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Tonight, the three of us got together for the final rehearsal before the show on Saturday. We went through the entire set without stopping. There are still some weak spots (for example, I have no idea what to play for my solo on Snipe Hunting -- particularly when compared to the kiss ass solo that Anthony did). But things felt pretty good -- Shahin was on fire!
It's going to be a good show. I'm probably going to play is safe on Snipe. I've got enough fence swinging on my other solos that I don't mind taking a dive. Well, not too much.
We had a final rehearsal before the private party on Thursday. Shahin got a new sponsor (I think), so he has a mess of picks that he's playing with and trying to find the one that works for him. It went well; Thursday should be a good show...
We got together tonight to run over the set once more, but there was just no ennergy in any of us. We played fine, no mistakes, but no fire, no spark.
I think that the three of us have just been running ragged for so long on so many projects (the CD, the release party, building a retaining wall at the house (for one of us), etc.), that its just all catching up with us.
Tonight, the three of us got together and tried to go through as many of our tunes as possible. Boring, I know, but not all of music is oh so glamorous.
During rehearsal tonight, we started talking about maybe doing a tour. Shahin knows some folks overseas, I know some folks up in the NE of the US, so you never quite know -- you might just see us in your town soon! Let us know if there's somewhere you'd like for us to visit...
Tonight, Shahin and I got together to work out the solo parts for the new song (Matador). There are a lot of synchronized parts, and Shahin and Casper are going to have to really stick it for those to work out. But, it should be a good thing.
Of all of our songs, this one is starting to become the one I like the most. It's got some really good energy, flows well, the transitions are (mostly) pretty smooth -- it's just tight. Everytime we play it, I start to smile, nod my head and do a little bit of dancing (well, more of swaying). If we're going to have a hit, it's almost certainly going to be this one.
We're revisiting yet another older tune! Luis, which is a pretty enough song but too slow and draggy, is now a high energy, upbeat, almost mid-1982 new wave kind of thing. We're not completely sure that it's going to work just yet, but it will definitely get everyone's attention...
When we were working through this one, an old Motown song came to me. Between the drums and bass line, it's "I love him, I love him, I love him // And where he goes I'll follow, I'll follow, I'll follow him..." I tried singing it along to the chords, but it didn't quite work.
Tonight, Shahin and I got together to work on a vocal line for one of our older songs (Persian Ballad). We're reworking the song to try and make it a bit more catchy, so maybe we'll add some vocals (ala Mike Stern/Pat Metheny) and see if that moves better...
Persian Ballad is a pretty song, but it's all A section and it kinda drags (if you don't believe me, check it out for yourself). UppingMore than doubliing the BPM does breathe new life into the tune.
Tonight, the three of us gathered to go over our material (some of the songs we haven't played in almost four months). We've got a lot to go through and get ready -- the release party's still six weeks off, but there's no time to waste! It's going to be such a good show, we just can't wait!
Tonight, Shahin and I got together to finish out writing the new song 7 (it's a working title). It flows nicely now, with a good dancable core to it.
Today, we got together and went over some of the business deals that we have to make to get this CD out and on the market. It took a while, talking about the details and what will and will not happen. When it was over, we did some playing, particuarly working on the new tune.
Things got a little heated during this discussion. There's an irony in it, but I'll wait for awhile before I talk about it.
Tonight, the three of us got together, went over some of the new songs and then talked business for a bit. We're going to shelve Green Island Samba for now -- it really needs a fourth instrument to make the song work, and that's not in the cards for now.
The business side of this is really starting to be a drag. It's starting to seem like I'm spending so much more time on getting distribution lined up, working with merchant account vendors, talking with radio PDs and the like that I hardly have any time to rehearse, let alone write. While I hope that things are going to get better after the release party, I have a sneaky suspicion that is probably won't.
Shahin and I got together tonight (Brett couldn't make it -- something about pipes bursting). We didn't do all that much about music, but we did take care of business -- copyrights, composition allocation, all the nitty gritty that isn't fun but has to be taken care of.
Basically, Shahin and I worked out our publishing agreement. I created a company (Ghost Stories Publishing, LLC) to own the copyrights. Shahin and I assigned all our rights to that entity and that's who will chase down all the infinite amounts of monies we're going to get for the radio playing our songs. Or something like that.
Tonight was a short rehearsal. We went over the final mixes, talked about them for a while, reviewed the graphics for the CD from Natalie (pretty cool, actually), and then played until I broke a string and didn't have a replacement.
We got together tonight to go over some of the new songs, but there was just no energy there. After beating a deceased equine for about an hour or so, we called it a night.
Shahin, Brett and I got together today to both remember how our old songs go and keep working on the new ones. Down the memory hole go Red Leaves (we did okay), Talking String (which we should really junk) and Soho (a B+ on it). After warming up, we worked on Lemmings.
So far, Lemmings is a sort of country/jazzy tune with a little metal/Yngwie influence for fun. Of our newer tunes, this is the one I'm least digging. Sometimes, the mood strikes and it's fun. Other wise, it' just something to get through.
Green Island Samba on the other hand, is just great fun. It started before I left as a simple, very upbeat Samba groove (I-IV-V in a major key). It was so much fun (and irresistibly infectious) that we're building an entire song around it. The "Green Island" part comes from an arpeggio exercise that I was fooling around with. Playing through truncated 7th's in 6/8 time, it sounds almost Celtic. So, I moved the exercise to be in the same key as the groove and played it over top. Amazingly enough, it fit, so we're going to go with it.
Tonight, I sat in with the members of That Guy. They are currently in the process of looking for a new bass player, and I thought I'd check them out.
I think that it went okay. I'm not as up on the cover scene as I used to be (my last cover gig being June of 04), but I muddled through as best I could. I suppose that we'll see what comes of it.
Tonight, Shahin and I got together to work on a new tune. It's a pretty busy song, with lots going on in the guitar line. So much, that I'm probably going to play big, open notes for support.
