#1959731 - 06/18/08 08:59 PM
Things are looking up
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jar546
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My band "Cold Shock" just released our female singer/guitarist and is now down to the bass player (me) and the drummer. We just auditioned a guitarist tonight who looks very promising. My buddy Tony who is a professional musician is still filling in for us until he gets an apartment in Manhatten. We are now feeling pretty good.
The band that does originals that I sit in with The Maruce Project has invited me back to sit in again and taught me 2 of their originals. I will be sitting in with them this Saturday night for 4 songs this time including the 2 originals. It is the last live band at this bar before it closes it doors for good and a big turnout is expected.
The bass player singer of the above band has recommended me to a blues band that is looking for a bass player. It is a girl who had a CD released in the past and took 3 years off. I am to call to set up an audition and she will be coming out to see me on Saturday night, I don't know which will come first.
So I am pretty happy right now.
Oh, and I have been letting my SR5 sit. I have fallen back in love with my P Bass ever since I put the TI Jazz flats on it and picked up that kick ass Mesa Boogie 400+. (thanks again Getz)
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#1960086 - 06/19/08 11:39 AM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: Griffinator]
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Ross Brown
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Blues is fun...
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"When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" – Mrs. Brown
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#1960093 - 06/19/08 11:52 AM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: Ross Brown]
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Lowtones11
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Good blues is fun....
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"It takes an awfully good drummer to be better than no drummer at all." Steve Millhouse
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#1960128 - 06/19/08 12:51 PM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: kenfxj]
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Ross Brown
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any kind of blues works for me, however, the louder and more electric, the better. The acoustic crap is good too though....
_________________________
"When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" – Mrs. Brown
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#1960138 - 06/19/08 01:07 PM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: Ross Brown]
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RicBassGuy
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Shocking news about Cold Shock. Good thing your buddy is there to get you through your upcoming gigs. At the very least you're getting a taste of being a band leader.
But the reason you started Cold Shock was because you were having difficulty finding a band to join.
Now you've made some connections and your network is starting to work for you. It is so cool that a fellow bassist (1) doesn't mind sharing the stage with you, and (2) is giving you leads.
Hope the audition goes well for you.
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#1960190 - 06/19/08 02:29 PM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: RicBassGuy]
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jar546
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Here is a link to her stuff.
http://www.phyllishop.com/home.html
I will keep you informed on if I make the cut or not.
Jeff
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#1960241 - 06/19/08 03:57 PM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: Ross Brown]
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b5pilot
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+1 
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#1960258 - 06/19/08 04:29 PM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: b5pilot]
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jar546
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She just emailed me a list of songs. Between originals and covers, there are 35 to learn. The CD party is in August but she has a bass player to cover that if she does not find one by then.
It is worth an audition, even if I don't get the job, it is an experience worth having and learning from.
Jeff
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#1960301 - 06/19/08 05:53 PM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: jar546]
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Bottom End
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Electric blues, especially the Little Milton, Robert Cray, Albert Collins, Shemekia Copeland school offer some fantastic basslines. The Alligator Records collection 35 x 35 is a great listen to get a wide variety of blues bass fior all types of blues. Jerry Jemmott on BB KIng's "Completeley Well" lays out some bass that will make you smile while the blisters form trying his lines out.
I'd love to be playing something like that, good luck.
Edited by Bottom End (06/19/08 05:57 PM)
_________________________
Guitar solos only last about 30 seconds, the bass line goes on for the whole song.
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#1960604 - 06/20/08 10:25 AM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: jar546]
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RicBassGuy
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She just emailed me a list of songs. Between originals and covers, there are 35 to learn. The CD party is in August but she has a bass player to cover that if she does not find one by then.
It is worth an audition, even if I don't get the job, it is an experience worth having and learning from.
Jeff
Hopefully you're familiar with the covers and they outnumber the originals.
What didn't help was that some of David's songs were being arranged differently for this show, and some were in different keys: practicing along with the CD would have made things more difficult for me (by mis-training my muscle memory). I hope you do not run into the same troubles.
I also did backup vocals and played some mandolin and keyboard. For some songs I was covering missing guitar parts so I decided to use my unpaired 8-string Galveston. (This show was its maiden voyage, btw. That reminds me -- I need to get a comfort strap for that thing!) If you're just playing bass that should save you some headaches.
All in all it was a lot of work to learn only 15 original songs!
