I decided last night that although at this point it doesn’t seem very exciting to me, I really need to put a live act together in the service of my new album. I just need to take the leap. More than likely, I’ll totally get into it and really enjoy the process of playing out again, but right now I’m seeing the live performance aspect as more of a vehicle to spread awareness about the Reality Jockey album. The songs are awesome and I want to get the most mileage out of them as possible, and the biggest way to do that is to play live shows. The bonus about playing out is that I could probably find a label to help me release and promote the project properly- rather than my trying to come up with all the money on my own, which is proving to take longer than I initially thought.
Tomorrow I am talking to a great drummer named Pete, and will go from there. There are a few hurdles I need to overcome, and I’m not sure how I’m going to surmount them. I’ve managed to do it in the past so I know I can do it again. The big one is that I don’t personally have a place to practice, and don’t have a spare $250/mo to rent a rehearsal room. There are ways around this… I may not need a dedicated room and could manage renting a room by the hour. My initial thought is to have a drummer, a keyboard player, a guitarist, and bassist. I would like to *not* play guitar for once, and focus on just singing. That sounds like a fun challenge to me, and I could pour my efforts into my vocals rather than worrying about playing an instrument the whole time as well.
Usually when I go about putting a band together, it’s just a matter of picking whoever is available that wants to do it. This time I’m taking a little more care, and reaching out to professional players that I admire (who are also available and want to do it!). It’s touchy because- while I’m happy to split gig money equally- I’m not in a position to pay the players for their practice time. This means that they’re going to have to really dig the project if they’re going to invest their time in it. I’m also thinking about presenting the recorded songs to the players and inviting them to participate in bringing the songs to life in new ways, taking into account each player’s particular style.
I have a great guitarist in mind too, and will maybe email him tomorrow after I talk to the prospective drummer. He is a teacher and composer, as well as a very versatile guitar player. I jammed with him a bunch of times back in junior high, as a matter of fact.
Since I’m focusing on advanced players, there will be less practice time needed. To build a local following, it sounds like we should be playing a show in the city/burbs about once a month. I’m thinking to a player who finds the music interesting and the participation rewarding, this isn’t that huge of a commitment.
That’s it for now. I’m excited to get this ball rolling a see where it goes. Will update you again soon!
