mark555

a 335 is a nice first Gibson, especially a cherry one.

OK, the line up is complete and there are no more auditions to be held. We made our choice and we are sticking to our guns. And, a good choice it has turned out to be. This evening I wanted to call Simon, the guy who came last week, but I can not for the life in me find his telephone number, and looking back it seems that all the communication we had prior to the audition was through a site for musicians looking to find bands etc. So, as much as I would have preferred to have spoken to Simon personally because i feel it is good manners, I have had to send him a message thanking him for coming but explaining that we had chosen some one else. I told him that not being selected was not a reflection on his playing and on another week we may well have asked him to join. So, there we are. During the week we bought an old Peavy 600watt pa amp, it only cost £100 so we thought why not take a punt on it? It turns out it is rather loud! But, it will give us a lot of headroom to work with for the vocals, the quieter singers will be giving enough volume to get their voices heard. The down side is that I need to buy a couple of new mic cables and possibly a new mic. I also treated myself to a really well made used mic stand in the week, which payed dividends at rehearsal today. Today was our first rehearsal and the objective was to get at least four numbers down and play them at a level we could gig them. We worked on the following songs: Down at the Doctors and Back in The Night(Doctor Feelgood) Whiskey in The Jar (Thin Lizzy) I Hear You Knocking (Dave Edmunds). We really did work those numbers and got them how we wanted them, I am pleased to say that if we had to play an audition and choose four numbers, we could play those to a gigging standard. We have chosen four more for next week. We're aiming for thirty numbers to give us a full set. Just right now in the region where we would look to get gigs from, there are loads of blues bands, all sorts of youngsters playing what ever it is they do, but we all think that there is a big gap for what we want to do, which is Rock with a blues feel with two lead guitar players. Hopefully we will plug that gap. We rehearse at the church Shaun and I used to attend before we moved to different towns, as it is easy to get to and free to us as Shaun and I are still active within our faith. I only mention this because it is relevent to the fact that our new guitar player Dave, is not at all religeous and he is having a hard time remembering not to swear! It's quite funny really, we have told him that we will get a swear box and fine him every time he comes out with something he shouldn't. But he is trying, and today he didn't go off the grounds for a smoke, I think he'd had one on the way to rehearsal. Our first gig has already been cancelled, the party organisers think that every one would just prefer to sit and talk, and they have a bit of a disco - what a bad choice, there is no substitute for a live band, but try telling that to the masses who don't appreciate what real music is - LIVE! As promised last week, here are a couple of pictures. I am the guy with the Sunburst single cut. Dave is the guy with the white single cut, and my life long friend and true brother Shaun is holding his P bass which he bought in 1977 when we went to London to buy it. Terry is our Drummer,a really powerful player. Well, I can't post any pictures, so here's a link instead. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152070238653212&set=pcb.10152070239728212&type=1&theater Thanks for reading, Mark.

Thanks for the kind comments guys, the two Wishbone Ash tracks I am wanting to cover are Jail Bait and Blowing Free. I will try and post something when I feel we won't disgrace ourselves!

Great blog, I will look forward to leaving more. I really like the idea of you simplyfying your gear, although I can't afford a lot of gear, I do like playing one guitar regularly and having a feel for that instrument. Good luck on the journey and keep blogging.

