zambizzi
Platinum Member
So, I hooked up with this band about a month ago. They're all *excellent* players with a hell of a lot more experience than I have. They really like what I've been doing and I've done a fairly good job at "inserting" myself into their original music. I'm thrilled that they asked me to join up with the band. It's very groovy, catchy music based on a mixture of Funk, Latin, and traditional African rhythms and singing. Prior to my arrival, there were 3 African hand drummers...never a kit drummer.
Anyhow, I was tossed right into the action. There's a gig this weekend at a popular local outdoor festival event. We'll have the "small" stage for an hour, on Sunday. The thing is; they only have 3 or 4 songs and the arrangement seems to change on them every time we play. The continuous, flowing parts of the song sound great, but no one seems to agree when the breaks and changes occur in the music. Despite everyone's raging positivity, I'm not so sure that we're ready to perform in front of a large audience by this weekend. We'll get one more rehearsal in before Sunday...but that's *it*.
Part of the problem is; it's a large band. There are 6-8 guys and at least a few people miss every practice...or at least they have in the last month, since I've been around.
Anyone ever been thrown into a situation like this? Any tips? My suggestion last night, was that we run through the set straight through, as many times as it takes to get it right. If we can do this tomorrow night, we might have a chance of not sounding completely chaotic, at the gig.
Anyhow, I was tossed right into the action. There's a gig this weekend at a popular local outdoor festival event. We'll have the "small" stage for an hour, on Sunday. The thing is; they only have 3 or 4 songs and the arrangement seems to change on them every time we play. The continuous, flowing parts of the song sound great, but no one seems to agree when the breaks and changes occur in the music. Despite everyone's raging positivity, I'm not so sure that we're ready to perform in front of a large audience by this weekend. We'll get one more rehearsal in before Sunday...but that's *it*.
Part of the problem is; it's a large band. There are 6-8 guys and at least a few people miss every practice...or at least they have in the last month, since I've been around.
Anyone ever been thrown into a situation like this? Any tips? My suggestion last night, was that we run through the set straight through, as many times as it takes to get it right. If we can do this tomorrow night, we might have a chance of not sounding completely chaotic, at the gig.