Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

I awoke early this morning to prepare meeting a drummer and base player at noon today. I did as much prep as one could do. This drummer always puts together top shelf bands. He had a singer that was supposed to show. Well of course he did NOT. His loss BWA HA HA! This base player is phenomenal. We decided that today would be for the most part a meet and greet to jam and see if we could play together, get along, and the 3 of us wanted to do the same thing. Starting out all I can say is I am SOoo exited about this project. This base player has an incredibly rich voice and is the best player I have worked with. The timbre of our voices during harmonies just BLEW me away. We discussed all things and decided we are adding a female singer and keyboard player. The format will be 50% 80's rock arena/hair band and 50% disco/funk/variety.
After arriving home a very good friend and musician called me asking questions about gear. He came over and we jammed Jazz for HOURS. What a great DAY!

Sounds like you had a really good day... Kudos to you.

I had a really crummy day. I had 30 oil stops that had to be delivered. It has been freezing and the roads are pot holes everywhere. On top of a usual pre check I climbed under my truck to check.

Totally screwed up my day. There it was, a crack in the radial arm spring leaf. These springs are only 4 years old... No matter... It is what it is.

The good news is that I was able to get it fixed very immediately and it was only $2200. You never know what can happen next.

Even George losing his lead guitar. Oh well. Just a general bitch.

Keep rocking Jeff.

DISCO ? Hell hath frozen!

I have a request for a song for you to work up HALEY ..could you work up YMCA ? is that disco enough to qualify? by the Village People?

* snicker *

sanshouheil wrote:DISCO ? Hell hath frozen!

I was thinking the same thing! Pretty sure DISCO IS DEAD. Been replaced with this techno dance drum machine stuff.

If you want to play the top venues and make REAL $ you have to play dance music PERIOD. This band is being put together to play weddings and festivals. Most guitar players don't like playing dance music because they can't show off their skills. I am beyond that friends. Sure I like to let loose and solo. I have always plaid for the audience. You should too JMO. I have played in bands for over 40 years. Every time you get the girls up dancing the guys follow and a packed dance floor equals demand for your band and more dollars in your pocket.

GuitarMikeB wrote:

sanshouheil wrote:DISCO ? Hell hath frozen!

I was thinking the same thing! Pretty sure DISCO IS DEAD. Been replaced with this techno dance drum machine stuff.

Maybe up where you are but not here. If you want to play in smoky bars for 10 people that's your choice. I want to play for more.

It's the same on the west coast Jeff. The most requested and highly paid cover bands have top drawer musicians including a female lead vocalist and keys, and play 100% dance music. This also includes tunes by AC/DC and other rockers with a dance beat. With this kind of lineup and set list, you don't have to find gigs cause they find you.

Have fun with it my brother!

Funny, I helped with the sound crew for a performance recently.
The 'dance' before and after this 'country show' was the same lame line dance moves I stumble through drunk back in 76'.
Difference today was, the girls were dressed like Peruvian whores, and the noise ( not music by any measure) was some elctro-hip-crap complete with repetitious F bombs.
No wonder performing live musicians are going the way of the dinosaur.

Not for me.
Hell, I was embarrassed to be there.
And the 'older' women hitting on be because they thought I was part of the band Entourage . . .

Best wishes Jeff.
I sincerely pray it works out for you, and that you get all the creative satisfaction you desire in the process.

J7 that is exactly what we are trying to do.

Thanks George, we want to do a cleaned up family friendlier version. I am a musician first, as a result I enjoy playing disco as much as I enjoy playing metal, hair metal, classic rock, country, or any of it. I have done this before in a band (successfully) so I know it works. The reality is if you play metal or classic rock only you will be playing for $50 to $100 a night in Smokey bars getting to bed at 4am. I am tired of fighting that battle.

No more smoky bars in this area! Unless its a private club, no smoking indoors here.
Around here, if the venue is right (meat market, for example) then 'classic rock' (not metal/hair band stuff) still packs the dance floor. But its the venue, not the band, that draws the crowd.

Wedding band music, I get (yeah, they are still pulling some of those old disco tunes out like last dance and YMCA!), never my thing in fact when the bass player in my mid-80s band pulled that one, citing we could make 'good money', that was the final straw for me and I left the band.
If all I wanted to do from playing music was make some extra money, then I could find a band to join pretty quickly, but it only takes one night out at one of the places where these bands are playing to convince me that's not what I want to go back to.
Jeff- the most important part (to me) is that you enjoy doing it, no matter what kind of music it is.

Been known to play disco a time or two, and no I didn't like it a lot but not because I couldn't show off. I just don't like disco...don't care if I get to show off or not, I get my time out front...

Play that Funky music White Boy is about the only one I can remember, and actually a fun one to play, but we played several others in Louisiana.

Good luck with it, I'm still waiting to find out what will happen with the band I've been working with here. So far other guitar & keyboard player (Shane) has been working a lot on Sundays, our only day to practice. But Alan and I (he's bass and keyboards) got together and did a bit of recording, and all 3 of us have a song mostly finished, still waiting to hear those too. I won't mention any song names, but think Doobie Brothers...Both should be pretty good.

And Jeff - Some good Doobies tunes would be good, we're working on several, also once we get these songs finished and mixed, you'll be able to hear the Marshall Bluesbreaker Overdrive pedal you asked about a week or two ago. I used it on both. Just the Fender Champ by itself sounds good but plug in the Marshall pedal and boy howdy...

Lessee good 80's songs...that I know will work...

Midnight Rendevous
Shakin (Eddie Money)
Burnin for You (BOC)
All She Wants to do is Dance (Don Henley)

Just a couple you might think about.

Disco = mindless repetitive beat.

Big difference IMO between 'Disco' and a 'Funk' groove folk can dance to.

I've always been fond of a good Funk groove.

Just don't tell no one . . . OK