Today our auditions came to a close for a further guitar player to compliment the line up. Earlier this week we organised today's sessions with three different guys coming at intervals of one hour and fifteen minutes so each one could have fifty minutes with us. Well, that was the intention. Earlier on this week I had an e mail from one guy who said he had gone down with a really nasty cold and was getting worse, he would let me know on Friday if he was able to come. I don't know if he was really saying "I don't know if I want to do this or not, give me until Friday night to decide". But Friday night came and I got an email from him saying he was really ill and couldn't come, good luck with the band. He didn't ask if he could come next week or another time, so I am guessing that he wasn't really wanting to make a commitment, or his heart wasn't in playing in a band, so strike out one. The guy I was really interested in hearing play sent me an e mail saying that he had really thought about it, but he had too many family commitments and that two bands would be too much for him. Well, we want some one who will give us their loyalty. But, having had a couple of conversations with the guy I did like him very much and we agreed to keep each other's phone numbers because who knows what the future will bring. So there we are, one guy left called Simon. Now Simon did turn up and brought his son with him, a nice kid of about sixteen called Mark. I am a big family man myself so I have no problems with him bringing his son and actually thought it to be a big plus because I have huge respect for guys who do things with their kids. Simon came with an Epiphone Semi, one of those 335 styles with the leaves inlayed into the headstock. His amp was a 75w line 6. Now I am always a bit concerned when people turn up with solid state and modelling amps, because being a traditionalist, I think that there can only be one type of amp for a guitar player, and no matter what brand the amp has, for me it has to have valves. However, I digress. We enjoyed a couple of hours with him, our session was slowed down by Terry the drummer's bad back so we had a few rests, no problem for me with the Tokai strapped on, always good to take it off for a few minutes. So, we played the same songs we had played with the other guys, whiskey in the Jar etc. We liked Simon, nice guy, even if his amp didn't have valves in it! as a person he would have fit right in and that is a big part of this band. We played some rock and roll standards to see how quickly he could pick up a song without it being rehearsed. As a rhythm only player he would have done well, but as a lead player he wasn't quite there, although he was on the way. So after a good hour and a half with him we all shook hands, thanked him for coming and explained that we had other players to see, which he knew any way. We didn't really, but we wanted to discuss things. We genuinely enjoyed the audition. So, after Simon had gone, Shaun, Terry and myself sat down and had a good talk between ourselves. As none of us wanted to spend any more time on auditions, having done three weekends of them, we felt we needed to move and complete the line up as we knew that we were happy with at least one of the guys we'd seen. Terry thought that Simon would fit in well as a person, which we all agreed with. But I asked Shaun and Terry that if it was a gut feeling, which guitarist we had seen would they choose? We all said it would be Dave, because we felt he could bring more to the band (a valve amp is always a good stat!!)and that his ability would allow me to step back at times and also allow a twin lead format when we want it. As a huge Wishbone Ash fan I want to cover a couple of their songs. So, while we were all together I phoned Dave up and invited him to join the band, and he was thrilled to have been asked and said yes please. So we start rehearsals next week for our first gig in six weeks time. More of that in a minute. I am going to wait a week or so before I call Simon and tell him we went for some one else, and There is a reason for that. I want Simon to feel that he wasn't dismissed out of hand and that we considered him carefully. I am mindful that when you say no thanks to some one who has bothered to come and put them selves on the line that they deserve treating respectfully, and I shall call him up and explain that it was a very close decision and on another day it may well have been he who we asked to join. Also if some one can turn up, they deserve the courtesy of a phone call. I hope we swap phone numbers because he will get to be a better player and there is always the future. However, we want what is best for us and I am glad we went through the auditions as we did. So, Next Saturday we start rehearsing properly. Shaun works for the inland revenue, or as the Americans would call it the IRS. His office is closing and he is transferring to Sheffield, which isn't far from where he lives. His office have organised a big party for about 150+ people and have asked him if he would get the band to play. We are doing this as a shake down gig to sharpen up and get a reaction to what we are going to play, so there is no charge as these are all Shaun's colleagues. Next week I am going to try and post some pictures, If I can work out how to get pictures on here from my tablet. A big thanks for taking the trouble to read this.

Thanks for the kind words Paul, forming a band takes a lot of effort. Next week we are auditioning three more players and then we will choose one of them. Dave is looking good, but one guy in particular sounds very promising and I want to have a session with him before we make our minds up. By the way, at 54 I still think I have years left and out drummer is way past 60, so you have plenty chances left to go for a band if you want to. best wishes, Mark.

After last Weeks session in purgatory, this week we auditioned some one who could actually play. We were going to audition two guitar players, but one of them decided to cancel on us because he liked half our song ideas but didn't get on with the other half. Well, at least he was up front about it and saved us the time. We are still recovering from last week when we had all lost the will to live. So, any way, Dave turned up on time, coming up from the South Yorkshire town of Wath Upon Dearne. Dave came with a Stratocaster, a Peavy valve amp and himself, I like that, just the basic gear, nothing flash, but loads of enthusiasm and a willingness to fit in. We started off the session with A couple of Dire Straights songs, Sultans of Swing and Money for Nothing. I will give Dave his due, he really had the Sultans of swing nailed, both in licks and tone, so plus one for that. We also played Money for Nothing, but the humbuckers on my guitar had the sound needed for that one. Dave is a Strat player, but I think he could do with a 150, it would suit him - but I digress. Whiskey in the Jar went well once we had got the speed right, I think Dave was up for playing and he went off a bit too fast. We slowed him down on it and he was fine. I think he has played it in another band and they played it faster, where as we play it as the record. We were really pleased that he could pick up some of the songs he didn't know too well quickly enough, and he was fine about us telling him that we wanted some thing playing a different way, so at least we know that we are not dealing with an egotist. We played some great twelve bar rock and roll and we clicked very easily. At the end of the afternoon, we all thanked him for coming and said that we had enjoyed playing with him, helped him with his gear and waved him off. The three of us liked Dave, he had a no nonsense attitude and was easy to get along with, and most importantly he could play and would fit in with us. We told Dave from the word go that we are seeing three more players next week, so we were up front with him and he was fine, we told him that we would get back to him. I think out of the three players next week, only one of them will be any better, and I want to give this guy a chance. One thing is for sure, we are not going to keep on for ever with the auditions, hopefully next week will see us make our decision. We are not professional musicians, but we have had a professional attitude, treated people courteously and and it seems to have worked so far. We are all really nice guys, and people have warmed to us, I am hoping that the player we settle on will be able to fit in and just be a nice guy. At least we are not coming home having lost the will to live this week! Next week we will hopefully have made the decision. Thanks for reading.