While we were working on the song, I noticed a small problem -- namely, no melody. Anthony told me once, "the hallmark of a good instrumental song is a melody line that you can whistle once you've heard it." So, I think I'm going to play the melody line for this song. Probably do some right hand hammer once while my left hand works the bass line.
We're calling this one Lemmings for now.
Tonight, the three of us gathered to go over our new songs. Snipe Hunting, The Chronicles Of Robert Frost and Mist. Going through them is working out well, and I think that Mist might end up as one of our more popular tunes (we're clocking that one in at about 120bpm, which will make it very up tempo and danceable).
After going through the songs a few times, working on the blocking, the transitions and some of the chord structures, we talked for a bit.
I think that we're going to head into the studio soon, probably to cut an EP for release. We haven't decided which songs to include (although we have a pretty darn strong idea) or where to record it (I'd prefer to work with Scott again, but I think he's got a lot on his plate right about now). More on this as it develops.
Brett couldn't make it tonight, so Shahin and I sat down and tried to work our way through two new tunes.
We have a brand spankin' new one (with the ubiquitous working title of Mist). First off, we changed around some of the chord progressions to try and get away from our standard motif (vi->V->IV->iii) while staying within the rhumba feel. Then, we took the original B section and turned it into the D section (which will effectively function as a bridge). Finally, that one ends up in a frenetic finish that we could extend at will, assuming that there is a crowd that's into what we are playing (natch).
After an hour or so on that tune, we went through The Chronicles of Robert Frost a few times, just to make sure that we have the blocking down. I think that once we get settled, Robert is going to turn into one of our prettier songs.
The three of us got together tonight. One of the main goals of the night's festivities is to finish out Snipe Hunting and Mist.
A few times through Snipe, and I think that we've got the structure almost completely down. The "C" section is still a little screwy and we're still fumbling through the start of my solo within the second time through the "A", but I think that we've got things largely down now. The outro is stronger than it was before (and I think we will probably revisit it next week).
Mist is starting to become one of my favorite tunes. For one thing, we renamed it to The Chronicles of Robert Frost -- which I think is a much better name. As another thing, I get to play tenor bass and take more of a melodic approach to my playing (as opposed to focusing primarily on groove and feel). It's a new way for me to play, and I'm really enjoying exploring the space.
This tune is a departure from our normal kind of music. There's really not that much in this song with a world feel to it; to be honest, it almost has a straight-up smooth jazz sort of approach. Not quite; Shahin and I both try to keep it interesting. I'm hoping that we'll have this one ready in time for our next show.
In any case, I think we are going to have a keyboardist to try out for our next rehearsal. Hopefully, things will go well.
Tonight was the first time in about two weeks that the three of us have gotten together to rehearse. And it showed; lots of cobwebs on some of our more standard tunes.
We went through a few songs to warm up (and I mean that literally this time; where we were playing was a bit on the cold side, such that my fingers were having difficulty moving at the demanded tempo). After a bit of noodling, we went through Robert Frost a few times, still trying to best flesh out the melody structures. It's starting to become one of my favourite tunes that we do, though.
Tonight, I was scheduled to have a rehearsal with a local lady who's trying to get her a rock band started. Yet, when I arrived at the designated location (a bit late, traffic on the beltway was unpleasant), the door was locked and no one answered.
Ah, well.
After taking the holidays off, the three of us got together to work on the two new tunes. The first time through Snipe Hunting went pretty well. The song is almost finished. The ending is still rough, but we're making good headway.
Robert Frost/Mist was a bit rougher. First, we forgot the blocking of the tune. After we worked that out, then just Shahin and I went through the song a few times, figuring out how and when we are going to trade melody and how we're going to move the chords underneath the melody. The music needs more seasoning, but this could be one of our better songs.
In our first rehearsal since the last show, we focused exclusively on two new tunes. Originally, we had planned work on Snipe Hunting. However, I got there a bit ahead of Brett, and Shahin and I started to talk about Robert Frost.
Shahin had written a C section that went from both the Gm -> Cm of the A section and D-dom -> Cm of the B section to a Dm7 -> Emin7. While the chords to work, I didn't think the rhythmic part went so well. Both the A and the B are very open and flowing. Shahin's C section became very choppy and clipped. It felt like to divergent of a change to transition smoothly.
So, Shahin and I went down to try and come up with a good C section. I grabbed a tenor bass to work on the chords with him. My suggestion was to change the V -> vi to a iii -> ii (Bmin -> Amin) as a counterpoint to the prior profusion of major chords. As I was playing the chords, Shahin took them and made some changes (Bm -> Am7, I think). It still works sonically. I'm not so sure about the theory on that one, but it sounds good, so we can work with that.
Brett joined in as we were working through the chords, mostly just working around a few simple drumlines to what we were playing.
After a while, we hit on a structure. We'd play the A and B section to establish the motif. After the 1st B, we start the A section back up, with me arpeggiating through the chords in a triplet rhythmic pattern. While I'm doing that, Shahin's going to take a solo over both the A and B section. When we finish the B section, we return to a single phrase from the original A section, trying to re-establish the motif for the next go-round.
Then we go to the C section, with Shahin playing the chords and me soloing for a few bars. After that, we switch, with me doing sus4 chords and extended power chords (root, octave, fifth above the octave -- I'm not sure what that would be called). We added a D section to the tuyne as well, basically Shahin and Brett playing a really fast paced single note, with me moving through an almost Autumn Leaves progression (F#sus4 -> C#dom7 -> Em7 -> Am7(flat5) -> Dm7 -> Gm7 -> Cm7 -> Fdom7). Finally, we resolve back to the A/B sections.
It's a nice tune; very open and relaxing. I'm thinking about trying some Metheny-esque singing when we get back to the A section for the 3rd go 'round, but the jury's still out on that one. Shahin wants to call it Mist, but that name doesn't do much of anything for me. Robert Frost still feels right to me.
