Needed someone to jam with...getting discouraged

[musicalhair]

When I first started reading your post, Rampdog, I was afraid you were like hanging it up or something. I'm glad that isn't the case.

 

IT is disappointing when auditions don't go well. Sometimes it is due missing signs that would have indicated it was something we shouldn't even be walking in to with any hopes of working out (I'm not going to knock any that goes to an audition for something they don't really want, because the jam and the process is always good and you usually learn something), sometimes we should learn something when it don't work out, sometimes it is better left forgotten. This sounds like the latter: that you shouldn't think too much about these jamming situations that haven't worked out.

 

But, there is nothing wrong with "quiet" rehearsals. I find it is easier to fix problems and get the songs down well at reasonable volumes rather than blindingly loud volumes. I find that very few bands can rehearse or jam loud and sound good. Those that can do a lot of work out side the rehearsal room to get it right when they walk in. But for every good and disciplined band there are 10 that aren't and those should practice at low levels IMHO.

 

It is also tough getting older and finding your niche. I used to be the youngest guy in the room always but I never thought twice about how old anyone was; now I'm always the oldest. I don't let it matter to me, I'm "here" for the music.

 

I've also gone where I've had to put the instrument down for injuries and then start up again after lossing a lot of skill in the interim. All you can do is work on the fundamentals, practice correctly with no tension, sing and do all the stuff we are supposed to right, and it all comes back sort of. I think it is clear that each time I've come back I'm a better musician than I was in terms of "maturity" and the "ideas" side of it. I'll never know what I would have sounded like if I never had tendinitis or any other problem, but I'm pretty sure it would have been "faster" and "more complicated" but not really better.

 

Oh, and I agree with Batgirl, I have alwasy wanted to get into an all girl group too.

 

...

 

No really, Lush is still one of my favorites, and I have always I loved working with female vocalists especially "real" sopranos with a great full sound in the highest parts of their range.

[Rampdog]

Thanks Musical... I'm not quittin'. It just didn't work out the way I expected the first two get togethers... I agree about practicing quietly but dude... I swear I heard his cat fart while I was playing a lead... (maybe his cat was telling me something) anyway... I was expecting too much after being out of the business for so long... I'm still gonna play and I'm still gonna look for people with my interests... And if it happens ok, if it doesn't ... well... I still have you all in here to bounce stuff off of... Thanks all.

Billy

[musicalhair]

I spent alot more than just last winter (like the autum before and all of the spring and a bit of the summer) renovating a house to sell. It took all my time literally and I decided to stop playing around last November or October right around when I stopped posting for a while-- I figured if I ain't playing I have nothing to say here. That descision to put down the guitar was a tough one but I had some bad auditions mainly due to the fact that the work had been wearing me out and I wasn't practicing well and it showed. I figured if I keep picking it up I'll keep going out to auditions and I wasn't getting auditions to things I wanted and I wasn't playing in a way they would have wanted so it wasn't good either way.

 

Now that I've been back playing in a way that isn't embarrassing to me, I've thought seriously about what has brought me the most satisifaction and personal growth in playing, what has gotten me the most ... well to just be blunt about it ... money for my efforts, what has been the most cost effective for me, and what gets the most people interested in my playing and the most people that I would want to actually play with.

 

For me that has been classical. It makes sense anyway in that when my classical playing has been up to it's potential (and we're not talking John Williams here, nor even Charo- wait she could actually play, but she is a "funny reference") everything else has fallen in place and anyother playing I did I was always happy with. When I let the classical go, it always turned out I was sort of left to drift in the wind, some good things came along but mostly I'd find something good and drift though successively lamer and lamer situations until I was left alone with my classical again.

 

I don't know what I'm trying to say here, but for me I could walk away from a "laughable" situation laughing if I was like "good" from within and for me that always coincides with when my classical playing is squared away. Right now, and for a little more than a month (I'm bad with "time" like that honestly I have no idea how long), I've been reading something "new" every day (last night a piece by Piazzola), working on Sor Carcassi, Carrulli, Giuliani, Coste, Aguado and others studies and three main pieces: Giuliani's opus 107, Ponce's Prelude and Balletto, and Villa Lobo's etude no 1. I was only going two tackle to of my old pieces, but the etude no 1 is so great for the fingers that it is worth practicing over and over just to get the finger squared away.

 

These are coming along well, nearly performable, and then I'll add two more pieces-- one "new" and one old one I used to do (probably Sor's Op 5 no 5 "Andante Largo").

 

I guess the point-- which not much of the above even tries to make-- is that first and formost is our relationship with our guitar and our playing. What ever it is that drove us to practice and practice till we got some level of skill, that is what we should keep coming back to. When that is "honored" then we're good inside and out. When that is forgotten and we seek internal peace or acknowledgment externally then we are drifting in the wind like a leaf.

[alittlebatty]

Zan in a black dress.....now that creates an interesting mental picture! You will shave your legs,right? Otherwise the fishnet stockings will look funky. Bettyzan-you can wear jeans if you so desire....

[Dr. Ellwood]

Hair, good introspective thinking there! What where the other playing situations other than classical that brought you some success? Did you audition in Jazz or rock/blues/pop kind of things? or some other kind of money making playing situations? So when those didn't pan out you went back to classical and found the most satisfaction in that, is what I am getting from your post. Also did the house reconditioning work bother your hands and make your playing more difficult to manage.

[musicalhair]

Originally posted by ellwood:

Hair, good introspective thinking there! What where the other playing situations other than classical that brought you some success? Did you audition in Jazz or rock/blues/pop kind of things? or some other kind of money making playing situations? So when those didn't pan out you went back to classical and found the most satisfaction in that, is what I am getting from your post. Also did the house reconditioning work bother your hands and make your playing more difficult to manage.