thanks for the comment, I agree with you.

After the fantastic success of last week when Shaun and I found Terry the drummer, we were eager to start looking for the next band member, so we started scouring the usual web sites where hopefully we could find a few likely candidates for joining us. We were looking for a vocalist and guitar player, or if needs be, one guy who could do both. During the week I had contacted one or two more people who seemed to fit the bill and we invited a guy to come for audition. I asked many questions of him, but missed the really obvious one, which was "what experience do you have?". I don't know why I didn't ask this question, from the way he was talking, I just took it for granted - I won't make that mistake again. He told me he had really good gear, which is important because good gear makes for good tone. So, a time was arranged and we all turned up. Our guest was an extremely nice guy, he came complete with Telecaster and what he said was a Vox Valve amp. Now I have owned a Vox AC30 and I know what the sound like and what they look like, and this certainly was not an AC30 valve amp. I can tell a valve (tube) amp as soon as I hear it and this was not what he said it was. Perhaps he was inexperienced in the amp market, so I will give him the benefit of the doubt and say that perhaps he wasn't as knowledgeable as he needed to be when he bought it. We had e mailed him some very easy songs to get to grips with that he could sing and play at the audition, twelve bar stomps etc, the most complex song he had to learn was whiskey in the jar, chords only. Well, we started playing and it just was not working at all. Last week, when Terry joined us, it was Bang! Off we went and it came together instantly. This week, we knew from the word go that it was not going to work. However, the guy had turned up, and he deserved the courtesy of being given a chance, But half an hour later I had lost the will to live and our drummer was just desperate to go home. Shaun of course, as relaxed and laid back as ever, was just kicking the bass lines out, but we both shook our heads when we looked at each other. So here's today's lesson. There are loads of bedroom players who really think they can play and sing because that's all they do, but put them in with a full band, and the noise of it hits them and they are out of their depth. Our guest couldn't hold a tune and his timing was truly terrible, he had no strength in his voice and generally was terrible. After an hour (we were very generous) we cut it short and having already told him that we wouldn't make a decision there and then, we thanked him for coming and helped him pack his gear away. We then all agreed that I wold give him a call to thank him for coming but tell him that we needed some one with band experience and playing live. I really felt that it would only be good manners to actually speak to him, so I phoned him only to get his answer phone, so I left a nice message and e mailed him. he replied, saying that he had enjoyed himself but did find that he was not comfortable with the genre we play. So, there we are, all nice and polite and done properly. Next week we are auditioning a guitar player who says he has a lot of live experience and claims to be a good player. If he is good, that's great. But we will give him one hour and then hopefully audition another player i am trying to contact. Lets see what happens. Thanks for reading.

