young werther gig - 11 songs

all i've got going 

bright note

mud

grace 

holding pattern

oh darling

losing my head/

paperweight

small mercies

certain visitors

vehicles

whatdoyouthink?

drat and blast

regarding supporting 'youngerweatherall...' at the grace em on saturday june 14th - i can't make it. i will be out of town for that one.

drat and blast it!

BP Process

Matt and Matthew will go ahead with rehearsal on Wednesday night  to prepare for the Redpoles gig on Sunday ... 

.... next week Damo will be in NSW so it will again be M & M on Wednesday or Thursday making a recording of the songs  with a focus on structure for D to use as a basis for practice (also taking the opportunity to record any instrumentals that require lyrics/melodies) ...

... a proposal for future practices is that we;

a) record as much of what we do as possible 

b) work through most songs at least once each BP (giving Damian the job of MC)

c) choose 2 or 3 "focus songs" to record multiple takes of in a BP session

d) choose at least one song that we are confident with and/or at least one that we need to work on 

d) focus on a different 2 or 3 songs each week

this process will allow us to keep in touch with the setlist & build up confidence and group competence in particular/all tracks

and added bonus is that we will gradually build a set of "best take" recordings that capture the structure and arrangement of the songs

... also I will organise some more gigs (there are some in the works) ...  i think we should even stretch to 3 gigs every 2 months and lose a rehersal ... but lets get the shows/offers first before we bicker on that one ...

... I have made a contact at 3RRR in Melbourne (Cara is the person who distributes the demos at the station and she has taken four copies of our c.d.) ... we NEED to send a bio to her ASAP (I suggest that Matt could make a start on this) ... also it would be useful to post our bio on our webpage (btw can we please change the fonts)

... The Pleasure of Books are in discussions with the Wheatsheaf about doing a gig with us and I have suggested that if Greg is willing to give it a go then we could share a show with PoB at the Grace ....

... the Artisans are reforming and seem to be happy to play a gig with us for old times sake (I spoke to Adam) ...

... Pete form the Sound of Museli on 3D radio has invited us in to do an interview - we should look at our schedules and see if we can organise a late start for work on a thursday or friday ... soon! ...

... Cara (see above) is in a band called Sixteen Millimetre (listen to the song "on the beach" it is a cracker) ... she is happy to help us get gigs in Melbourne ... 

Some tips - support the people who support us ... explore myspace and make contacts ... get people to go to Triple J and review our stuff there ...

... yipee ... keep the faith

blog rant rave

i added a link to the blog on the web site. click the title of this blog to see...

solid vision

i really enjoyed the grace em gig too and want more! the reason i want more, is to give me the opportunity to make the bass section really solid. if we keep the level of focus and commitment that we have had so far, we'll have that in no time.

practice this wednesday?

the instrumental folk one

MLJ do you think you could make available a version of the new instrumental folk one so I can have a go at some words. Can't get it out of my head. It might be interesting to have an instrumental song too and I can hear it as that - slow repetitive build like A.O F maybe but i'll have a go at some words and if they're not better than leaving it as is then we can have an instrumental on our hands - or you can have a go at some words.

7 cds i want:
Tunng - Broken arrows
death cab for cutie - narrow stairs
the thrills - teenager
robert forster - the evangelist
the whigs - give 'em all a bit fat lip
best of blondie
best of creedence clearwater

i'm in

Hi guys. I'm in. my only issue has been forgetting my log-in and password.
I thought last night was a more than serviceable return. ramshackle but the songs hold up. Couldnt have expected much more after several months of not playing out and not much rehearsal. Personally I dont think I had a good singing night - but that's ok. All in all I think it held up well. The bass adds a good depth - that was noticeable. We have such a great back catalogue to call on these dayws - that we can bring spineless and hard, for example, back into the fray feels good - I thought we did a good version of hard. I also want to have a go at some words for the new one just to keep a new song or three in the mix within the next few shows. I'm looking forward to a lazy wintry afternoon at Mclaren Vale. Its great that greg still likes having us there. Personally I am probably up for say a gig a month at the mo with weekly get togethers in between. some time this year i'd like to do some recording that doesnt drag on for months. do an 'ep' of 4-6 songs fairly live. if we did it would be some time and a fair bit of practice before our performances were up to scratch. well done all. the suit/well dressed llok seems appropriate.

here are a list of songs to consider

Oh Darling

Dark

Hard

Spineless

Grace

Certain Visitors

Vehicles

Losing my head/ paperweight

Time Heals

Holding Pattern

time heals

i worked until 7 tonight but still managed to come home and record the bass line for time heals. i'm going for a double bass kind of effect and whilst its a bit repetative and buzzy, i'm happy with it. the volume goes up and down a bit too with the mastering effect i used.

listen at http://www.sleepless.com.au/stream/stream.aspx

A for effort

Thanks Damo for your work in getting the files up (I haven't listened yet)

I appreciate your engagement with notions of improvement and confidence ... I think your point about calling "random" songs is valid ... I would like you to lead proceedings at the next prac, which will give you the opportunity to be in a better headspace ... it may be good for you to work out an order before 

** Remember "we are the band we are" & "this is meant to be fun"

make it so

mlj

1st bass bp for the year

i for 1 really enjoyed my 1st bp for the year. it was very constructive for me to hear the bass and how it effects the performance of mlj and md. the zoom worked excellently.

my commitment is to practice, (which I have been doing) and maintain and update my song book with really good notes, so i can play the songs strongly. it's apparent to me from listening to practice that the bass performance needs to be as strong as the guitars and vocals to be effective. lets be really clear at the end of next bp which songs i'll play in at the up and coming gig.

one thing i would ask mlj, is at practice please tell me which song we are playing - it takes me time to locate the song in my song book and i am on the back foot from the start. just starting to play a random song is not going to help me deliver a strong performance. a set list will solve that for gigs.

i'll work on getting a copy of every song on the set list on the link above, (click the title of this blog). i need to press record on the zoom more.