what is going on in your musical life

thanks to Rocksmith I can fake my way through the following songs on the guitar:

"Boys Don't Cry" - The Cure
"Islands" - The xx
"Go With The Flow" - QOTSA
"Black" - Pearl Jam
"Where Is My Mind?" - Pixies
"Angela" - Jarvis Cocker

I can't play triplets fast enough to really play the RHCP version of "Higher Ground" tho

also I have to learn some spirituals before a week from Tuesday, well really by Sunday because I think I'm supposed to rehearse them that afternoon oops

also singing Stainer's "Crucifixion" a week from Sunday; I don't have the big baritone solo but I do get one of the mini interjections in the bass section (it's not as big a deal as that may sound as the entire bass section is 4 ppl; one is doing the big solo and the three interjections are split up across the rest of us) this does mean though that this season I will have had a little solo interjection thing in every concert with our church choir, which yay

I played two harsh noise sets this week and someone who saw both of them posted that this city is "a patriarchal cesspool" on FB immediately after leaving the show tonight & now I'm irrationally worried that she's talking about me

― C: (crüt), Thursday, March 14, 2013 2:29 AM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i apologize crut but this is making me lol. you need to write a piece called partiarchal cesspool

that was a typo but tbh it works

cesspool party!

I am making a lil album of songs that are about a min long each, I have about 10 so far where the music is done but I have finished singing over one of them, I've come up w/ vocal melodies for about 3

― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Wednesday, 6 March 2013 17:47 (1 week ago) Permalink

someone help me, every song I make is extremely disorienting for other people

I had my first jam with some really nice neighbors I met -- they are both classical musicians (a Juliard-trained composer and a violinist) who have other careers now but the guy is learning banjo. I played through some basic folk tunes with them (with my sub-sub-sub-Doc Watson-style flatpicking) and it was really nice and unaffected and it felt good to just be playing some pretty songs without trying to have an edge or angle of any kind. First time in a couple years I've played with other people.

Also have been doing kids songs for my one-year-old, and played at her birthday party, which was the first time I've performed in at least a couple years.

hope you got free drinks at least

three cake tickets

My performance was very moving, a couple of audience members even cried.

haha

playing in Europe thruout beginning next week thru end of April. Very excited. First time (solo).

fantasy send links
I was just told my voice had a newfound maturity and it was a bittersweet thing to hear

would ilxmail work 4 u? I need to rerecord some vocals today but I'll send em

yes

webmail'd u sorry 4 my voice

played a couple of "finished" lil songs for a friend and got a p bleak reception, I hate being in the room w/ people hearing my shit 4 the first time, turns me into such a demanding-yet-craven little thing (tho I'm probably just more aware of how demanding-yet-craven I actually am)

Sang in a recital of spirituals yesterday. It went well and my wife and I each made $50.

I sang:

I Want Jesus To Walk With Me
Don't You Weep When I Am Gone

My wife sang:

There Is A Balm In Gilead
Were You There

we also sang as part of a quartet:

Soon-A Will Be Done
Crucifixion (He Never Said A Mumblin' Word)
Since You Went Away
Steal Away

We're repurposing a lot of this for an afternoon Good Friday service; later that evening we'll be singing Dvorak's Mass in D major, with the Sanctus and Benedictus being done with us as part of an octet (really a septet; there's only one alto soloist). Bummed we don't get to do the solos in the Agnus Dei.

also I still don't know if I'm singing the opening solo for Easter Vigil or not; I've done it the past... two? three? years so it's no big deal but I keep thinking I should ask

I hate being in the room w/ people hearing my shit 4 the first time

i've learned that this is just not a good idea

i once accompanied hymns for a unitarian congregation. they replaced every instance of the word "god" with "all."

hey so, i have a question about getting asked by promoters to open for touring acts. if it's a popular act that's going to fill the room anyway then great, the promoter is basically doing you a favor. but when the idea is that the local act will provide a crowd for the not-super-well-known touring act, it gets a little weird, right?

the main problem seems to be, why would your friends/fans come and pay a higher cover to see you open for someone that they don't know (or don't like) when they know they can see you a few weeks later for less? i feel like i have a hard time getting people to these shows, and then worry that the promoter is going to blame me for a small crowd/losing money. i guess the only reason to do these gigs at all is to eventually get on some of the bigger shows?

