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As 2008 is starting to fly by, I’m realizing that I might be getting very busy musically, and very soon. A lot of things are coming to fruition all around the same time, which means I should have a lot going on to tell you about, and hopefully a bunch of gigs with different bands/people. If things work out, I’ll be playing out almost every weekend.The question is - is this a good thing? Well it’s going to be good for the pocket, that’s for sure. We’re really hitting hard times financially at home, and with my NYC commute, I can’t really get a second job. So music is going to hopefully become my second job which is going to be nice because it’s something I love doing. How much time this is going to take on a weekly basis is what I’m worried about. Rehearsals, gigs, and what not… they all add up after a while. I’m going to have to be really picky and careful with my scheduling so as to not spread myself too thin.
I’m hoping and praying all these projects and potential projects don’t eat into too much of my personal time and I can work them around my wife’s schedule. It’s going to be rough but I think it’ll work out, especially now that I can use my garage as rehearsal space.
So what are all these projects you ask?
1. Hearsay: This is the cover band I started about a year ago now. We have yet to play out, mostly because of constant line up changes, but I think the band is now complete and we’re on the verge of being able to book gigs once again. Even on our off nights we sound pretty passable so I’m not too worried. We’re getting the press kit together, rehearsing on Thursday nights, and ready for regular gigs. Hopefully people will enjoy it as much as we enjoy playing the songs. It really is a lot of fun. Rehearsal is always relaxed and lots of laughs.
Dave, (Hot) Carl, John, Rick and I make a good team and we’re ready to get out there and have fun.
2. MNT: MNT Stands for Monday Night Therapy. It’s the working title of a little acoustic duo consisting of my friend Gabrielle (from the cover band Frequency) and myself. I’m not sure if the title will stick but I like it. Anyhow, a few months back, she suggested that we knock around some tunes acoustically and see if we can get a set together to play out and make a few extra bucks while having some fun in the meantime. Of course, I was happy to oblige.
It’s been working out pretty well and we rehearse just about every Monday night either at her place or mine. We have lots of laughs too, actually. I look forward to Monday nights. I’m not sure when gigs will come, but it looks like they will as long as she’s happy with the whole arrangement.
3. More Acoustic Duo work: The guitarist from Hearsay, Rick Barth, has years of experience playing in acoustic duos as well as playing by himself. I thought it a crime to waste this chance to play in a duo situation with him so we talked about making a set list. We took a lot of the songs from the Hearsay list, added some new ones, and we’re actually pretty ready to play. In fact, Rick already booked us a gig for June. We’ll get together when we can to practice and there’s another project on the plate. I enjoy playing with him, mostly because of his laid back attitude and openness to just about anything. I’m going to look for other places we can play soon…and that should help with booking MNT gigs when the time comes.
4. Potential drumming gig(s): Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve played drums since I was around 13 or so. The last band I was in where I was the drummer broke up in the early 90’s so it’s been a while but it’s like riding a bike, of course. I still have my old kit and Hearsay is using it for rehearsal. Dave the drummer just cleaned it up a little and put new heads on so it’s in OK shape.
So as it turns out, I know a guy who plays bass in two cover bands. Once is called Johnny Retro (80’s rock) and the other is called Look Sharp (Joe Jackson covers). I happen to be a big Joe Jackson fan and I’m also familiar with a lot of the 80’s rock and one-hit-wonders. The fellow I know, Mauro, also owns a salon and cuts hair. We got to talking the last time I was in there and he reached out to me recently, alerting me to the fact that his drummer of many years is moving away. This drummer plays in both the bands mentioned above.
I told him I could probably play a lot of those songs. I went to check them out and they sounded decent so I’m just waiting for word from them as to when they want me to come down and audition. I’m not sure if I’ll be playing in one or both of these, if at all. They could, of course, find someone else. If this pans out, though, it’s one more fun project that helps pay the bills. I DO miss drumming… but I don’t miss lugging that gear around. He tells me they only get together every couple of weeks so time-wise, it shouldn’t be too bad. Maybe 1-2 gigs a month, if that.
5. Recording: In the midst of all this musical stuff going on, I actually HAVE been writing original material on the side both on my own and with some friends from time to time. I have a song almost done with Brian Fitzpatrick called “The Stories That They’ll Tell”. Hopefully we’ll get together soon to put the vocals down on that one.
I also have a song that Chris Preston and I have been working on called “Dog Tired” which is a lot of fun. Chris and I were in The Automatics together - the last original band I was in all those years ago. We’ve also begun the preliminary work on a track called “Don’t Throw None of That Funky S*** At Me.” Long story, but you’ll like it.
I’ve also got a bunch of tunes sitting around waiting to be recorded. When all is said and done, I might even have an album’s worth, which is my goal. I really want to make a record this year. What’s stopping me is money at this point. I need gear and it’s not cheap. I need to get this midi interface called a Presonus Firebox ($3-400ish) which will enable me to record music into the computer. Well, that and some other gear plus accessories. Chris is going to come over one day and help me set up the PC for optimal recording. Once all this is done, I can start recording at home. I can either use midi or run wires to the garage studio and record live drums, etc. Once the home is set up, things should start to move.
***
So between all the rehearsals on various nights, the traveling to friends’ homes to write/record, and the upcoming gig schedule, I’m going to be quite the busy musical bee, which is fine with me - I just have to make sure it’s fine with my family and it’s not pulling me in 30 different directions every day. I don’t want to burn the candle at both ends, so to speak.
All things considered, I do feel that this moment in time is a “calm before the storm” for me. I really do feel like I’m on the verge of fun times ahead; on the edge of being whipped back up into the whirlwind that is the NJ music scene. This time, however, I’m a little older, wiser, and as ready as I’ve ever been.
THIS should be interesting… stay tuned.
Many years ago, around that crazy time of The Phantom Menace, a guy named Ernie Cline got in touch with me and shared a script he had written about four guys who break into Skywalker Ranch to give their friend, dying of Cancer, a chance to see Episode I before he kicks the bucket. He sent the script over and I actually liked it a lot. It was a good, funny, buddy flick with lots of charm. I still have it somewhere, probably dated 199x.Ernie was serious about it but after a few years went by I figured we had seen the end of it until a few years ago when he announced it would actually be made - and by the Weinstein company! This was BIG time and I was really excited and happy for him. One of us little guys made it and who knew what that could lead to. I expressed my congrats and willingness to help promote, etc.
Since then, the film apparently has gone on some kind of roller coaster ride that I have to admit I have not been following until today when I saw an article in the news. I knew there was trouble and there were push backs on the release but, man, I didn’t know the extent of it all. What a mess!
Here are a few excerpts from Reuters titled “Star Wars” Fans Wield Force Against Weinstein By Gregg Goldstein and Borys Kit:
Faced with a grassroots boycott of its films, bicoastal protests at screenings of its Friday opener “Superhero Movie” and a campaign calling its co-chairman “Darth Weinstein,” indie studio Weinstein Co. said Monday that it now plans to release two versions of its “Star Wars”-inspired comedy “Fanboys.”Weinstein said it will release the two versions on DVD, and a studio source later said that is exploring two theatrical versions.
“Fanboys,” about four diehard “Star Wars” fans who break into George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch in order to see “The Phantom Menace” on the eve of its release, wrapped production two years ago and has been stuck in limbo as a tug-of-war between Harvey Weinstein and the filmmakers waged over competing versions of the movie.
The Weinstein Co. picked up the project in late 2005, and following production slated “Fanboys” for release August 17, 2007. That got pushed back to a January 18 release. Then it went off the grid altogether.
Insiders said the root of the problem was Weinstein’s issue with the underlying story in “Fanboys.” The cross-country adventure is put in motion because one of the characters is facing cancer. Late last year, the company decided it would do reshoots, hiring Judd Apatow’s producing partner Shauna Robertson to oversee a $2 million reshoot of four scenes done by director Steve Brill (”Drillbit Taylor”). That, combined with re-editing, created a version that excised the cancer subplot.
The Weinstein Co. this year began testing both versions. Unprompted by the filmmakers, “Star Wars” fans began uniting to oppose the noncancer version, led by the 501st, a “Star Wars” fan group named after a fictional battalion. The group created the Web site http://committed.to/stopdarthweinstein that provided updates on developments while also lampooning Harvey Weinstein by Photoshopping him in Darth Vader drag.
The new announcement still leaves the movie up in the air. It still has no release date, only a promise that both versions will be available on DVD. Late Monday, a Weinstein source said, “We’re making a very strong attempt to make both films available theatrically as well.”
