Into The Mystic

What a great rehearsal last night. Lady E was definitely missed but I was so glad that Ira and I got together anyways. We had a great time just catching up, getting to know each other a bit more. That was really cool to do. I even learned that he's a HUGE Blind Melon fan so he'll be joining Spoob and I on the 2nd at the Lincoln Theatre.

We ran through the set of originals that we've been running through and they sounded great. I can even begin to explain how good this kid is. He's got such a great flow to him and he really knows how to work these songs in his own way. The way him and Elana mesh is just what I've always wanted to hear but playing w/ just him last night really let me hear what he could do. He didn't disappoint. For those that are curious, it's not a huge secret but here is the list of songs we're working on so far:

• The Rain
• I Wish I Could Run Away
• Another Cowboy Song
• The Road Is In My Blood
• Drought County
• Take Me Back Home

Not a bad lil set to get started if I may say so myself. We're already up to 6 songs and last night, Ira and I played around with the songs "Winds Of Home" and Van Morrison's "Into The Mystic". Ira really dug "Winds Of Home" and took off running w/ that one. We kinda kicked around "Into The Mystic" and found that it actually sounded REALLY good. We both thought that this would be a fun cover to introduce to rehearsals to see how it goes!

We placed our ad for a drummer over at Craig's List. You can check it out by going to http://raleigh.craigslist.org/muc/482983467.html. If anyone knows ANYONE that fits this description, please send them our way! I'm so excited to get this thing off the ground but damn, we are off to such an amazing start in such a short period of time. This band is truly gonna be something magical. Hell, it already is...

...and we're off!

Elana, Ira and I had our very first rehearsal tonight and I can't even put into words how amazing it was. I'll be honest, the fact that the last time we played together was Ira's last audition two weeks ago made me a bit nervous. But we all sat down, had a beer, and it was like second nature. We just started catching up with each other and next thing, the instruments came out and we were off!

We spent most of our time tonite working on the new song "Drought County". They really impressed the hell outta me on this one. I loved the fact that they both totally stepped up to the plate and played their asses off. We made a few revisions, worked on the actual arrangement. This was really great. We all talked about parts and how we could make things work better and mesh together. It was such a positive experience and to see us actually working, playing and laughing together was so uplifting for me.

Once we ran through "Drought County" a few times, we tackled "Another Cowboy Song" and just killed it first time through. We played "The Rain" and again, nailed it. I mean, while they weren't "perfect", they were way better than I thought they would be, especially at our first REAL rehearsal. They practice at home and come up w/ parts to add their own lil flair to it. THIS is what it's all about!

We also decided to go ahead and start looking for a drummer. I will be working on putting the ad together and then checking in w/ them to see what they think. Then I'll post it to Craig's List and we'll see what happens!

Ahhhh, things are good and they will only get getter!

Just an update...

So as I said in my last post, Elana and I now have a bassist named Ira. Getting to this point was a pretty exhausting process so getting the other two needed elements I'm not really looking forward to. I mean, I am looking forward to getting them but not looking forward to the process. At least this time, with three of us, it won't be so grueling!

We ended up taking two weeks off before we re-group to work on our 6-song set list. This week for Halloween and next week because Don will take a much needed vacation. But in this time off, I've had time to really think of where I'm going, where I've been, and even move a couple of songs. I've been listening to Mark Lanegan's "I'll Take Care Of You" and Neko Case's "Blacklisted" a lot lately. That whole haunting, minor key style of writing that are showcased on these albums just stuck with me so I just went with it. So far, all I have is music but what happened was that I stopped there. Why? Because this is where I want the "band" thing to come in. I want people to collaborate and offer input. I want everyone to feel like a piece of themselves are in the song. This is an exciting feeling. I've never seen Elana so upbeat and excited about playing and this really fueled me so when Ira came aboard w/ the same attitude, they both showed serious interest in being involved and doing what they could. This is a great feeling and this is EXACTLY what I wanted and want out of a band!

Well, we regroup on the 14th and have our first official rehearsal as a three piece. I'm hoping we'll nail these 6 songs down and start working on this new, as of yet untitled piece. From there, we will post for a guitarist and start auditioning them as a BAND! Wow, this is exciting. I see really great things ahead for this soon-to-be band! I can just feel it!

More to come folks... more to come!