SVFD, Feb 15th, Mickey's

SVFD had its debut and played with The Type and TL;DR. The show went about as well as I could have hoped for. Turnout was great and the reception from the crowd was great. People had obviously come to see us specifically cause the place cleared when we finished. Hopefully those people will keep coming out and it won't be a first show phenomenon.

The only thing that sucked a little was that it took forever to clear the tables...so we weren't able to start playing until 11pm. Even so...our set took almost exactly 45 minutes...The Type started 30 minutes after we finished and played almost exactly 45 minutes...which left TL;DR an hour to set up and play so they got in a decent set. So it worked out even though it made things feel hectic at the start.

I hadn't realized how much I rely on RS to take charge at gigs. A little of that had to fall to me and it was weird, but not too bad. I was glad that The Type are pros and used to the situation at Mickey's. They were a big help and just made me feel better about the situation. I love people who jump in and move shit when it needs moving.

I used my old amp cause I think my Ampeg vibrates too much at high volumes and might be cutting out sometimes. I've identified that this model has those problems, which sucks. The G-K was fine, but didn't feel loud enough. The Type was using an old-style Fender Bassman and TL;DR had a Neo G-K.  Both sounded fine. I looked it up and those old Bassman's are only like 50 Watts and $2,000. I don't know how it sounded so good.

Our mistakes were minimal truly and the few that we had were recovered from quickly and well. There was even a mic failure that Be handled really well. Ba busted out some shit on keys that I've never heard her play before, sounded great. I only used notes on Superman. I had them for Sergio but forgot to pull them out and muddled through. I didn't have too many brain farts...and nothing catastrophic...just a few skipped notes here and there.

I commented to the sweetie later that I thought things went well...and that I NEVER say that. I don't feel jump up and down fantastic...but I don't feel bad at all. And for me that's probably saying a huge amount. It probably means things were fantastic.

I ate a good dinner, got good sleep, and did not drink. We brought in $61 per band...so that's $183 total...which if you figure that's after the charge for sound, isn't bad. We filled the place, but they weren't a drinking crowd and left when we were done, so the bar totals were probably affected by that fact.  Still, even on the best attended, hardest drinking nights at Mickey's I think CJ only brings down $300 total, and that was before the PA charge was in place...so I think we did well.

UPDATE: photos and video streaming in from all corners! Gotta say this sounds pretty darn good.


Setlist:
Freedom
Came Out of a Lady
Metro
Sergio
Hope I Never Lose My Wallet
Mr Smiley
Dandelions
Rascal King
Superman
Rudy
Thigh High Nylons
Lost Again
Red Rubber Ball

Local Love Fest

I don't agree...but I do love the shirt.

Buy Our Record

Today anyone in the world with unfettered internet access can purchase a record that one of my current bands has produced. I'd like to say that I am a featured player on the release...but that would be too much to hope for. No, in spite of being a member of the band since late summer 2010...this recording process was begun PRIOR to that, and so the drum tracks are by my predecessor. Alas.

At least this record, though it lacks me, was professionally recorded in an actual studio, professionally printed to cds and duplicated, and released to the world via cd baby, amazon, itunes, etc.

This is just the latest in the ridiculous history of my recorded musical output.

• Release One: a self-produced solo effort to cassette tape. Fewer than 20 copies exist
• Release Two: a self-produced solo effort to cassette tape. Fewer than 20 copies exist
• Release Three: recorded to a multitracker by the band in my living room and hand copied to cds by the band. Homemade paper cover. No distribution. I suspect no one knows it exists.
• Release Four: a self-produced tribute album to a local band. I believe 4 cs copies were created. I'm convinced at least one of those copies was destroyed in a ritualistic fashion by the song writer for the band the album was a tribute to 
• Release Five: Actually recorded, mixed, and mastered by an actual professional recording engineer (though, to be fair, also in my living room). Actually printed and duplicated on actual cds professionally with jewel cases and shrink wrap and everything. Released postumously under the old name after I was fired from the band and it changed it's name. No distribution. I suspect no one knows it exists.

Lately

Last night CJ practiced for the first time in a while and for the first time in a while when we didn't have a solid goal in mind. We tried playing through lots of songs that we haven't played in months...or even over a year.  I was surprised to find that these had fallen out of my memory banks. They are easy to get back...but for awhile there I thought I'd never forget how to play any of these songs...but I guess there are limits.

On the flipside of memory, I've got all but one ska tune memorized with a week to spare before the show. I'll be bearing down on the last one over the next few days. I suspect I'll get it.  The band, it turns out, needs to discuss goals as they seem to vary amongst us. Seven people are a bunch of people to get on the same page. I'm less worried than I thought I'd be about what will happen. This whole thing turned out to be a terrifying exposure to music that I thought was beyond me...and it turns out that it isn't. Individual songs will continue to be a challenge as we move along...but I've proven to myself that I can handle it. It almost feels like it doesn't matter what else happens now. A strange kind of goal has been reached for me.

CJ also talked hopes and dreams last night...and I've finally decided to push us a bit on accomplishing those things. Inertia is hard. I think the goals are very reasonable and attainable though...just one of us needs to push a bit and I guess I'm accepting that I will have to be the one. I'm ok with this because it is something worth working hard for.

The other three groups I'm just not too worried about. I wish rehearsals all around for all of my bands were more regular...I don't like having down time...but I'm not that concerned about outcomes at the moment oddly enough...other than the previously stated outcomes with CJ.

I do have some personal anxiety that I'm working through lately in life in general and I'm trying to figure out where applying myself more in my music will help and where backing off and relaxing more will help. It is a balancing act for sure.

How-To-Play-Bass dot Com

This guy has a pretty awesome site

You Make Lovin' Fun

Last Bass Lesson 1/31/2013

As mentioned recently, I decided to quit taking bass lessons.  I had started taking them on a whim so I guess it isn't surprising that I would stop basically on a whim too.  The last lesson was a little disjointed, but mostly what I got out of it was a tip to make Came Out of a Lady easier to play (barre with first finger instead of second, use 2nd/3rd/4th to press down together for the high note, and generally don't worry about it, it is an ornament)...and we talked about strategies for memorizing...including playing without the recording, slowing down the part, singing the part and trying to match what I'm playing to what I'm singing rather than trying to match what I'm playing to the movie in my head of the written notes going by, and...of course again...don't worry about it. Hit the prominent notes and if the rest gets screwed up who cares?

The bass lesson experience was useful right at the time that I needed it. But I'm ready to fly solo for awhile and maybe not fret so much about the outcome.

In the end she feels more like a mentor and friend than a private lesson teacher. And I think that I ought to keep using her as such...that when questions or uncertainty arises that I just email her and say "hey let's get together to chat". And I'll throw her 25 bucks.