Plan A, what's plan B?
Entry posted by mark555
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The weekly practices are happening and things are moving forward nicely. However, we found that our success and work ethic of the past few weeks was the result of a really good plan - we had the first fourteen songs pre selected so we knew exactly what we were doing. As the main lead player in the band, I could work on solo parts weeks in advance and be ready when they were needed at rehearsal. It was an excellent method and was working really well. Anticipating the arrival of the day when we would need to have the second set of fourteen or how ever many songs ready to draw from was fast approaching, my calls for a meeting to select the songs fell on deaf ears - very busy band members. Not that no one cared, they just didn't get round to it. This led to the last two practices finishing and then us scratching our heads to think of what songs to practice during the week so we would be ready for the next rehearsal.
The net result of not having a plan in place is that we have selected songs that we would really take as second choice just to fill in. Not that they are poor songs, but you end up with the songs that have been done time and time again by other bands, but in fairness we are going to keep these songs down to a minimum, maybe a total of six in the set. Johnny B Goode may well be one of the greatest rock and roll songs ever to be put onto vinyl, but it is some what over done, and in many cases very badly. in fact, one of the worst versions I have ever heard can be seen on youtube and is done by Chuck Berry himself along with John Lennon and it is truly dreadful.
So the remedy is that I shall be going through my CD collection and looking at quality tracks the match the ability of the players in the band and the vocal range of the singer, who by coincidence is myself. I never wanted to be a singer, but having tried to get a line up of four organised and reliable, the last thing we want is another individual who might not prove as committed to turning up at rehearsal as we are. If we have a good quality just now, it is the fact that we had a good attitude to moving things forward.
Democracy is a fine institution, but I am finding that in the context of a band you can have too much of a good thing, so Peter (other guitar player) and myself have realised that we need to take charge and plan, then give the band the direction it needs. When we have next selection of songs, we will work to plan. the impending first gig is free entry and we are not taking any money because it is a thank you to the church for letting us use the facilities free of charge for rehearsal, so there is not the pressure that there would be from a paid gig where people were paying money either for drinks or what ever. But I do think it is important to put a well thought out set together and set yourself apart in some way from the other bands playing the same circuit.
One really good thing I have to tell you about is that I am now playing a little bit of slide. We have put the Rolling Stones version of Little Red Rooster in the set and even though I say it myself, it sounds excellent. Do something simple and well, and the end result is usually very effective. I am really pleased how well little red rooster has turned out for us because is gives us a blues song to play that not every one else is doing and is instantly recognisable by those of a certain age, and the slide adds something else into the mix.
Another good triumph for us was getting down a good version of "This Flight Tonight". Written by Joni Mitchell and covered by Nazareth (Scottish rock band) in the 70's, it took us a lot of effort to find the right key for the vocals. Again, not a complicated song, but we have found that simple does not mean that it will be easy to put together, particularly to do properly - for us, "nearly" isn't good enough, it has to be right.
I have started to get some posters out to publicise next months gig, if we get two hundred out on the night I will be pleased. The purpose of a free gig is for us to test the waters with the set list we have prepared and get us playing live again. Once I get plan B of the set list finalised, I will be much happier. Selecting the right songs is critical - no use choosing something that is brilliant on record but is not right for you as a musician.
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