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Guitarist seeking PRO-MINDED musicians to form one badass cover band (rohnert pk / cotati)
Date: 2009-12-25, 2:01AM PST
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Hello. I'm posting this ad a month in advance to give me time to round up some musicians with professional/non-ego driven attitudes to put together one badass hard rock cover band. Everything stemming from 70s classic hard rock to 80s era heavy metal, and would like to even play some of the more current stuff that's played in that good ol' style. I'm looking for a vocalist, drummer and bassist specifically. As I don't have a PA system (used to...got ripped off 3 years ago...long story) or a place to rehearse, we will need at least one of these 3 members to have rehearsal space along with a PA system.
I'm in the process of moving all my stuff up here and just want to pre-establish some contacts a month ahead of time so we're ready to go for a rehearsal when the time comes.
Now from here on out, when I speak of the "band members", I am including myself in that labeling so I am NOT singling out every band member except myself. I'm gonna be blunt and direct to the point here, and it may seem like I'm being "picky" or asking a bit much. If you can't handle it, you might as well move onto the next ad because this is not the band for you.
As you know, that style of rock is a style that doesn't leave much of a margin for mistakes and has lots of dynamics and impact, so things MUST be played correctly with lots of "attention to detail" and accuracy. Some of the past issues I've had with other musicians in cover bands has mainly been ego driven. I will not put up with non-professional ego driven attitudes. I am a guy who makes doing whatever it takes to make the song and the band as a whole sound its best my primary focus...not one who makes "putting my own spin on a song" my primary focus. Not to sound pompous, self-centered, holier than thou, God's gift to guitar playing, etc etc...but we all know that the musicians who refuse to play things correctly and use statements like that as their mode of defense are musicians who just simply either can't play the song correctly or are too lazy to learn it correctly. Bands with musicians like that don't sound very good and their music/playing lacks impact and makes the band sound weak at best. Then if you're the one guy in the band who actually cares about what the band sounds like as a whole and you say anything to them about it, you get your head chopped off, accused of being the one with the ego all because (in their words) "They're not playing it how YOU want them to play it". Well, excuse me, I didn't write the damn song so how can it possibly have anything to do with how I want it played? It's just how the song goes and you're not playing it how the song is supposed to go.
This is NOT where I wanna go with this band. Every member of this band (again myself included) MUST have an open door policy and open lines of communication. Let's put our egos aside here and not get defensive about every little thing a band member says as if their intent is to render a personal attack. We're all professionals here and true professionals can seperate "personal" from "professional". I ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT put up with the all too familiar "I've been playing "X" amount of years longer than you so I'll be damned if you're gonna tell me I'm playing it wrong" attitudes. God knows there are songs that I've played the same way for years THINKING I was playing it right, until either someone in the band happened to point it out, or I happened to be watching another band's guitarist play the same song and realized it, or I happened to be listening to that song on my CD player one day and realize "Oh ****! I've been playing that wrong the whole entire time!" The important thing is that once you realize that you're playing something wrong, be it because you caught it yourself or someone else made you aware of it, that you take the time to make the necessary corrections to get it down CORRECTLY. We are all in this together as a whole, a band, a team...and as a band we want the band as a whole to sound their absolute best. We're not a band to make YOU sound good, we're a group of musicians that does whatever it takes to make THE BAND sound good. If you're a musician who enjoys focusing on playing in a way that makes THE BAND sound good and not one that plays how they want in order to make THEMSELVES sound good, this is the band for you.
When we rehearse, rehearsal is the time to address any and all issues in regards to playing the song correctly, personal issues, etc etc. Let's keep all that **** off of the stage so that when showtime comes we look professional and sound our absolute best. During rehearsal, if a part in a song is not being played right, any member should be able to stop the song right then and there and address the issue, we get the part worked out, then take it from the top. Not "let's just get through the song then address it"...kinda like a kid misbehaving and you punish him a week later for the offense. Also, if one member states to you that you're not playing a part correctly and you disagree, rather than argue and get on a defensive we'll put on the CD and listen to the song...CDs don't lie. Letting egos/experience get in the way of making the band sound its absolute best and allowing the band to deliver its songs with maximum impact is counterproductive and just gets people riled up, so let's leave our egos at the door. We're just experienced musicians who enjoy playing these songs with the right dynamics and maximum impact and will do anything it takes to make that happen. If a member states to you that you're not playing something correctly, they're not doing it for the purpose of stating that you're an inexperienced/incompetent player...if we thought that you were an inexperienced/incompetent player, you wouldn't be in the band. They're stating that because it's genuinely not correct and we as a band would like to correct it so that again...we sound our absolute best. This falls into the category of "doing whatever it takes to make the band sound its absolute best". We rehearse in this fashion and while things may seem like "work" in the rehearsal room, once we have the songs flat nailed to the point where we can play them correctly in our sleep, once showtime comes it will all be second nature and will no longer seem like work, and will be lots of fun to get up there and nail those songs like we've been playing them all our lives and not have to think twice about it.
Now, I know what you're thinking...play it just like the album. Yes and no. During rehearsal, we should learn the song EXACTLY NOTE FOR NOTE how the song was played. Once we have that down, THEN we can add parts, extend endings, give "fade out" songs a maximum impact ending, etc etc. The whole concept of "You can't know where you're going unless you know where you've been". You gotta learn the song the way it was supposed to go in the first place BEFORE you can know where to take it from there. Every song has a "feel" and a level of impact and you have to familiarize yourself with that feel and impact BEFORE you can know what to change and how to change it in a way that either meets or exceeds the song's original feel/impact level. Just like when you go to school and learn a skill BY THE BOOK and do lab experiments in a "controlled environment" first, THEN comiing up with your own tricks and techniques once you get "out in the field" that allow you to perform the skill even better than you would just going by the book. The rehearsal room is our "controlled environment" whereas the stage is considered "out in the field". When you see big name bands live, they play their material SLIGHTLY different than how they did it on the album, but they do it in a way that makes their songs GAIN impact live rather than LOSE impact like when a lot of other cover bands try to play the same stuff.
Again, my motto here is "doing WHATEVER IT TAKES to make the band sound it's ABSOLUTE BEST!" This requires LOTS of "attention to detail" in regards to how we learn/play the songs and a professional attitude about it all
Now...if you're still with me through all of my ranting and this sounds like something you would love to be a part of, email me or call me at 707-584-8827 and let's see what we can come up with!
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That's exactally what he is.
:scowl:
