Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Lessons, Week 67
He wasn't able to get any additional recordings, so we went over the same four songs again. He copped to the fact that he isn't playing straight bossa nova on that one song...but like half a bossa nova. Which is one more contributing factor to my frustration...though I'm slowly actually getting the normal bossa. We also went over a little bit of fast bass doubles.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Fan Boy
It's been a while since I've been totally obsessed with a band. It happened alot in my tween, teen, and young adult life....with mainstream bands mostly. Then I kind of stopped listening to music for a while. And then, I got into local music and obsessed about that for a while.
So I'm 20+ years late to the party, but I'm deep into a Pixies situation at the moment. A short six months ago I knew almost nothing about the band except the names of a few albums and possibly that they did Here Comes Your Man. I can't even remember now if I just knew the song, or if I actually knew that they did it. Now, I own all of their albums and some of the more obscure stuff too, and have the bass parts to almost 30 of their songs memorized...with complete intention of learning most or all of the other 60 or so by the end of the year-ish. I've read/watched about every interview I could find of the band...seen two documentaries...and generally gone total emersion.
This all happened because I wanted to play bass in a band. And at this point it is impossible for me to know if I really love the Pixies music...or if I just love playing in a band that plays the Pixies music. The two are conflated. I love the songs because I've heard them over and over now for 6 months. Chicken and egg are impossible to suss out at this point.
It's ridiculous to ponder the lives of people that you've never met...but I like the Pixies...in particular I like my doppelganger Kim Deal (and her sister Kelley too). I like that they were kind of average musicians who started this band that got really popular. And that the songs kind of don't make sense but are also oddly deep and funny and sick. I like that they have at times looked kinda dumpy on stage...t-shirts covering beer guts. I like that they didn't always put on a consistantly great live show back in the day. I like that Black Francis got in trouble for saying the reunion is really about money and that he doesn't get why people give a shit about a band that hasn't released an album for 20 years. I like that they seem, as a group, disfunctional and unable to communicate. I like that Joey's parts sometimes seem random...and that David makes a living (or tries to) as a magician. I like that Kim Deal (and Kelley) struggled with chemical dependency and fought it and won...but at the same time was kind of an entertaining alcoholic. I like that they live in Dayton, Ohio. I like that Kim and Kelley seem to play whatever instrument is laying around at the time...whether or not they "knew how" the first time.
I'm not the kind of fan that I was in my youth...not nearly as crazy as I was back then. It gives me something to waste time on the internet doing, though. I'm enjoying the Pixies these days...and hoping for a long, long run for Crackity Jones. I've lived enough now to know that these things come and go (playing in bands)...but for now I'm enjoying it and happy to be in this moment. The songs are fun, the company is fun, and in a rare turn of events, the band actually seems to be popular amongst audiences. Ironically we're cashing in just like the band itself is...setting aside our own "creative" projects to play someone else's 20 year old songs. It kind of makes me feel okay about doing it when the band itself is doing the same thing. It's fun and lucrative (not too terribly lucrative for us, though) and totally worth doing. Art be damned.
I'm so, so glad that I asked about playing bass in The Escapists on that January night. It was an idea that popped into my head just at that moment and a more cautious or intelligent person would have let the idea pass unsaid. But instead I asked. And now here I am. And it is a good place to be. Maybe I'm deluded, but it doesn't seem all that different than answering a classified ad for a bass player (when you don't really play bass) who likes Husker Du and Peter Paul and Mary.
So I'm 20+ years late to the party, but I'm deep into a Pixies situation at the moment. A short six months ago I knew almost nothing about the band except the names of a few albums and possibly that they did Here Comes Your Man. I can't even remember now if I just knew the song, or if I actually knew that they did it. Now, I own all of their albums and some of the more obscure stuff too, and have the bass parts to almost 30 of their songs memorized...with complete intention of learning most or all of the other 60 or so by the end of the year-ish. I've read/watched about every interview I could find of the band...seen two documentaries...and generally gone total emersion.
