I can’t even being to say how exciting of a place I am in my musical life right now. First off, not having to start at this alone was a great plus. My former Shades of Winter band mate Elana Scheiner really showed an interest in joining me for this new adventure so to have a partner going into this made it less scary. I placed an ad in Craig’s List for bassists and thus the adventure began. I got about 10 replies and by the time I weeded them all down to those that had their own car, place to live, a job, and even a bass/amp, I was down to four that really sounded promising.
I auditioned them all, one a week. All of them were good, one was great and one was absolutely what we were looking for! Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Ira Poplar-Jeffers! Ira is a great bassist and his personality and musical tastes are a perfect compliment to this group! When Ira came back for his 2nd audition w/ Elana and I, he had learned a set of four songs and played them with the enthusiasm and emotion that I really was hoping to hear out of a bassist. Lady E and Ira just locked in together and played together beautifully. I can’t even begin to explain the goosebumps I got hearing them play and watching them occasionally look over at each other and me and all of us just smiling as we were playing! This was a pretty magical feeling and that’s when I knew I’d found our man!
So what next? Well, we keep working on songs and tightening up the rhythm section and then the search for a guitarist will begin. Baby steps here. I just don’t want to make any mistakes here. I want to make sure we take our time and find the right people and build a nice, solid foundation. Then we’ll look for a tasteful yet sane and responsible drummer. I haven’t had the best of luck with drummers in my life but hey, so far I’ve done well so there’s gotta be one out there!
Rehearsals w/ Elana, Ira and I will begin next week so I’ll be sure to post an update! And for the many that have asked… NO! We don’t have a band name yet. This “band” is just really staring to formulate. I want to make sure the name we pick will compliment us as a full band and compliment the sound and the songs. While we are doing mainly songs I’ve already written, we will be doing new material so why date it ya know? And no James, the band WILL NOT be called "BOHICA".
More to come soon folks!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Monday, October 1, 2007
With a change of seasons...
...come seasons of change!
I used to hate the thought of change. Sometimes I still do but as we all know, sometimes change is necessary for growth. Whether it be spiritual, physical, artistic, etc, change is necessary for growth.
The idea of forming a band has been heavy on me for sometime. It's kind of like being in a relationship. Regardless, you expect for all involved parties to give equally in order to complete as a whole. When that stops happening and you stop getting what it is you need, you have to look elsewhere to get it. I just felt that in order to get out of my artistic self what I wanted, this is what needed to be done.
Stepping out of Shades of Winter was a tough and scary thing to do. Doing so I feel like I am finally free to really open up as a writer, musician, and performer in a way that I never thought I could do. Fronting a band is a scary thought but I have been doing this kind of music for years and doing it solo at that for 10 years. I finally feel ready to take this next step towards making my dreams reality.
So far, I have been having auditions for bassists and they have been going great. Unfortunately, TOO GREAT! So far, they have all been fantastic people w/ a desire and determination to make and perform good music. All have stated to me that they really enjoy and like the material so that alone is a great feeling. I am really looking forward to auditioning the next round of bassists and then making a decision in the next week or so. After the bassist auditions, I have a guitarist trying out and then if I can get this solidified, I will have the core of my band with a bassist, guitarist, and my good friend Elana on cello. The plan is to then tighten up as a unit and then start auditioning drummers as a band!
Wow, even as I type this I can feel the excitement and the anticipation of what lies around the bend. This is a good road to be on. Thank you to everyone who has been sending me words of encouragement and support in my new venture. It's been heartwarming and inspirational that so many are behind me on this! Hopefully, soon, I will be back out there delivering this new slice of goodness to you all!
Again, thank you all! I couldn't do it without you!
I used to hate the thought of change. Sometimes I still do but as we all know, sometimes change is necessary for growth. Whether it be spiritual, physical, artistic, etc, change is necessary for growth.
The idea of forming a band has been heavy on me for sometime. It's kind of like being in a relationship. Regardless, you expect for all involved parties to give equally in order to complete as a whole. When that stops happening and you stop getting what it is you need, you have to look elsewhere to get it. I just felt that in order to get out of my artistic self what I wanted, this is what needed to be done.
Stepping out of Shades of Winter was a tough and scary thing to do. Doing so I feel like I am finally free to really open up as a writer, musician, and performer in a way that I never thought I could do. Fronting a band is a scary thought but I have been doing this kind of music for years and doing it solo at that for 10 years. I finally feel ready to take this next step towards making my dreams reality.
So far, I have been having auditions for bassists and they have been going great. Unfortunately, TOO GREAT! So far, they have all been fantastic people w/ a desire and determination to make and perform good music. All have stated to me that they really enjoy and like the material so that alone is a great feeling. I am really looking forward to auditioning the next round of bassists and then making a decision in the next week or so. After the bassist auditions, I have a guitarist trying out and then if I can get this solidified, I will have the core of my band with a bassist, guitarist, and my good friend Elana on cello. The plan is to then tighten up as a unit and then start auditioning drummers as a band!
Wow, even as I type this I can feel the excitement and the anticipation of what lies around the bend. This is a good road to be on. Thank you to everyone who has been sending me words of encouragement and support in my new venture. It's been heartwarming and inspirational that so many are behind me on this! Hopefully, soon, I will be back out there delivering this new slice of goodness to you all!
Again, thank you all! I couldn't do it without you!
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