First Gigs with the Country band

[Eilif]

I just finished up my first three gigs with my new band "Janesville". (www.janesvillecountry.com) My thread on getting the gig here:

Quick advice, country audition. Now: The Country experience

The gigs.

1) 50 minutes. Coffee shop accoustic gig- Great gig, very low key and groovy

2) 1.5 hours. Opening for Randy Travis on the fourth of July.- Alot of fun, terrible bass tone in the monitors, and not great in the audience either, but no one seemed to notice. Thousands and thousands of people in attendance.

3) 2 one hour sets. Ribfest gig in "Lake in the Hills" Tighter than the previous gig, lower key, and more audience interaction.

All I can say is WOW! I was never a country fan, but this is some fun music to play. The audiences love it, and there is good chemistry between the band members. A few things I have been learning, or was reminded of.

-Experienced players (I'm the youngest by 13 years) make it really easy to play and groove. I never once had to fight the drummer or worry about his time keeping.

-I have always believed, but was reminded that less really is more in many musical settings.

-Country can be cool, especially when you are playing lesser known, and more classic tunes.

-You don't need to spend a Mint to sound good. I played the two festival gigs on my upgraded MIM precision and my Darkstarred T-40, and the coffee shop gig was on my first generation Artcore with roundds. None of these basses has more than $500 in it.

Some shots of the second gig from a fan. More shots as I get them.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94043755@N00/745311734/

I'm really getting a good feeling about this band. Barring unforseen -aren't they all- difficulties, I think I'll be with these folks for a while.

[KPJ]

Looking good!

Country is fun to play. Give a nice fat supportive groove, stay out of the way of the song, step when necessary, smile a lot.

I enjoy playing country/Americana more than I thought I would. Not many complex bass lines, but nailing the feel is just as much a challenge.

[rllefebv]

Congratulations! Nice lookin' gig ya got yourself there!

-robert

[Lazylion]

Welcome to the club! It's good stuff!

[Eilif]

Thanks for the kudos folks.

Originally Posted by KPJ

Not many complex bass lines, but nailing the feel is just as much a challenge.

It really is a feel situation. The drummer is a blues veteran, and he can swing really well, so finding the perfect swing feel that fits the groove is a really rewarding challenge. When there are only 4 musicians on stage, and the music is not busy, every nuance stands out.

[KPJ]

I played blues for ten years before I got into country. It took me longer than I care to admit to nail the 2 against 4 feel. It was especially tough for me on the measures with two chords. Very rewarding once you get it down.

Best advice, I read in a BP column by either Dave Pomeroy or David Hungate, "Think of the simplest thing you can and then play half of that."

[Eilif]

Originally Posted by KPJ

Best advice, I read in a BP column by either Dave Pomeroy or David Hungate, "Think of the simplest thing you can and then play half of that."

That's a great quote, I'm pretty sure it was Pomeroy. It's a bit of a mindgame really. We don't have keys, a fiddle or a pedal steel so I'm constantly trying to keep it really simple, but walk and accent enough to fill some space, especialy for some of the newer tunes. I am definatley more prone to overplay than underplay. Our singer uaually just bangs out chords, but luckily our lead guitarrist is quite good, so when I play less it usually doesn't seem empty.