General Music Chat

thanks...it means a lot coming from someone as talented as yourself. Do you play sax and trumpet as good as you play a flute?

good stuff on your profile!

Black57

"Jamming is a great way to practice. " I hadn't thought of it that way but that is so true.

You can run through your scales, your songs, your exercises and that is important and often a lot of fun. Ultimatelyl you feel like you've practiced and you need to do that stuff.

But it lacks the essential ingredient you find (for better or worse) in a jam session. Human beings - if they are good and sympatico the experience is way above anything you'd do in a prac session.

It doesn't always work. Sometimes people just don't blend. That's still better than most prac sessions though because you learn much from it - and aren't we always trying to grade ourselves?

Talbot

I've been involved in alot of musical endeavors,
and they've all been fun,

but, I can't believe I'm saying this,

I agree with Glen, the reason my rock band
doesn't play out much anymore, is cause I'm not going
to haul the equipment for the same money we were making
in 1980. I play out solo as a piano player, and play guitar with
the praise team at church, but the rock band rarely plays anywhere
but at my house. We don't want to haul, mains, monitors, amps,
stands, drums, instruments, lights, backdrops, and all the
chords and misc that go into putting on a rock show.

We don't need the money, and these rock cover gigs,
don't pay enough to hire someone to roadie for you.

Fun - picking up a guitar

Not fun - putting it down

Period.

I love a good jam session. One of the best bands I was ever in came out of a jam session. Another jam session not long ago turned out to be with one of the best guitar players in the area. We both loved it even though we had no idea what we would play or how well we would play together. Had a great time. Even managed to both end one song with harmonizing feedback notes. We had never even heard of each other an hour before...the audience loved it as much as we did. They thought we had practiced it.

Fun - Being asked to sit in at the Baton Rouge Jambalaya Festival in front of probably 1500 people was priceless. No idea what we would play, even though I had played with the band many times, made it a challenge, and I can't think of anything I like better.

Not fun - playing at a bar with 3 people sitting there...

Fun - recording on the spur of the moment with guys I haven't seen in 10 years

Not fun - showing up at rehearsal (which I hate to begin with) and finding out the keyboard player hasn't even listened to the songs I've worked on for 3 weeks.

Fun - doing a benefit and being asked to sit in with every band there all night. I was glad I managed to develop the ability to cover a wide range of styles long ago. These bands played rock, country, blues, 50's, a disco tune or two, so versatility was a huge plus.

Not fun - One idiot showing up with an ego the size of the Astrodome who isn't even good, much less great as he thinks he is...

Fun - Packing up at the end of the night dead tired knowing it was a great show.

Not Fun - Finding out someone took off with my guitar case instead of his...

Fun - The looks on the band members' faces when I put on the hat in my avatar for the first time, onstage...they had no idea...

Not fun - looking around and finding out some drunk woman in the audience has just picked it up and is making a fool of herself with it. Now I have to wash the damn thing...

Fun - Showing up to play a festival with a band I met just before we got onstage. And finding out the vendors who have been there all day (and sober) thought we were the best band all day.

Not fun - loading up afterward and driving 5 hours to do a benefit with no pay...

Lynard

Yours was a depressing post. But I get it. More and more I base my own thinking around how little gear do I really need to take. I hate it. But there it is.

Part of that is the simple fact we have careers now. I hate mine but it pays my bills and covers my family which is my duty. When I was younger and played for real, I'd quite some cheesy job in a heartbeat to go play a gig in some town noboby ever heard of.

I have good gear and get the sounds I want. But the darn stuff seems to be getting heavier!

Talbot

For me its all about the live experience, period, thats what I live and breath for, cause you never know what will happen and sometimes songs can go in some strange directions.

I enjoy recording, but after Im done I always think, 'Man why didnt I do this!"

Dont rehearse much these days, so when I get the chance I love it.

I enjoy just setting up a drum machine and jamming by myself, it really gives me a chance to try different things.

Jamming with folks bores me to tears, sure I get to tear it up and really cut loose, but most of the time, its just the same rythyms over and over.

So I prefer a live gig with my band over anything, it doesnt matter whether its a packed house or not, just playing with the guys I love to play with, cause I know no matter how far out I get they always have my back. Some of the funnest playing gigs where when no one was there so we could do stuff that we dont normally do. You know what Im talking aobut, those times when you have the monitors and the mix set and you just get to do whatever, thats the best musically. Now i do love a packed house, but then it kinda becomes a request situation, and we wind up playing the format songs if that makes sense. But its all good to me if I have a guitar in my hands, and the tone is moving me, thats all the really matters, no matter what the situation.

Keep On Rockin!

thanks...it means a lot coming from someone as talented as yourself. Do you play sax and trumpet as good as you play a flute?

good stuff on your profile!

I have played trumpet, sax. oboe but not nearly as good as flute. Sorry it took so long to comment on your post.

#1: Writing... Really like it. Nothing better than that feeling of coming up with something cool and beautiful.

#2: Recording...Great feeling when it's finally finished and sounds perfect. Can be very frustrating, because that little imperfection somewhere is going to bug the hell out of me.

#3: Playing Live...Yes! Finally a chance to be yourself!

#4: Band Rehearsals...Can range from awesome to sometimes feeling like a job.

#5: Hauling gear:

#1: Writing... Really like it. Nothing better than that feeling of coming up with something cool and beautiful.

#2: Recording...Great feeling when it's finally finished and sounds perfect. Can be very frustrating, because that little imperfection somewhere is going to bug the hell out of me.

#3: Playing Live...Yes! Finally a chance to be yourself!

#4: Band Rehearsals...Can range from awesome to sometimes feeling like a job.

#5: Hauling gear:

This is why I play the flute.

like glens statement . we used to joke; we play for free, setting up & tearing down is what we get paid for.