It's about time too!

[keep it simple]

Hi guys,

as I've been frequently commenting on other players work in this section, I thought it was about time KIS had the balls to post something himself! Problem is, I haven't got anything worthy recorded yet. I got together with a bass player & guitarist a few months ago. We auditioned a singer earlier this month and this is a recording of that audition (I hope the singer doesn't hear this or I'll be hanged!). We all [I]sort of[I] new this little Thin Lizzy ditty so threw it together as an audition piece on the night. Recorded in a room at the back of a pub (superb for half time refreshments) with a Zoom H2 handy recorder. We're auditioning a key player tomorrow night so should soon have a band together. I'll let you know how we get on. A simple rock song with simple drumming. What else did you expect!

[aydee]

Back of the pub sounds so illicit! lol......great stuff kis, thats a monster backbeat with great time! Those crashes were very quantized too. The fills seem a little tentative, almost like you didnt wanna, but that was to be expected ; )
Nice guitar player, btw.

Hope for your sake the band gets going, Sounds like its going be good.

Would have loved to hear the 'lost' recordings though..

[keep it simple]

Thanks Aydee. Yes, the snare fills are tentative. I remember there being some sort of fill in those sections but couldn't remember what, so I was fumbling a bit. The toms got a good bashing flourish just after the guitar solo though! It was a quick throw together just to give the singer a try out. He's never done rock vocals before. That considered, I think he did ok. We've taken him on and he's sounding quite good already. The guitarist is only 21 (the bass player & myself weigh in at 48) and a very talented guy. We started to do some original material last week and his guitar playing is inspiring. Can't wait for tomorrow night's audition with the key player. He's reputed to be a monster Hammond & piano guy. Hope that's true. Watch this space!

Back of the pub is great but the ease of getting refreshments can prove distracting. And yes, I'm very pissed about my old recordings, even if half of them are the kind of stuff you'd find in a garage sale!

[Pollyanna]

Oh, for a recorder with decent top end response! The snare is always the things that gets most affected.

Dead solid, of course :) I liked your work with the song's kicks and, speaking of kicks, I noticed a few sly doubles in there. I expect you'll put a bit of mongrel in the fills once the group is more settled.

[keep it simple]

I expect you'll put a bit of mongrel in the fills once the group is more settled.

We probably won't end up doing this number, but if we do, I'll inject some Doberman as well as mongrel into those fills!

[Pocket-full-of-gold]

Foundation's already there for a solid band KIS!

Hammond will be some great spice to the mix too. Hope he works out (keys were always the most difficult spot to fill in any of my former outfits....they're as rare as hen's teeth I've found). +1 on the guitarist too...some sweet tones and there's life yet in the 'old boys' too!

Good stuff.....and plenty of SPACE!!! Post more when you're up and running.

Cheers

[Pollyanna]

Foundation's already there for a solid band KIS!

Hammond will be some great spice to the mix too. Hope he works out (keys were always the most difficult spot to fill in any of my former outfits....they're as rare as hen's teeth I've found). +1 on the guitarist too...some sweet tones and there's life yet in the 'old boys' too!

Good stuff.....and plenty of SPACE!!! Post more when you're up and running.

I second all that ... and don't forget your Doberman :)

[Freddie Freeloader]

nice! your band actually sounds really good. you guys should write some music.

[Rodaquino]

Genial!, I really like the sound of snare and bass drum, as well as musical ideas, I think you should record something with better sound quality, all the best!.
Rod.

[keep it simple]

nice! your band actually sounds really good. you guys should write some music.

Thanks Freddie,

I posted this out of embarrassment because I've been commenting on everyone else's stuff but posted non of my own. It's the only recording I've got as the band is still forming. The recording is from an audition for a singer a few weeks ago. Anyhow, enough excuses, we've already written some original material and I'm very happy with it's humble beginnings. Very different to the little cover on the recording. A lot more powerful with a stronger drum performance. We're in the process of bringing a Hammond player into the band. That should make a big difference.

Cheers Rod,

agreed, it's not the best of recordings but it was never intended for posting, just for our own listening to see if the singer was going to be ok. I'll hopefully have something worth showing in the coming months.

[Pollyanna]

I like warts and all. That's why I posted some idiot stuff on the consolidation thread. After all, not everything we do is stuff we're thrilled about. We're just human, no matter how hard we try not to be :)

It's awesome fun starting a band. You hear the potential so you play away and gradually become used to each other's styles.

Even more fun playing originals, though it can be hard to find venues. Who's doing the writing? Are you jamming the songs out cold or are people working out fairly organised things at home and bringing them in?

Cool that you found a Hammond player! Keyboardists can be hard to find. We had to resort to using a guitarist who's trying to remember his piano lessons as a kid.

[aydee]

We're in the process of bringing a Hammond player into the band.

Fantastic!

202020202020202020

[keep it simple]

Thanks Aydee & Polly,

the key player couldn't make it last night due to his wife being taken into hospital (genuine) so he's not formally in the band yet but I think it's heading that way. He's been to a recent practice of ours and he's keen to give it a go. I've heard some of his recorded stuff. Both his Hammond playing and piano is right up there so I'm hopeful.

Polly, I write a fair bit of stuff and so do the other band members except the singer. We work on a combination of jam progression and pre written. I tend to pre write my stuff. Strangely, I tend to leave the drum parts until last. I get the structure, chords, vocal hook & lyrics together first but these are all written with a groove in mind. Hey, this is rock stuff so not exactly Weather Report complexity!

