Thunderbird Club

[fasterpussycat]

Think our drummer needs a sedative.

A few weeks ago, when we were still looking for a guitarist, she was keen to get out and do open mics with bass, drums and vox, and the other two of us had to hose the idea down.

We are seeing three singers this coming week, all of whom seem keen and two of whom have a great deal of performing experience. They have all been asked to prepare three of the initial six songs we are working on as our first 30 minute set.

Last night our drummer started going on about going out and playing guitar, bass, drums open mics with no vocals. She doesn't seem to get that this is a bad idea. She thinks it will take a singer a month to get up to speed and we are wasting time. I think it will take a singer one good rehearsal to get our six songs down (they're not complicated) and we should take our time. Better to give a good initial impression, than a half-arsed one.

 

[JJR58]

Queens punk bands? Whoever heard of such a thing? Are they all from the same family?

Good questions. No idea what I’m in for tonight. But tonight’s antics are bound to include loud and tasteless.

 

[JJR58]

Think our drummer needs a sedative.

A few weeks ago, when we were still looking for a guitarist, she was keen to get out and do open mics with bass, drums and vox, and the other two of us had to hose the idea down.

We are seeing three singers this coming week, all of whom seem keen and two of whom have a great deal of performing experience. They have all been asked to prepare three of the initial six songs we are working on as our first 30 minute set.

Last night our drummer started going on about going out and playing guitar, bass, drums open mics with no vocals. She doesn't seem to get that this is a bad idea. She thinks it will take a singer a month to get up to speed and we are wasting time. I think it will take a singer one good rehearsal to get our six songs down (they're not complicated) and we should take our time. Better to give a good initial impression, than a half-arsed one.

Uh oh.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Count mistakes. First to 100 is the winner.

I’ve already made that many today. What do I win?

 

[Miles_ONeal]

^This! So much “live” music these days is sequenced and/or performed with click tracks for consistency that it has lost its soul.
Give me mistakes and varying tempos any day!

I recall years ago reading interviews with the Stones and with Yes. Someone in each group talked about how they would be trying to pull a song in one direction at a certain tempo and someone else (maybe more than one) would be pulling in another direction and/or another tempo, and how that defined their sound.
Not everyone needs to work that way but a lot of my favorite bands live seem to.

 

[fasterpussycat]

I love my drummer - she's dogged, driven and takes no sh1t BUT, she's been building and hyping our social media profile since our first rehearsal, which may have been a little early. I don't want us to be yet another slightly shambolic indy band -- we need to be hard hitting and quite a bit terrifying ... set ourselves apart.

 

[Count Bassie]

View attachment 3392590

Cute little booger!

 

[Gaolee]

I love my drummer - she's dogged, driven and takes no sh1t BUT, she's been building and hyping our social media profile since our first rehearsal, which may have been a little early. I don't want us to be yet another slightly shambolic indy band -- we need to be hard hitting and quite a bit terrifying ... set ourselves apart.

She's a drummer. Being a drummer means she probably takes apart pens and then loses part of the pen before putting it back together. Just part of the hyper drummer thing. Check the edges of tables and anything else that might come apart or get peeled back. There will be missing bits. If she wasn't like that, she wouldn't be a good drummer. Or even a drummer at all. Playing drums makes you like that. Or you become a drummer if you are like that.

 

[Count Bassie]

I love my drummer - she's dogged, driven and takes no sh1t BUT, she's been building and hyping our social media profile since our first rehearsal, which may have been a little early. I don't want us to be yet another slightly shambolic indy band -- we need to be hard hitting and quite a bit terrifying ... set ourselves apart.

I overhyped my fledgeling art-punk band a few years ago. Didn't mean much, but that might be because we weren't going to be reaching much beyond our neighborhood for a while anyway.
At any rate, the reality of your hard-hitting is going to diminish any effect your early promotion, for better or worse, could present anyway.
You'll be fine. Hit 'em hard.

 

[Count Bassie]

She's a drummer. Being a drummer means she probably takes apart pens and then loses part of the pen before putting it back together. Just part of the hyper drummer thing. Check the edges of tables and anything else that might come apart or get peeled back. There will be missing bits. If she wasn't like that, she wouldn't be a good drummer. Or even a drummer at all. Playing drums makes you like that. Or you become a drummer if you are like that.

