West Side Dave + Musician in Fulton, NY

ABOUT

I released a couple of demo tracks a while back; one in 2012, the other in 2013. This was accomplished using musicians both local and international. The tracks garnered quite a positive response, as well as airplay from various radio stations around the world. Lately I've had a lot of people ask me when West Side Dave's gonna come out with new material. 2013 was a tough year for me personally. My Mom became ill early that May, suffered a stroke and died that June. My Aunt Mary lived with her and I spent that Summer not only trying to help her cope with the death of one Sister, but also with the passing of her other Sister Ann, who died that August. In the midst of dealing with all the attendant paperwork that follows the death of a family member, I was planning funeral arrangements and also helping my Aunt Mary sift through the various red tape and forms so that she could get cataracts surgery on both eyes. [I also accompanied her on many of her appointments, and spent hours on the phone trying to find nurses for hire to go with her when I was unable to do so]. I was doing all this myself, and it was a real strain juggling all of this and still having to go to work. We managed to get her eyes taken care of but sadly she passed away 2 weeks later, not long after her 88th Birthday. So in addition to more loss, more paperwork, and having to clear out her apartment ASAP, I had to make all the funeral arrangements myself, as well as do some "fence mending" within the family. Throw in the financial strain and basically everything happening WAY too fast, and you've got the very definition of "sensory overload"!

From May 2013 to funeral on March 22nd 2014, it was one helluva emotional roller coaster ride. After that, all I wanted was to put everything in neutral and just decompress, which I did for the better part of a year. So any musical projects were put on hold while I let my brain unscramble itself. One result of all this was that I stopped doing album reviews, which I had been doing since December 1998. My last review were posted February 2013. I really miss doing them; got to know/review/interview so many bands, helped some bands get signed, made a lot of contacts in the music industry, got a press pass for Sweden Rock 2005, and because of this even handled US promotions for Portugal-based Sound Riot Records for 2 and a half years. [must have mailed out HUNDREDS of Sound Riot CDs' during that time!].14 years is a long time, and I had a blast but after everything that happened in '13 I just don't have the enthusiasm for that sort of thing. Oddly enough, through all that time I never stopped playing, coming up w/ riffs or jotting down ideas. Even if it was just a few minutes on an acoustic just to keep my fingers happening. That may have actually helped keep me semi-sane when all Hell broke loose. Now I'm definitely interested in moving things forward musically. And while I certainly enjoyed the previous long-distance collaborations [which I hope to do more of], I'd like to put together something local, as well. Easier said than done, especially in this area where the local scene ain't quite what it was 25-years ago. My "ideal" band sound would be based on/around the Uli Jon Roth-era Scorpions, the Dio-era and esp. the Tony Martin-era Sabbath, and Magnum, as well as early Judas Priest ["Rocka Rolla"-"Sin After Sin" era] though with a more current spin. A tall order, I admit. Granted, playing originals in the aforementioned style[s], w/ some covers thrown in initially, currently isn't the most popular move. Many bands have done the same, crafting originals in the style of the cover tracks they also perform. But they soon realize the audience likes the covers more than their originals. The trick is to figure out WHY those covers go over so well, what makes them so appealing 10, 20, 30, 40 years on. Pick apart these well-loved songs and and find out WHY they get the reaction they get. No mean fit, but it HAS been done before, and could certainly be done again. So try the online classifieds, right? Uh, no. Tried that 10-12 years ago, unleashed a veritable plague of locusts.

The few "serious" responses I got were interesting to say the least. I even met a few respondents in person, sorry to say. The majority were semi-competent hobbyists who were just lonely and looking for someone to talk to. Then there were the mid-life crisis types, who seemed content to just talk about forming a band more than anything else. And then we have the pie-in-the-sky dreamers. These guys are clueless not only about bands, but about people in general. They've bought into the whole "bands are brothers to the bone" BS, and that a real band eats, sleeps, showers together, uses each others toothbrush, etc. One guy even suggested once we get a band together, we should all rent a house. That way we can all live together and write songs together all the live long day. Yeah, okay. One vocalist actually sounded promising; claimed to be influenced by the previously mentioned artists but over the phone downplayed them, claiming he was more into the "Modern" sound. *sigh* While perusing the various and sundry musicians classifieds, I've come across something interesting. Ads from someone we'll call The Pro. They're almost always Drummers. Why do I call them "The Pro"? Why, because their ad says so, silly! With variations, the ads usually read something like this: “Professional Drummer, pro attitude, pro gear [which they then list], many years of pro touring and pro recording experience seeks professional touring and recording act. No start up projects! Must have professional management, songs ready to be recorded, gigs scheduled.” Translation: "I want to walk into a situation that's already been set up and where someone else has done all the work. I want everything handed to me on a silver platter, with minimal effort on my part. But you'll be so darned giddy to be graced with my royal presence, you'll kiss my gold-plated ping rides to have me in your band, because I'm a Pro!" To my knowledge, these ads never get answered and usually stay posted for years. Guess things are tough all over, even for Pros.

So I gave up after that. It would be several years before I would finally get some material out there, via the Internet. It's been suggested that I should get some recording software, a drum machine and just do everything myself. But that sort of things just leaves me cold. Besides, I prefer to work with others, as this tends to yield better results. And most of those One-Man-Bands tend to sound like One-Hand-Bands, if you get my meaning!

For more info, please go to this link: s://./westsidedave

Screen name:

West Side Dave

Member since:

Oct 24 2010

Active over 1 month ago

Level of commitment:

Committed

Years playing music:

30

Influences

Everything I`ve heard!

Instrument experience:

Rhythm Guitar:

Advanced

Lead Guitar:

Advanced

EQUIPMENT

Used for the demo recordings: Marshall 100 Watt `68 Plexi Clone, Jackson RRLTD, Jackson RR5, Jackson DK2-M.

Currently using: Jackson RRLTD, modified Fender Stratocaster, Jackson DK2-M, Randall RG1503-212 (w/ effects loop). Two refurbished Scholz Rockman Instrument Equalizers in a parallel loop:

1st Instrument EQ (FX Loop):

FX Loop "Send" to Morely Volume pedal-Electro Harmonix Pitchfork-Keeley 30ms Double Tracker-Keeley Multi Echo-Electro Harmonix Oceans 11 Reverb pedal- Instrument EQ "Input"-Instrument EQ "Output" to FX Loop "Return".

2nd Instrument EQ (Front of amp):

Guitar to MXR Dynacomp-Electro Harmonix Octavix-MXR Smart Gate-Electro Harmonix Cockfight Wah/Talk pedal-"Input" of 2nd Instrument EQ (tailors the Wah)-"Output" of Instrument EQ to "Input" of JHS Kill Switch-Front of amp.

MUSIC