We did run through Snipe Hunting once or twice. That one's almost all the way done now.
The three of us got together to work on some new tunes for Sunday's show. For tonight's practice, we went over some of the old ones that we don't play much anymore and a few newer tunes. For Sunday, we're going to be playing two Christmas tunes (Winter Wonderland and Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree), as well as a new pop cover tune. We decided against doing the Beatles song again, since it's very recognizable. Instead, we'd like to at least appear to be doing new stuff.
Speaking of new stuff, we've been working on two or three brand new songs, but they are not going to be ready in time for Sunday. It's too bad, I was looking forwards to playing them.
Tonight, I went out to Rob's place, and the two of us worked on a few songs. Shahin and I have talked a few times about having a second bass player sit in with us, and I thought Rob would be a good fit for the upcoming show.
The two songs we decided upon in advance was the Bass Extremes's Not A 3 and Jaco Pastorius's Liberty City. Having Vic, Steve and Oteil storm through both of those tunes recently, I'm confident that we can pull it off at a show. Not that we're there, but they've shown the path; all we have to do is learn to walk on it.
We started off with Not A 3. Rob and I both had been learning the Vic part. I suggested to Rob that he take the Steve part, as his bass has the more appropriate range (5 string vs. 4). I also thought it would be a good tune to inrtoduce him with, as the Steve part carries almost the entire melody. The slight catch for the tune is that it's in 15/8.
We got through a good bit of the tune before moving on. I showed Rob the basic chord progression to 75% of the original tunes (A-min, D-min, G-maj, C-dom, F-maj, Bb-maj, E-halfdim). Rob then pointed out that it was almost the same as Autumn Leaves. So, we noodled around with that a bit. I think the idea that I like with this is to have a little crowd participation. Just have Brett hold a steady beat, take turns soloing or chording the tune and then as we wrap up a phrase, ask someone to call out a style. If someone yells "reggae", then we dub it up and go with that for a bit. If "punk", then trash around. That sort of thing.
Finally, we got to Liberty City. Nothing like a complex tune to make your head spin; particularly one arranged for about twenty more musicians than we are going to have. We broke it down into four parts: the A section (the horn \head), the B section (the horn piece at about 3:40 into the tune), a C section (walking bass line with solos) and a D section (the bridge). Then, we pieced together how we were going to string all the sections together, who was going to solo when and other general blocking issues.
Having finished the arrangements, we started to work on the music itself. It's a bit of a challenge, this tune.
Tonight, we got together to try out a keyboardist. Playing as a three piece is good, but there are times when an extra voice would help fill out the sound. To that end, Brett tracked down a keyboardist, and he sat in with us tonight.
We went through a few tunes, letting him find a place in the mix. On the one hand, we didn't open up enough room for any other instrument, keys or otherwise. The songs tend to be rhytmically dense, with lots of ghosting and grace notes. Both Brett and I backed down to try and open up some space, but I didn't think it gelled quite as much as I had hoped.
Now, to be fair, coming in as a keyboardist in an original band is a task -- not only do you have about a bazillion possible patches to choose from, you also have to try and match the chords (with all the qualities and accidentals) on the fly. We didn't help as much as we should have, either. A little preperation would have been a good thing. While we were playing, I stood next to him and called out the chords as we moved through as best I could.
Tonight, I had an audition with the Lloyd Dobler Effect. Phil, the lead singer, had sent me a CD of the group recorded at a live show earlier this year. The good news is lots of good-time music on it.
The not so good news about it is that I only received the CD yesterday afternoon. Twelve tunes on the disc, and Brian Buracker (one of Anthony's students, and a pretty accomplished player in his own right) playing bass on the tracks. While a number of the songs are fairly straightfoward, Brian is a pretty ambitious player, so quite a few of the bass lines are not trivial. To be honest, I think he overplays some of the parts from time to time, but it's still can be a workout.
Making the job a wee bit more challenging is the mix of the CD itself. For whatever reason, the bass sits way back in the mix. More often than not, I can hear some articulation (from the percussive nature of Brian's attack on the strings and fretboard), but I can't quite tell completely as to his note choice.
In other words, I was up to about 3am last night, trying to take notes on the songs so as to not make a complete fool of myself.
So tonight, I make it out to rehearsal, drag my rig in and wire up to a 4x10 that was already there. Phil and I were joined by Chris on guitar and Donnie on drums. After a small warmup, we got rolling. We went through In The Water, Radio, Sabrosa, Sold Out and Stranger. Given that playing with these three was the third time I had ever played any of these tunes (first time was initial stab, second time was taking notes), I played all of them very conservatively, hanging back, holding the groove and not really getting all that aggressive. I probably hung back too much, though. During Sabrosa, I lost track of where we were and forgot that there was a bass solo until there was only about three bars left. At that point, there wasn't much left to do except flail around a bit and try to catch up. I whiffed a number of other spots in other songs, but I think I did okay. We also just did a free form groove over two chords for awhile. It was pretty slow and moody, just moving back and forth with some nice breathing.
It was fun playing with the guys. Phil mentioned that they are checking out a few more bass players, so this will be another one that I suppose we'll see if there's a callback.
Having recieved a CD a while back with four tunes on it (Pat Benetar's Treat Me Right, The Go-Go's We Got The Beat, Aerosmith's Don't Want To Miss A Thing and Bon Jovi's You Give Love A Bad Name), I went over them a few times. I used to play Bad Name in a few bands back in high school, so this was mostly an effort in remembering both the bass lines and backing vocals. I think I may have trounced through Beat once or twice back in high school with some band that had a girl up front, but never anything serious. I've usually managed to turn the Aerosmith song off every single time it came on the radio (even to the point of turning off other people's radios). As far as Ms. Benetar is concerned, if I had heard this tune before, I've supressed the memory.