Lol, hitting and disassembling. Strong, in-the-moment impressions are like transients. Makes sense actually.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

She's a drummer. Being a drummer means she probably takes apart pens and then loses part of the pen before putting it back together. Just part of the hyper drummer thing. Check the edges of tables and anything else that might come apart or get peeled back. There will be missing bits. If she wasn't like that, she wouldn't be a good drummer. Or even a drummer at all. Playing drums makes you like that. Or you become a drummer if you are like that.

Hence my bent for percussion as well as things with strings. It's been a while but I'm playing djembe next weekend for an acoustic set! Now, do I take the *big* djembe? It can go low like a Thunderbird.

 

[Count Bassie]

Hence my bent for percussion as well as things with strings. It's been a while but I'm playing djembe next weekend for an acoustic set! Now, do I take the *big* djembe? It can go low like a Thunderbird.

Is that a question?

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Think our drummer needs a sedative.

A few weeks ago, when we were still looking for a guitarist, she was keen to get out and do open mics with bass, drums and vox, and the other two of us had to hose the idea down.

We are seeing three singers this coming week, all of whom seem keen and two of whom have a great deal of performing experience. They have all been asked to prepare three of the initial six songs we are working on as our first 30 minute set.

Last night our drummer started going on about going out and playing guitar, bass, drums open mics with no vocals. She doesn't seem to get that this is a bad idea. She thinks it will take a singer a month to get up to speed and we are wasting time. I think it will take a singer one good rehearsal to get our six songs down (they're not complicated) and we should take our time. Better to give a good initial impression, than a half-arsed one.

It's a good idea IFF it will build your following and get people hyped up. Otherwise, it's not so good. Despite the old saying, there*is* such a thing as bad PR. I'd look for a win; if you can find way to make that, go for it. Of course, the other danger is if it takes several months to find a singer, you have to keep the momentum without one.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Is that a question?

Obviously not. I need more coffee. Thank you.

 

[Gaolee]

Hence my bent for percussion as well as things with strings. It's been a while but I'm playing djembe next weekend for an acoustic set! Now, do I take the *big* djembe? It can go low like a Thunderbird.

I play a full kit. I admit nothing about what may or may not be in pieces around the house.

 

[Thumper]

Which post number can I go to, to see latest membership numbers? Y'all are VERY active

 

[Gaolee]

Which post number can I go to, to see latest membership numbers? Y'all are VERY active

That's a very good question. And an understatement. 813 is probably the next 13 coming up. Just a guess, but I think we were into about the mid-700s. 1313 would be pretty great, too.

 

[dukeorock]

Just got to load in at Knuckleheads in KC. Actually a great club at night, but on weekend days it’s just an ocean of Harley apparel and bands playing Mustang Sally and Rocky Mountain Way. So many folks hit 50 or so, then only want to hear the same music over and over for the rest of their lives. Then some of the same people lament the lack of live music. There’s actually tons of great original music out there. Just often a serious lack of support for anything original or new. And there’s tons of great, original music out there. Too bad so many assume if it ain’t their music from their era it can’t be any good

 

[TBird1958]

Which post number can I go to, to see latest membership numbers? Y'all are VERY active

See post 111437 on page 5572

 

[fasterpussycat]

It's a good idea IFF it will build your following and get people hyped up. Otherwise, it's not so good. Despite the old saying, there*is* such a thing as bad PR. I'd look for a win; if you can find way to make that, go for it. Of course, the other danger is if it takes several months to find a singer, you have to keep the momentum without one.

Don't really think open mics at obscure suburban pubs will do much of anything for us, except annoy people with louder than expected noise. Our guitarist has volunteered to sing if necessary but I want her to concentrate on making noise.

Drummer thinks our French candidate won't really want to be in the band because she's French and has a good music CV, therefore can pick and choose. We have a Spanish guitarist, a 'NZ R&R hall of fame' bass player ... why would she be any different? I understand her frustration ... she just needs to chill for a few days and see how the auditions go.