After the fantastic success of last week when Shaun and I found Terry the drummer, we were eager to start looking for the next band member, so we started scouring the usual web sites where hopefully we could find a few likely candidates for joining us. We were looking for a vocalist and guitar player, or if needs be, one guy who could do both. During the week I had contacted one or two more people who seemed to fit the bill and we invited a guy to come for audition. I asked many questions of him, but missed the really obvious one, which was "what experience do you have?". I don't know why I didn't ask this question, from the way he was talking, I just took it for granted - I won't make that mistake again. He told me he had really good gear, which is important because good gear makes for good tone. So, a time was arranged and we all turned up. Our guest was an extremely nice guy, he came complete with Telecaster and what he said was a Vox Valve amp. Now I have owned a Vox AC30 and I know what the sound like and what they look like, and this certainly was not an AC30 valve amp. I can tell a valve (tube) amp as soon as I hear it and this was not what he said it was. Perhaps he was inexperienced in the amp market, so I will give him the benefit of the doubt and say that perhaps he wasn't as knowledgeable as he needed to be when he bought it. We had e mailed him some very easy songs to get to grips with that he could sing and play at the audition, twelve bar stomps etc, the most complex song he had to learn was whiskey in the jar, chords only. Well, we started playing and it just was not working at all. Last week, when Terry joined us, it was Bang! Off we went and it came together instantly. This week, we knew from the word go that it was not going to work. However, the guy had turned up, and he deserved the courtesy of being given a chance, But half an hour later I had lost the will to live and our drummer was just desperate to go home. Shaun of course, as relaxed and laid back as ever, was just kicking the bass lines out, but we both shook our heads when we looked at each other. So here's today's lesson. There are loads of bedroom players who really think they can play and sing because that's all they do, but put them in with a full band, and the noise of it hits them and they are out of their depth. Our guest couldn't hold a tune and his timing was truly terrible, he had no strength in his voice and generally was terrible. After an hour (we were very generous) we cut it short and having already told him that we wouldn't make a decision there and then, we thanked him for coming and helped him pack his gear away. We then all agreed that I wold give him a call to thank him for coming but tell him that we needed some one with band experience and playing live. I really felt that it would only be good manners to actually speak to him, so I phoned him only to get his answer phone, so I left a nice message and e mailed him. he replied, saying that he had enjoyed himself but did find that he was not comfortable with the genre we play. So, there we are, all nice and polite and done properly. Next week we are auditioning a guitar player who says he has a lot of live experience and claims to be a good player. If he is good, that's great. But we will give him one hour and then hopefully audition another player i am trying to contact. Lets see what happens. Thanks for reading.

So, the story begins again. After trying so hard to get a band up and running a year or two back, and failing at the last hurdle of finding a singer, over a year on Shaun my bass playing buddy and I have decided to have a go again. Following a really good gig we went to last December to watch English Rockers "Status Quo" (American's might not know them, but they have sold 130million albums) we got motivated to play again. The first step was putting ads out for fellow musicians, namely a drummer and another guitar player and a vocalist. I felt uneasy about advertising for another guitar player because Pete who played in our last band is a very close friend and a wonderful person who we would love to play with. However, these days he spends six months of the ear at his place in the South of France, which does put a spanner in the works. He would love to get together musically and play, but I am not going to set up a full session just for fun because if I am going to do something, it has to have a point to work for. So, after a week or so we got replies from a few guys who were up to throwing their hats into the ring. We singles out two guys to start with, one a drummer and a guitar player who has a Rickenbacker, a Telecater, vox valve amp and a PA - He sings so that is a huge plus for us. We do own a PA, but it is nothing special. It could handle a three hundred seater gig, but that's it. So, last Saturday we invited Terry the drummer to come and have a session with us. When we met, he could have been our last drummer's twin brother, he even had a similar colour kit. Anyway, we got set up, played "Down at the Doctors" by British R&B band Doctor Feelgood (real R&B that is) and I hear you Knocking. Now normally when we audition some one we want an hour with them and then want to discuss it. But after these two songs we knew we had the man for us. We offered him the job there and then and he was as happy to join us as we were to get him. We all sealed the deal with a handshake and now there are three of us. I will post some pictures soon, all being well. So, this coming Saturday we audition a guitar player, but this time there are three of us making the decision. When our drummer joined he became one of us, there are no ego's in this band, nor will we allow any to come into it, we don't care how good they are. Watch this space!

And, from what you say Pete, he was a nice bloke as well.

I would have liked to have been there, must come over sometime to watch a gig.

Great little blog, keep it coming...

Nice entry Pete, maybe one day I will back Hank Marvin??