So, tonight, I skip out on a friend's birthday party (again, sorry for missing it Michael!) to go to the audition. Frank, a fellow bassist, arrived just a bit before we got started. While the two of us were setting up (and comparing rigs -- bass players can be geeks sometimes), both the manager and the producer set up the PA. Towards the end of the setup, the guitarist wandered in (I think his name was Ahmed).
Unfortunately, there was no drummer. Either the drummer auditioning decided not to come at all, or he was late/lost/having a bad night. Actually, I think that both conditions were true, just for different drummers. No keyboardists, though, nor any other guitarists. Ahmed said that he hadn't recieved the CD, so he didn't know the tunes. As a result, it didn't look like we were going to be able to play the tunes as a band; rather, we get to follow along with the recording.
This marks the second time in which I've done an audition that consisted of me playing along with a CD. This time around was much harder; the CD was playing through the mains, with all the musicians set up behind the speakers. It;s very hard to keep track of where the drum track is when it's turned down very low and throwing away from you. Toss in with that a guitarist who very clearly didn't know what he was supposed to play, and it's a recipe for bad things. So, we've got a few minuses right off the bat -- no drummer, the only melody instrument doesn't know his part and having to play along with a CD sans monitor. But, the show must go on and what not.
We noodled around for awhile, Frank and I taking turns playing along with the CD as best as we could, while also helping Ahmed with some of the guitar lines when we took the occasional break. Mostly though, we all supported the particular singer for whom all the festivities were occuring, mostly responding to her calls as she made them.
After a bit, Gobi (I think that's the spelling, it's a short "O") the drummer arrived and set up. WIth a complete rhythm section, we could take a stab and doing the set. Since I already was strapped on and plugged in, I took first crack at the bass arrangements. We went through the tunes, then Frank waltzed through them and that was about it. The singer started to loosen up more as the night wore on, warming up the music. I sang some backups, but not much (mostly on Bad Name. She and I only had a few minutes to work out the harmonies (mostly me pulling either a unison note or an easy 5th).
I suppose we'll see if there's a call back.
The three of us got together a little over a week after our last show. Things have been crazy busy for me at work, Brett's wife has had surgery; it just wasn't a good week for trying to carve out some time for practicing.
Last week, I dropped by Shahin's place for a few minutes to go over a song that he has written. It's very Mediterranean Spanish in style, calling to mind a bull fight. That the good news. The not-so-good news is that it's yet another standard tune -- key of F, Phrygian mode, 100 bpm or so. I understand that it's a comfortable place for Shahin to write in, but we really need to branch out beyond it.
After going over it a few times, Shahin just started noodling around on his guitar. He was just playing an easy chord change (Gm to Cm and back again), but he was playing it in a very Americana folk style. So, Brett and I jumped in and we worked out the structure for a basic tune. For now, we're calling it Robert Frost. It's a very open, pastoral kind of song. I think some piano would set it off very nicely, building a melodic structure on top of the breezy chords.
Before the show, the three of us gathered at Shahin's to do some last minute run throughs. Mostly, we touched on the songs that have recently been changed, as well as some of our more problematic sections (the stops in Brazilian, the back and forth in Sahara, that sort of stuff). Just a refresher to make sure that we all remember what we're doing where.
We got together tonight to run through the set list one last time before the show on Sunday. Once more into the breech, dear friends, once more into the breech, and all that rot. We zipped through the set, but our hearts were really in to it. Hopefully, things will be better, but soon.
We got together to zip through the set list again in preparation for the next show. This was a productive practice; Shahin was a bit out of it, but I think that we tightened up a number of tunes quite nicely.
Butch placed an ad on Craig's List, looking for a bassist. He plays two nights a week in Georgetowne (bassist's share would be $100). I caught them playing; they had some nice harmonies while playing some pretty standard covers.
So, tonight, I went out to his play to see if we'd be a fit. I played with him and his wife. Butch was on guitar and vocals, she played keys and some vocals. Rhythm came from a drum machine. Butch is a stickler for vocal harmonies (all in all a good thing). We went through two or three tunes and the broke for the night.
I don't think that it's going to work out. They have a pretty large set list (100+ tunes), rehearse once a week on top of playing twice weekly. I also misunderstood the ad -- it's $100 for the week, not $100 a pop. I just don't think what I would get in return is worth what I'd have to put into it.
We decided to go over to Brett's today to run through the full set. We laid out all the songs, decided on an order -- even came up with some stage directions and blocking. We went through every song, even the ones that we haven't played in a few months. A good bit of rust there, but that's what rehearsal is for.
We're going to add a Beatles tune (Come Together) to the set list for Sunday. I heard Marcus play it and it worked well, so we're going to borrow the idea. Shahin's a bit weak on it, but I think he'll get it by then.
This was a good rehearsal, a good way to kick the cobwebs off of things. I was soloing very well for some reason. Maybe because I finally got my baby back.
The three of us got together tonight for our impending show. We need to really tighten up a number of the tunes before go live.
First on the block was Brazillian Café. We've changed the end, trying to get clever. Originally, the song ended with a syncopated rhythm (duh-duh-duh, duh-duh-duh). Brett hit on the idea of doing rounds. So, now what we're trying to do now is make diminishing rounds. We take the first mark with all six hits, then one of us solos. Then, we play the marks again, leaving off one note and someone else solos. This goes around until the song ends (duh-duh-duh, duh-duh-duh; solo; duh-duh-duh, duh-duh; solo; duh-duh-duh, duh; solo; etc). But, having played just the six and ending, it's a bit hard to change direction, figure out what you're going to do for a solo with less than a bar to play and still hit all the marks.
Having played the Café way too many times, we moved on to Soho. As I figured we might do, we've rewritten Soho. Not only was it way too busy to start with, we're down a guitarist from the original version. So, now we've made more into a traditional style Latin tune, with a 3-2 clave feel to it. We are extending the groove quite a bit, and generally letting the song breathe more. I think it's an improvement, but it's going to depend on the guitar arrangements.
