Piano trio (the rock 'n' roll kind)

[SamuelBLupowitz]

I've attempted the "singer-songwriter piano power trio" thing on many occasions over the years, inspired by early Elton John and Ben Folds. It's a lot of fun, but it never stuck. My own limitations as a player, plus negotiating the arrangements in an impactful, varied way with so few textures, plus my compulsive desire to bring into the fold any musician who wants to play with me, always led to me expanding the band or moving on to other things.

 

But I had a date I needed to fill, and a willing rhythm section who had played a show with me before (albeit as part of a larger lineup), so I booked what I figured would be a one-off Samuel B. Lupowitz Trio gig, and trusted that folks would do their homework and be fine with 1-2 rehearsals, given everyone's very busy schedules.

 

Thing is, two songs into the first rehearsal, the rhythm section was adamant that this needs to be more than a one-off. So... I'm here in part to brag, in part for thoughts, tips, and feedback from anyone else who has had success with booking instrumentation like this (or generally small ensemble original music -- too loud for the corner of a coffeehouse, probably, but also, you know, a guitar-less band). Now that it's looking like we may be booking at least a few times a year with this ensemble, I'm trying to think how to best develop it. It certainly helps me get around how difficult it's been to schedule around the availability of the younger parents in my larger projects.

 

Some three part harmonies would really make the whole thing. The bass player has worked with me a lot, and took initiative for this to sing as much as he could manage while playing some very complicated bass parts. The drummer has a nice voice and is open to singing, though I'm not sure if it will stick to start working out really specific background vocals if we're not rehearsing regularly. And while I did play both piano and organ on this gig (because I was also playing keys with the headlining act), I think I'd want to keep my rig more spare, generally speaking -- if not just a piano, maybe a small synth rather than a dual manual organ. So just thinking about ways to fill the space and expand the palette while keeping things stripped down (read: easy to load in and out, also ... fewer people to divide the money between).

 

On that note, it was nice to have such an encouraging musical success on the first performance, because from a financial perspective, this was a rough gig. An old friend touring from out of town set this show up with me months ago, and I promoted harder than I've promoted anything this year (most of my gigs have been sideman work or small local festivals that have a built-in crowd). But between the holiday weekend, the smoke in the air only recently dropping down to an acceptable level, a general lack of walk-in traffic, the venue being probably two or three weeks behind where they would have been helpful with their end of promotion (which, might I add, they took a cut of the door to pay for) and, I guess, the algorithm failing me, it was a pretty humiliating turnout. But I certainly need some things to get excited about and look forward to, so ... here's hoping! Certainly interested in thoughts any of y'all have.

 

Oh, and, here are a few clips from the show.   Forgive the non-embedded links; they're not all clips that I'd share publicly, but they're too big to embed and I just thought y'all would appreciate the reference point for what I'm working on (and the caliber of the rhythm section players; I still can't believe I get to work with these dudes). 

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NqYAe1NzvxYd5SZPlFfdqtU9ObuSUyXY/view?usp=sharing - "Dancing on the Ocean Floor," full song from my 2021 solo album.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QPe2f4brJVF_rTwyFZpEKrj9Z5REpYEH/view?usp=sharing - trading solos in 5/8! The drummer notices that the bass player and I do, indeed, get lost at one point ... and gives us a big crash on 1 to help us out.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lezYNDnP-lqt4KuRis_-NJzNKCZdejLV/view?usp=sharing - clip of "Verses and Choruses" from my 2012 solo album. Playing two keyboards and singing!

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-88rsr0-S74v_6yiK6fX-BovdhqQWTqK/view?usp=sharing - outro tag/jam of "Can I Put You On," an Elton John deep cut the bass player and I learned for the 17-11-70 anniversary livestream in 2020.

[EricBarker]

This is fun stuff! You've got a good voice for it and it really works well. I'm in a similar boat right now, though with a bit different arrangement and style. I'm on EPiano and LH synth bass, My wife is generally on lead vox, though we trade off some and do a lot of harmonies. I gravitate toward 2-part harmonies more these days because, frankly, they're much easier to nail cleanly and I can drop in some crunchy 9ths and 4ths without it getting too chaotic. I have a band who's intent on doing 3-4 part harmonies all the time, and frankly, it's kind of a mess. My band also has violin and drums. We're a bit more progrock than your classic RnB style, but I dig it.

