Our band just played at a buddy's graduation open house and it was TERRIBLE. We've had good shows before so we're not too bummed but still, we fought through rain and possible cancellation, and our set was pretty sloppy. We played all originals except for Paranoid, Ledbetter, and Don't Gimme No Lip (a favorite, don't ask me me, from the crowd). The covers sounded okay and a couple originals were fine but our first two songs were very off (first time we've played them for a crowd). I felt kinda bad for the audience...we were hyped up to be some good band and we sucked!
Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
NO gig report, but band practice last ngiht.
Any, we cut down to just the four piece. Then we get a call from another guy who saw us play and wants to join us. He was pretty good himself, so we go, OK, come for an audition, we send him a list of songs that we will be rehearsing, 5 songs, not 500.
He turns up, I had to loan him a guitar, but I knew that. Anyway, he does not know any of teh songs, but plays well, and picks stuff up as we go pretty well. Trouble is, he starts over-playing, and it gets worse and worse. He doesn't know the riffs, so he picks up on the key and starst playing lead over the top, which eventually gets almost to the shredding stage.
On one song, there is just a defined riff, and before, I said, sit this one out. So he starts the lead stuff straight away, So I stop, and say no dude, sit it out.
Get to the end of the night, and I've got very mixed feelings. I've just scaked two other guys for playing too little, and now it looks like I'm gonna diss this guy for playing too much. I wonder if I'm looking like I'm selfish, but the rest of us play with respect for everyone else sonic space, and get tight on songs really quickly because we are listening a LOT to each other.
He's a nice guy and I'm thinking he over-played cos he was keen and wanted ot impress us, and he played lead stuff cos he did not know the songs of the riffs, so initially I kinda forgave that a bit. But then it occurred to me that he had not even listen to one song once t know how they went, and that kinda shits me a bit. At the end we had a chat, and I said, yeah, I'm not sure, but lets go with him, but the more I think about it, the less I feel like I want to be fighting for space. The singer got lost in the mix a lot too, which bugged me as well. I lay back when the vocal is important, and she steps aside for the lead breaks, but he was all over the top of both of us.
Whaddya reckon ????
i'm a bit unsure as to why he would come to an audition without a guitar and without learning the 5 songs lucy. i'd be a bit worried about his committment.
(although if it meant i got to play lola, i might even pull that one myself )
i'd sit him down and clearly explain to him what our expectations of him are, and how we see his role in the band. more than likely, he may have just been over excited and trying to impress. he obviously thinks you guys go ok, because you said he had seen you perform and contacted you to audition. that's high praise right there for you guys. hopefully he will be better when he learns the songs. try and talk to him and make sure you are on the same page. you said he was a cool guy so hopefully you can come to some agreement and a good playing relationship that keeps everyone happy.
Our band just played at a buddy's graduation open house and it was TERRIBLE. We've had good shows before so we're not too bummed but still, we fought through rain and possible cancellation, and our set was pretty sloppy. We played all originals except for Paranoid, Ledbetter, and Don't Gimme No Lip (a favorite, don't ask me me, from the crowd). The covers sounded okay and a couple originals were fine but our first two songs were very off (first time we've played them for a crowd). I felt kinda bad for the audience...we were hyped up to be some good band and we sucked!
everyone has had a bad night at some stage, and i bet it was nowhere near as bad as you are thinking. good to see you are thinking about your good shows! there's been lots of them! chances are, the crowd would not have even noticed and you weren't as bad as you think! maybe next time play your newer songs later in your set if you think that might help.
and smile. remember what alfred said to batman? 'why do we fall down sir?'..........So we can learn to pick ourselves up again....'
i'm a bit unsure as to why he would come to an audition without a guitar and without learning the 5 songs lucy. i'd be a bit worried about his committment.
