"Dixie Chicken" advice and tips?

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

So our band is learning seven songs, and the only one that is giving me trouble is "Dixie Chicken" by Little Feat.  Ironic, really, because the BL picked it to give me some time playing lead, but it has me so frustrated I was on the verge of quitting!  I know the chord progressions, etc.....   But that's not what I've been asked to play.  I'm supposed to play all the various and different quasi-improvised-sounding piano licks throughout the verses and the short piano solo after the first chorus.  That is all.  No melody, no chords, no bass.

 

Has anyone here ever played this?  There's tons of sheet music online but it's typically either the full solo version as if I'm alone playing the whole song, or it's a simplified version with just the melody in the RH....  Or it's the famous live version from "Waiting for Columbus".  I know, I know, I just need to listen to the song with headphones and work out the notes on my own but I am not good at that.  And nothing I have come up myself sounds like the actual song.  Heck, if someone wrote out the notes as A-E-F#-G#-E-E-A-G# or whatever it is I would be MILES ahead of where I am now.

 

Southern Rock has me out of my comfort zone!  I wanted to play "Pictures of Home" by Deep Purple...

 

Thanks in advance,

Charles

[bfields]

13 minutes ago, Lou Gehrig said:

There's tons of sheet music online but it's typically either the full solo version as if I'm alone playing the whole song

Even if it's a solo piano version, it might still include some of the riffs you need in there, have you checked?

 

Also, have you tried a search on youtube for e.g. "dixie chicken piano tutorial"?  There are a couple that look like they might have what you're looking for.

 

And, yeah, some time at the piano with headphones and trial and error might get you further than you think.  It's a skill you can learn with some patience.  Easier said than done, especially if you're frustrated and on a deadline, I understand.  I might say "hey that's not really in my wheelhouse so I don't think I'll have that ready in time, maybe another day", then keep working on it on my own if it's the kind of thing you'd like to learn how to play some day.

[JamPro]

Bill Payne is a monster - do not feel discouraged if you have trouble playing his licks.

 

This is a common problem for keyboard players: being asked to cover the iconic playing of a total bad-ass.  If you have the sheet music to the live version from Waiting for Columbus, your job then is to start working with the sheet music.  And the time it takes to do that gives you lots of opportunities to tell your bandmates they will have to wait for you to finish your studies before attempting the song as a group.  Alternatively, you can have a talk with your bandmates about what are and what are not realistic goals for band performances.  Myself: I try and split the difference and learn what I quickly can from the recording and the sheet music, and play what I am able to play and make sound nice in performance (and it is rare I can do a note-for-note cover).  

 

Rest assured that even if you are not the greatest keyboard player in town, you are the very best keyboard player in your band.  It is highly unlikely your band can find another keyboard player who can simply drop in and play Dixie Chicken like the recording - not for the amount they can pay.

[Phil Aiken]

I can say that not only have I played it, but I got to play it WITH Little Feat, subbing for Billy.  Other than the signature lick, which should be exact, the important thing to focus on imo is the feel. Listen to where he plays, both in terms of where in the phrases, but also in a more micro sense, how on top or behind the beat he is playing. Also, learn to move around using intervals of 6ths or filled 6ths and also to be able to “roll” them. Good luck!

[Phil Aiken]

Also, to Jam Pro’s point, you should not feel obligated to play it note for note. Billy doesn’t.

[mate stubb]

Bill's New Orleans style of playing is well worth putting some time in to get some comfort with. You'll be able to use that style in many situations.

[mate stubb]

Chords are essential, but he does a lot of off beat stabs instead of playing on the beat, and leaves a lot of space for other instruments.

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

2 minutes ago, Phil Aiken said:

Also, to Jam Pro’s point, you should not feel obligated to play it note for note. Billy doesn’t.

 

Oh, I'd be pleased to be playing just single notes.....  That pesky deadline LOL

 

This forum is awesome!  So many great replies!  😀   Thanks so much!

[Delaware Dave]

I played in a Little Feat cover band (Dixie Loco) back in the early 90's. I've played that song about 1000 times, to the point that I can't stand playing it and refuse to play it anymore; so I have no advice for you......

 

Most challenging was Let It Roll, we didn't have a horn section so i was playing organ, horns and singing backup vocals, quite the challenge.

[Montunoman 2]

I’m too familiar with the song but I do know Billy Payne was a total bad ass. 
 

Do you think Billy would play it the same way today that he did way back in the day.? You have my blessings, and  probably Billies too, to just be yourself and do your own thing. 

[CEB]

Billy Payne and Billy Powell are my wheelhouse.  I play this and a good chunk of the Feat catalog.  I don’t have much advice on how to nail the parts.  But try not to overthink it. I’d go to the studio version and learn that. If you can improvise around that then great.  
 