Not that learning a pile of covers in a short time is a picnic. But at least with rock/pop it's not impossible to prepare about 10 songs a week.
Especially if you don't have anything else going on.
While I was preparing for David's show I still had to perform shows for Ask Alice, and in my "spare" time I was learning songs for an acoustic solo/duo side project I hope to get started. (I'm slowly selecting and learning about 30 songs on which I can sing lead and play guitar or mandolin. As extra incentive to keep moving forward I challenge myself to test out at least one new song each week at a local open mike/jam.)
You've still got a lot of work to get Cold Shock ready, I think. You'll be quite the busy bee if you continue to learn new songs for an open jam while taking on this originals/cover project. Not easy for us part-timers. (You may find you have too many irons in the fire.)
But, as you say, it should be a rewarding experience.
Hope you do well on your audition.
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#1960723 - 06/20/08 01:34 PM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: RicBassGuy]
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jar546
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Ric, Thank you once again for a helpful response.
Bottom, I feel fortunate just have the opportunity.
J
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#1961164 - 06/21/08 05:41 PM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: jar546]
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Frank M
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Didn't we beat the "lovin' the blues" thing in a thread a long time ago?
Good luck Jar!
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Respectfully, Frank M They have to keep me. I own the domain name. The Columbia Jazz Trio
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#1961734 - 06/23/08 09:49 AM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: Frank M]
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Lowtones11
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One of my favorite blues players is Jimmy Vaughan. His right hand is just really nice. His left hand is way understated compared to his more famous little brother SRV but he's equally talented in other ways. He playing is more sparse a lot of the time but he gets full mileage out of every note. His playing on The Fabulous Thunderbirds album, Girl GO Wild kills, especially on Let Me In and Walkin To My Baby.
_________________________
"It takes an awfully good drummer to be better than no drummer at all." Steve Millhouse
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#1966977 - 07/07/08 07:49 AM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: Lowtones11]
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jar546
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This Tuesday night July 8th is my audition for this girl. I had to learn 3 new covers and one of her more complicated originals. I am still working on her original. She already auditioned the 2 other bass players, one was marginal at best and the other one was really good according to her. I will still give it a shot, nothing to lose at all, not even pride.
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#1967070 - 07/07/08 10:56 AM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: jar546]
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forceman
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This Tuesday night July 8th is my audition for this girl. I had to learn 3 new covers and one of her more complicated originals. I am still working on her original. She already auditioned the 2 other bass players, one was marginal at best and the other one was really good according to her. I will still give it a shot, nothing to lose at all, not even pride.
Right on!
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#1967076 - 07/07/08 11:06 AM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: forceman]
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RicBassGuy
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This Tuesday night July 8th is my audition for this girl. I had to learn 3 new covers and one of her more complicated originals. I am still working on her original. She already auditioned the 2 other bass players, one was marginal at best and the other one was really good according to her. I will still give it a shot, nothing to lose at all, not even pride. Right on!
Sometimes it is more about "fit" than sheer "talent".
[And what did I tell you about originals?  ]
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#1967659 - 07/08/08 07:10 PM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: RicBassGuy]
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jar546
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Lesson learned:
Do not go to an audition under-prepared.
1st I could not find my keys. When I found them they were in my truck in the ON position and my battery was dead. Now I am frantic and late to the audition.
2nd, she told me not to bring an amp, I can just go direct into her PA system. When she plugged me in and I thought I was too loud (no one else was playing) and she asked me if she needed to turn me up and I said no. When we started playing I could not hear myself.
3rd, I brought a 12' cord but where she placed me the cord had tension on it and the bass felt like someone was trying to pull it out of my hands. I could not move any closer due to the other stuff in the way.
4th, I started sweating and was losing my grip with my left hand and it made it hard to slide around. Because of #2 above I started playing harder (chronic problem) and that makes for some choppy crap.
5th, I was not fully prepared with the songs I was to learn.
6th, I agreed to attempt to play some songs that I never heard before and should have just said no because of all of the reasons above.
7th, I need to practice a lot more and stick to classic rock.
Lesson learned. No scratch that, lessons learned.
I should not have tried to cram all day long.
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#1967662 - 07/08/08 07:20 PM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: jar546]
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Bottom End
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So, other than that MRs Lincoln, how was the play?
Better to have tried and failed than not at all, you'll do better next time.
