Practice Tonight

mellowinman · #1 03-08-2013, 10:55 PM

Wow. How satisfying is it when everybody's on the same page, musically, and the sound is fantastic? We really got that PA dialed in.

Problem: My wife likes LONG delay, and makes everybody into Echo Canyon. Her solution is "don't want too much delay? Dial your back on the board." My problem with that: then I don't HAVE any delay, and the effects unit is MINE.
Solution: I patched in her own Alesis Midiverb II (manufactured around 1990 ish) into just her channel. I can set the effects more the way I like it for me and Arthur's vocals, and she can go to town on her very own vocal effects.
Problem: My wife doesn't want to sing "One Way or Another," by Blondie, but she really sounds great on it.
Solution: Arthur and Scott both really like her on it, and they both encouraged her to do it, so it isn't just me egging her on now. She was a trooper, and took the time to learn it right, with all the nuances, and we were just BORN to play that one.
Problem: Our version of "Use Me" by Bill Withers doesn't sound right. It's too rock, and not enough funk.
Solution: We played it our way, then slowed it down a little, then mellowed back the drums a bit, then listened to Bill's version, then played it just like that. We decided we really should make it more our own, and found a great spot between our version and Bill's studio version that has a very lovely feel, and fits our style more than Bill's version.

Overall, just a really nice, productive night of four people working as a team, and really feeling that chemistry that makes a band a band. We still have a long road ahead of us, to get where we want to be, but it's a lot more likely that we can get there.

Found the right groove for "Train Kept a Rolling." Found the right groove for "Bitch." (Meridith Brooks,) and just overall tightened things up, and got vocals crisp. Arthur has a new effect pedal that transposes his guitar into different keys, so he doesn't have to change guitars for the Guns and Roses songs anymore; and he now has vibrato on the Les Paul, and it can't pull him out of tune!

My new Roland Juneau GI keyboard gives me more control of our backing tracks, and pre-sets for keyboard sounds I have taken time setting up.

It's great when a practice can be this satisfying. There are some kick-ass shows coming up for us-I can just FEEL it!

**mjac28** · #2 03-08-2013, 11:00 PM

Congrats sir on a good night and when everyone is on the same page it is so much more fun. I have to say sir you are my hero love that band you folks sound good.

mellowinman · #3 03-08-2013, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjac28

Congrats sir on a good night and when everyone is on the same page it is so much more fun. I have to say sir you are my hero love that band you folks sound good.

Yeah, well thanks, and I see you are in Ohio, and we are out of Fort Wayne. We play Edon sometimes, and may get further into the state from time to time, so I think you will have to come out to a show. I will keep you posted on where we will be. We can be quite fun in person, especially now that I have a full band of like-minded musicians.

seanm · #4 03-08-2013, 11:19 PM

Nice. I see band practices as something you have to do to gig. It is always nice when they are fun too!

Scooter09 · #5 03-11-2013, 07:45 AM

Sounds like you guys have a good thing going! Keep it up! It's very rare to see everyone in a group that is on the same page. I've just recently entered into a group like that and it makes playing music so much more fun!

bluewine · #6 03-11-2013, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mellowinman

[*]Problem: My wife doesn't want to sing "One Way or Another," by Blondie, but she really sounds great on it.

Our female lead vocalist doesn't like singing some songs she sounds great on too.

Is it the lyrics she had a problem with, as in not liking them?

Blue

two fingers · #7 03-11-2013, 02:09 PM

Cool story. It's a lot of fun when everybody gives a little for the greater good of the sound.

mellowinman · #8 03-11-2013, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluewine

Our female lead vocalist doesn't like singing some songs she sounds great on too.

Is it the lyrics she had a problem with, as in not liking them?

Blue

She doesn't like the lyrics.

She doesn't like the feel.

She's always hated Deborah Harry.

The only reason she's so good at singing the song is that she's parodied it for years, and has a dead-on parody.

Plus, she's all smokey and sultry, like Debbie.

Lo-E · #9 03-11-2013, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mellowinman

She's always hated Deborah Harry.

BINGO!!! Now we get to the bottom of it!

Seriously, though... it's awesome when rehearsals actually produce positive results. Sometimes I feel like it's rarer than Haley's Comet!

modulusman · #10 03-11-2013, 05:05 PM

First time i ever heard " One way or another" was in a bar and the band had a guy singing it. i actually sang the song myself for awhile.

bumperbass · #11 03-12-2013, 09:26 PM

I brought this song up twice at our practices (happened to have it as an MP3 and let it play for a couple of bars after the intro), knowing I could sing it and knowing a 3 piece like ours could pull it off. I got no response. I figured if I got no response after 2 tries, I should drop it.

**Stumbo** · #12 03-13-2013, 02:42 PM

IMO, for a cover group, if a song gets people on the dance floor, those are the songs you keep. Personal preference should not be the deciding factor on whether to cover a tune or not.

Good luck with your group!

xgator4u · #13 03-14-2013, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mellowinman

Plus, she's all smokey and sultry, like Debbie.

MMMMMMM.
And There you have it.