 

Your voice reminds me a bit of one of my other bands I play in, and he's been extremely successful here. It's really important to have a nice cutting voice with a lot of clarity, and you've got that. Though different, I've got that too. My poor buddy who trained voice for years seems to not be able to cut through a mix, even when turned up, just doesn't annunciate enough. I'm riding him to try to fix it, but I think it's too late. My wife trained opera and musical theatre for years, so every consonant right in your face. That's so important. A huge number of bands fail because the singer can't be understood.

 

I don't have any recommendations for your sound, because you've got it figured out. Personally, I often switch between AP and driven EP depending on the part. The EP gives it a bit more 70s hard rock guitar sound, which being a classic metal and heavy rock guy, is up my alley. But sometimes for big choruses, the AP ends up being more driving and punchy. I thought I'd be playing more organ in this quartet, but with a fiddle and synth bass, I'm often reaching for more percussive sounds that get out of the way. I still play B3 on a few tunes, and would like to do more.

Oh, we have exactly the same Chucks, my friend!

[SamuelBLupowitz]

9 minutes ago, EricBarker said:

It's really important to have a nice cutting voice with a lot of clarity, and you've got that.

Using in-ear monitors regularly has drastically improved my live singing, and that's part of the reason I'm feeling so confident in this lineup. And since my wife is an absolutely crushing lead vocalist (she did sit in on one tune in the set, how can I resist?), I need all the confidence I can get! But technological assistance aside, the minimal distraction -- and frequency competition -- of only having keys, bass, and drums onstage makes it *so* much easier for me to sing accurately than when I'm unintentionally shouting over guitars and/or horns. It's part of the reason I'm trying to resist the temptation to get my first-call guitarist on board, as sensitive and dynamic a player as he is. Maybe for some gigs that merit a larger ensemble every now and then, but the stripped-down arrangements absolutely help me think more about *delivering the songs* rather than being distracted by too many nuances of the arrangement, or too much going on in my ears to really hear the tonal center accurately. "Okay, cool, the guitar is taking this solo, it's going to cover the rhythm after the drum break, I should ask for less guitar in my mix, and then... oh shoot I forgot the words and I'm a quarter tone flat."

 

2 minutes ago, EricBarker said:

Personally, I often switch between AP and driven EP depending on the part. The EP gives it a bit more 70s hard rock guitar sound, which being a classic metal and heavy rock guy, is up my alley. But sometimes for big choruses, the AP ends up being more driving and punchy. 

This is a good thought, because I go back and forth about whether I should embrace the patch diversity of a modern digital stage piano, or really approach the gig like I'm playing an acoustic grand and find my creativity through that limitation! One of the tunes I shared above is predominantly Wurli-driven with an AP solo on the recording; I've performed it that way, but this gig I was feeling the piano-purist approach for it.

 

Conversely, there's a tune we performed that I originally tracked a live-in-the-room trio for when we made the record -- we were going for a Physical Graffiti vibe, and so I conjured Jimmy Page via John Paul Jones by slamming my clavinet through a wah pedal into an overdriven tube amp. When it came time to play the tune live, I just went with the clav patch (with a healthy dose of not-as-cool-as-a-real-tube-amp overdrive and pedal wah) on my Yamaha, as sacreligious as it feels to play clav on a weighted hammer action.

 

I think that song *could* work with a piano-driven arrangement, but we were already opening for a Rock Band with a capital R, so I wanted to bring some crunch. I imagine I'll keep experimenting, maybe bring some of the onboard effects (particularly tape delay) into my solos so I don't start feeling like I'm running out of ideas halfway through the set.

 

3 minutes ago, EricBarker said:

Oh, we have exactly the same Chucks, my friend!

Best wardrobe purchase of my music career, bar none.

[EricBarker]

When I'm presented with a properly miked Grand Piano... screw my rig, it's Piano Time! This has happened a few times, often by happy accident. We played a statewide Folk Festival a few months back, and due to renovation the event was moved into a High School Theatre, which had a wonderful concert grand. No synth bass, no nothing. Was absolutely heavenly, and I play SO much differently. Similarly, last summer because of smoke (interior Alaska), our garden gig was moved to the Symphony Concert Hall, and we felt right at home, particularly with my wife being an opera singer.