Finally, we breezed through Ripple a few times. Mostly because it's one of our newer ones, but I think it's mostly in the bag at this point.
Driving home from rehearsal the other night, a melody popped into my head. I've been working on the melody and the drum line for a while, and last night I came up with some chords to underlie it. No bass line as of yet, but that will come.
I've been thinking about our music that I play with The Canvas: With the exception of the times that I take a solo, we have a single voice for melody -- Shahin's guitar. So, what I wanted to do with this tune was add some more variety. I;m taking the idea from Mike Stern, Richard Bona, Pat Metheny -- lots of jazz guys, in other words -- and adding scat-style vocals to the music.
Tonight, I programmed a drum line into my machine and then headed over to Shahin's. We went through each stanza line by line, working on the melody and chord progression. I had tried to get a little clever, adding a few flat/sharp nine chords here and there, but they weren't flowing all that well. We simplified up the tune, and now it moves well.
I'm not sure as to when this will be ready, but I'm quite sure that it won't be for the next show.
Today, the three of us got together with a new player. Jay, the percussionist with Stone Gato sat in with us, so we can see how things work out together. It was interesting playing with a percussionist -- this was the first time I had really done for any length of time (other than one offs). Both Brett and I had simplify what we were doing to give him room to fit in with the music.
It was some slow going at first. Any time that you're playing with an original band, you have to wing your way through the pieces. Add to that an unusual style like we do, and I didn't envy Jay his work. As we went along, though, he started to warm up to the style, and things started to congeal.
The three of us got together again today. This time around, we hit all the songs that we've been ignoring and neglecting for awhile (Fly Me To The Moon, Sampa Pati, Sol Azteca), some of which really needed the attention. We also went through Sahara Dance and Ripple. I think we might add a guitar solo during the frenetic section of Ripple, but maybe not. For now, I think we're going to plan on leaving it out, adding it back in if there's crowd response for the uptick.
It's been a while, but the three of us got together, so it was good to get some of the kinks out. We went over some of tunes (Waiting For Rain, Ripple, Talking Strings among others). We talked for a bit about adding another person to the group; either a percussionist or a keyboardist (or, even better, someone who can play both).
It's good to be back. As a bad thing, though, I noticed that the treble controls on my Fodera aren't working. It's probably from when it feel over at camp.
Today, I got together with Rob and Greg, both of whom happen to also be students of Anthony. Rob and Greg have been playing together as a duo for some time, and today they invited me out to sit in with them.
After cooking out some rather large steaks, we started to play. The way we played was that one of us would start a groove (it tended to be Greg) and then another one of us would start some kind of supporting melody structure -- chords or sich (that tended to be me) and then the other would start soloing over top of the other two (which was usually Rob). Then we would hold things steady for a bit and take turns soloing, with the previous soloist dropping back to leave room.
Playing like this is completely different than any other kind of playing that I do. There are no other instruments, and we each produce the same basic frequency range and sound. So, the challenge is to find space around the others while still playing the right part.
For example, towards the start of the jam, Greg laid down a groove and Rob started playing a little syncopaited riff in the same key (just a slightly different mode). The two of them have been playing together for some time, so they were able to feel their way through each other's playing fairly easily. When I started to play, I couldn't go low (that's where Greg was) and I couldn't go high on the neck (where Rob was). So, I tried to play in the middle range, keeping my notes above Greg's lines and underneath Rob's.
Greg pretty much stayed steady, but Rob would move around. When Rob would move his line down the neck, I had to react, chaning my line so we wouldn't be interfering with each other. I'm starting to understand why Anthony tells me over and over that playing bass with another bassist is one of the harder things to do.
I also noticed that I really need to work on my soloing. I've been doing more and more soloing when I play with Canvas, but I pretty clearly have a long way to go. I felt like I was really working to get anywhere. By contrast, Greg's solos were effortless and Rob's flowing.
Speaking of Rob, I have to say that I'm really impressed. It's been a while since I've played with him in any context other than some rock stuff. He's very clearly been working at it -- head and shoulders better than I expected. I've thought for some time that he has better technique than I do, but his feel for jazz tunes is pretty darn good, too.
In any case, it was a new experience playing with just three bassists. Perhaps a preview of the Bass Extremes show.
Today, Shahin and I introduced Ripple to Brett. We went through the song twenty or thirty times, letting him find what he wants to do in each section. We eventually ended up recording both of our tracks on to Brett's 4 track so he would have a version that he could work up a part to. I'll be interested in hearing what he creates.
Tonight, Shahin and I got together to do some writing. Brett took his family away on vacation (the beach, I think), so Shahin and I sat down to work some more on Ripple. We worked out most of the structure last week (A -> B -> C -> A -> B2 -> C2 -> D -> C3 -> A), as well as the pacing and key. Tonight was making sure that we remembered the setup from last week, as well as further tightening the transitions.
The transition into the D section is to accelerando from about 87 to 144. The idea is to build up a mass of frenetic motion, probably with Brett and myself holding down the fort while Shahin (and the to-be-determined other musician) goes off, soloing on top of it.
After a while, we revisit the theme from the C section at the new pace, but instead of coming back down to the E to resolve to the A section, we're going to move to a high B (it's probably going to end up being me doing this). While the B is sustaining, Shahin will pick back up the original, more sedate A section at the original pacing. It should make for a good little tune.
The day gig kept me at work way longer than I would have liked. So, I didn't make it out to rehearsal until about an hour after it was scheduled to start. When I got there, Shahin and Brett had been working on a new tune as well as changing the arrangement to Talking Strings.
Shahin has added a section to the bridge, mostly a fast and busy scale run starting from E. It works pretty well. When he does that, I try to hit a big, ringing note, just to stay out of his way while giving him a big room in which to move. The new part is altering the transitions (natch), which may not be the best idea just before a show, but we're going to go with it anyway.