[Pollyanna]

Polly, I write a fair bit of stuff and so do the other band members except the singer. We work on a combination of jam progression and pre written. I tend to pre write my stuff. Strangely, I tend to leave the drum parts until last. I get the structure, chords, vocal hook & lyrics together first but these are all written with a groove in mind. Hey, this is rock stuff so not exactly Weather Report complexity!

Funny that the singer doesn't write - he's the one who's supposed to sell the sentiments. Must be an empathetic kinda guy :) Our singer's pretty fussy about the words he sings; if it jars his sensibilities in some way, then the song's no go.

When I wrote I tended to start with the drum part. Generally, I'd think of a rhythm I wanted to play and hadn't had the chance and go from there. The way I see it, if something is in a muso's zone - a pet bassline, rhythm figure, whatever - then the song will move along pretty well.

Are you writing on guitar or keys?

[keep it simple]

Funny that the singer doesn't write - he's the one who's supposed to sell the sentiments. Must be an empathetic kinda guy :) Our singer's pretty fussy about the words he sings; if it jars his sensibilities in some way, then the song's no go.

Are you writing on guitar or keys?

I don't have any guitar ability and my key skills are limited to experimenting with chords that I don't understand. I tend to rough out something on single keys / base chords just to give the real players an interpretation guide. I sing a bit so I can run the singer through the parts quite simply then I let the talented guys get on with it. They generally mess around until I think they've captured the feel. They play to a very basic groove until the structure's in place. Then I do a proper job on the drum parts and they adjust accordingly.

Our singer may well start composing some stuff it's just that he hasn't up until now but he's only been with us for 3 weeks!

[aydee]

Thanks Aydee. Yes, the snare fills are tentative. I remember there being some sort of fill in those sections but couldn't remember what, so I was fumbling a bit.!

Here is great inspiration and logic from Steve Jordan on the subject and broad principles of your forum moniker. Thought you'd like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR2uXO8a8QI

[Pollyanna]

Here is great inspiration and logic from Steve Jordan on the subject and broad principles of your forum moniker. Thought you'd like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR2uXO8a8QI

Great vid, Aydee. After Steve Jordan played that oh-so-tasty Texas shuffle I was waiting for him to say, "See? That was so INCREDIBLY SIMPLE that ANY BOZO could do it! But hey! It was groovin'!" LOL ... I would have committed hari kari with a pair of drumsticks. The power of positive thinking, eh? Must favourite that vid ... SJ's shuffle is exactly what I'm after. Ta!

Hey KIS, you obviously know enough on guitar/keys to bring your song ideas to the band. It's usually best if song are presented as bare bones anyway. It leaves room for the musos to do their stuff. I did the same thing as you with an old band and it was a buzz to hear them bring my idea to life in a way that I could never do myself - and add their own cool stuff to it as well.

[keep it simple]

Here is great inspiration and logic from Steve Jordan on the subject and broad principles of your forum moniker. Thought you'd like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR2uXO8a8QI

Yes, loved it! He really did keep it simple. I'd probably have been better off leaving the fills out for this audition piece but I never expected to post it.

And yes Polly, I get a great buzz hearing the guys turn my ideas into reality.

[Pollyanna]

Yes, loved it! He really did keep it simple. I'd probably have been better off leaving the fills out for this audition piece but I never expected to post it.

And yes Polly, I get a great buzz hearing the guys turn my ideas into reality.

Ha ha! It's like posting photos and you're the only one is where you forgot to suck your stomach in ... must remember to start a drums stuffups thread! *grin*. Yeah, most of my best takes have very few fills. Your and Larry's regular advice to Keep It Simple is very sound IMO

Remember that vid of those guys playing Sweet Georgia Brown with a tractor? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1ThSi1wbqU

Totally straight down the line and solid LOL ... and it sounded so good at times that the guys were cracking up! It's a cool thing - you can play an unchanging beat but changing music played around the beat recontextualises it. The same but not the same. It's a similar effect to holding a bassline while the chords change - the line will change from being, say, a third, to a fifth, to a ninth etc as the chords change - but it's still the same bassline.

Heh, now I'm singing from your hymn book :)

[keep it simple]

It's a similar effect to holding a bassline while the chords change - the line will change from being, say, a third, to a fifth, to a ninth etc as the chords change - but it's still the same bassline.

Heh, now I'm singing from your hymn book :)


Yes you are! I like the bassline ref. We're currently working on a very tasty blues cover where the reverse principal is used. The bassline changes in both signature and key several times whilst the drums & tuned stuff stays the same. Very interesting effect!

And don't you just love the tractor clip!

[Pollyanna]

Yes you are! I like the bassline ref. We're currently working on a very tasty blues cover where the reverse principal is used. The bassline changes in both signature and key several times whilst the drums & tuned stuff stays the same. Very interesting effect!

And don't you just love the tractor clip!

I love that effect. No doubt there's a name for it.

The tractor is a great example. It feels different mid verse, to its solo spots *grin* to when the band comes in after the breaks. Yet it's chug-chug-chug the whole time. It takes inspiration to come up with concepts like that, tho' I reckon the tractor is a bit of a one trick pony ... not knocking the tractor, mind you! It has good, solid time and lays down some meaty four-on-the-floor :)