This all happened because I wanted to play bass in a band. And at this point it is impossible for me to know if I really love the Pixies music...or if I just love playing in a band that plays the Pixies music. The two are conflated. I love the songs because I've heard them over and over now for 6 months. Chicken and egg are impossible to suss out at this point.
It's ridiculous to ponder the lives of people that you've never met...but I like the Pixies...in particular I like my doppelganger Kim Deal (and her sister Kelley too). I like that they were kind of average musicians who started this band that got really popular. And that the songs kind of don't make sense but are also oddly deep and funny and sick. I like that they have at times looked kinda dumpy on stage...t-shirts covering beer guts. I like that they didn't always put on a consistantly great live show back in the day. I like that Black Francis got in trouble for saying the reunion is really about money and that he doesn't get why people give a shit about a band that hasn't released an album for 20 years. I like that they seem, as a group, disfunctional and unable to communicate. I like that Joey's parts sometimes seem random...and that David makes a living (or tries to) as a magician. I like that Kim Deal (and Kelley) struggled with chemical dependency and fought it and won...but at the same time was kind of an entertaining alcoholic. I like that they live in Dayton, Ohio. I like that Kim and Kelley seem to play whatever instrument is laying around at the time...whether or not they "knew how" the first time.
I'm not the kind of fan that I was in my youth...not nearly as crazy as I was back then. It gives me something to waste time on the internet doing, though. I'm enjoying the Pixies these days...and hoping for a long, long run for Crackity Jones. I've lived enough now to know that these things come and go (playing in bands)...but for now I'm enjoying it and happy to be in this moment. The songs are fun, the company is fun, and in a rare turn of events, the band actually seems to be popular amongst audiences. Ironically we're cashing in just like the band itself is...setting aside our own "creative" projects to play someone else's 20 year old songs. It kind of makes me feel okay about doing it when the band itself is doing the same thing. It's fun and lucrative (not too terribly lucrative for us, though) and totally worth doing. Art be damned.
I'm so, so glad that I asked about playing bass in The Escapists on that January night. It was an idea that popped into my head just at that moment and a more cautious or intelligent person would have let the idea pass unsaid. But instead I asked. And now here I am. And it is a good place to be. Maybe I'm deluded, but it doesn't seem all that different than answering a classified ad for a bass player (when you don't really play bass) who likes Husker Du and Peter Paul and Mary.
Bossa Nova: Update
Ok, I hesitate to say this...but I think I got the Bossa Nova. It isn't burned into my brain flawlessly yet, but I played it several times in a row last night.
And yeah...it was totally like one moment it was impossible and the next something in my brain just clicked and went "ohhh...I get it now." Which doesn't mean it's perfect now, but at least it makes sense to me on some level.
This is what I call "breaking my brain."
I have to remind myself of the magic of the drums and not forsake them. And the main magic about them is this breaking of the brain thing. I think that humans break their brains all the time, but nothing stands out so strongly in this respect to me than playing drums.
Really what I'm talking about is rubbing your tummy and patting your head...on steriods. Take each limb that you have and make it do something different. Now carry on a conversation while your doing all that and don't mess up any of the patterns. It's hard. What tends to happen is that one or more of your limbs either stops what it is doing...or it starts copying what one of the other limbs is doing. You have to get to a weird point of muscle memory...and unconscious action...but still stay conscious of what you're doing...in order to do it all at once. Literally you gotta break your brain. And that's just so cool.
And one minute it's impossible...and the next easy as pie. It's magic. Total magic.
And yeah...it was totally like one moment it was impossible and the next something in my brain just clicked and went "ohhh...I get it now." Which doesn't mean it's perfect now, but at least it makes sense to me on some level.
This is what I call "breaking my brain."
I have to remind myself of the magic of the drums and not forsake them. And the main magic about them is this breaking of the brain thing. I think that humans break their brains all the time, but nothing stands out so strongly in this respect to me than playing drums.
Really what I'm talking about is rubbing your tummy and patting your head...on steriods. Take each limb that you have and make it do something different. Now carry on a conversation while your doing all that and don't mess up any of the patterns. It's hard. What tends to happen is that one or more of your limbs either stops what it is doing...or it starts copying what one of the other limbs is doing. You have to get to a weird point of muscle memory...and unconscious action...but still stay conscious of what you're doing...in order to do it all at once. Literally you gotta break your brain. And that's just so cool.
