Band

Well I don't know what to talk about, I keep coming up with great ideas for posts, but by the time I reach this machine the creativity has dried up.

So I'm going to talk about my band. And maybe my attachment to music in general, I haven't thought that far ahead.

SPAM

btw thanks to Nick for somehow getting me to watch the start of 28 weeks later, fucking tense films, can't stand them. They stick in my head for weeks. They're even worse when they're well-made, that just makes it worse. Like a curse. No, a hearse.

hum. the band I'm in is called Small Man Syndrome it is awesome and we have a lot of fun on stage and when we arre rehearsing sometimes we will jam over a bassline Pauly's doing or a guitar riff Steve's whipped out or even just one of our songs, I might make up some lyrics or repeat a line from a song, and Paul will do mad solos and Steve will play something bluesy and sometimes we'll play actual songs and attempt to be all organised and shit and sometimes we'll talk about stuff although not much.
You may notice that I am swearing in this post, it's true that these words are coming into my head but when I talk I screen them from certain people. I feel right now that maybe I will just 'say' them as it's different writing them - I wonder if they're more powerful heard or read? - and that makes this post much more about what I'm really thinking rather than being what I've decided is most worth your while reading. (Edited, in other words. Although I am still editing.) Perhaps you didn't even notice, which is fine. I know some people are of the opinion that screening in that way is hiding your true self and you should just 'be who you are' and 'not worry about what people think of you'! But I'm sure everyone screens to some extent, in fact that's probably a Psych theory/fact, it sounds familiar. You may not screen your naughty words but you're probably screening something else. I think what we normally screen is more hidden thoughts like 'she has really large front teeth, but I'm sitting in a job interview and she's my interviewer, so I won't mention her MASSIVE FRONT TEETH' oh god it reminds me of Austin Powers 3. MOLEY MOLEY MOLE ... ... yeah but I guess screening could refer to anything.

Interesting diversion. So the band is great fun. What's most fun is that the guys are good players, solid, and they have lots of ideas, and they understand music really well. Where that can be a drawback is when you want to create something simple, but everyone wants to do a solo at the same time. Well, that's what it feels like sometimes... Anyway the pluses outweigh the minuses. Not only that but we're all pretty good friends, and we all respect each other's talents and listen to each other's ideas. And we seem to want to make a similar kind of music; I'm still amazed, somewhat, that we all mesh so well, when we're all into such different styles. I like pop that's too saccharin for the others, it seems... Paul and Steve are into their older styles, and songs that seem obscure to me... Warren's into Muse and Radiohead, which pushes my buttons, but less so everyone else's.
We kinda bonded over 90s songs, at the start. We walked a fine line between cool and uncool. Some of us had songs we refused to cover. I remember Paul refusing something by Madonna, maybe Vogue. We covered a boyband song (specifically, Back For Good) which was super fun, but for me, highlights were our Billie Jean/Moondance medley, Faith ("well I guess it would be nice"...) and Steal My Kisses.

Dear readers, there are moments in one's life one wants to stretch into eternity. For me, our first gig at the Co-op Prom in a church hall was one of those moments. Singing Ace of Base to a darkened dancefloor, a stationary disco ball casting glimmers everywhere, with people dancing - dancing to US! - singing my heart out, backed by a solid guitar/bass/keys trio, I just felt like I was filling a little gap in the world. You know. Doing something I was meant to do.

*sigh*

Yes. Fun. Then came summer, what did I do? I don't know what I did over summer. Anyway, stuff happened. We started rehearsing again. Waz got us a gig at the Brunswick Hotel. We played well - really well, though some mistakes with lyrics might've been a little transparent. For the first time, we played originals. One of them was mine. Again, I put my all into singing and my on-stage presence. I dressed up for the occasion. I became really sweaty. I danced. Paul and I exchanged banter between songs, which kept the audience amused. One of Warren's songs, Trippin', was my personal highlight - it was one of the few songs, while on stage, I could hear properly and thought 'this sounds perfect for this venue'. Our harmonies punched through the audience chatter.
Still, for me, it didn't top the prom gig. I think the prom felt more surreal. There were a lot of friends at the Brunswick Hotel. At the prom, it felt like we were playing for complete strangers.

This may all sound a little high-horsey. I am talking it up a bit. There are wonderful moments in our set, but there have also been some awkward/messy/silly bits. I think we are still improving. That Brunswick gig received a fairly ordinary review from a friend of mine who mixes for a very popular band - I suppose he'd know what a tight band sounds like - and our next gig also received some less-than-perfect feedback from my friends. Which was deserved. People have fun, however, and for us that's extremely important.

Fun is fun.
SPAm cialsi

Waz left for China and suddenly we were a three-piece.Things seem to happen quickly in band world. We were offered a gig at the Rainbow Hotel, then the following two weekends I played two separate gigs with Mr. Charles J Tan. He's a singer/songwriter I've been saxophoning with recently. It's like: a gig every week for three weeks. What is happening to me??

Rainbow... another good gig. I snared us this one. It helps, I discovered, to have relatives who work at pubs! But the band were less happy this time. Steve felt as though he didn't play well. Paul was solid, as ever, but not as comfortable with the end result. And I was... I don't know. Like before, I sang and danced and played sax solos. Somehow, we just weren't together as well as before.

Perhaps my mind was elsewhere. It was a really super busy day for me. I v-lined from Bendigo to Hallam that morning, attended a 70th, drove home with my parents, drove to the gig, packed everything up and drove to 3MBS, did my midnight radio show, drove home at 2.30 and crashed. (On my bed, of course.)

So on top of my busy-ness, we'd only had a single rehearsal to make 2 hours of music happen... half covers, half originals. Our originals were the strong point here. Paul has a beautiful piano/voice piece which I sang for. Steve has a superb pop song called Spring.
Overall, success - it couldn't be called a failure, despite our misgivings. The audience had a great time, and we took some things away to work on.

The future:

Probably Ukraine, actually. It's a viable option. Or wildlife theme parks. We'll have a little cage of our own, and the tourists will pass by as we play in our cage, and snap shots of our crazy antics.
We're recording some stuff at the moment. I'm trying to make the time to work on my own songs, finish them, and band them (i.e. try to make them achievable in a band context). I'm learning Paul's 15 minute epic. Steve is moving house, and we might hold a gig in his new place.... no kidding. We'll see how big the loungeroom is.

Well that was interesting/fun/useless/up-myself, I was also going to talk about my connection to music. How does one explain such a thing. It's like talking about my connection to the atmosphere. Without music I'm just a socially awkward little twerp. With music I become powerful. I fit in. I become somewhat fashionable. Without it I never have that witty comeback everyone seems to instinctively know. With it, I can make the remark and the comeback at the same time. Y'know? That's what it's like. It's my niche, it's where I live. I may not be talented or deserving enough of musical life, but I'm sure enjoying it.

Those are some thoughts that I have thought tonight. Eat 'em up.

Saxman.