Hi Ho Silver...
Entry posted by mark555
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Another four songs in the bag today, once again rehearsed to gigging standard. We practice every Saturday afternoon, meeting up at 12.30 and after setting up we work until 4pm. And in a good rehearsal session, it really is work, getting all the mistakes ironed out until it is right. Last week it was my fingers and brain which were not connecting, this week, Terry the drummer was having a difficult time by his standards. All I can say is that if that was a bad day, he must be incredible on a good one. As is often the case, drummers are the butt of jokes. However, Terry is the bedrock of the band laying down a very solid beat. His fills and endings are superb, and Shaun and I offered him the job in the driving seat after only two numbers and we have been proved right at every rehearsal.
We have been given a gig at a private function in the Yorkshire city of Leeds, an event run though the church Shaun and I belong to. It is regional and means that there could well be more gigs coming as a result. The gig is in April 26th and we now need to work out how to give a one and a half hour show at standards we set. #We have three weeks to get 12 more songs. So, we will be upping the pressure on ourselves.
Dave, our other guitar player is a great guy, easy to get on with and willing to do what's best for the band. But today he did say that he wanted to sing more and give more to the band. He said it in a positive way, he was just being enthusiastic. I told him that he had come from a band where he was the best in the band by far and every one else probably depended on him to hold it together, to which he agreed. I then said that he'd joined a band where there are four strong musicians who can all do what is needed, and that is a lot different to his last band. He smiled and agreed, and I said that we have only had three rehearsals and over the next few weeks he will have those opportunities. He was happy at that. He wasn't complaining, I just think he wants to contribute to the fullest extent he can.
Buying a 600 watt pa was a master stroke, it enables the band members with weaker voices to be brought into the mix. This was shown to great advantage in two of our choice of songs for this weeks rehearsal, Riot In Cell Block Number 9 and Hi Ho Silver Lining. You may know Riot in cell block number 9 by the Robins or from the Blues Brothers film. Those two versions are two slow for me and don't cut the mustard, so we beefed the song up a bit and put more fire into it, playing the Dr Feelgood version. It was superb, and I do not know of any other band playing this song. Hi Ho Silver Lining is a great number for an audience to dance to, and even of I say so, we did a great version of it. With three of us singing the chorus, it really made a difference. The other two numbers we rehearsed were I'm Hog For You and Tulsa Time. We are purposely looking for good numbers to play which other bands in our area are not covering. We know that we need to have a unique selling point, and as there are good bands out there, we need to be good but also different enough in our set list that we will get attention without being turned away.
My good friend and fellow forum member Peter Alton, always uses a guideline for buying a new guitar which is "do I have a job for it?" So far in this band I have only needed to use my Tokai, which is performing admirably. But soon I will need to get my Strat back from my son and use that for some of the songs that we are planning to do in concert gigs. Also, there is a need for a Telecaster and I am sure that at some point in the near future I will be posting pictures of one, it's just a case of finance right now. Hopefully we will get gigs which will provide the funds so that I don't take the money out of the family budget.
I know this band is going to be very good. There are better guitar players than Dave and I out there in the band world, but our two styles are very complimentary and Shaun and Terry are excellent in their own rights as bass player and drummer. The band's strength is that it is turning out to be greater than the sum of its parts. The timing is spot on and we are getting very tight. After three weeks we have twelve songs down to gigging standards, so it won't be long before we are good to go.
Thanks to all for reading and best wishes.
Mark.
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