(although if it meant i got to play lola, i might even pull that one myself )
i'd sit him down and clearly explain to him what our expectations of him are, and how we see his role in the band. more than likely, he may have just been over excited and trying to impress. he obviously thinks you guys go ok, because you said he had seen you perform and contacted you to audition. that's high praise right there for you guys. hopefully he will be better when he learns the songs. try and talk to him and make sure you are on the same page. you said he was a cool guy so hopefully you can come to some agreement and a good playing relationship that keeps everyone happy.
good luck with that
Nope, I sacked him. I thought about it a lot, but I decided I go to band rehearsal to have fun. I do leadership and confilct resolution and all tha shit all the time at work, and I have no desire to do it a fun time. If it were a problem within our established band, different story, but we just get on so easy. This guy was out looking for a band, we were not really looking for a guitarist, so it was kinda easy to decide to leave him out. If he could not work out for himself that we sent him a song-list for a reason, then too bad.
Seriously, at one stage, when our singer ducked out for a piss, I started playing Enter Sandman, and the drummer picked up on it. The audition guy proceeded to solo over the top of the whole thing, riff, solo, and the post-solo breakdown. He also bailed without thinkning about paying for a share of the reheasal room. A lot of this stuff has filtered in since my original post.
Our band just played at a buddy's graduation open house and it was TERRIBLE. We've had good shows before so we're not too bummed but still, we fought through rain and possible cancellation, and our set was pretty sloppy. We played all originals except for Paranoid, Ledbetter, and Don't Gimme No Lip (a favorite, don't ask me me, from the crowd). The covers sounded okay and a couple originals were fine but our first two songs were very off (first time we've played them for a crowd). I felt kinda bad for the audience...we were hyped up to be some good band and we sucked!
Hey, if they were originals, then no way can you play them wrong !!
Sounds like you a little hard on yourself. Chances are the crowd thought you were great. So long as most of the song is there, good time crowds don't really criticise too much. A difficukt lead-up with rain and stuff is likely to put you off too.
Nope, I sacked him. I thought about it a lot, but I decided I go to band rehearsal to have fun. I do leadership and confilct resolution and all tha shit all the time at work, and I have no desire to do it a fun time. If it were a problem within our established band, different story, but we just get on so easy. This guy was out looking for a band, we were not really looking for a guitarist, so it was kinda easy to decide to leave him out. If he could not work out for himself that we sent him a song-list for a reason, then too bad.
Seriously, at one stage, when our singer ducked out for a piss, I started playing Enter Sandman, and the drummer picked up on it. The audition guy proceeded to solo over the top of the whole thing, riff, solo, and the post-solo breakdown. He also bailed without thinkning about paying for a share of the reheasal room. A lot of this stuff has filtered in since my original post.
:eek: i think you made a wise decision. that would not have been fun at all.
Hey, if they were originals, then no way can you play them wrong !!
Sounds like you a little hard on yourself. Chances are the crowd thought you were great. So long as most of the song is there, good time crowds don't really criticise too much. A difficukt lead-up with rain and stuff is likely to put you off too.
We tried to play through the rain but it started to downpour and our gear was getting ruined. I shorted out my univox vintage amp when it rained I didn't have it covered. My board was drenched along with my 15 pedals...thankfully, they all (but one) worked when we played in the garage.
Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
Awww, shit, I forgot to report a couple of gigs. Anyway, played a nice set tonight in the upstairs room of a pub in central London. No monitors were needed, anyway. I could hear everything. 24-track mixer. The mix was right for my 12-string, too: more bass and less treble. Always a good thing when there's a wah pedal in the picture.
Awww, shit, I forgot to report a couple of gigs. Anyway, played a nice set tonight in the upstairs room of a pub in central London. No monitors were needed, anyway. I could hear everything. 24-track mixer. The mix was right for my 12-string, too: more bass and less treble. Always a good thing when there's a wah pedal in the picture.
Brixton JAMM, London, 31st August 2008. It's an all-dayer, featuring all sorts of bands. I'm on in the acoustic, afternoon portion, at 5:15pm, except I'm not very acoustic, hehe.
Brixton JAMM, London, 31st August 2008. It's an all-dayer, featuring all sorts of bands. I'm on in the acoustic, afternoon portion, at 5:15pm, except I'm not very acoustic, hehe.
Rock on!!!!
Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
Oooh, I got my very first gig write-up, on the Backstage Pass site:
"Now Richard McGuire from Cambridge is a very talented but quite heavy performer who is influenced by Hendrix and Dylan as well as, but not least by, Kevin Coyne. He does very clever stuff on a 12 String and a pedal and songs like “Horse Running Backwards” and “J’Accuse” are well constructed but dark and deep. He closed with “The Assembly of Birds”, which had a guitar intro that was longer than the live version of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane” and went on to cover some intricate guitar work that demanded concentration. If you like very good music give him a try, but forget it if you get bored easily. See what you think on www.myspace.com/finsburytunes."
If you don't like very good music, and have the attention span of a fidgety gnat, forget it. Er, I think. I can live with a review like that!
Apart from the musicians and a few stragglers, the reviewer was about the only paying customer, but I can live with that, hehehe.
Oooh, I got my very first gig write-up, on the Backstage Pass site:
"Now Richard McGuire from Cambridge is a very talented but quite heavy performer who is influenced by Hendrix and Dylan as well as, but not least by, Kevin Coyne. He does very clever stuff on a 12 String and a pedal and songs like “Horse Running Backwards” and “J’Accuse” are well constructed but dark and deep. He closed with “The Assembly of Birds”, which had a guitar intro that was longer than the live version of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane” and went on to cover some intricate guitar work that demanded concentration. If you like very good music give him a try, but forget it if you get bored easily. See what you think on www.myspace.com/finsburytunes."
If you don't like very good music, and have the attention span of a fidgety gnat, forget it. Er, I think. I can live with a review like that!
Apart from the musicians and a few stragglers, the reviewer was about the only paying customer, but I can live with that, hehehe.
Now, I want to hear about everybody else's gigs, here.
Congrats !! I ended up gettin a 12 string too. I'll start a thread. NIce review. I could stand that sort of criticism.
I've not had any more gigs, but we are rehersing a bunch of stuff to get our repertoire up. We have about 25 songs now, and are aiming to get to about 60, but that will take a few months. We have a few tentative dates booked, a local Friday night club thing and a 40th birthday party.
Oooh, I got my very first gig write-up, on the Backstage Pass site:
"Now Richard McGuire from Cambridge is a very talented but quite heavy performer who is influenced by Hendrix and Dylan as well as, but not least by, Kevin Coyne. He does very clever stuff on a 12 String and a pedal and songs like “Horse Running Backwards” and “J’Accuse” are well constructed but dark and deep. He closed with “The Assembly of Birds”, which had a guitar intro that was longer than the live version of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane” and went on to cover some intricate guitar work that demanded concentration. If you like very good music give him a try, but forget it if you get bored easily. See what you think on www.myspace.com/finsburytunes."
If you don't like very good music, and have the attention span of a fidgety gnat, forget it. Er, I think. I can live with a review like that!
Apart from the musicians and a few stragglers, the reviewer was about the only paying customer, but I can live with that, hehehe.
Brixton JAMM, London, 31st August 2008. It's an all-dayer, featuring all sorts of bands. I'm on in the acoustic, afternoon portion, at 5:15pm, except I'm not very acoustic, hehe.
Buggar, I'll be away in Europe for that unfortunately! But by the looks of your review I'll definately come down to one!
Tonight was the first time our band has practiced with our new line up. After being delayed two hours (silly rhythm guitarist and his girlfriend). Anyway, there were some hiccups, of course, since we got a new drummer. However, it was AMAZING!!!!!Our last song was so intense! They're all originals (most written by me). Everything just seemed to gel. I don't mean to gloat, I'm just very excited and still hyped up! I figured I'd share with you all
I thought, after my old band, I'd never enjoy playing music, especially with a group anymore but I'm playing with awesome friends who've been there for me through everything (and know the reasons and emotions in the songs) and they put the same amount of heart into them as I do. I think that's the best part of this-we're not looking to make any money, we're just having fun and messing around. People seem to enjoy us which is a bonus.
Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
Comments
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
(although if it meant i got to play lola, i might even pull that one myself
i'd sit him down and clearly explain to him what our expectations of him are, and how we see his role in the band. more than likely, he may have just been over excited and trying to impress. he obviously thinks you guys go ok, because you said he had seen you perform and contacted you to audition. that's high praise right there for you guys. hopefully he will be better when he learns the songs. try and talk to him and make sure you are on the same page. you said he was a cool guy so hopefully you can come to some agreement and a good playing relationship that keeps everyone happy.
good luck with that
and smile. remember what alfred said to batman? 'why do we fall down sir?'..........So we can learn to pick ourselves up again....'
Nope, I sacked him. I thought about it a lot, but I decided I go to band rehearsal to have fun. I do leadership and confilct resolution and all tha shit all the time at work, and I have no desire to do it a fun time. If it were a problem within our established band, different story, but we just get on so easy. This guy was out looking for a band, we were not really looking for a guitarist, so it was kinda easy to decide to leave him out. If he could not work out for himself that we sent him a song-list for a reason, then too bad.
Seriously, at one stage, when our singer ducked out for a piss, I started playing Enter Sandman, and the drummer picked up on it. The audition guy proceeded to solo over the top of the whole thing, riff, solo, and the post-solo breakdown. He also bailed without thinkning about paying for a share of the reheasal room. A lot of this stuff has filtered in since my original post.
Hey, if they were originals, then no way can you play them wrong !!
Sounds like you a little hard on yourself. Chances are the crowd thought you were great. So long as most of the song is there, good time crowds don't really criticise too much. A difficukt lead-up with rain and stuff is likely to put you off too.
Yeah, I actually had a headache at the end of the night, which is very unusual. It was a good lesson in how not to approach things.
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
Talking of pictures, here's one from tonight:
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc29/finsbury_photos/14-08-08_2158.jpg
Hehehe, feckin' photographers, filming each other ...
Whens your next gig, I might come down for the show?
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
"Now Richard McGuire from Cambridge is a very talented but quite heavy performer who is influenced by Hendrix and Dylan as well as, but not least by, Kevin Coyne. He does very clever stuff on a 12 String and a pedal and songs like “Horse Running Backwards” and “J’Accuse” are well constructed but dark and deep. He closed with “The Assembly of Birds”, which had a guitar intro that was longer than the live version of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane” and went on to cover some intricate guitar work that demanded concentration. If you like very good music give him a try, but forget it if you get bored easily. See what you think on www.myspace.com/finsburytunes."
If you don't like very good music, and have the attention span of a fidgety gnat, forget it. Er, I think. I can live with a review like that!
Apart from the musicians and a few stragglers, the reviewer was about the only paying customer, but I can live with that, hehehe.
http://backstagepass.seatwaveblogs.com/2008/08/last_week_in_london_les_pauls.php
Now, I want to hear about everybody else's gigs, here.
Congrats !! I ended up gettin a 12 string too. I'll start a thread. NIce review. I could stand that sort of criticism.
I've not had any more gigs, but we are rehersing a bunch of stuff to get our repertoire up. We have about 25 songs now, and are aiming to get to about 60, but that will take a few months. We have a few tentative dates booked, a local Friday night club thing and a 40th birthday party.
Buggar, I'll be away in Europe for that unfortunately! But by the looks of your review I'll definately come down to one!
Tonight was the first time our band has practiced with our new line up. After being delayed two hours (silly rhythm guitarist and his girlfriend). Anyway, there were some hiccups, of course, since we got a new drummer. However, it was AMAZING!!!!!Our last song was so intense! They're all originals (most written by me). Everything just seemed to gel. I don't mean to gloat, I'm just very excited and still hyped up! I figured I'd share with you all
I thought, after my old band, I'd never enjoy playing music, especially with a group anymore but I'm playing with awesome friends who've been there for me through everything (and know the reasons and emotions in the songs) and they put the same amount of heart into them as I do. I think that's the best part of this-we're not looking to make any money, we're just having fun and messing around. People seem to enjoy us which is a bonus.
JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
"Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy