considering going solo

[senorblues]

I've just moved to Maine and to make a long story short (for now), I'm considering going solo, or hopefully duo with a tenor sax. It's a challenge learning keys, LH bass, remembering melody and lyrics, etc. Anyway, turned on the H4N one day last week and this is what came out. Have at it.

EDIT: if the link doesn't work, search "seniorblues" or "Solo S70-XS samples"

[daddymack]

okay, the soundcloud link took me to something called 'Devour' the first time, and then a song called 'Lost You'...so I think there is something wrong here...

 

But there is so much more to going solo than just the performance challenges. material selection, pacing, sound system, setup/teardown times,

I thought, having been a duo before, I was prepared for solo work, but I was shocked...it isn't twice the work, it is ALL the work...welcome to the dark side of the farce...

[senorblues]

not sure why the link doesn't work. Just added this to the initial post:

EDIT: if the link doesn't work, search "seniorblues" or "Solo S70-XS samples"

 

[senorblues]

Some background. . . I did a duo in college many years ago. It was quite successful. No different, really, compared to the five piece I had just come from. Same venues, a bit more set up, but more money.

 

I had lunch last week with a sax player who seems quite enthusiastic. We went over song lists, but haven't heard each other play yet. He has some ideas for venues, which may be more along the lines of jazz instrumental background music, compared to the laid back but somewhat more uptempo grooves I was considering. Either way, it will be almost all pre-1975 hits for the retired set. . . . just like me.

[ptkbass]

Found it. https://soundcloud.com/search?q=Solo%20S70-XS%20samples

Sax won't bring enough to the table unless he/she sings also. I'd be thinking solo or if duo, add a guitar player.

[senorblues]

Found it. https://soundcloud.com/search?q=Solo%20S70-XS%20samples

Sax won't bring enough to the table unless he/she sings also. I'd be thinking solo or if duo, add a guitar player.

 

A guitar player would be a real long shot, given my propensity for altered chords. I would consider someone with jazz roots, if they'd put up with me.

 

I'm not a strong piano soloist, nor a particularly gifted singer. What I'm looking for is another "voice", but from my experience, if you bring in a solo lead vocalist, it's instantly their band repertoire. I'd rather have someone who can take solos, play counter lines, sing harmony, and most importantly, be on the same page musically. With a pre-1975 repertoire, that's hard to find, especially up here.

 

Did I mention there may be a market for playing instrumental gigs at high-end restaurants?

[Shaster]

I do solo, duo and bands. I do a tracks based duo with a sax and I find he really adds visually and with the "cool factor". We tend to play places that usually have two guitar duos, but they are very happy to see a one guitar plus sax duo. He also sings great BG's and actually does play guitar, but we don't even bother with the guitar thing.

 

I have found that if your sax player is good, and looks the part, people really respond. YMMV.

 

daddymack speaks the truth about a solo act when he says "it isn't twice the work, it is ALL the work...".

 

Good luck with your ventures.

 

 

[senorblues]

Back in the day, it was commonplace for a band to have a sax/front man. He's played a lot of styles and a lot of formats, but this will be something new for both of us. Curious about your repertoire, specifically how instrumentals fit into the mix, if at all.

[ptkbass]

 

I would consider someone with jazz roots,

 

Exactly. If you do find a killer sax player (who can't sing...) we both know that you'll end up putting together the proper rhythm section that'll do the horn justice. Then it won't be a duo anymore.

 

[Shaster]

Back in the day' date=' it was commonplace for a band to have a sax/front man. He's played a lot of styles and a lot of formats, but this will be something new for both of us. Curious about your repertoire, specifically how instrumentals fit into the mix, if at all.[/quote']

 

Although I often play Jazz, Blues, and Smooth Jazz as a single, the sax/guitar duo is usually booked in dance oriented lounges, or once in a while a pub. I still try to stick to songs that feature horns, so tunes like Soul Man, Signed Sealed Delivered, Unchain My Heart, I Feel Good, Superstition, Jump Jive & Wail and so on. We also do a fair bit of Reggae and we also do some classic tunes where he can solo - instead of the guitar. So we might play Oye Como Va, but I'll just play the first little bit and then let him wail. I'm pretty sick of that tune, but we always get requests for it, so I'm happy to give up the Carlos part and make it more like the orignal Tito Puente feel.