Other than that, we just worked on a few of our problem children (Red Leaves, Soho), and then revisited Sol Azteca. Sol isn't a particularly hard song, but when Brett and I were looking at each other trying to coach each other into remembering how it even went, that's usually a sign that we need to at least touch on it once. I changed my line for Sol, though. I took it from a slap piece to a finger style tumbaó. Brett picked up on my change and we turned a semi funky straight ahead tune to a pretty hard Latin feel song; I can easily see people up and dancing to this one now.
Today. it was just myself, Shahin and Brett. We really needed to buckle down and get ready for this Saturday's show. Once we set up, we went through every song on the list. There's still a little bit of rustiness (particularly on the old chestnuts), but that's why we're practicing.
During the workouts, we finally got Red Leaves down; probably the best we have played it to date. Brett finalized his drumline for Talking Strings -- now he's playing a straight ahead funk groove, which really brings the song to life. It's a solid head-nod groove.
I also introduced a new song to the mix. For a few days, I've been toying around with a mid-tempo dark funk groove built around F# minor. I really like the feel of it, but I can't quite figure out where to go with it. So, I'm going to give this one to Canvas and we'll see what we can throw together. After Saturday, natch.
Tonight, I had an audition with Junkyard Saints. They're a regional band, and their old bass player has been picked up a national act to go on tour (and so they're looking for a replacement). I've been looking forwards to this audition for about a week now.
As a tangent, here's a note to any band out there that might be looking for a new musician. The way these guys handled things is the way that everyone should be handling things. A few days after we talked the first time, I got a packet in the mail -- CD with songs to learn, some details on the band and sheet music (both for the tunes on the disc as well as a few other ones). I would have been thrilled (almost beyond words) if I had gotten a chord chart, but sheet was a wonderful surprise. In short, I had everything I needed to be completely ready for the audition.
Having said that, I wasn't ready. The changing of the day jobs didn't allow me to focus as much attention on it as I would have liked. The Saints play a pretty wide range of musical styles -- fingerstyle funk, R&B, Latin, Zydeco, swing. The first two and the last one I've got down cold, having played them for a long time in many bands. I've done some Latin, but it's been more of a flamenco style, and I've never tried my hand at Zydeco before.
So, when we played (it was just Andy and Brian, on drums and keyboards/vocals/accordian respectively), I worked the funk, the R&B and the swing pretty hard, laying down a thick groove and trying to share with the other two. When it came to the Latin and the Zydeco, I was up front with them both -- I wasn't as familar with notes as written as I should have been. I spent all my time when I was learning the songs trying to get down the feel of the music.
It's my belief that if I have both the feel of the tune right and am laying down a good thick groove, I can sell any note I hit (right or wrong) to anyone listening. So, I tried to pick up as much of it as I could, follow along with the general read on the sheet and then listen as best I could. I don't know how well I did at it, but I did try my best.
To be honest, I'd love to play with these guys. They're have a high level of musicianship and they seem to be a pretty good bunch of guys. Either way, I'll probably check them out at one of their upcoming shows -- from on the stage or off.
The four of us got together today over at Brett's place. Shahin has written a new tune that he's all excited about. We started to go through our list, trying to gear up for the show a few weekends from now, but we never really clicked today. I suppose there's a lot on our respective minds and it just didn't quite come together. Hopefully next time will be better.
Well, first things first. We have officially changed the name of the band from Fire On Ice to The Canvas. As I've said a few times before, trying to decide on a name for a band is almost harder than forming it to start with; so this is it. No more name news.
The three of us played around for a bit, adding a C section to the Talking Strings tune and working with Shahin on his MIDI patch for the same song. After a while, we were joined by Rahul on guitar. Shahin found Rahul and invited him to sit in with us, to see if there was going to be a match.
We played through a number of songs, and Rahul hopped in as we played. He's got a good voice when he solos and he fits well with our style. He needs some work on his chording (some hands-on-the-strings noise when he shifts chords), but I think that will come with time (he's a relatively young player). So, we now have a fourth.
The three of us got together over at Brett's to go over some material. Given that we have a show coming up, we're starting to write less, choosing instead to focus more on getting what we have already written tighter.
We started off going over some of our older tunes, like Luis, Waiting For Rain, Brazilian Café, Talking Strings and Sampa Pati. For one thing, we haven't played them in a while, so it's good to refresh our memory. For another thing, they serve as a decent warmup.
Once we got that down, then we revisited Red Leaves and Indigo. Both of these tunes are really hard for me to play on my Kubicki -- the action of this bass is set very high, which is appropriate for most fretless playing but hard on thumping. And with the heavy tap routine of Indigo on an unlined fretless, my ear and my intonation are getting a heavy workout.
Five, on the other hand, works really well played fretless -- I think I'm going to go ahead and make that switch. The tone of the fretless bass speaks very clearly through the mix. I personally think that well played fretless bass is one of the most pretty instruments in any band: it can make you smile with the mirth of the approach, weep with the tone or sway to the groove (depending on the musician, of course). Mind you, I'm not saying that I can play a fretless like this, but I'm working on it.
Brett and I worked on the rhythm for Five a bit. Brett changed the drumline such that the 1 always starts with a kick drum. I think this gives better continuity to the song. We also worked on the transitions for awhile. The switch from 15/8 to 4/4 is not going very easily. I can so clearly hear this in my head, though. I think I might try programming a version of it on my machine to see if I can better express what I'm hearing.
After a few hours, we broke for the day. We talked about a new name for a bit. I think that we are probably going to change the name of the band to The Canvas; it's not a runaway smash, but we like it better than Fire On Ice, and it has lots of options for visual imagery.
Just the two of us for the evening -- Brett couldn't make it up. We had a fairly short night of it, just going over the two new tunes (Indigo and Five). We worked on the blocking for a little bit, and then talked about a possible new name for the band (how does Canvas grab you?). We also talked about doing a world/jazz cover of another song. The most recent one that I've heard (and that's on my mind) was Marcus' take on the Beatle's Come Together. I started noddling with the heavy funk groove, and Shahin liked what he heard, so I think we're probably going to do that one.