The first question will be whether the band plays it right.  I’ve ran into that issue on occasion. The changes are easy but bands often don’t swing it right.  Feel trumps everything in Feat.  Wrong feel makes things hard for me and I’ve played the tune for a hell of a longtime.
 

 Does the band intend to play Saints?  If not I would rework the arrangement and maybe sub the piano solo with Saints and nail the timing on the signature lick you hear in the intro and through different parts of the song.  Then work on your basic Tonk skills and see if the band will give you some freedom to work with it.  If not there are a million other songs to cover.  But often it’s more cool if you can’t nail something verbatim then just jump the shark and rework it. 

[KuruPrionz]

Two posts above mention the feel. 

I concur, there is a groove to that song that is essential to the performance. It's subtle but it has to feel that way and no other. 

Find that and work on the rest. Do your best and eventually you'll nail it. 

 

Great tune!

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

17 minutes ago, CEB said:

 

 Does the band intend to play Saints?  

No, no Saints.  Just this one....  We take turns picking the next new song to learn.  Must be why we have so many 90s-era covers (I never knew there was a punk rock version of 99 Red Balloons!).

 

I probably need to spend the money and get the CD.  Listening to it on Youtube (even with headphones) might not be the best sonic quality.  Part of my problem is picking the piano out of the horns and whatever else is going on!

 

Thanks,

Charles

[Adan]

Time spent learning licks by ear is usually time well spent, up to a point.  But the audiences' attention to detail is always going to be less than your own, so by the time your patience for ear-learning has exhausted you're probably well beyond what the audience is going to notice as tracking the original.

 

I remember the problem I had with learning the signature piano lick to Dixie Chicken is that it's so high register, the notes can be a little harder to pick out.  But it's doable and it's just a handful of notes.  

 

Reiterating what others said, for the rest just focus on  feel not literal transposition.  Everyone will have more fun that way, except perhaps your BL, but if he doesn't get it, he doesn't get it.

[allan_evett]

Other than the rhythmic signature piano lick that pops in over the 1, 4 and 5 changes (basically the intro lick) , I hope they're not asking for note-perfect renditions of the piano track (especially the solo).  That would seem to suck the soul out of playing the song, and turn you into a robot. Sheet music transcriptions with the signature lines can still be helpful for learning though, and will at least get you into the ballpark

 

Yeah, Bill Payne's a monster player; but I doubt he plays the piano backing exactly the same at each show.  Signature opening riff and resulting similar patterns, sure, but in watching him plenty of times I've seen some very creative 'expansions' on his original ideas. And many times it's taken me from " I'm getting a handle on this style" to "Oh sh*t, I'd better go practice". 

 

Couple of practical ideas, to start with:  If you have a hand drum or two, play along with the song; no keys, just get into the groove of it.  Or just slap-n-poke on a flat surface. Also, listening to other tracks on which Bill has played. There are plenty of live recordings, solo and with bands.

And become close friends with the A pentatonic scale, specifically it's blues variant (alternately called major blues/minor pentatonic). I've gotten a lot of mileage from this one: A-B-C-C#-E-F#- G (D, in passing, is also fair game)  Spin it around with different orders of the various notes; crush, cluster, repeat, skip, use it for alternating chordal riffs; think of the hand drumming idea I mentioned earlier.

 

[CEB]

The trinity of the Billy Ps.  Payne, Preston, Powell. 

[Dockeys]

Some sheet music of it here. Doesn’t sound too far off….

 

and a piano vIew of it here:

 

Like the others said, get the main parts as best you can and work your own parts into it. 

[cphollis]

As above, get the feel right and don't worry about the notes so much.  When we play it live, it's a singalong song and the piano is there to add some feel, nothing more.  I'm singing backup on this one (yikes!) so no fancy keyboard stuff from me when I'm doing that.

 

That being said, I used to copy Little Feat piano riffs back in the day, as they were fun to learn.  As above, learn some NOLA riffs and you can use them in lots of places

[Shamanzarek]

I recently passed on joining a band mainly because this and a few other Little Feat songs were on the list. Although it is a great piano piece I didn't feel the hours of effort vs. questionable financial reward would be worth it. 

[Bill H.]

3 hours ago, Lou Gehrig said:

 

 

I probably need to spend the money and get the CD.  Listening to it on Youtube (even with headphones) might not be the best sonic quality.  Part of my problem is picking the piano out of the horns and whatever else is going on!

 

Thanks,

Charles

 

With Youtube you can slow playback speed for learning parts though. I've never played Dixie Chicken, but at 3/4 speed the piano started to make more sense trying to figure it out. 

