Expanding the line-up

[EddiePlaysBass]

Last week the entire blues band went to a monthly jam session hosted in the pub where we rehearse. We got up and played some songs as a band, and the lot of us also jammed with other people (I only on one tune but hey, it's a start). People liked what they heard and word got around that we are looking to expand the line-up. Preferably we would have liked to ad a keyboard player but save one young kid who came and jammed with us last December, we have had no luck finding anyone. The singer and guitarist have more than once suggested asking harp players they know but I think it would limit rather than broaden our sound.

 

Anyway, at the jam there was a guy who is a great guitar player, has a quite jazzy style and has never actually played in a band. He always goes to these jam sessions and plays along with anyone and everyone, so he does not suffer from stage freight He was interested in coming over, so we agreed to let him come to rehearsal next week. I think it will be interesting to have a second guitar player in the band, especially since his style is quite different from the guitarist we have. And we can always have harp players come up and jam with us anyway

 

On a side note, I brought the WAV to rehearsal and played it on one tune. Due to not having practised for about 5 months, I am currently not proficient enough to play the more up-tempo blues patterns, but I played it on a slow blues and the drummer's girlfriend told us afterwards that it sounded really full and great. I will not bring it for the moment, but it was enough of an incentive to get my chops back

[Bottom End]

"Stage freight", is that like emotional baggage, or does he have a lot of gear j/k

 

Sounds like a good time, I"m glad to hear that you met some good players.

 

My old "drop-in" sessions were a lot of fun, one night ewe had some guy just show up and wail on harmonica, it really livened up the "same-old blues songs"

 

Is a keyboard available for drop-in players at your jams? It seems unlikely that a KB player is dragging his rig for the chance to play a song or two.

 

Good on ya for the WAV, it seems like a nice way to get a doghouse style without the weight or space hassles.

[WCriley]

I'll testify to having two skinny-string players with very different playing styles in a band. Did that for several years. Really expands the "interest factor" for both the audience and the band members by expanding the repertoir and breaking the monotony. And the "friendly competition" is lots of fun.

[Bottom End]

In my last group, I had the great good fortune to play with several talented rhythm g**tarists, as opposed to a pack of wanna-be lead shredders. (Though they could tear it up when necessary). I've played in several trios, but finding a good rhythm player can really add to the overall sound, and IMO, a "strctly rhythm, he don't wanna make it cry or sing" player is a rare bird indeed.

[Ross Brown]

Two guitars are a good idea. I played in a power trio for years and that was cool but Trading solos and having a rhythm player opens up the sound a little.

 

Be warned... "jammers" are sometimes just that. They jam. Good players but not good bandmates. Not true all of the time but be careful. For me it is so bad around here that we have a "no jammer" rule as we audition for our second guitar slot. Guys that go to the blues jams everyweek... I have not had a one that could do the work required in a band.

 

Might be different where you are...

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

Ross +1

 

Run into that problem with a lot with the "newer rock project". Got these kids with budget gear and (initally) great attitudes that can really rip on 10 or 11 songs. Request that the band plays a different key or brings in a different "genre" of music, and you get that look. You know the one. If you have teenagers (15 to 19 works best) and tell them "don't drink and drive" or "don't have unprotected premarital sex" or the ubiquitous "are you looking for a job?" - THAT look.

 

There's also the jammer that is terminally "between" band. What does "bewteen" bands mean? Between never getting called back and getting kick out for being an insufferable juice bag?

 

They're never getting out of the garage. DO YOU HEAR ME, T.J.? NEVER!!!!! BWA-HA-HA-HA!!!!!

 

 

Again, not true in ALL cases, but if they got chops, and they got gear (sort of), and they got time, why AREN'T they in a band right now?

[Graham56]

Sounds good Dave.

 

Don't write a harmonica player off though. Our male singer (we have a female singer too) can play wailing blues with the best of them, and when he does it can really crank up the energy.

 

But he is also good at lying back in the mix, fleshing out the guitar sound with single notes or restrained fills. He uses a vintage 'conical' mic and a little valve amp which takes away the harsh top edge of the harmonica and gives it a much warmer tone.

 

Cheers

 

Graham

 

[EddiePlaysBass]

"Stage freight", is that like emotional baggage, or does he have a lot of gear j/k

 

God I didn't even realise I misspelt it Shame on me!

 

Is a keyboard available for drop-in players at your jams? It seems unlikely that a KB player is dragging his rig for the chance to play a song or two.

 

Nope. There's amps, drums and mics. No instruments.

 

Two guitars are a good idea. I played in a power trio for years and that was cool but Trading solos and having a rhythm player opens up the sound a little.

 

Yeah I look forward to hearing what it does to our sound ...

 

Be warned... "jammers" are sometimes just that. They jam. Good players but not good bandmates. Not true all of the time but be careful.

 

Again, not true in ALL cases, but if they got chops, and they got gear (sort of), and they got time, why AREN'T they in a band right now?

 

Hmm I have wondered about this, too. We will have to give him a try and see how it goes. Maybe he's just a shy guy. Or maybe we'll get into heaps of trouble with this guy. Whatever his deal is, we will find out soon enough.

 

Don't write a harmonica player off though.

 

No, of course not. If (s)he is a player like you describe. What I would have issues with is someone who only solo's and wails over the changes, regardless of whatever else is going on around him. And frankly, in most cases I get bored after hearing blues harp for a couple consecutive songs

[5 string Mike]

It depends on the harp player. A good harp player an layer things in on a lot of songs that are soft and subtle, but tear into it at the right time.

 

Ross makes a good point about jammers not always being good band mates. They might be able to noodle and shred all day, but cringe at learning actual lead parts of songs, putting "bookends" on solos so they aren't 30 bar long, etc. Especially if you get 2 "jammers" together . All they want to do is trade licks for 20 minutes. I am dealing with a bit of that. A good buddy of mine is more of a "jammer" than a player. He doesn't like to learn the actual recorded lead parts or play songs that aren't blues style. He is getting better, but it gets annoying sometimes.

 

To SNF's point, a lot of the people you describe just want to play 10 songs they think are cool. They haven't learned how actual bands work yet.

[Paul K]

Expanding the band creates a whole lot more issues, from pay to stage area to dB levels to whatever. If it's a harp player,make sure he/she's not a one trick pony. They gotta at least be shaker and cow bell-literate with vocals to warrant the added drama, etc.

 

Another guitar: only if both of them don't insist on playing every tune all the time. Only one guitar needs to be banging away on the chords; it gets mighty thick mighty quick if the guitars are both playing in the same register in the same rhythm.

[EddiePlaysBass]

The second guitarist came to today's rehearsal. A few glitches notwithstanding, it felt and sounded as if he'd always played with us. Okay, we have only been a band for the best part of three months but still He played really bluesy and seems adept at both rhythm and lead guitar. Has a more aggressive rhythm approach than the other guitarist, and a distinctly different approach to soloing too. I think this will work out just great, once we get everything (including volume and frequencies) sorted out properly.

 

On a side note, my Zoom unit did not record the first half of the rehearsals, despite the fact that I clearly turned it on and started recording. Heck I am fairly certain I saw the red light burning but when I checked during the break, it stated the memory card was as good as empty and sure enough: no recordings for the first half Guess I will need to check the firmware and do an upgrade (supposing that will fix the problem at hand).

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

When in doubt, blame the hardware.

[EddiePlaysBass]

Yeah I know and I am still in doubt about whether or not I turned it on but I am fairly confident I did. But two weeks ago I had it plugged in via the adapter and there were some power malfunctions so I think it took a hit