You got it.
If you're worried abt giving your regular fans value for their money, maybe you think the headlining band isn't worth their time? and thus not worth yours?
Typically though it's always good to play direct support for anyone everywhere (and never play 1st of 3 unless you're less than a year old)

Puff puff I owe you an email but basically I just wanted to know your inspirations and intentions, also don't be discouraged

i feel like i have a hard time getting people to these shows, and then worry that the promoter is going to blame me for a small crowd/losing money. i guess the only reason to do these gigs at all is to eventually get on some of the bigger shows?

― shit tie (Jordan), Wednesday, March 27, 2013 5:27 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I doubt anyone is going to put you on the bigger shows if you don't bring a crowd anyway. IME getting a better show without bringing a crowd only came when we were new to a venue and the booker/owner/whoever REALLY liked our set.

Plus I hated subjecting people who liked us to bands I didn't like, although more often than not we didn't have a choice

Puff puff I owe you an email but basically I just wanted to know your inspirations and intentions, also don't be discouraged

― a source of "vegelate" (flamboyant goon tie included), Wednesday, 27 March 2013 21:38 (21 minutes ago) Permalink

thanks for the help, ur 2 kind, there's absolutely no rush

idk I think discouragement is kinda alright, it's just that there a part of me that doesn't really know if, right now, my stuff is lol bad or if my friend (and his gf silently shuffling around the back of the room) just didn't get it or if it really matters either way. I'm just happy making stuff. idk this thread is really cool tho because ppl like you and dan and jordan and every1 else are all in some diff part of their musical lives

hey, i wouldn't let the reaction of other people in the room impact you too much either way.

(warning: totally subjective and neurotic perspective (or total hangup) that is probably shared by <2% of the population coming up)

personally speaking, i HATE being forced to listen to someone else's music in the same room with them. if you're in a band with someone, or they're really familiar with your music, then cool, whatever. but if you're just a friend or, even worse, an acquaintance, then it's a really uncomfortable experience as a listener. because i'm not the kind of person who will come flat out and say "hey, i didn't like that song", or "i don't like your music". it's just too awkward of a thing for me to say in person. the worst i'll say is "yeah it's pretty good!" or something. so that means that having to listen to someone's music in the same room with them, and being expected to give some sort of reaction at the end, basically turns into a high-pressure acting experience. this, combined with the fact that people are understandably really touchy when others are listening to their music (god, a few months ago someone said "stop singing" and i thought they were referring to a song i had posted where i sang, i immediately deleted everything with vocals off of my soundcloud and just got WASTED by myself, so i understand!)...it just makes things way too artificial and awkward and uncomfortable!

I doubt anyone is going to put you on the bigger shows if you don't bring a crowd anyway. IME getting a better show without bringing a crowd only came when we were new to a venue and the booker/owner/whoever REALLY liked our set.

Plus I hated subjecting people who liked us to bands I didn't like, although more often than not we didn't have a choice

yeah this is exactly why i maybe shouldn't have agreed to this gig. :) it wouldn't be a big deal except i have another show a few weeks later that i'm much more invested in, and that's the one i'm really trying to get people to (without looking like i'm totally half-assing the promo on this one, which i am). oh well. hopefully it's not a disaster.

come 2 la u can play my friend's room

yeah this is exactly why i maybe shouldn't have agreed to this gig. :) it wouldn't be a big deal except i have another show a few weeks later that i'm much more invested in, and that's the one i'm really trying to get people to (without looking like i'm totally half-assing the promo on this one, which i am). oh well. hopefully it's not a disaster.

― shit tie (Jordan), Wednesday, March 27, 2013 7:28 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I mean, I'm assuming you don't think much of the touring band, or otherwise you wouldn't be agreeing with me. Whatever you do though, don't apologize to your fans for promoting it to them, cause that's just not what cool guys do man!

"when the idea is that the local act will provide a crowd for the not-super-well-known touring act, it gets a little weird, right?

"...and then worry that the promoter is going to blame me for a small crowd/losing money. i guess the only reason to do these gigs at all is to eventually get on some of the bigger shows?"

