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For gigging band members, are you group practicing?


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Dojo is closed. Gym is closed. No gigs.... and it turned cold again. Felt like 17 yesterday. I"m going to weigh 600 pounds if this don"t end soon.

"It doesn't have to be difficult to be cool" - Mitch Towne

 

"A great musician can bring tears to your eyes!!!

So can a auto Mechanic." - Stokes Hunt

 

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I"m going to weigh 600 pounds if this don"t end soon.
The combination of time at home and crushing ennui is killing me. I have time to write, to practice, to exercise, and I feel so little drive to do any of it. Just trying to work through it and be kind to myself...

 

But yeah. No physical band get-togethers, and no end in sight.

Samuel B. Lupowitz

Musician. Songwriter. Food Enthusiast. Bad Pun Aficionado.

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The combination of time at home and crushing ennui is killing me. I have time to write, to practice, to exercise, and I feel so little drive to do any of it. Just trying to work through it and be kind to myself...

 

Oh boy that rings true to me... I've practiced like twice since April 1st... getting very little done here.

It's not a clone, it's a Suzuki.
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No way in hell I'd be doing that right now...as it is, assuming I don't get laid off anyway, I'll have issues with my job if they try to make us go back earlier than experts say is a good idea. Dancing around the political, let's just say my state is not one that I'd trust would follow the word of scientists and experts in the field when it comes to ending the lockdown....

 

I live with two people at high risk. I'm probably a moderate risk at age 52 and being overweight. We don't go out to stores at all, I grudgingly give in to getting take-out occasionally. Basically now (and the past month) is the time to reduce risks. Florida is behind other places for cases but I expect that to change a lot and soon.

 

I haven't played in general as much as I thought I would, and my band really hasn't communicated at all--we could have been adding new songs by learning them individually. Then again we had already practiced a bunch of new ones and just needed to gig them to "get them down". I know with my job woes (my manager wrote me up and is trying to fire me, great timing, since I'm an old-timer and she is new and wants to build her team as she likes) it's hard to find energy and enthusiasm for music. My old, old bandmates are doing a project where they are re-recording songs they wrote when we were 15, and I'm behind on getting some tracks for that too.

 

I really miss the gym, been walking but I've always preferred playing basketball and lifting weights to simply running.

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I realized today the only path forward for my greybeard jazz group is outdoor practicing. Our drummer has an electronic kit. We can set up in a backyard several feet apart. The question is whether we can just play at low volumes, or do we need to go through a headphone mixer. No rain in California May through at least November.

 

The rehearsal complexes I used to frequent, with dozens of cramped poorly ventilated rooms, narrow hallways, and everyone sharing a couple of bathrooms, are an epidemiologist's nightmare. Looking at it strictly from a public health standpoint, they should be shut down until there's a vaccine. But you didn't hear it from me . . .

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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No in-person rehearsals for our jazz quartet. However, JamKazam is working for us for live playing together on-line. It was recently updated, and seems to be actively supported again, with user forums, etc. The developers say they are now increasing capacity, given the renewed interest. I'd given up on it previously, as too unstable and difficult to adjust all the settings. However, with the April update, it just plain worked for me and my pals, without any fuss. It's more like playing together in a recording studio, with chat mics and video view of each player, but when all is set up, it can sound as good as a recording studio, too! We are all four in the Bay Area, so our internet latencies from distance don't add up to a real problem. There's still some trouble-shooting going on with the system, so when you first log on, it currently gives you some hopeless-sounding warnings about the unsuitability of your gear. However, just ignore them and forge ahead. Basic requirement is just an Ethernet cable from your computer to your router (instead of WiFi) and an audio interface for your keyboard(s) or other gear.
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No rehearsals for our band, either. We did interview a new drummer over Zoom, which was weird, but it was the best we could do under the circumstances... Our current drummer's in the Air Force & he's being restationed to Philadelphia this summer, so a guy I know & have worked with quite a bit (but who had never met anyone else in the band) is going to step in. He's a great player and hit it off with everyone on Zoom, but it's still awkward that he & the band are basically taking my word for it that we'll fit together well. lol. I hope I'm right! :)

 

I'm bummed that we probably won't get to play again with our current guy before he moves to Philly, but at least he & I have been able to do some (remote) recording during this downtime. Strange days.

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No. Have talked to a couple fellow players about connecting through Jam Kazam; we'll see. I've done a lot of extra personal practice, which has been good for technique, though my LH may never come back to where it was in college. Moderate Carpal Tunnel issues are a bitch..

 

Miss live playing and interaction a lot, but don't want to rush back - especially to small stages in packed clubs, much as I miss the audiences.

'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo.

 

We need a barfing cat emoticon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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No group practice at this time.

 

Our bandleader's wife owns a property out on the beach. The back deck is large and we are 4 pieces.

 

As the weather is getting nicer, we have discussed the possibility of setting up well away from each other on the back deck - outdoors with an ocean view - and practicing.

That at least seems somewhat viable. All of us are very careful so it could be a workable solution.

 

Takes about half an hour to get there. And we are not known for practicing very much, only when we want to polish up a few songs that we've all learned on our own.

 

The reality is that our bandleader never has a set list, does not have a written list of the songs he knows and we often take requests. Couple that with his very successful tendency to play a few genres and see what flies and the fact that we currently have no bookings and practice (such as it is) could be once or twice a month.

 

We do all miss playing together. Maybe we'll livestream it although I don't like having my gear anywhere near saltwater!!!!

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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....I don't like having my gear anywhere near saltwater!!!!

 

Hah! We used to gig at Port Canaveral, FL at a now-closed restaurant. I went to pack up my stuff, and I'm thinking "why do I smell fish so strongly?" Turns out some seagull poop found its way on the wind under the canopy roof and onto a couple items of my gear...

 

Between the general salt in the air and the sand everywhere (to be fair, that restaurant wasn't on the beach but they put sand everywhere), anywhere near the beach is not my favorite gigging location.

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....I don't like having my gear anywhere near saltwater!!!!

 

Hah! We used to gig at Port Canaveral, FL at a now-closed restaurant. I went to pack up my stuff, and I'm thinking "why do I smell fish so strongly?" Turns out some seagull poop found its way on the wind under the canopy roof and onto a couple items of my gear...

 

Between the general salt in the air and the sand everywhere (to be fair, that restaurant wasn't on the beach but they put sand everywhere), anywhere near the beach is not my favorite gigging location.

 

I've probably played there. If it's where I think it is, there is still a restaurant there, and a LOT of sand (The old Milliken's Reef)

 

When you live in Brevard County Florida, you don't have much choice except gig near the ocean.

 

The last rehearsal we had was in the rehearsal space at WFIT radio. It was conducted by someone outside the band, and a total waste of time

"In the beginning, Adam had the blues, 'cause he was lonesome.

So God helped him and created woman.

 

Now everybody's got the blues."

 

Willie Dixon

 

 

 

 

 

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... I don't like having my gear anywhere near saltwater!!!!
All the players in my main band live within sight of the ocean, and I'm right at the beach. The salt air is murder on everything. The public works director called it the most corrosive environment on earth. My keyboards, audio, and other gear seem to do ok, but I keep my saxes in their cases and only take them out occasionally at home to learn a part or work something out. Still, they get corroded. On one of my tenors, the ring that holds the neck strap rusted through and broke off in the middle of a gig. I kept playing by propping it up on my tall keyboard stool. Still, I wouldn't live anywhere else.

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These are only my opinions, not supported by any actual knowledge, experience, or expertise.
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