If you had asked me this time last year if the band would be playing again with the same line up I would definitely have said no because I was convinced it couldn't happen. Allen, the drummer, had decided that he was going to look for something else, and I couldn't blame him, he did it honourably and just said he felt things weren't going anywhere without a singer, and we agreed. So, we all shook hands and decided to give it a break. On top of that, Pete with the yellow telecaster went to his house in the south of France for the summer, so I suppose it gave us all some time to sit back and think. I had been convinced that the only way forward was with a singer in the band, and we just could not find one. In fact, recently I went for an audition with some local guys who were looking for a replacement guitar player because they needed some one with a bit more "fire" in their playing. I think I would definitely have been asked to join them, but When I spoke with them a few days after I told them that I didn't think it would work for me. These were good guys and I liked them, but I have a very deep friendship with Pete and Shaun, and that friendship means a great deal to each of us, I enjoy the company of these guys and Shaun and I have been like brothers since we were fourteen, and we are both 52 now. So, I politely said no thanks and decided to give it some more time to see what happened with the band, which is called Route 62, a spoof on route 66, as the M62 motorway runs just north of the town centre where we are from, and we have previously played gigs in towns along the motorway. Eventually, about three weeks back Shaun was asking me when we were going to do something, and Pete was also pushing for something to happen. We wondered about Allen, at 66, he is a very competent rock drummer and can lay down a strong beat, his timing and finishing are superb, so we wanted him with us. It turns out though, at the minute there isn't much call for really good experienced rock drummers, so Allen was more than happy to meet up with us. On Thursday of last week I packed my Tokai Les Paul (not risking the 555) and headed of to our practice venue. After nine months of not playing together I was surprised just how tight we were and also I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed it. We just relaxed and played some of the songs we did well, which included Thin Lizzy's version of Whiskey in the Jar, Black Magic Woman, Down at the Doctor's, The Promised land and one or two others that we enjoy. We all had a really good time and we are going to get together each week and put a new set list together, keeping the songs we played well and replacing others with songs we can play effectively. This might mean backing off some songs which I can play great guitar parts in, but fall down because to play them properly we can't do both vocals and guitar. So, we are going to get a new set list together and see where that takes us. But for a first get back together, it couldn't have gone better.

Since my last entry, events just seem to have conspired against us. My dear friend and fellow guitarist in the band, Peter, is having tests because he thinks his cancer has come back. On top of that, he and his wife have gone off to their place in the south of France for an indefinite period of time, I think that he just needs to get some peace and quiet and get away from it all. I sincerely hope that he is ok, I have a huge amount of respect for Pete and I am sure that he has good reason for going away as he was so committed to the band. The first thing I knew about it was when I received an airmail letter from him explaining his situation and that he was therefore resigning from the band. Well, friendship counts for a lot, and I wrote back and said as far as I was concerned I would wait for him to come home and see what happens then. In the meantime, we had an e mail from our new singer saying that he could no longer be our singer because his mother had had a fall and damaged her hip. Personally, I feel he was just another time waster who didn't want to fund his own gear. The next thing that happened was that our drummer, Allan, decided that he had put too much energy into the band and now it was falling apart he would look elsewhere for a gig. To be honest, he is a fine drummer and good guy, I could understand his point of view. There was no falling out, just decisions to see what else is about. Allan said if he found anything and they want another guitar player he would recommend me... So, that just leaves me and Shaun, who have played together for years. For now, we are having a rest from things and just trying to work out our next move. Maybe losing the singer was a pain in the neck, but Pete pulling out was such a blow, he was such an integral part of the band and his absence was just too much to overcome. He is an incredibly nice guy. Shaun and I are putting everything on hold until Pete comes home, in this case it's more than about who is and is not in a band, it's about friendship and genuine care for each other. When Pete comes home, we will get together and see where we are all up to, but for now, it seems that all we can do is put it down. It has been a hard journey putting this band together, I don't know why it should have been so. the chemistry between the four musicians was great, both as players and people. In the end, it was the struggle to find a committed vocalist that was just too much, there just did't seem to be any one out there available who was really wanting to give it a go. The sad thing is, that although there are far better musicians than myself out there, our band could have done quite well and it is sad to have to lay it to rest. On the other side of the coin, Shaun and I are quite happy to get a rest from all the effort of trying to make it work. I am sure that in the not too distant future we will be making new plans. It's been a great journey and friendships have been made along the way that will last. Thanks for reading, Mark.

Since my last entry, events just seem to have conspired against us. My dear friend and fellow guitarist in the band, Peter, is having tests because he thinks his cancer has come back. On top of that, he and his wife have gone off to their place in the south of France for an indefinite period of time, I think that he just needs to get some peace and quiet and get away from it all. I sincerely hope that he is ok, I have a huge amount of respect for Pete and I am sure that he has good reason for going away as he was so committed to the band. The first thing I knew about it was when I received an airmail letter from him explaining his situation and that he was therefore resigning from the band. Well, friendship counts for a lot, and I wrote back and said as far as I was concerned I would wait for him to come home and see what happens then. In the meantime, we had an e mail from our new singer saying that he could no longer be our singer because his mother had had a fall and damaged her hip. Personally, I feel he was just another time waster who didn't want to fund his own gear. The next thing that happened was that our drummer, Allan, decided that he had put too much energy into the band and now it was falling apart he would look elsewhere for a gig. To be honest, he is a fine drummer and good guy, I could understand his point of view. There was no falling out, just decisions to see what else is about. Allan said if he found anything and they want another guitar player he would recommend me... So, that just leaves me and Shaun, who have played together for years. For now, we are having a rest from things and just trying to work out our next move. Maybe losing the singer was a pain in the neck, but Pete pulling out was such a blow, he was such an integral part of the band and his absence was just too much to overcome. He is an incredibly nice guy. Shaun and I are putting everything on hold until Pete comes home, in this case it's more than about who is and is not in a band, it's about friendship and genuine care for each other. When Pete comes home, we will get together and see where we are all up to, but for now, it seems that all we can do is put it down. It has been a hard journey putting this band together, I don't know why it should have been so. the chemistry between the four musicians was great, both as players and people. In the end, it was the struggle to find a committed vocalist that was just too much, there just did't seem to be any one out there available who was really wanting to give it a go. The sad thing is, that although there are far better musicians than myself out there, our band could have done quite well and it is sad to have to lay it to rest. On the other side of the coin, Shaun and I are quite happy to get a rest from all the effort of trying to make it work. I am sure that in the not too distant future we will be making new plans. It's been a great journey and friendships have been made along the way that will last. Thanks for reading, Mark.