The 501st was unimpressed with the Weinstein Co.’s move.
“This is clearly a vain attempt by the Weinstein Co. to avert ‘Star Wars’ fans’ impending boycott of all of their films,” the group said. “It’s not going to work, Darth Weinstein. There was never any doubt that you would release both versions of the movie on DVD, probably months apart, so as to leech as much money from ‘Star Wars’ fans as possible. Our boycott will continue until the Weinstein Co. announces that they are returning control of ‘Fanboys’ to the ‘Star Wars’ fans who made it, releasing the original version in theaters and doing away with their anti-fan version of the film altogether.”
“While the later version tested very well with audiences, the grassroots support we have received for the first version simply cannot be ignored,” a Weinstein spokesman said.
Harvey Weinstein has a history of tangling with filmmakers over their films’ edits, earning him the moniker “Harvey Scissorhands” in some circles, but he seems to have met his match with a legion of “Star Wars” fans.
I’m still happy that the film has gotten to where it is but I have to admit that I feel a little sorry for Ernie and the crew to have to deal with studio interference, and then of course the legions of real fanboys out there who, as we all know too well, are a temperamental and diverse bunch; hard to please, eager to criticize.
I will always come down on the side of the filmmakers. They have the vision. They created the story and the characters. It’s their baby. Studios need to learn how to trust filmmakers and leave the creative end of things to them. If the studios can’t figure out a way to market the thing, that should not be the opportunity to take a few million and reshoot the whole film… just to be able to market it. Film is a creative medium so let’s let it be creative. I have a sinking feeling George Lucas would agree.
So to keep this short, I’m just going to wish Ernie and his crew the best of luck no matter how this all turns out. At the end of the day, your dream was realized and that’s a great achievement. It’s probably worth every speck of trouble and will hopefully pay off in the long run. It’s a fun film with a good cast that I’m sure has gone through many changes since I read that initial draft in the late 1990’s, but I’m sure it’ll do well in the end. Star Wars fans will see to that.
Fleetwood Mac is one of my all time favorite bands, no doubt. They’ve always had line up changes, as everyone knows. They started off as a blues band and to this day only two founding members actually remain: Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, which is where the band’s name comes from.
The line up that made them most famous, however, and my favorite line up is the one that started in 1975 with the album called Fleetwood Mac, or commonly known as their “white” album. This line up included newcomers Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, along with Christine McVie who had joined a few albums prior.
That line up will always be special to me and a lot of Mac fans. It produced a long list of hit singles here in the USA; not that I judge a record by the number of hit singles. I simply feel that this 5 person line up had something special that made the band unique and gave them their own, special sound. This is when the band really came into its own.
Since then, they’ve gone through a few more changes, most noticeably when Lindsey left and was replaced with two other men. That didn’t stick and the band seemed to be finished until Bill Clinton came calling and Don’t Stop was used as his campaign song. That also didn’t lead to a full reunion and and when Stevie left, Mick brought in Bekka Bramlett and Dave Mason for one album. Everything pretty much fell apart around then but in 1997 the golden line up got back together and went on to do a live reunion tour called The Dance which was highly successful, again to the testament of that magic 5 person line up of Mick, John, Stevie, Christine, and Lindsey.
The next album called Say You Will didn’t feature Christine, however, who decided she didn’t want to tour or be involved anymore. They forged on with the four-piece instead of replacing her, using session musicians while on tour. The album wasn’t bad at all, actually, but Christine’s presence was slightly missed. I really enjoyed, however, the concert CD/DVD called Live in Boston. It’s an amazing show and while I missed tunes like Say You Love Me and You Make Loving Fun, the rest of the show is so good it doesn’t even matter.
It looked like Mac were just keeping the door open for Christine to come back whenever she wanted which was cool. Then today I read that Sheryl Crow will be joining the band.
So I’m having a musical dilemma now.
I’m a big fan of Sheryl Crow, as most people know, although I have to admit that her latest recording, Detours, really isn’t thrilling me at all. They can’t all be winners. I know she’s worked with Stevie Nicks before and produced her last solo record, which is nice. But do we really need to replace Christine with Sheryl Crow?