[MathOfInsects]

First, funny how experiences and preferences are different. "Just play the cool fills and don't do any horn parts" is my idea of heaven. I h-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-t-e playing horns on keys, and more generally dislike the kind of gig that would want horns on keys because it "sounds like the original," which no it doesn't, and also...so? The singer doesn't sound like fill-in-the-blank, so why do you want to be live-band karaoke for the rest?

Second, even though I'm a LF and BP fan, I honestly couldn't remember any specific iconic fills other than the intro. I mean, I remember that he filled; I couldn't sing you any of them if I had to. I actually had to go listen to the recording before writing this response. And I literally just had this on a gig last month, so I've listened to it recently, and probably hundreds of times over the years.

That means that the rest of the guys in your band will know those fills even less well. Just "metacognate" on what he's doing and fill in the right places. The band hasn't memorized the piano parts, they just know there's a placeholder in their head where "piano fill" goes in the song. 

You definitely need that iconic intro riff correct, laid way back and swung. What's unique about it is the major-7--basically a V chord up to a I, all over the I. It does the same thing when it gets to the E--it's E's V (B). In both cases, we are expecting flat-7s, and that's what cool about that little riff.

Don't trip. I can pretty much promise they won't be playing the song as if they were each the various members of Little Feat. They just know that piano is the special sauce in this one, and are leaving it to you to take it from there.

Just nail the intro and make a little map for yourself where the fills go. You can use the times the band plays it as your chance to refine those fills over time as you go.


 

[Lou Gehrig Charles]

47 minutes ago, MathOfInsects said:

You definitely need that iconic intro riff correct, laid way back and swung. What's unique about it is the major-7--basically a V chord up to a I, all over the I. It does the same thing when it gets to the E--it's E's V (B). In both cases, we are expecting flat-7s, and that's what cool about that little riff.
 

Fortunately, that's the part I already have nailed down....  It's easy to find sheet music for it.  If I could just find something that helps with the piano solo, I'd have the job nearly complete (and the solo is just eight measures, if I remember right).  As for the rest of the song....  If I had a more natural sense of swing, I could improvise it, so maybe I'll just keep plugging away at it.  I really almost quit last weekend after our practice!  I gotta stop sabotaging my better intentions.

 

Thanks to all who have responded, you all have been really helpful!  I'll let you know how it works out.

[Baldwin Funster]

It ain't true, it ain't true Linda Lou

It ain't true Linda Lou...

 

Sorry wrong song...

[Steve Nathan]

imho, the only way to learn one like this is to play along with the record, over and over until it falls into your hands.  Don't sweat the intricacies, learn the intro because it is the dominant hook, and absorb the feel for the rest of it.  Other than the intro, I don't think Billy plays it the same way ever.

[Al Quinn]

I used to play the Waiting for Columbus version, including the medley with Tripe Face Boogie, seven nights a week with a southern rock bar band in the late 70’s. Unfortunately, I haven’t played it since so I don’t remember the details too well. But I do remember that it was very difficult and fun! Billy Payne is one of my heroes 🎵

[Chris Link]

I have a note for note transcription of Bill Payne's WFC solo published in Keyboard Magazine years ago. Even with the sheet music I can't do it justice.

 

Totally agree that the rhythm section has to get this groove right for it (or a lot of Feat tunes) to work.

 

My ex always called the evening I got to meet Bill Payne over BBQ, in the front row in a small venue, and tasked with getting a birthday cake for Fred Tackett which we had on the bus as my "Make A Wish" day!

[Chris Link]

Took a while, but I found it!

 

Good luck!

[Phil Aiken]

That sheet music is great. I spent a whole bunch of time trying to cop it all when I was shedding to play with them, and ended up just doing my own thing when the solo came around. They weren't looking for it. Really the important thing was not to rush, as Richie was so laid back. I caught myself ahead of Richie and Kenny more than once. But it was all improvised, Just absorb whatever vocabulary you need and play from the heart.  

[The Real MC]

4 hours ago, Chris Link said:

Took a while, but I found it!

 

Good luck!

 

I have that issue too... beat me to posting it.

Jim Aikan had a devil of a job transcribing that.

I already know the Billy Powell technique, Billy Payne is a short step further.  I never played the entire solo, but I did borrow that style/licks for a piano intro when our band covered "Soulshine" - it's got that Little Feat feel to it.

[JamPro]

15 hours ago, Jr. Deluxe said:

It ain't true, it ain't true Linda Lou

It ain't true Linda Lou...

 

Sorry wrong song...

I hear you working in a saloon;

I hear you work from midnite to noon.

Well, I might be from the woods

but to me that don't sound so good.

It ain't true; it ain't true Linda Lou.

 

One of my favs - I just love the clever lyrics and the super-funky groove.