 

But curiously, in non-hall settings I've moved away from HA pianos. Even a good HA feels 1/10 of a real AP. The dynamic range, the speakers, it's just a different feel. Also, AP can be an awkward beast in a rock setting, particularly if your set butts up against punk and metal bands (some of which I'm also in, btw). So I've got a NS3 Compact and have learned to love the action for everything, even AP. It's different, it's weird, but it works with what I do. I'm mostly playing it in RH because my LH is on PolyD bass. The few times I've tried to play LH bass on the NS3C, it felt wrong, and very tiring. Pounding out piano bass LH on an organ-weighted bed is just death. Thankfully it's not what I'm doing.

 

I'm pushing a fairly aggressive envelope for a keyboard-driven band: some Tool covers and metal-adjacent stuff. Not typical singer-songwriter indie pop. So AP isn't always appropriate, but that said, sometimes it translates better than I'd expect.

[Mills Dude]

Dude, I love it.  Whether it could be self-sustaining financially, who knows.

 

I do love the whole singer/songwriter piano trio vibe.  The best parts of Billy Joel for me are essentially that trio with Devitto and Stegemeyer, all those great tunes from that classic late 70's era.  

 

I watched some of your vids, thats a big stage your on, probably wouldn't have that a stage that big regularly.  I would think intimacy would be a selling point.

 

What you posted was awesome but allow me to give some nits to pick.

- I think the group would look better if you were facing the side of the stage as opposed to center.  You on the right, bass player on the left, drummer in the middle.  Horseshoe with good band interaction to play off one another better.  Elton and Billy both do and did that but of course being the stars these days they are front and center.  I'd try to capture that mid 70's vibe.

- I like your drummer and he's very capable.  I think the sound would be better served with smaller drums.  He's got some big rock drums and they're pretty boomy.  At least have those drums tuned differently. The drums sound tuned to having loud distorted guitars.  Not sure a floor tom is even necessary and thats a big one he's got.

- Similar with the bassist but maybe the vid off the phone is not the best gauge.  I think the bass needs a more high end, tighter sound.

- Piano in the vids sounds real boxy, bass heavy and a bit harsh but again maybe an artifact of recording from a phone.  Since there's no guitars filling the mid-range, you need something in that sweet spot that's warm.

 

Overall, I think tuning the sound and presentation to be more intimate would improve the marketability where you could certainly do coffee houses, wine bars, etc.

 

Best of luck, its obviously your passion and you write solid songs and present them well.

[EricBarker]

I think those are all good observations, though it's hard to judge equipment by iPhone audio and PA, so many variables.

 

Gonna play Devil's Advocate on the toms. Tom Waits does amazing things with really huge toms and piano. Really depends on the style you're going for. Large loose toms can create more of an old vintage vibe, which could be good here. Def how Tom Waits uses them.

[SamuelBLupowitz]

Just responding to the notes about presentation: we were opening for a touring band (which I was also playing keys for) and the staging reflects that. I normally turn the piano in, but I had the organ set up facing in on this gig. Similarly, that’s the headliner’s kit — tuned for loud guitars and with a WAY bigger kick drum than my guy usually uses. He drove three hours from a wedding gig to play this one with me, so he didn’t even swap out snare and cymbals. If we were headlining, or not sharing gear, I completely agree that setting up closer together, with better sight lines (especially to work through the open improv sections; we had one or two missed cues in the thick of it) would be ideal. I think if it were up to me, I’d set up with the piano and drums stage right and left, angled inward, with bass in the middle.
 

And yeah, I definitely wouldn’t trust the phone recording to tell the truth about the sonic profile of the ensemble as delivered by the venue’s sound guy in the shoebox-shaped room after our brief soundcheck. 😉

[MAJUSCULE]

Yeah Sam, sounds great! It's awesome to see you excited about a project, especially one with less logistical concerns.

 

The clips sound good, I think any of the nitpicking I might do would be easily attributed to first gig things as well as opener status. A couple more outings and a proper setup and soundcheck and I think you guys will sound fantastic. I agree about your rhythm section too, those guys can play. This would be a pretty easy format to track from home, too...

 

Oh, and gear-wise, I wouldn't worry about a synth or anything, I'd just put a small pedalboard together and run the AP (or EP if you do it) through chorus, delay, OD/comp, etc.  

[SamuelBLupowitz]

16 minutes ago, MAJUSCULE said:

I think any of the nitpicking I might do would be easily attributed to first gig things as well as opener status.

Thanks man! One of those things is definitely *tempos* -- I really got to come to an intimate understanding of how wordy some of my songs are when we took them a feeeew clicks too fast, hahaha.