Since my last entry, events just seem to have conspired against us. My dear friend and fellow guitarist in the band, Peter, is having tests because he thinks his cancer has come back. On top of that, he and his wife have gone off to their place in the south of France for an indefinite period of time, I think that he just needs to get some peace and quiet and get away from it all. I sincerely hope that he is ok, I have a huge amount of respect for Pete and I am sure that he has good reason for going away as he was so committed to the band. The first thing I knew about it was when I received an airmail letter from him explaining his situation and that he was therefore resigning from the band. Well, friendship counts for a lot, and I wrote back and said as far as I was concerned I would wait for him to come home and see what happens then. In the meantime, we had an e mail from our new singer saying that he could no longer be our singer because his mother had had a fall and damaged her hip. Personally, I feel he was just another time waster who didn't want to fund his own gear. The next thing that happened was that our drummer, Allan, decided that he had put too much energy into the band and now it was falling apart he would look elsewhere for a gig. To be honest, he is a fine drummer and good guy, I could understand his point of view. There was no falling out, just decisions to see what else is about. Allan said if he found anything and they want another guitar player he would recommend me... So, that just leaves me and Shaun, who have played together for years. For now, we are having a rest from things and just trying to work out our next move. Maybe losing the singer was a pain in the neck, but Pete pulling out was such a blow, he was such an integral part of the band and his absence was just too much to overcome. He is an incredibly nice guy. Shaun and I are putting everything on hold until Pete comes home, in this case it's more than about who is and is not in a band, it's about friendship and genuine care for each other. When Pete comes home, we will get together and see where we are all up to, but for now, it seems that all we can do is put it down. It has been a hard journey putting this band together, I don't know why it should have been so. the chemistry between the four musicians was great, both as players and people. In the end, it was the struggle to find a committed vocalist that was just too much, there just did't seem to be any one out there available who was really wanting to give it a go. The sad thing is, that although there are far better musicians than myself out there, our band could have done quite well and it is sad to have to lay it to rest. On the other side of the coin, Shaun and I are quite happy to get a rest from all the effort of trying to make it work. I am sure that in the not too distant future we will be making new plans. It's been a great journey and friendships have been made along the way that will last. Thanks for reading, Mark.

Since my last entry, events just seem to have conspired against us. My dear friend and fellow guitarist in the band, Peter, is having tests because he thinks his cancer has come back. On top of that, he and his wife have gone off to their place in the south of France for an indefinite period of time, I think that he just needs to get some peace and quiet and get away from it all. I sincerely hope that he is ok, I have a huge amount of respect for Pete and I am sure that he has good reason for going away as he was so committed to the band. The first thing I knew about it was when I received an airmail letter from him explaining his situation and that he was therefore resigning from the band. Well, friendship counts for a lot, and I wrote back and said as far as I was concerned I would wait for him to come home and see what happens then. In the meantime, we had an e mail from our new singer saying that he could no longer be our singer because his mother had had a fall and damaged her hip. Personally, I feel he was just another time waster who didn't want to fund his own gear. The next thing that happened was that our drummer, Allan, decided that he had put too much energy into the band and now it was falling apart he would look elsewhere for a gig. To be honest, he is a fine drummer and good guy, I could understand his point of view. There was no falling out, just decisions to see what else is about. Allan said if he found anything and they want another guitar player he would recommend me... So, that just leaves me and Shaun, who have played together for years. For now, we are having a rest from things and just trying to work out our next move. Maybe losing the singer was a pain in the neck, but Pete pulling out was such a blow, he was such an integral part of the band and his absence was just too much to overcome. He is an incredibly nice guy. Shaun and I are putting everything on hold until Pete comes home, in this case it's more than about who is and is not in a band, it's about friendship and genuine care for each other. When Pete comes home, we will get together and see where we are all up to, but for now, it seems that all we can do is put it down. It has been a hard journey putting this band together, I don't know why it should have been so. the chemistry between the four musicians was great, both as players and people. In the end, it was the struggle to find a committed vocalist that was just too much, there just did't seem to be any one out there available who was really wanting to give it a go. The sad thing is, that although there are far better musicians than myself out there, our band could have done quite well and it is sad to have to lay it to rest. On the other side of the coin, Shaun and I are quite happy to get a rest from all the effort of trying to make it work. I am sure that in the not too distant future we will be making new plans. It's been a great journey and friendships have been made along the way that will last. Thanks for reading, Mark.