That's kind of a weird one I would think trying to get a higher cover with a touring band then expecting the local act to bring the draw.

I was out of a gigging band for years and even with the whole 'internet makes things easy', getting shows is I think a bit weirder now in some aspects. The thing I see now trying to book out of town (which is really nearly all of our gigs) is that many clubs don't even really book the shows and they say "contact some of the bands in (our town)" they setup the lineups.

I haven't really done that, as to me I know I would feel weirded out perhaps by someone I haven't played with emailing and saying "HEY DUDE GIMME A SHOW". Especially considering where I live is pretty freaking backwards and even the gigs I might have to trade, they are not really worth trading for some of the time.

I've got a show now where I got a gig where I am setting up the lineup in their club that night, even though we are like four hours away.

i just recorded a 2 piece black metal band, the shit sounds raaaaawwww

ysi

soon, soon

Whatever you do though, don't apologize to your fans for promoting it to them, cause that's just not what cool guys do man!

nah of course i wouldn't do that.

First gig with new band on Wednesday. Been loving the rehearsals, but I'm getting nervous. What if nobody likes us? Arrrrgh.

come 2 la u can play my friend's room

ok! trying to be in the pacific nw later this year, would love to get to L.A. if possible.

I want to see emil.y's band

Generally speaking I love sitting and listening to works-in-progress, with or without the creators in the room. What I've learned from personal experience, and as is demonstrated in that tnahcraM assiraM thread, is that the opinion one has of one's own work is defined by the unprecedented. Telling people they're good or bad has no effect on their own opinions or actions. It's always gonna be these weird slanted moments that cause people to change their tack. So in general I just try to be honest and empathetic with music friends and know that I can't control what their takeaway will be. I had a friend ditch a song on their record because it was the song that happened to be playing when I stood up to refill my water glass.

I do the listening thing all the time with people in the room given my day job, and really as long as you jump the hurdle of being nice its not so bad. Critique (esp negative critique) is helpful! I always open with the idea that im going to be honest, not kind, and i havent ever had to savage somebody or anything.

also, being able to find (and i know this is like comp class critique 101, but it feels different w/music, more personal etc) something positive to mention is almost always possible. and ive heard some pretty shitty stuff, but even if its a nice transition or an interesting phrasing or just something technically adept, theres usually something there that can mitigate "you need to sing in tune".

Anyone have any tips on the simplest way to get decent sound with an isight or iphone video recording? I've been thinking about doing a youtube covers project, just guitar and vocals.

ha here comes the dreaded question - do you have an iphone 5 or a prior model?

prior. May get a 5 soon though.

(4S)

if youre seriously thinking about making the transition soon, just make sure that you dont buy anything that uses the current dock connector

ill poke around a bit and see what interface info i can dig up.

I agree with ZS above re: listening to other people's stuff/other people listening to yours - personally speaking, i HATE being forced to listen to someone else's music in the same room with them. if you're in a band with someone, or they're really familiar with your music, then cool, whatever.

For me, it's much better to get a copy and listen on my own, and replay it a few times if you're after more analysis than "it's cool that you did that". I have a small group of people who I'd trust to let me bring over a demo or pre-release copy of something, and sit around listening with beers or whatever, but they're fairly carefully cultivated - not necessarily with the exact same taste as me, but people whose reasoning I understand, or who are particularly articulate when it comes to critiquing (and are also good at being tactful so as not to bruise my fragile ego).

all this critique talk is making me want to look for a voice teacher, or at least formalize a regular agreement with the last guy I studied with (who was a colleague at the time and a couple of years younger than me, so it was a little weird, but now he sings elsewhere so it's not as strange; also he lives up the street from me)

the only time i regularly do the 'listening together' thing is when evaluating a master, playing it for friends who might have sharper ears for frequencies etc

Ha, I'm always pulling out my phone and playing mixes off the internal speakers for people during smoke breaks at dinner parties and asking them "do you like it? do you like it?". But generally I think it's good to listen to mixes in a variety of different environments, with different people and at different times of day before settling on things.

so the big thing that was going on that I hinted at upthread was that I was preparing to audition for The Platters but it didn't happen due to a series of personal issues :-(

I could have been on a cruise ship