A band?
Naah … You’re having a laugh mate!
His argument is that a band is any group of musicians with 3 members or more and there happens to be 4 of us sitting in my house trying to put a few tunes together.
But it’s that definition of musician which is a bit of an issue!
Okay, I’m downplaying it a bit, but we aren’t really a band, more a collection of loosely-coupled pals who would like to do better than we are at the moment.
Isn’t that the same for every “band”?
Not that we want fame or fortune, not even on the horizon or in my most secret dreams to imagine myself playing to an adoring audience.
I just like being able to play a few tunes.
We started off last year as what can only be described as a rabble, a collection of guys trying to play the same tune in the same key and keep time.
It isn’t as easy as it first appears.
All i needs it for one guy to be out of time, or have forgot to adjust the capo on his guitar so that he is playing in a different key and it sounds hellish.
What you have to learn is that someone has to lead, keep the central timing and others need to fall behind and play rhythm or lead, not all playing the same thing at the same time.
Individually, the guys are all talented, to one degree or other.
But what I’ve learned is that individual talent isn’t enough when you play together. You have to be prepared to take a back seat and let the other guys take the lead.
But that has to be reciprocated or it falls apart.
The problem with any group of people is pleasing everyone, thats were most bands fall apart with “musical differences” .. that could be that you want to play Simon and Garfunkel and I want to play Stone Roses.
There have been times when the journey has been tough, I personally don’t see the point in playing out-dated crap like “The Letter”, “Homeward Bound” or “The Streets Of London” .. just because its all that one of the other guys knows how to play.
It’s a group thing, you play to your strengths, music you like and what you think your market is and will get a positive response from a mixed crowd. If someone doesn’t shape up then they need to ship out. Thats really up to them.
But its coming together and we have another wee charity gig coming up.
Thats going to be a hoot, fortunately its a few months away yet so there’s lots of time to practice and most importantly in my book agree on the arrangements of who is playing which part, without that, its a nightmare and I’m out.
My backing piano track for Angels.
https://soundcloud.com/user-535339296/angels
DancingBhoy 