Brett was able to join us tonight, now all healthy and feeling better. We started off going over some of the older tunes (Sol Azteca and Brazilian Café), and we came to the somewhat shocking conclusion that we're a little rusty on the tunes that we don't play all that much. It took us some time to remember who was soloing when and what the blocking order for each song was. But we figured it out and then worked on the older songs for a bit (which is a good thing, considering the up and coming show we have).
We also revisited some of the newer tunes as well. We went over Red Leaves a few times (it's coming right along) and then Indigo. We're having a spot of trouble with that last one, though. We have a nice run for a B section that ends in a chord-based stop break. The problem is that the run ends on 6, whereas the chord stop break needs to start on 2 or 5. For now, we're letting the drums fill in for 1 and then starting the break on 2, but it doesn't feel quite right. I think we'll get it, though.
After a short break, we introduced Brett to Five. He seemed to like it, focusing on the way we are doing 15/8. I think the direction he was starting to go would be to play the beat as a pretty straight forward 6/8, letting the snare go to 1 on the back side of a 15/8 pair. I kind of like how it works, but I'm not so sure if it would be approachable to non-musicians. I guess we'll see.
Today was the first time that I played with Clint Crisher. Clint's a guy who's trying to string together a funk band for a label showcase out in LA, with the possibility of a European tour a bit later on. Clint and his manager (J. Michael) had sent me a copy of his demo a few days ago. I had been working on the songs for a few days; they are a very retro-funk style (think early 80's semi-disco with a little more of a funky beat to it).
When I got there, I was the only musician playing. Clint and J and I talked for a while, and then I started to play. This is the first audition I have ever had where I played along to a demo CD. There were no other musicians around, and this style of music doesn't really lend itself well to a stand alone player. I suppose this was the best way to handle the situation, but it was still a bit odd.
We went over the four songs, working through the parts one at a time. Clint and I talked about what he wanted for each tune, and I then I did my best to deliver. It was fun, though. I do enjoy playing funk; that's always fun.
Tonight, Brett couldn't make (he's sick -- get better, man!). So the two of us worked on some new material.
Shahin had written a snippet that felt like a late 70's rock tune in 6/8. The words that came to mind when listening to it would be "ponderous," "bombastic," or "heavy." Not necessarily a bad thing, but maybe not in the direction that we would want to go. Before we started with that, Shahin and I talked about odd time signatures (something that's been on my mind a lot lately), so when he asked me what we could do change up the tune, that's what came to my mind.
We changed the tune from 6/8 to 15/8 (think of it that way, or as 5/4 with lots and lots of triplets). Now it no longer feels even vaguely rock-ish, but 15/8 is just too out there to maintain for any length of time. So we left the A sections in 15/8 (which would roughly correspond to being a verse), made B section (chorus) into a 4/4 that stayed within the tempo feel of the 15/8 and went from there.
A quick digression. If you want to think of 6/8 as 1-2-3-2-2-3, then it's easy to flip the beat to 4/4 without changing the feel of the tempo. Keep 1 the same, and then make the 2 of the earlier count into 3. Once that works out, add the 2 and 4 evenly between 1 and 3, and the result is a 4/4 meter that is at the same subjective tempo to the 6/8.
And we're back. The two of us decided to return to the 4/4 regularly to bring listeners "back home", so to speak. 4/4 is safe and familar; 15/8 is not.
The C section (bridge) goes off in a completely different direction. We change the key from F# to C natural, go to a 4/4 feel and make everything legato and flowing. This gives us a nice contrast from the very rhythmic A section. Once we're done with that, we resolve back to the A section, bring up the odd time signature. The outro (for now) is the B section, repeated several times. The first time is a normal B section. Then we flip the meter from 4/4 to 6/8. The third time, we add the extra triplet to make the phrase 15/8. With the bookended rhythm from the top of the tune, that's how we're ending it.
This particular tune is called Five.
Oh, and we have a show coming up. We're playing for another private party -- although we'd love to have you there, the money's just too good to pass up. I don't think that Five will be ready by then, but there's a good change that both Red Leaves and Indigo will.
Tonight, Brett, Shahin and myself got together to go over the two newer tunes (Red Leaves and Indigo). Brett hadn't really heard Indigo since the last time the three of us practiced, and Shahin and I had pretty throughly reworked the tune from the original arrangement.
We went through the tune several times, repeating each of the sections over and over to let Brett get a feel for where we were going and to get a grip on what he wanted to do (at least, for now). The time for the tune is 6/8, and Brett was bouncing around playing his line as either 6/8 or 4/4. Each way has it's pluses and minuses -- personally, I like the idea of switching the feel at some point in the tune to take it to another place. Perhaps at the end of the song when we go to the A section for the third time.
We also decided to add another C section to the tune. The C section consists of a flamenco style glissando through each chord of the progression. Originally, Shahin and I were both playing the same glissando of the same chords at the same time. It sounded okay, but the more I thought about it, the more I started to conclude that it was going to be nigh impossible for the two of us to have our playing match up rhythmicly. So, what we're going to do instead is have me play the glissandos the first time through the C section (which allows for a good transition into me doing the hammer/taps for the D section) and then Shahin will take the chords for the 2nd C section that we added just before the end.
Also, we may be changing the name of the band. Fire On Ice was more or less a working name. As many people can attest, naming a band is frequently the hardest part of any any band. We've never been all that happy with the name, and we've been tossing around other concepts for a while. The best one of the bunch (so far) is "Mind Zi".
Just the two of us tonight; Brett's mother has come down with illness, so he can't make it for the evening. However, both Shahin and I can work on arranging the 6/8 tune from the last time.