And one minute it's impossible...and the next easy as pie. It's magic. Total magic.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Bossa Nova
I've been trying to learn the bossa nova for over a year now. Trying is probably the wrong word...wishing perhaps. I bang at it for a week, get discouraged, and set it aside. It's a mental block. There's something that hasn't clicked for me yet. There's a switch I've got to flip...and once it has flipped it will be easy as pie. For now it feels impossible, though.
I spent yesterday scouring the web for help. I was pretty unimpressed with what's out there. For one thing, I don't seem to be able to find an agreed upon figure. It varies in how it is played and how it is notated. Which is confusing.
I can play the high hat and snare together...and I can play the bass and high hat together. But I can't play the snare and bass together...never mind all three together. I know that I just have to keep slowing it down and deconstructing it...but I can't help but feel like there's some secret that I'm missing. Some key that would make me go "Ohhhhh...I get it now." Alas...I solider on.
I spent yesterday scouring the web for help. I was pretty unimpressed with what's out there. For one thing, I don't seem to be able to find an agreed upon figure. It varies in how it is played and how it is notated. Which is confusing.
I can play the high hat and snare together...and I can play the bass and high hat together. But I can't play the snare and bass together...never mind all three together. I know that I just have to keep slowing it down and deconstructing it...but I can't help but feel like there's some secret that I'm missing. Some key that would make me go "Ohhhhh...I get it now." Alas...I solider on.
The Drums: Checking In
Back in December 2008 I decided to dedicate myself to the drums in an attempt to finally be good at something. The dedication lasted longer than I expected it to, as I am prone to proclaim such things and then promptly abandon them. For over a year I was pretty focused. Playing and PRACTICING pretty much every day, taking lessons, and getting steadily better.
Along about six months ago my resolve began to slip though. I'm not sure why or what happened, but there definitely was a shift. And before I knew it I wasn't sitting down at the drums at all anymore except during lessons or band practices or to try and learn riffs for band practices. I wasn't really practicing anymore, I was just getting by.
The void has largely been filled with the bass, which I've been playing every day for six months now after not having picked it up for about three years. I've had a somewhat solitary focus on learning Pixies songs, which aren't hard and for which I mostly have had access to decent tab. I've been playing bass, not practicing it either. Mostly I've been memorizing bass tab.
But I don't think the bass takes up enough mental or literal energy (at least not how I'm approaching it) to have been solely responsible for the slacking on drums. I think, maybe, it was just time to slack a bit.
Taking a look at the So Dang Yang tunes has made it clear to me that there are fundamentals that I've not tackled properly, though. I need a bossa nova, and a good train shuffle, and a good regular shuffle. I need to improve my independence. Mostly, more than anything, I need to actually practice...and to play more than I am currently.
What's interesting is that I'm fully aware that my current skill set is a direction reflection of the amount of time put in. I'm confident that I can learn and do all those things I mentioned...I just have to put in the work, which I've not been doing. This is a subtle but importance difference from not being sure I'd ever be able to do such things. I'm getting to the point where I'm sure that I can get to where ever I want to be on the drums...it's just a matter of putting in the time. And the more time I put in, the faster the results. This is hard to remember in the day to day...when things seem impossible and when the couch is calling.
Some of my committments have dropped off of late, and I think it is about time that I got back on the kit for an hour a day. Finally knock out that bossa nova and that shuffle. Do some paradiddles. Work on some tough tunes from the pile of play along books I've gathered. Actually practice.
Along about six months ago my resolve began to slip though. I'm not sure why or what happened, but there definitely was a shift. And before I knew it I wasn't sitting down at the drums at all anymore except during lessons or band practices or to try and learn riffs for band practices. I wasn't really practicing anymore, I was just getting by.
The void has largely been filled with the bass, which I've been playing every day for six months now after not having picked it up for about three years. I've had a somewhat solitary focus on learning Pixies songs, which aren't hard and for which I mostly have had access to decent tab. I've been playing bass, not practicing it either. Mostly I've been memorizing bass tab.