Just when I was beginning to wonder how long I could hold this band together, as we had recently lost our very new singer, out of the blue I get an e mail from a guy about seven miles from me asking if we are still looking for a singer. Well, of course I e mailed back and said yes, with my telephone number. I am careful about giving my phone number away on the internet, you don't know who is taking it down with some nefarious thought process going on in their heads. So, I spoke with the guy, who is called Chris, and we had a good chat. By now I am straight to the point, although always well mannered and pleasant. I explained that we had recently had a singer who was told exactly what was required and then when it came to the crunch had just wasted a lot of our time. Chris explained that he was singing in a band but there were alcohol issues with the drummer and other band members and that he was fed up with them, and was looking to get involved with a decent set of guys. I explained that we were not professional players, but that we have a professional attitude and we take practices very seriously and do not mess about and weedle away on our guitars, because we do that at home. I also made it very clear about the situation with him needing to buy a pa if he was to join us, and if he wasn't then there was no point going beyond the phone call. "Not a problem" he said, so we arranged an audition for the coming Wednesday, which was this last week. Peter, our other guitarist of the yellow telecaster fame, has been away at his house in France and only contactable by letter, so communication has been slow and I did not want to audition a singer without him there. For two reasons really, one was respect for him, and secondly he is a very wise individual when it comes to sussing people out, but as Alan,our drummer said, we need to strike while the iron is hot as there are a lot of bands out there looking for singers. So, Shaun (bass) Alan (drums) and myself decided to hold the audition ourselves as three of us would have to be in agreement anyway. Chris turned up on time, which is always a good sign, and had made an effort to at l;east try and get some of the songs he had not heard in his head and have a go at any of the fourteen songs we sent him. A very nice individual of 53 years old, he has been fronting a band for the last six years. We kicked off with my favourite Bad Company song 'I can't get enough' and he did well, we also did Alright Now, whiskey in the Jar and a fair few others. Chris did struggle with some of the keys we played in, which were actually geared up to myself, but on those songs he was comfortable with he was ok. He wasn't the best and not the worst, but definitely a guy we felt we could work with, so after the audition was through, (I had already informed him that we would not be telling him on the night) Alan, Shaun and myself stayed behind for twenty minutes and talked about it. The upshot was that we decided to go with him and that I would contact Pete and let him know of our decision. It has surprised me just how hard it has been to find singers, so we didn't want to pass up on a guy who could take on the role. The next day I got a call from Pete, just back from France and getting in touch. I explained what we had done and he was very supportive and said that we had done the right thing. I have known Pete for a long time now and I have a lot of respect for him, and explained that I was concerned about going ahead without him being there, but I needn't have worried. A true gent, he was just thrilled that we had a singer on board. So now all we have to do is get things going, and hopefully I will be soon telling you all about playing some live gigs. Thanks for reading, and best to all, Mark.

Thanks Ron, as we are not loud, a huge pa is not needed, but our target market place is the british pub, a totally different gig to the American club scene, they don't have pa's at all. Also, he would have needed one for rehearsals. Thanks for the good wishes though, I really appreciate them.