Hey Ellwood, thanks for reading it all! I was afraid it would read a little too self indulgent to be of any use. I had a lot of introspection to do last fall when I put the guitar down. I've put it down from injury and stuff like that but never just out of choice or due to schedualling or work or anything. Most of the introspection I did, which is reflected in that post was done last fall, when I "planned my work" and now I'm "working my plan", which I imagine as an engineer your pretty familiar with that phrase (that is who I stole it from).

 

Dude, each question you ask I could probably write all day about. I'll try to tackle each just a little bit, but I might feel free to amplify more in future posts or threads. I'd be here all day if I actually fully answer it all, and I've got to get to the gym in like 45 minutes.

 

I've always done physical work, even when I worked in environmental consulting I was always deep in toxic soils or waste and working real hard. I tried to keep away from stickly "supervising" type assignments or paper pusing things, it just isn't my way. My family all were "working class" and I can't just "supervise" while others work, and go nuts in the offices I've worked in. At first the work and the guitar did conflict and that conflict resulted in my first bout with tendinitis. I've come up with ways to deal with the physical demands of what I do (or have done really) and the playing. I've posted a lot about stretching and exercises. I should put it all together in a book, not because I'm some authority-- far far from it-- but because I feel so strongly about it.

 

When I mentioned "money", I should clarify that I've not made very much playing but I have at times supplemented myself-- by my standards anyway-- with playing. When I was in college I taught a few students and some of them were pretty long term. I used to practice outside or when it was cold or raining I had places I could practice and people would always hear me play. I would do a typical practice, scales and so on up to pieces. When I first got to college I played a kind of delta blues plus the classicl stuff I was learning from lessons in college plus some jazz stuff I was learning privately, and I had people that wanted me to teach them what I did. I was taken aback actually, but I accepted. I ended up with four students pretty regularly. The deeper I got into classical (which we're not talking "very" deep) it really changed a lot of what I did on guitar, and impacted what I taught a lot. At the same time the school would use a guitarist to play at all sorts of events they had: dean's parties, poetry readings, admissions events, etc. From my second year through my fifth . But I pulled it off pretty well. I couldn't believe how complimentary and appreciative the class was, it was really nice.

 

I could go on and on, but I've not done nothing along the lines of what you've done. After I got over my first bout of tendinitis, I picked up a bass and played for a few local rock bands and then played freelance for singer/songwriter types in NYC. I had an add in the Village Voice and got few bands/singers that way-- noone big or worth mentioning really. All playing shows with them and rehearsing, no recording-- just didn't work out that way. I had a my own bands at that time too, again nothing great or worth mentioning.

 

Famnily and work took me away from playing out for a while, and bouts with tendintis. I stated playing bass again freelance and with my own bands and tried to get a duet with a couple of jazz singers but for all that work, nothing came from it. Through those years there was a coorelation between how my classical stuff sounded and how well everything else went.

 

I could-- and we all know this is true-- babble on more about it, but really that about sums it up.

 

In NYC I beleive all the cover band gigs are union, I know people that do that but I never had the nerve to ask them for any kind of hook up. I know a guy that had a union gig as the bassist in a studio that does music for soap operas and commercials, again I've never had the nerve to bother him for anything more than advice. He did try to hook me up with a kinda big name singer/guitarist round here but after a few rounds of phone tag I never heard back from the guy. I like original music, I'm "up" on my theory and counterpoint and arranging (kinda) and have all sorts of tricks I bring to bass and guitar that you don't often see in rock bands. That has always given me more freedom and creativity in an original band than doing sraight covers, and I like it even if it has always been unstable and frustrating and hasn't worked out all that well.

 

I've got to run. Do I make any sense in this?

 

Hey Rampdog, sorry if I'm hyjacking your thread.

[Rampdog]

No problem brother...It's good to hear the good stuff too... I don't feel so alone anymore...

[mdrs]

Originally posted by The Big G:

Originally posted by mdrs:

I've got a kilt....would that due???

 

Mdrs

what you doing with a Kilt???? is this Scottish heritage stuff??

But yes post yourself out on the web Ramp and as Ellwood etc... say try the jam thread, but you gotta keep going mate.

G

Sorry Big G.....I missed this! I'm half Irish. I visited Ireland a couple of years ago (saw the ancestral home town and church...or remnants thereof!) and bought a beauty of a kilt while in Dublin. I can't say that I've had many opportunities to wear it. But, I'm keeping it cleaned and pressed, and hung in the closet...just waiting for the right moment!

[Dr. Ellwood]

Yep it makes all kinds of sence Hair! I don't know if you are NOW beyond the possibility or the inclination to do union work but I would encourage you to try it out! You know I can't remember the last time I did anything in music that was NOT a union gig, I believe in it as much as I believe in live music itself! The union has always done a great job for me and my bands, it has acted as a very good filter when auditioning people and along time ago when I used to audition for things it help me there too. Around here the standards are kept high for union musicians as I know they are in NYC and LA and Chicago (I used to belong to the CFof M) and it was a great experience too. I to this day have to turn down gigs during the week because of my work schedule and my playing schedule (union gig) to not go out on replacement gigs, but I can tell you they are always there. So I am not a classical player at all, I have always been a electric player and almost never pick up a acoustic instrument let alone a gut strung (nylon) strung instrument, I'm glad that hasnt been detrimental to my musical opportunities so far.

[Durockrolly]

Hey Ramp!!! I live in So.Cal. Let's jam anyway. We can meet half way...say Oklahoma or Texas???