Reimaginings... or You Can't Always Get What You Want

It has been too long. That is partly a reflection on all the goings on in my life and partly a reflection on the lack of goings on in the band. Recall that Bassist left because he didn't really want all of the things that went with writing, practicing and recording an album? Well, that's my version anyway... Drummer has joined up with a band that is actually playing gigs and "real band" stuff like that. So the band has shrunk from four down to two.

Guitarist and I have been getting together every few months to play an acoustic living room set. We've kept writing together, which is nice, but I miss the industrial space we used to rock out in. There is something awesome and visceral about playing loud rock and roll.

The latest development, aside from sporadic writing sessions, is an upcoming free-form, experimental, prog-rock jam/recording session. I have to say I am pleased to have something on the books for the future. I am wary of the string of adjectives used to describe the coming attraction, but I think it'll be fun to get together again and make some music. Even if the music turns out being completely unlistenable, at least it will be fun to make.

My next BIG goal is to play a gig. I've never actually had a real gig. The closest I've come is my one time filling in (poorly) as bassist in a church band for a church I don't even go to. I was so nervous and unprepared. Come to think of it, I still need to work on my music theory. I like to think I could at least follow a chord sheet these days, but without being tested I may never know.

Well, as the Franklin-Covey people say, I need to break this goal down into smaller manageable steps.

Step One: First, I need to practice... a lot. In practicing, I need to focus on forming a set. I need enough material to keep people entertained for at least 20 minutes. The songs should be varied enough to not bore myself or the audience. Even though, lets face it, my audience will likely be blood relatives. Anyway, once I have a cohesive set list I can work on step two.

Step Two: Get a gig. At this point I think starting smaller would be better. As previously mentioned, I think a small family gathering could be a good way of getting off my butt. Other contenders for first gig: church talent show, birthday party for a friend, or the always possible (but highly intimidating and therefore unlikely) acoustic set at a coffee shop.

Step Three: Lather, rinse, repeat. I think the plan is really that simple. The really important thing for me to keep in mind is... "You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need." But seriously folks, if you want something bad enough, you will make it happen.

Just Like Old Times

So we finally played together again. When I say we, I mean all four of us; myself, Guitarist, Drummer and old Bassist. I don't know if that means that he is "coming back" or not, but I figure as we haven't actually replaced him he is more than welcome to play on a night to night basis. 

Our first time in the guest room was pretty good. We took a few hours on a Saturday afternoon and just had a good time. I feel a little silly for not being fully prepared (ie. no lyric sheets, etc.) but I had my trusty MacBook with me so it wasn't a total loss. 

Guitarist and I have been revisiting some of our earlier works. You know when you have an idea and you start to flesh it out but then you never really feel comfortable with the end result. Sometimes the only way to fix it is to tear it up and start over. Other times you can remove only the offending portion and retool it to better meet the needs of the song. In this case we have been doing the latter. The verse was great and the overall feel of the song was good but we never really found a good transition into the chorus or a good melody for the chorus either. As we have come back to the lyrics with a more critical eye and less of an emotional attachment to the exact phrasing, we have turned otherwise mediocre songs into some of my favorites.

So in summary, things have been moving forward. Maybe a little sideways too, but never backward.