Sheryl is a big star in her own right. I don’t understand this move at all. While I’m certain that no matter who I was or what I was doing, if someone asked me to join Fleetwood Mac, I’d do it in a heartbeat if it meant working with Lindsey Buckingham in some way. I guess from that perspective, I sort of understand. But it’ll sort of seem like a big night of duets, won’t it? Everyone’ll be wondering what Crow’s doing and then the I’m sure the band is going to end up doing a couple of Sheryl’s tunes. It’s just gonna be weird to watch.
I’m just not sure this move is necessary. That last record felt good and sounded good. The tour seemed to go well and the performances were fantastic according to the DVD. Everyone looked like they were having a great time and things were well. McVie could basically walk back in at any time. I guess she finally just said she wouldn’t come back again and the band felt they “needed” to replace her.
Now I know Sheryl is mega-talented and I love most of her work. I know she can bring a lot to just about any project. But what does Fleetwood Mac really need? I don’t picture them as a struggling band trying to stay alive. They’ve proven themselves time and again and the most recent tour seemed to put them back on top of things so… why add a new person, and a big star besides?
Something just doesn’t seem quite right.
Now I’m a big fan of the notion of doing a dual tour. Seeing Sheryl Crow and Fleetwood Mac on the same night would be an absolute dream. For some reason, however, I can’t get used to the idea of seeing Mac with Sheryl Crow standing there the whole time, perhaps on keyboards most of the night? I don’t know what her role will be yet but I think she might just be too big for them. Do they need another good songwriter in the band? Do they need another big personality in there?
Or is it just that Stevie and Sheryl have become such good friends that Stevie just feels like she needs another girl to hang out with while on tour?
I don’t know but while everything inside me thinks that I should be doing cartwheels of joy seeing two of my faves getting together, something is really bothering me about this — and I can’t figure out what, exactly. I just don’t like it.
The end result, however, will really be the thing. If the music is really happening and the songs blow me away, that’s all that will matter, I guess.
I just can’t see Sheryl Crow sticking around as part of the band for long. I’m thinking one album, one tour, and that’s that. This whole thing is just puzzling me. I’m excited and weirded out all at the same time.
Here’s hoping…
Ok, so back in August of 2007 I wrote what I thought would be the final installment of this “Making The Band” series but so much has happened since then that I feel compelled to continue the saga of what was supposed to be a simple assembly of a little cover band.
Finding a capable lead guitarist has always seemed to be our problem from day one. If you read the previous blogs you’ll see that so I won’t get into that again. Let’s just go back to last August and move on.
So we found this guy Charlie who really fit in well. Granted, he was a little younger than us and hadn’t even heard some of the songs we were playing until he joined up, but he could play and play well. There was just one problem. He joined a cover band. Why is that a problem, you ask? Well, after a few months with us he decided he didn’t want to be in a cover band and left to do original material.
Don’t try to figure it out, it’ll just make your brain hurt. We like Charlie a lot and wish him the best. We’ll see him at some of the gigs I’m sure. He really is a stellar guy.
So how did this affect us? Well, once again we lost a lead guitarist and a good chunk of morale with him. We knew that we’d have to “reboot” again with a new person and that would set us back from 40 songs we had down to about 10. Once again, we had to start from scratch, place ads on the net and go through that awful auditioning stage.
So Charlie left at the end of October 2007 and strangely enough, in the same week, an old friend of mine that I used to play in a band with called me out of the blue. We hadn’t talked for a few years but we’re good friends so that stuff doesn’t matter. He just happens to be a guitarist. You can guess what happened next.
My old friend Elio joined the group as a guitarist. He and I go way back to one of the first bands I was in back in the metal days of the late 80’s and early 90’s, right before grunge took over. In an original setting, he was great, but I had no idea if he could play covers well. It was a chance we took, but after a while it became clear that a cover band was not for him.
He has a family of three kids and can’t put in the time to learn all the stuff, which is totally understandable and I even suggested that he not do this anymore. I actually suggested we do some original recording on the side instead so there’s no pressure to learn things so quickly. He agreed and removed himself without issue and we’re of course still friends so no harm, no foul. The only thing that sort of stunk is we had to reboot yet again and lost a few more months.
That brought us up to the end of January 2008.
The ads went back up and this time it was a little scary because only two or three replies came in. We acted quickly on them, however and scored an audition with a guy named Rick in mid-February.
