which is a relief to me. I think he realized I make a much better contribution on guitar than bass.

We started on Long Train Running last night. I guess the groove in the beginning hammering on the G7 chord is more difficult than I realize since I'm the only one that can do it. So I have the main rhythm part and the other guitar player will take a solo to fill in for the harmonica solo. It is such a fun groove to play that I don't mind really. It's a more complex groove than is apparent on the surface.

It was frustrating that despite repeatedly playing my "Hard to Handle" solo over the backing track on GuitarTricks 20 times or so, I still couldn't hit it with the band. With my own practice, I did realize where I'm having my problem finally. I was focusing on the rhythm guitar to keep time...which has a syncopated rhythm. I found that if I focused on the drum, I could nail it and the timing made sense, making it much easier to keep time. That's probably what I should be doing anyway...and illustrates the fact that the dummer is the pulse of the band and holds it all together!

So I'll keep working that. Hopefully I'll be able to nail it with the band at some point.

Originally Posted by: maggior
We started on Long Train Running last night.

That's a great tune! Fun for you too, as you get a couple of stand-out, guitar-super-star moments! :) Sounds like things are coming together.

I realize you already know the song, but here's a good YouTube lesson on it... I love the upside down camera angle they use. Brilliant... that's exactly the angle when you're looking down at your guitar to see what you're doing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IbDlEFiQNg

Hey, thanks for that Slipin. I forwarded it to the other guitar player in our band who is struggling with this song a bit. He may find it helpful since he goes more into detail of the rhythm and breaks down the acoustic part. Interesting that it's a JamPlay video :-).

I agree, that camera angle from the player's POV is really great.

I listened to a recording I made of our session and realized that it sounds like I nailed the intro to the Hard to Handle solo. However, because I thought I messed it up, I totally messed up the easy parts that follow...I mean totally off the rails crash and burn... Ugh!

All part of the learning process...

I'm also really happy with the way my Wild Night solo is coming along. I start it out almost the same each time we play it, but I play something competely different each time. It made me realize I've come a long way from when I first signed up here at GT and all of my solos sounded the same. The advice from Anders in his forum and in his blues lessons was gold for me!

Hi Guys - That was a really interesting u-tube lesson. For some reason I had never come across the JP series on u-tube. Good stuff, and I caught myself watching that player angle camera a lot. ( no disrespect intended to the amazing staff/content here at GT )

Long Train Running.... don't know why I never went after that song. Right in my era and right up my alley. Glad you brought it up - I'm going to work on it. Good luck with your performance maggior ... although it's chord-wise simpler than it sounds ( to me ) it's quite the right hand workout.

Sounds like you/your teacher are really working hard to get the whole timing issue nailed. Good luck with that also. re: PRS - as ur out testing them out try to find a model "245" to try. Real short scale ( 24.5" ) means u can wire it up with 10's and still get really easy fluid bends. Quick and slinky.

T-Care

So this week we had our practice and our first open mic performance.

Practice was OK...not our best. Our bass player was away, so our mentor was filling on bass. Turns out he's a very good bass player, but it created a different vibe since he was now playing and not directing us from out front. At one point, we thought we should bag the following night's performance. We gave the song one more run through and I said "if we could play it as well as the past 2 run throughs, I'd be happy". So we decided to go for it!

During that practice session, we also worked on Long Train Running. We can now keep a groove going at tempo, but need to work on the variations that occur with the different verses. That is such a fun song to play.

So that leads to the open mic performance! Wow!!! We definitely rose to the occasion and it all came together. We had to deal with some diversity - we were crammed on the stage because other peoples' equipment was set up, we had some howling feedback during the first 30 seconds, and we were positioned completely differently.

I was not nervous at all until I realized my solo was coming up. Despite feeling slightly nervous through the entire solo, I nailed it!! My first improvised solo performed live to an audience outside my basement!! I missed one note I wanted to hit, but I kept everything in time so you can't even tell. Now when I listen back, I don't notice. At the time though, what I heard in my head wasn't what came out of my hands.

We made it to the end with no errors!!! I felt like throwing up my arms and yelling "Yeah!!", but everybody else was pretty mellow about it so I decided to curb my enthusiasm. We got very enthusiastic applause, which was very cool! As I recall I did rasise my arm and thanked the audience. It felt wierd doing that...I was doing what I saw so many of my favorite artists do on stage :-).

I walked off stage and sat down and felt like I was going to start shaking! Glad that didn't hit until AFTER we were done. What a rush!! Too bad the open mic wasn't at a bar, I could have used a nice cold beer at that point :-). Our mentor came over and shook my hand and said "great job man!". That meant a lot to me because he's not easily impressed.

A couple of people shot video. If it is of decent quality, I'll post a link here. I'm really interested to see how that looks. I'm hoping I don't look too static. I naturally tend to move around when I'm playing... I looked out at the audience a few times and was struck by the fact that I couldn't see anything!!! The lights blind you. Gives me a new perspective on what it's like for performers on stage. The only thing I could see were people tapping their feet in the first row. Figured that was a good sign that they liked what they were hearing.

