So, took the wife and kids on a vacation for the last week or so. Had a blast while spending many hours listening to a wide variety of live music from a white-hot jazz combo with a rock solid bassist to a duet cover set that sounded like end-of-the-night karaoke. One of the waiters that worked with us turned out to have an amazing tenor and a good grasp of Sinatra. He was from the Philippines somewhere and had a heavy speaking accent that disappeared into an American northeastern one when he was on stage. We got a little buzzed one night after his shift and did a couple 3-part harmonies with the wife. Just outstanding. I missed my bass though.
I had the band on break for the 9 days that I was gone. The fiddler gets twitchy when he doesn't play for 24 hours, so he stuck his nose into a couple of open mike and jams and stuff. Pianist and I were appreciative of the time off. Singer may actually not have noticed I was gone. Chunky McBanjo certainly didn't.
Talked to the pianist for an hour last night. I think it was probably the most constructive hour I've ever spent talking about band stuff.
She got a really good vibe at the jam session from a couple weeks ago (#136 in this thread) and wants to ignore the singer until something happens (gig booked, he learns his parts, studio owner actually opens the venue he's been promising, heat death of the universe, etc), get the guitar player working, pester the drummer, get 45 minutes together, and play some open mics within a week or two. A little jazz, a little blues, a couple shuffles, and this gypsy thing we've been working on will fill the time with stuff we've been through at least once and all the players are professional enough that a couple hours to nail arrangements is all that we need to blow the doors off something little like that. It will take longer to scout out a place to play than it will to prep the tunes.
Also got some interest from the female singer (from the band in post #126) who's also a sometimes member of my Sunday jam. She has a pretty voice and extraordinary endurance. Would love to play with her; she can really belt. Needless to say, a jillion times better than the current guy.
If the singer doesn't get his stuff together, we're gonna have to have the come-to-j..us talk. The other two in the band have approached me separately about ditching him. He's had plenty of time and plenty of feedback. And, as anyone that's been reading along can attest, I've had more-than-plenty of patience.
I had the band on break for the 9 days that I was gone. The fiddler gets twitchy when he doesn't play for 24 hours, so he stuck his nose into a couple of open mike and jams and stuff. Pianist and I were appreciative of the time off. Singer may actually not have noticed I was gone. Chunky McBanjo certainly didn't.
Talked to the pianist for an hour last night. I think it was probably the most constructive hour I've ever spent talking about band stuff.
She got a really good vibe at the jam session from a couple weeks ago (#136 in this thread) and wants to ignore the singer until something happens (gig booked, he learns his parts, studio owner actually opens the venue he's been promising, heat death of the universe, etc), get the guitar player working, pester the drummer, get 45 minutes together, and play some open mics within a week or two. A little jazz, a little blues, a couple shuffles, and this gypsy thing we've been working on will fill the time with stuff we've been through at least once and all the players are professional enough that a couple hours to nail arrangements is all that we need to blow the doors off something little like that. It will take longer to scout out a place to play than it will to prep the tunes.
Also got some interest from the female singer (from the band in post #126) who's also a sometimes member of my Sunday jam. She has a pretty voice and extraordinary endurance. Would love to play with her; she can really belt. Needless to say, a jillion times better than the current guy.
If the singer doesn't get his stuff together, we're gonna have to have the come-to-j..us talk. The other two in the band have approached me separately about ditching him. He's had plenty of time and plenty of feedback. And, as anyone that's been reading along can attest, I've had more-than-plenty of patience.
