SEEKING
Band to Join, Acoustic Guitar, Background Singer, Bass Guitar, Drums, Electronic Music, Harmonica, Harp, Keyboard, Lead Guitar, Other, Other Percussion, Piano, Rhythm Guitar, Steel guitar, Upright bass, Vocalist, Vocalist - Alto, Vocalist - Baritone, Vocalist - Bass, Vocalist - Soprano, Vocalist - Tenor.ABOUT
I am a reformed band-member who's traded the party-all-night and skirt-chasing philosophies of youth for the pure joy of playing some music. I have tons of junk in my basement that I play with when time permits; tweaking and cranking and plugging and re-plugging until someone shouts from upstairs to "turn that damned thing down!" No, I have no plans to quit my job, tell my kids goodbye and go on tour, but I am really, really, REALLY itching to find some people who share my passion.
If I could find some peeps who like to get together maybe once/twice a week to rock out in a basement with a few beers, it would bring me back to life. I'm in no position right now to be able to offer the concrete commitment of having 800 songs down in the next three weeks, and so will leave that to the professionals. What I can offer is a good ear, a sense of dynamics and team playing, and a true passion for being part of a group of people who just "click." If it excites all of us, then I think we'd accidentally find ourselves with no excuse not to play it out in front of others. The point for me is: becoming good will be due to the excitement I feel for what I'm doing and the people I'm doing this with, NOT from feeling like I've taken on a second job.
My hands aren't currently in quite the shape that they have been in days of yore, but I know from experience that this is quickly rectified when I'm pushed by people who set it on fire; when I meet musical soul mates, I can't put the stupid instrument down.
I can sing certain vocal style fairly well, and am in no way opposed to trying to develop this, but getting the hands to work simultaneously with the voice is part of the development.
- Screen name:
- Noizemaker
- Member since:
- Nov 16 2010
- Active over 1 month ago
- Level of commitment:
- Moderately Committed
- Years playing music:
- 25
- Gigs played:
- 10 to 50
- Tend to practice:
- 2-3 times per week
- Available to gig:
- 1 night a week
- Most available:
- Nights
Influences
Good God, how to approach this?
Alright - cliché time - I can't stand country music. Hip Hop can have its moments (when there's actual MUSIC injected into it), but I really don't think I can help out much in this area.
David Gilmour is a guy who most anyone can work out the notes for, but nobody could ever "match." Queens of the Stoneage have some lovely raunch sounds that make me bounce. The orchestration of a band like Yes leaves me absolutely astonished. The original lineup of Jane's Addiction have recorded some of the most gorgeously blasphemous sounds ever put to tape. Of course vintage Van Halen freaks me out. Nine Inch Nails (Trent) is a frickin' genius, and I'd love to spend a week (year) digging his brain for production techniques. Sting/The Police were all about texture, where instrumental wanking was traded for subtlety and color. Speaking of wanking - Jeff Beck and that dude from Concrete Blonde (James Mankey) were the guys who turned the whammy bar into a part of an instrument, rather than a means to showcase acrobatics. Early Metallica and Maiden, as far as I'm concerned, took that genre to epic heights - everything since has been rather one-dimensional in comparison. Sarah McLachlan makes me quiver with delight. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade" packs the punch of everything else listed here x12, and would be the one thing I'd put in a time capsule.
Crap, this seems to be useless...
Look at it like this: hand me an album by someone I don't think that I like and I'll almost always find some gems (unless it's country). It's the contrast of styles between the people involved that turns out something brilliant, so categories be damned. Nothing that I ever wrote had any brilliance about it until I got to bounce it off others...who basically end up writing it for me ;-)
Instrument experience:
- Vocalist:
- Moderate
- Rhythm Guitar:
- Moderate
- Lead Guitar:
- Moderate
- Bass Guitar:
- Moderate
- Background Singer:
- Moderate
EQUIPMENT
Guitars:
*A high end Ibanez S-series, as well as a cheaper one with upgraded pickups (which is almost more fun to play).
*A Jap-Strat that plays better than any other Strat I've ever touched.
*A wicked lil' DeArmond Les Paul-ish knockoff that plays beautifully.
*An ancient Gibson acoustic that I'll never, ever part with.
Amps and Toys:
*Mesa Boogie for high end chug-a-lug; 2x12.
*Fender Blues Deville for high end cleans; 4x10.
*JCA 20 watter, cuz sometimes cooking some power tubes is heavenly; 1x12.
*A couple of modeling amps by Carvin and Fender, cuz experimenting with a critical ear can produce some stunning results; 2x12 & 1x12.
*Digitech RP500, cuz this type of technology has finally brought results in the last couple of years, and you can't beat the flexibility.
*Some assorted Boss and Boutique-ish pedals that keep mixing-and-matching interesting.