The tale of the eight and a half hour practice...
Entry posted by mark555
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As I said in my last blog entry, our band, now officially known as Route 62, is getting close to our first gig, which although is being done for free as a thank you for some very excellent rehearsal facilities which we enjoy without cost, we are expecting some sort of spin off one way or another via a couple of paid gigs. However, on a personal basis, I have not played live for a few years, so it will be good to dip my toe in the water again. Also, it will give us a chance to see which songs work and which ones we are not going to use at other gigs.
Talking of gigs, they local live venues, usually pubs, are closing at rather an alarming rate and there are less and less places to play at and actually get paid, but there is no way I will be playing at any venue where the operator gets money off my guitar playing yet will expect us to play for nothing. There are too many of those venues and too many musicians playing for nothing - which of course means that other bands are less likely to either get a paid gig or have to pay for free, on the promise that if they go down well they will get a paid gig next time. But the question I ask, is will next time ever come? If my gut feeling is right, those who run these none paying gigs will just wait for the next band willing to play for nothing and book them. Sadly there are too many bands willing to believe these people, and also younger kids who are just desperate to get out and play to an audience.
Which, leads me on to something else. Because of the rise of shows like X Factor and American Idol etc, in many cases young people just see bands as four or five kids who dance about with their trousers round their backsides supposedly singing, with not a guitar or any musical instrument in sight. So, when they do get to hear a proper band, they don't know what is good and what is poor, so they accept a lower standard. Now that is not to say that there are not some really good young players out there, far from it. It's just that young people are being denied the opportunity to see and hear them because the likes of the afore mentioned shows have got such a grip on the music industry right now that in England anyway, real talent is being strangled and choked out as it can not get through the system and that was said by no less a luminary than Brian May.
Anyway, I digress. As a band we are meticulous about trying to get the sings we do as good as we possibly can, and we will work on a number until we feel it is good enough to gig. We were not happy that we were progressing the set fast enough, so we planned a rehearsal that would start at 1.30 in the afternoon and go on until the evening, which in this case was 10pm yesterday. The plan was to learn four new songs and and rehearse at least half the set.
The practice was a real success and four numbers duly added, including Before you Accuse Me and I hear you knocking. Easy ones, it is true, but none the less good live numbers. What we found with the other songs though, particularly some we had not rehearsed for a few weeks was that we had forgotten arrangements and had to re learn them, but they were done very quickly as we soon remembered them. I was really pleased that my slide playing, which although I am at the very beginning of, is coming along nicely. Having recently had a really bad cold which has left me with a nasty cough, at 5.30 I was ready for a break and something to eat. So, leaving Pete of the yellow telecaster fame to watch over the guitars and equipment, the rest of us set off for the local fish and chip shop. Very few American's have had really good English fish and chips, and you really are missing a treat here.
On arriving at the fish and chip shop, we placed our order as they deep fried the fish fresh, and the lady asked us if we wanted fish and if so how many. Allen, our drummer asked if he had to catch the fish himself, and the lady asked if he wanted to borrow a rod. To which I could not resist replying that "Allen has his own rod, but please don't ask him to get it out." The two fifty something women behind the counter just burst into laughter and one said to the other that she had walked into that one! We all had a good laugh, went back to the practice hall and enjoyed our food.
The rest of the evening was very productive, and for me there was a nice surprise in store. We actually rehearse in a church which is a nice modern building and away from the chapel part is the recreational hall where we rehearse. Around the building there are other rooms of varying sizes for teaching areas etc, and while we were rehearsing our set, the children of the congregation had come down to an activity of some sort. Among those attending the activity were my twin nephews who are eight years old and their little five year old sister, my niece. These are the children of one of my younger brother who died three years ago this coming April. So, as you can imagine, I take my responsiblities as their uncle very seriously and I love them very much. As they were looking through the door I asked them to come in and they give me huge hugs and kisses, and thought it was great to see uncle marks band! they had never seen a live band before and were enthralled - maybe they might want a guitar one day.
By the time it was ten we were all tired but were very pleased with our long session, it had been all work and had paid off. We will do another one in a couple of weeks time with a normal three hour rehearsal next week. We know that when we start gigging, which will hopefully be soon now, that we will be ready.
Thanks for taking the trouble to read.
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