We worked on the arrangement for a bit, solidifying both the A section and the B section. Once we got them down, then we reworked the structure, moving the A section to the head (instead of the chorus), then to a B section (which was the verse). Then we added a C section for a transition. Which leaves us a structure of A -> B -> A -> B -> C.
For a while, we couldn't think of where to go. We took a short break, and I worked out both the key and mode (in this case, E-flat, Aeolian). I just started to tap around the fretboard, just noodling in key. After a while, I came up with something that is in key, in genre and a workable groove. So what we're going to do now is have Shahin solo over top the tapping for about 16 bars or so. Then we'll go back to A and B and finish with a builder outro. For now, this song is called Indigo.
We also revisited Red Leaves a bit. The song still needs something, but I'm not sure as to what it would be. Maybe some kind of vocal scat line or another idea along those lines.
The three of us gathered tonight to continue to work on Red Leaves. It feels like there something missing in the song; I can't quite put my finger on what it is, though. We have two strong sections (which would more or less be analogous to a verse and a chorus), with a small intro and outro piece. I think we might want to add a bridge, but I'm not sure as what the best approach would be,
After working on that for a while, Shahin introduced a new idea. He has written a snippet in 6/8, heavy on the Arabic scales. The B section (chorus) has a phrasing very similar to 12/8 -- almost flamenco in nature. When he was playing, I started playing a gothic line, adding harmonics and overtones to try and make the bass track both stand over top of the melody and give it lots of room to move (kind of like an archway). However, it was in the standard key/chord progressions, so the first order of business was to change that. In this case, we went from F Phrygian to B-flat Phrygian (not an enormous change by any stretch of the imagination, but at least a baby step in the right direction).
We worked on it for awhile, playing around with some alternative time signatures for the bridge piece -- the easy way out would be to go to 4/4, but a swap to 7/8 or 9/8 might be interesting as well. Then Nanette (Brett's wife) sat in with us for a bit, as we noodled around on a Bonnie Riatt tune for kicks.
Tonight, I dropped by a rehearsal with Stone Gato. Their bass player has graduated college and is moving on, so they are looking for a replacement. Anthony passed along my contact info to them, and we're in that feeling each other out stage of the dance.
I caught them playing up at The Funk Box in Baltimore on Friday, and they put on a good show. Ari, their present bass player (and also a student of Anthony's), is a pretty hot bass player. He's got some good chops, good stage presence and pedaled the show along with a strong groove. Those are going to be some pretty big shoes to fill.
Tonight, Mike was drumming, Rod was on guitar/lead vocals and Javi played violin. Through a strange coincidence, Mike knowns Mike from NGB rather well -- it's a small world, no?. Mike's a strong player, though. Solid time, good groove and a nice feel when branching out into some of the more world style. Rod played what seemed to me to be more of a rhythmic style of playing, letting his vocal carry the melody. And, to be honest, I didn't pay as much attention to Javi's playing as I should have -- I was focusing almost exclusively on Mike's drumline and Rod's chord changes.
While I had heard the tunes before (once live and a few times from SG's website), this was the first time that I really worked through the music. Rod called out the chord progression, I listened to what they were doing once through and then tried to fit myself into their existing structure, keeping up without either losing my place or losing the groove. I think I could do a better job of writing a good groove line, but I think it's going to take a few more times through the songs.
Tonight, we congregated at Brett's house to go over some tunes. After warming up on some of the old stand-bys, we started to work over the Roho song. For starters, we renamed it to Red Leaves -- Roho is a bit too similar to Soho (one of our other pieces).
Unfortunately, it has been a while since the last time we rehearsed, so we couldn't quite remember how it went. I had written down the chord progression, the blocking and some general rhythmic notes, but Shahin didn't bring it with him. We started to go through it anyway, but we floundered about for a bit until we could recall how things were supposed to go.
Another problem arose between me and Brett. From what I could remember, Brett was playing a 3/2 clave for the mainstay of the tune. Brett thought he was playing a 2/3. The two of us tried to work it out for a bit, and we finally figured out what was going on. Brett was playing a modified 2/3 clave: Instead of the 2 starting on 1 and a half (eighth rest, two eight notes) followed by the three (dotted quarter, dotted quarter, quarter note), he was shifting the clave forward in the measure one eighth note.
This style of clave works, grounds the one and still keeps a Latin feel to the groove. It's almost rumba-like. We changed to the song to use the modified clave throughout the song, shifting to the standard 3/2 clave in the chorus section for a "going back home" feel.
The three of us got together tonight for a rehearsal. Initially, we just sat around and chatted. We talked for a bit about the current name of the band: Fire On Ice. It's a good enough name, and God knows it's hard enough to get a bunch of people to agree on a name for a band, but I suspect that we can do a bit better.
The three of us are a pretty odd combination. Shahin is a guitarist who plays Flamenco, Gypsy and Persian style. Brett plays straight ahead, Latin and jazz style. I play jazz, funk and some straight ahead stuff for the most part. Three pretty board styles that probably shouldn't work together, but they do. I think they work out pretty well.
I'd love to add a fourth to the group, though. The ideal would be a female keyboardist who could sing in any language that wasn't English (like French, Spanish, Urdu, whatever). I don't know if we can find such a thing, though (anyone got any suggestions?).
After we talked for a bit, we started to work on one of the newer tunes. A few weeks ago, Shahin and I worked out the rough outlines for a song called Roho. When we revisited it tonight, we couldn't remember what we had agreed upon a few weeks ago, so we had to fumble through things for a bit. In this case, we noodled around for a while, and Brett added drumlines here and there.
Eventually, things started to come together. Brett settled on a 3/2 clave beat, I changed my line to fit with his work and Shahin simplified out his part to be more rhythmic during the B sections (as opposed to melodic). We added some Cubano stop breaks in the middle and alter the solo sections. This one really moves; I hope that it will get better. We might add a scat vocal line to some of the verse/chorus as a counterpoint to the rhythmic guitar work, but we'll have to see what happens.