Here we go again. As you will know, if you have been reading my blog, that we worked really hard to find a singer to front our band, Route 62. One of the essential criteria for the singer would be his willingness to buy a vocal pa. After all, I would not join a band and expect them to buy me two or three guitars and a nice valve amp, but when it comes to singers, they seem to expect the band to provide their equipment. After all, we are not asking any one to buy a mega rig, just something to get their voice over the guitars and drums. We are not very loud, a couple of fender forty watt valve amps, bass and drums. "Oh yes" said our new singer, "buying a pa is no problem - blah blah blah, can I join the band"? So we got our new singer, had six weeks of rehearsals and were getting ready to look for gigs. So, off we went to a local music shop which specialises in band equipment and has plenty of pa for sale. The guy was extremely helpful and was giving us good advice about what we needed and not what he wanted to sell us. A very adequate pa could have been sorted out for £1200. Well, our singer took loads of notes and as there was a practice that coming wednesday we decided to let him think it over and then see what decision he had come to. Wednesday came and we were all at the practice waiting for the singer to turn up, and as time went by it was obvious he was not coming. He had sent one of us a text message to tell us, but we all know that in our band, we do not text because text messages do not always get picked up, there is an agreed rule that if you can't make practice, you phone and speak to one of the others in the band who will let others know. I knew there and then that our singer was not going to stay in the band, and the next day I sent an e mail (having tried to phone and speak to him several times) and asked how he was and how is search for a pa was coming along. It was my intention to get him to come right out with what he was thinking about, and sure enough he replied saying that he did not think it was the right thing for him to do to spend money on a pa at this time. This was very disappointing to us because we had been very straight with him at his audition and asked him if buying a pa was a problem for him because it was a requirement, and would the money be a problem? His answer had been very positive and that he would be very happy to get what ever he needed. I e mailed him again and expressed our disappointment in his decision and pointed out that we had been very clear and that he had lead us to believe he was quite willing to invest in a pa. At this point he has not replied. I firmly believe that had we had a pa which was powerful enough, he would have been happy to stay with us, taking his cut of the gig money and putting nothing into the band. So, where does that leave us? Well, my main concern is that Allen, our drummer, will go elsewhere as he could get a gig with a band very easily, for now there is a four piece line up just seeking a singer. I hope Allen stays with us, the personality mix in this band is excellent, nice guys and we all get along. I know that no matter what, the two guitarists and bass player will hold solid, so the nucleus will be sound enough. But I never thought for one minute that it was going to be this tough to get a working line up together. So for us, it's back to the search for that most elusive of band members, a vocalist who can actually sing. (And who will buy is own pa, after all, a couple of new Heritage guitars costs you far more than a good pa does here in England.)

Our quest for a singer has ended. The last guy who came to audition was not very good at all, and he left somewhat dejected looking. However, after putting posters up in every guitar shop and web site we could find advertising for a singer, we finally found the right guy. I must say though, that very very few singers got in touch with us, and I think that is because here in England the live scene is not very healthy for bands like ours. In years gone by, we used to have what we called Working Men's clubs. These were like a pub, but were for the working class man where he could get cheap beer and have a good night out. Most of these clubs had a concert room and would have entertainment on several nights a week, from comediens to singers, and bands. Some of the bigger clubs would house up to a thousand people in the concert room, but those size clubs were few and far between. However, they did provide a very fertile ground for talent to develop. But sadly, they have all but disappeared from the scene and along with their disappearence, many would be singers and bands have gone. Their heyday was the late sixties and early seventies. But, I digress. So, to carry on. Our new singer came to audition, a 29 year old police officer called Arron, and he can sing rather well! He also likes our stuff and sang some great songs such as Alright Now, and a few others we had asked him to. I knew right away he was the one we wanted, but we had agreed that we would give it a couple of days so we could all be sure we wanted to offer him the gig. So, after wednesday's get together, and the singing was done, we asked a few questions about his willingness to bring a decent qulaity (but not mega big) PA to the band, because after all, as I have said before, we as musicians have laid out a lot of money in amps and guitars, and we can not afford to subsidise him. He is very happy to bring his own gear to the party so now he needs to get a pa and decent mic. a 500watt pa should suffice as the two guitarists - myself and Pete, use 40watt valve amps and those are ample, so he needs real clarity. Arron is also a really nice and friendly guy, which suits us as there are no ego's in this band, just a a bunch of really good friends. On top of that, he's quite a handsome lad, which helps! So, now onwards and upwards, I think we now have the basis for a good line up. And, although I say it myself, on Wednesday my playing was cooking! As Pete of the yellow telecaster fame said, I was in the groove - it's great just to be able to concentrate on playing! Watch this space to see what happens next, and thanks for reading.

Thanks all for reading and your comments, which are all most welcome. We are all struggling financially, and as musicians we have put all our spare cash into our own guitars, Bass's, Drums, amps, mics and what have you. We have a pa which is suitable for auditions, but we feel it only reasonable that a singer should be willing to fund his PA because in reality, it would not even cost what I have spent on guitars and amps, and if we (the musicians) are paying for a pa, it would be then unfair on us to give a singer an equal split of the money. As far as bookings go, we will not accept any until we have a singer in place and the set ready. It would be worse to go around getting gigs and then cancelling them, we have done that once already and that is far from professional.