_________________________
Guitar solos only last about 30 seconds, the bass line goes on for the whole song.
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#1967697 - 07/08/08 09:06 PM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: Bottom End]
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Frank M
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I am required by law to inform Jar that I will be suing him for copyright infringment. That was - word for word - my audition routine for the entire months of December 2007 and January 2008. See you in court. My process server is tracking you down even as we speak.
_________________________
Respectfully, Frank M They have to keep me. I own the domain name. The Columbia Jazz Trio
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#1967753 - 07/09/08 05:05 AM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: Frank M]
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Phil W
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The main thing is how much you learned from the process. Gigs come and go, but learning doesn't.
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#1967811 - 07/09/08 06:56 AM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: Phil W]
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Tom Capasso
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There are some easy lessons there - like the cable. Also, you know that if you play alone and they ask you if you are loud enough, say "it sounds OK now, but let's see how it sounds when we're all playing" - gives you options so you don't feel like you're uncertain. FYI, they probably wouldn't have minded if you had asked to turn up after the first song.
The truck stuff just happens. We can try to plan and be careful to minimize that stuff, but sometimes that's just the way it goes.
Sticking with classic rock isn't required. Many genres are close enough that you can stretch out. A classic rock ballad isn't so different from a set of semi-acoustic tunes.
You made it seem like a disaster. Was there any chemistry? Did anything work? If so, that's cool. It means you were open and trying. Perhaps the final result wasn't what you hoped for, but you still got to make music with other people.
Tom
_________________________
www.stoneflyrocks.com Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt
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#1968428 - 07/10/08 03:24 PM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: jar546]
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RicBassGuy
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Lesson learned:
Do not go to an audition under-prepared.
1st I could not find my keys. When I found them they were in my truck in the ON position and my battery was dead. Now I am frantic and late to the audition. 2nd, she told me not to bring an amp, I can just go direct into her PA system. When she plugged me in and I thought I was too loud (no one else was playing) and she asked me if she needed to turn me up and I said no. When we started playing I could not hear myself.
3rd, I brought a 12' cord but where she placed me the cord had tension on it and the bass felt like someone was trying to pull it out of my hands. I could not move any closer due to the other stuff in the way.
My first cord ever was a 6' cord. Great for practicing while sitting next to my amp. Terrible for just about anything else. The one I use now is probably 20'. And I always bring a spare in case Murphy's Law decides to kick in.4th, I started sweating and was losing my grip with my left hand and it made it hard to slide around. Because of #2 above I started playing harder (chronic problem) and that makes for some choppy crap.
Having a towel handy can help. Use it to dry off sweaty hands in between songs. Have one in your gig bag. (And I'll take my own advice and throw a towel in my bag, too.)5th, I was not fully prepared with the songs I was to learn. 6th, I agreed to attempt to play some songs that I never heard before and should have just said no because of all of the reasons above.
Or maybe that was just the voice inside your head telling you that any change in the conditions wouldn't make up for the lack of preparation.7th, I need to practice a lot more and stick to classic rock.
Lesson learned. No scratch that, lessons learned.
I should not have tried to cram all day long.
Classic rock is probably easier for you for the same reasons it is easier for me: it is the music I grew up listening to. It is oh so much easier to play a genre you have at least listened to extensively. (I got my butt whoopin' when I tried out for a gospel group.)
But if you really want to learn a new genre -- how's the country coming along, Max? -- it's never too late. You just have to listen to more music and become more familiar with the "book" for that genre. It's a big difference when you've only heard ten songs versus knowing how to play hundreds.
Now, get back to work on preparing for your upcoming gigs!
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#1968933 - 07/11/08 11:35 PM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: RicBassGuy]
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jlrush
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Don't let these lessons deflate you jar. The folks you jammed with may not have thought the situation was as bad as it seemed to you. If there was good chemistry, that may be what lands you the gig, if not, then you can say you met some new folks and found some connections for in the future.
For every door that closes, another opens.
_________________________
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So many roads, so many trains to ride...
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#1968959 - 07/12/08 04:56 AM
Re: Things are looking up
[Re: jlrush]
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jar546
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It is amazing how your frame of mind can alter one's playing.
Last night I sat down to play some of the songs and nailed them pretty nicely when played to the recording. I had an experience bassist friend over and worked on a few other songs.
I think I played about 10% of my ability that night.
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