But I don't think the bass takes up enough mental or literal energy (at least not how I'm approaching it) to have been solely responsible for the slacking on drums. I think, maybe, it was just time to slack a bit.
Taking a look at the So Dang Yang tunes has made it clear to me that there are fundamentals that I've not tackled properly, though. I need a bossa nova, and a good train shuffle, and a good regular shuffle. I need to improve my independence. Mostly, more than anything, I need to actually practice...and to play more than I am currently.
What's interesting is that I'm fully aware that my current skill set is a direction reflection of the amount of time put in. I'm confident that I can learn and do all those things I mentioned...I just have to put in the work, which I've not been doing. This is a subtle but importance difference from not being sure I'd ever be able to do such things. I'm getting to the point where I'm sure that I can get to where ever I want to be on the drums...it's just a matter of putting in the time. And the more time I put in, the faster the results. This is hard to remember in the day to day...when things seem impossible and when the couch is calling.
Some of my committments have dropped off of late, and I think it is about time that I got back on the kit for an hour a day. Finally knock out that bossa nova and that shuffle. Do some paradiddles. Work on some tough tunes from the pile of play along books I've gathered. Actually practice.
Lessons, Week 66
EN brought in the proper recording of "Pinata" and we played along to it. It became clear to me that I can't play a bossa nova to save my life.
Monday, June 7, 2010
CJ, 6/4/10, Mickey's
The Type and The No and Maybe Game opened for us. Both sounded great. I ate something, forget what, before leaving for the show. Got to practice space for load in around 8:45pm. We took the stage around 12:30am and played until about 1:45am. I was home around 2:45am (though I didn't drive back to unload with the guys). I had one beer before the show, one during, and one after. All Spotted Cows. Also had a glass of water during the show and one before.
It was completely packed. Hot as hell. Band had very little room to move. Some lady was practically standing behind me. We used The Drain's PA and added two vocal monitors. I could hear myself fine and vocals went well. I used my own amp and no DI. Overall the set went well. It was a little hard to hear each other and I think this was messing with EH. Beat on Bone Machine got flipped and we had a hard time recovering. There were a couple of other little flubs but mostly things went well. I think we brought down $220 between all three bands...that's tips and % of bar.
People seemed really pleased. It is a weird vibe. People are really fanatics. It's nice to have such great energy, but it feels a little hollow cause I know they wouldn't think we were so great if we were playing originals. They are filling in the spaces with displaced affection. But oh well. It's nice to be appreciated anyway.
Setlist:
River Euphrates
Broken Face
Break My Body
Something Against You
Ed Is Dead
Gigantic
Cactus
Where Is My Mind?
The Holiday Song
Tony's Theme
Into the White
Nimrod's Son
Bone Machine
Oh My Golly
I've Been Tired
Isla De Encanta
Caribou
I'm Amazed
Brick Is Red
Here Comes Your Man
Vamos
Wave Of Mutilation
It was completely packed. Hot as hell. Band had very little room to move. Some lady was practically standing behind me. We used The Drain's PA and added two vocal monitors. I could hear myself fine and vocals went well. I used my own amp and no DI. Overall the set went well. It was a little hard to hear each other and I think this was messing with EH. Beat on Bone Machine got flipped and we had a hard time recovering. There were a couple of other little flubs but mostly things went well. I think we brought down $220 between all three bands...that's tips and % of bar.
People seemed really pleased. It is a weird vibe. People are really fanatics. It's nice to have such great energy, but it feels a little hollow cause I know they wouldn't think we were so great if we were playing originals. They are filling in the spaces with displaced affection. But oh well. It's nice to be appreciated anyway.
Setlist:
River Euphrates
Broken Face
Break My Body
Something Against You
Ed Is Dead
Gigantic
Cactus
Where Is My Mind?
The Holiday Song
Tony's Theme
Into the White
Nimrod's Son
Bone Machine
Oh My Golly
I've Been Tired
Isla De Encanta
Caribou
I'm Amazed
Brick Is Red
Here Comes Your Man
Vamos
Wave Of Mutilation
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