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Nice - sounds like it's coming together.

Ha! Gotta watch those full wallets. Glad you had a fun gig - sad to see a long standing venue close.

Thanks for the entry, Mark. Always enjoy reading on your band journey.

Ouch. A bit of time put in and like you say close to gigging so that's a set back. Sounds like you're rolling with it well. Best of luck in finding the replacement.

Nice read - enjoyed that. Especially the 'The room I have retreated to...' sentence. And that your prior destination is now your daughters. Circle of rooms it is. And Dooverlackies. Yes. That's gonna be my next band's name. Cool pic, too.

Been nice following your band's progress, Mark. Like these blogs. Be nice to see some vid of your band one of these days, too.

Nice blog, Mark. Enjoy reading of the journey. Do you plan to record? Have been waiting for years for a follow on to Live at Leeds...

Congrats on filling out the lineup. And targeting some twin lead WA tunes - look forward to hearing those! Good luck on the next step and upcoming gig.

Nice to read you're putting the band back together, Mark. Best of luck. Hope it all works out well. Looking forward to this space to read of the journey. btw, saw Status Quo in late '74 (think it was) here in the states on a bill with Blue Oyster Cult. Fun show!

Nice, Doug! Really like the groove, playing, and singing on Devil Ray. Making my way thru the rest as I type this. Just saw this on blogs today - don't usually look over on this side of the monitor, at this section. Awesome sound from your band - looks like a fun gig.

Nice blog, Josh. Looking forward to hearing about your progress. Really hoping you find a group of like minded musicians.

Nice write up, Josh. Good goals! Looking forward to reading on your progress.

Ah, so THAT's where you've been, Josh! Good read on this blog entry, thanks for writing it up. Interested to see how it unfolds as those are good goals. Fully can relate to them and to the time conflicts in getting there. Not sure if it fits in your project plan, but (imho) taking lessons with a good teacher is time and money very well spent. They can really accelerate the learning process, helping to set a practice routine and lessons that best moves you where you want to be. Good luck on your journey! Keep those tubes and guitar warm!

That's too bad, Mark. Mostly the loss of time invested and that you're back to searching for a singer again. If it hasn't unraveled totally and if your mates are open to it, maybe a compromise could be worked where the singer buys part of the pa?... He gets the speakers, someone else (or even the band splits) the board or something. Just a thought. Could be that financially your singer just can't swing it at the moment regardless of his intentions to do so. I understand your view of the investment instrumentalists make vs vocalists, although it's unusual (in my limited experience) for the singer to own the whole pa unless a band leader that's hiring side players. Instrumentalists can gig with a small investment like a squire classic vibe and blues jr... even thos we'll gravitate to the best gear we can afford. Other thought is to look to clubs that have their own pa - most around where I live have their own system now, which of course makes it a lot easier. Anyway, hope this bump in the band road works out for you.

Good luck in you singer quest, Mark. Glad that you're enjoying the guitar slinger role without being burdened as lead singer as well. Do you think the candidate pool may be limited some by having the singer provide the pa? Thankfully, most clubs around here have a house pa these days. Have been in a variety of situations from owning the entire thing myself to being a sideman where someone else owns it to each band member funding/owning a portion. They all work in their own ways. I will say that in many/most cases it was the band leader that provided the pa unless it was a group that was tight enough to divy it up. Financially sometimes the compensation was split up to allow the owner/hauling extra for the investment/time. Anyway - I do hope you find a great addition to your group!

Nice that you have the support of your bandmates. And that you'll all go out for recap and discussion on what to do better. Will make the next gig all that much more fun for you and you can still sing harmony and some lead parts to give your new singer a break here and there. Good luck in your quest for vocalist. Might consider both genders as a female vox can add a lot to a band.

Nice report, Mark! Thought your gig was last weekend and wondered how it went. Fantastic that it went well, even more so to help you get about the distractions. Music is really good for that. Powerful stuff. Good set list and you're right that 'reaching' the audience is most of the entertainment factor. Aside from the strat, what other guitars and what amp/pedals did you use? My 2nd gig w/new band is this weekend. Maybe I'll use it to start a blog of sorts - sure enjoy reading yours.

Another nice entry on the 'saga of a band'. Always enjoy reading these, Mark, and per your comment on a gig thread I've considered starting a blog of my own as well. Thanks for taking the time to blog and share. Good luck in your further prep and at the upcoming gig!

Really enjoying the evolving tale you're spinning here, Mark. Holy Moly - 8.5 hour practice!! I'd be plum wore out and doubt I'd make it that long. Sounds like you achieved a lot tho, so time well spent. Excellent! Have the 'opportunity' to play for free here as well and at times I'll play those gigs. If the venue has a house nice sound system/lights/stage, I enjoy the music and mates, I'll generally say 'yeh'. The work to me these days is lugging equipment so if I can get round with just a guitar and amp and will enjoy it, then it's fun for me. In general, the spaces I'm thinking of aren't making a ton of money off of the live music.

How about '30 Days in the Hole' by Humble Pie. Nice opening harmonies... always thought that was a good cover tune and fits in well with the Stones/roots rock type material. Good luck in the countdown for the upcoming gig!

Nice entry, Mark. Enjoyed the read. Nice that you've reached stability w/members. You're prep for the gig reminds me of the scene in the movie 'The Commitments' where they play their first gig in a church (fun movie if you haven't seen it - they have drummer problems as well... as does every band). The strap sounds nice. I, too, like a good strap for a good guitar. Finished the Keith Richards book over the holidays and watched 'Ladies and Gentlemen...', which is a '74 film when Taylor was on 2nd guitar. Their peak period I think. Ya know you have to take off the low E on the 555 now Hope the practice and gig goes well. Looking forward to reading about it. Cheers, Randy

Nice blog, Mark and congrats on getting your new member fairly quickly In comment to your question, Mark, I don't think the perception of "you guys rehearse and I'll show up to do my bit" is limited to drummers. Balancing expectations, personalities, skill levels, musical tastes is an issue for any band/musician. It's compounded with both the number of members in a group and age. The older we get, the smaller the pool of folks wanting to play. For your core trio, sounds like a great deal as it's social as well as musical. Nice that you're doing all you can to make them welcome and that your practices/work ethic are organized/strong. Even with all that it's dicey to hold something together given all the other influences. Might be a bit odd, but I really don't have a band anymore. Current situation is what we kinda refer to as a 'musical co-op' and we get folks togther for a gig. No gig, no band. Gig, then we figure out who'll play what, maybe do a rehears if new stuff or member is included, then play the gig as 'the band'. Kinda takes that 'commitment' out of the picture. Or I suppose another way to look at it is that I'm in lotsa bands... we just don't practice much with each of them.