Rick seemed like a good match right from the start because he had already played in a bunch of cover bands and was recently part of an acoustic duo that played a ton of cover songs as well. He played a wide range and expressed that he thought our set list was a really good mix of songs, many of which he already knew.
So needless to say I was pretty stoked. Like most auditions, however, we had to take it easy and just make sure the guy could actually play and do what he said he could do in all the emails that went around.
So in mid-February, Rick met us at the rehearsal studio, came in fully prepared, rocked every song we threw at him, and even jammed on tunes we hadn’t played before. He got right on the mic when he felt like singing. He did everything he said he could do. The moment he went home, we were all in agreement that he was the man for the job.
It’s hard to believe that one year (almost to the day) before we auditioned Rick was our first rehearsal. What a long year! There has to be some sort of karmic symbolism in there somewhere…something about rebirth or whatever.
Anyhow, Rick lives a good distance away and certain nights are not good for him to rehearse on, so we made a few changes and concessions to adjust for that. We moved rehearsal night from Wednesday to Thursday and changed the time from 8-10 to 9-11. We’re also just about ready to start rehearsing at my place instead of paying for a studio which is nice.
So, Thursday the 13th of March starts the new phase of Hearsay with a complete and capable line up consisting of some fun, laid back guys playing rock tunes that you might like in bars and clubs around Northern NJ. Hopefully, with any luck, we’ll be up to speed, ready with 40 or 50 songs, gigging by May or so, and rocking into the summer.
I have a really good feeling about this particular line up.
Can I get an AMEN?
Previous installments:
If THIS is true, I’m the healthiest bastard on the planet and I’m gonna live FOREVER!!!!
If you’re looking to get me something for Christmas - look no further than here:
http://15minutelunch.blogspot.com/2007/10/
Just when you thought the political correctness craze that started in this country some time in the 1990’s was over, here comes another ridiculous example of people being stupid, while in the process trying to indirectly destroy yet another Christmas tradition.
Santas warned ‘ho ho ho’ offensive to women
Wed Nov 14, 9:45 PM ETSantas in Australia’s largest city have been told not to use Father Christmas’s traditional “ho ho ho” greeting because it may be offensive to women, it was reported Thursday.
Sydney’s Santa Clauses have instead been instructed to say “ha ha ha” instead, the Daily Telegraph reported.
One disgruntled Santa told the newspaper a recruitment firm warned him not to use “ho ho ho” because it could frighten children and was too close to “ho”, a US slang term for prostitute.
“Gimme a break,” said Julie Gale, who runs the campaign against sexualising children called Kids Free 2B Kids.
“We are talking about little kids who do not understand that “ho, ho, ho” has any other connotation and nor should they,” she told the Telegraph.
“Leave Santa alone.”
A local spokesman for the US-based Westaff recruitment firm said it was “misleading” to say the company had banned Santa’s traditional greeting and it was being left up to the discretion of the individual Santa himself.
God, I hate political correctness. I don’t like racism at all but this constant big-brother-like monitoring of every little thing we say in fear of possibly offending someone is out of control. This particular instance reeks to me of an over-zealous feminist movement but whatever the case, it’s just stupid.
Guess what people: some words have two meanings. HO in reference to laughing was around long before Don Imus got sacked for saying it on the air. Ho is also the name of the recently deceased Hawaiian singer, Don Ho, not to mention the last name of a zillion Asian people. Should I not mention their names around the office? When I work in the garden, I sometimes use a hoe. Perhaps we should change the name of that particular garden tool to “dirt-pusher” or something so as not to offend the sluts of the world… which brings me to another point…
WHY should women be offended by the word HO. Shouldn’t only a small subsection of them be offended? Namely, the whores of the world. I mean, can’t we just wait until all the “ladies of the evening” rise up in horror at this blatant attack on their moral character? Please.
In this country we’ve reached the point where we can’t go up to someone and say “Merry Christmas” anymore for fear that they might be offended, and to me that’s just sad. In the old days, the receiving party might just simply say, “Oh, I don’t do Christmas but thanks!” and walk away a little happier because someone thought enough to wish them a Merry ANYTHING AT ALL. Now, if you get your Holiday greeting wrong, you’re liable to get a knife stuck in you. Or worse yet, sued.
Offending people is not against the law. Get some thicker skin. If you are a woman and you’re offended by a fat man in a red suit laughing - you’ve got bigger problems than you think.
Merry Fucking Christmas.
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