So, until next time...

Originally Posted by: fretsmithLong Train Running.... don't know why I never went after that song. Right in my era and right up my alley. Glad you brought it up - I'm going to work on it. Good luck with your performance maggior ... although it's chord-wise simpler than it sounds ( to me ) it's quite the right hand workout.
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Your right that it is simpler than it sounds. It's really just a 12 bar blues! The barre chords definitely are a workout for you hands. When we practiced it the first time, my hand was pretty sore after 1/2 hour. Fortunately may stamina playing is much better now. That's one of those songs that there is just no way to cheat - you gotta play those barre chords.

[QUOTE=fretsmith]
Sounds like you/your teacher are really working hard to get the whole timing issue nailed. Good luck with that also. re: PRS - as ur out testing them out try to find a model "245" to try. Real short scale ( 24.5" ) means u can wire it up with 10's and still get really easy fluid bends. Quick and slinky.

T-Care

One day after the band thing is done I hope to go guitar shopping. I'll definitely check the various PRS models out. For now, my strat is treating me pretty well thankfully! It now has the esteemed honor of being the first electric guitar I brought to play out.

So, time to put up....here is some video:

http://youtu.be/QG-jwkvni04

I'm the white haired guy on the left playing the strat!

The dude playing a bass with the price tag hanging off it is our mentor. He grabbed that off the wall on his way in to perform with us. That made me laugh!

Let me know what you guys think.

Enjoy!

Great job!
You guys sound very good

Thanks Markm! I appreciate the feedback.

Cool job Maggior.. You looked like you were the most confident and loose.. Makes me jealous..

Thanks! I was struck by how loose and and confident I looked on my solo. I certainly wasn't feeling that inside!! During the rest of the song I was feeling pretty good. It wasn't until we walked off stage that my nerves got me. I thought that was wierd - adreneline maybe.

Now I gotta figure out a way to keep this thing rollin'.

Hey Maggior - Your post #46 is a great read - had me smiling ear-to-ear. Really good stuff - thanks for sharing that.

Enjoyed the video a lot. You guys really came through when it mattered! Nice job, thanks for putting that up.

Keep it up Buddy :)

Thanks man! I'm glad you enjoy reading about my adventures and watching the video! I find it interesting to go back and read my older posts and see where we've come.

Terry, our drummer, said the same thing - we pulled it together well just when it mattered most!

Something else some of you may find humorous...my kids, especially my 10 year old daughter, haven't been overly impressed with my guitar work or participating in a band. I get lots of eye rolling from my daughter. My wife showed the video to my daughter, who responded "he's on youtube? Wow, that's BIG!". Now she's impressed!! :-). Little does she know just how easy it is to post a video on youtube.

Here is a link to a complete video that shows the entire band. You can also hear the bass better.

http://youtu.be/QG-jwkvni04

Damn that was fun!!

Sounds good. Looks like you were all having fun.

Hey Rich, congratulations! Lovely confident solo - and the band were much tighter than I'd have expected after such a short time. As for the band name - I'd suggest The Price Tags.....Cheers Steve

The last band I was in was called "Third Rail" In that band our bass player was the best Guitar player in the band. He would swap out with the other guitar player for certain tunes. But without a doubt he was the better player. Keep at it and follow your heart. if you are not happy then you should start looking to the future. I was a father with small children when I was playing out and I had to play in bands that I would never give them a thought. But I needed to be in a band that was playing gigs. I am talking about a polka band I was in. I never liked it but those people know how to party. They had lots of work so I stayed with them. But if you are going to or thinking about making this your career, you should follow your heart. This is what I got of it. playing in different bands is also good for your playing, so don't be afraid to move on. I was a dead head and stayed playing with friends that did not care about how they were playing or sounded. Make friends with everyone. treat people with respect, Do Not talk behind anyone's back. Just tell it to them about how you feel and look him straight in the eye while saying it. You are the better guitar player after hearing the other dude. Just keep that in your head and cut loose, Don't be afraid to throw those fingers down on the fret board and explore. The main thing I can tell you is to have fun, if that is not happening for you, its time to move on, Thanks for sharing

You definitely looked cool and relaxed Rich, and played flawlessly as far as I could tell! Nice job! Are the other members into continuing at all? Would be nice if you could keep it going.

Thanks Slipin!! Everybody except for the conga player are interested in keeping this going. We still need a bass player and a singer though, so we really aren't a complete band at this point. Terry, our drummer, books bands to play in the park of the town she lives in. With her connections, we should be able to find other players and gigs. I would say she and I are the most serious about this.

Hopefully when we do our full 4 song set in a month it comes off just as well. I also hope I can relax more inside. I was really surprised to see how relaxed I appeared. Having this experience under my belt will make the next one much easier.