 

We recently started doing Caribbean Queen and I want to revisit Who Can It Be Now, What Does It Take and if I can find my old sequence, But It's Alright by JJ Jackson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_QZIWuclSo I prefer the old stuff - even when I was young I did.

 

For "dance" instrumentals we sometimes play Chicken Shack, Night Train and even Tequila.

 

Besides the home grown Rock groups, my town has traditionally leaned towards Blues, R&B and all that, so where you live, might influence what you can get away with. I would have to switch to CCR and BTO if I was playing out in the Fraser Valley, just twenty or thirty miles away.

[senorblues]

 

Although I often play Jazz, Blues, and Smooth Jazz as a single, the sax/guitar duo is usually booked in dance oriented lounges, or once in a while a pub. I still try to stick to songs that feature horns, so tunes like Soul Man, Signed Sealed Delivered, Unchain My Heart, I Feel Good, Superstition, Jump Jive & Wail and so on. We also do a fair bit of Reggae and we also do some classic tunes where he can solo - instead of the guitar. So we might play Oye Como Va, but I'll just play the first little bit and then let him wail. I'm pretty sick of that tune, but we always get requests for it, so I'm happy to give up the Carlos part and make it more like the orignal Tito Puente feel.

 

We recently started doing Caribbean Queen and I want to revisit Who Can It Be Now, What Does It Take and if I can find my old sequence, But It's Alright by JJ Jackson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_QZIWuclSo I prefer the old stuff - even when I was young I did.

 

For "dance" instrumentals we sometimes play Chicken Shack, Night Train and even Tequila.

 

Besides the home grown Rock groups, my town has traditionally leaned towards Blues, R&B and all that, so where you live, might influence what you can get away with. I would have to switch to CCR and BTO if I was playing out in the Fraser Valley, just twenty or thirty miles away.

 

Lots of good ideas for songs. I grew up with most of them, and yet it's easy to overlook even some of the most popular ones. I'm curious about your dance oriented rooms and wonder if small format groups that play there use tracks always/sometimes/seldom/never. All the songs I played on the soundcloud sample use a drum track, but the jury's still out. I may go without. Depends on on what style(s) percolate to the top for us and for the rooms that will hire us.

[Shaster]

I'm not able to access your link, but I can speak generally about drum machines and tracks. Obviously this is all IMHO.

 

In my circuit and area (Vancouver BC), most people do not use tracks. As a solo or duo, I do a fair bit of hip or square hotel lounges and restaurants and generally I am probably able to get away with tracks because my tracks are above average (or so I've been told), my mix is as good or better than most, and I mix and compose my tracks differently than the old kitchen sink tracks of the eighties and nineties. No horn lines, usually no keyboards (audible anyway), just bass and drums, and then I usually mix the hats and cymbals way down so it doesn't have that ricka tick sound.

 

Oddly enough, drum machines are okay on my circuit as are looper pedals. One of my peers on that circuit, sings, plays guitar, plays bass pedals and uses a drum machine. No one complains about his drum machine, I guess because he's covering the rest live. The younger "looper" guys and gals also use drum machinies without audience sneers. I also work for a keyboard player that uses a drum machine - this weekend actually.

 

You'll know by folks reaction whether tracks or a drum machine will work or not. I can say that live can give you more street cred, but tracks, or a drum machine can get them dancing. It will just depend...

 

I just got a last minute call for the guitar/sax duo at a downtown Xmas Market tonight. I'll probably use tracks because the little kids, and consequently their parents, like them.

 

Finally, I should say that I don't do solo and duo work exclusively. I also do band stuff, so when I do solo or duo gigs, I it's material I want to do - making sure of course that there's a market for that material. The amount you'll have to pander will depend on your market and how much you want to, or are able to work.

[senorblues]

ptkbass found the soundcloud samples link . . . comment #5. A search for "S70-SX samples" also works.

 

For me, it's more about whether it adds to my comfort level or detracts. I'm finding that when I'm rehearsing my set list, some help a lot while others add a tension that isn't welcome. Maybe I just don't know the elements of the song well enough yet.

 

I put an ad for a percussionist on Craigslist today. I also talked to a singer who knows a drummer, so I can see how this sort of thing grows, but I learned from my last group that sometimes a flexible lineup is the way to go (although previously, it was always about the same guys playing the same songs the same way every gig.) We'll see what happens.

[daddymack]

Just something to ponder...it is much easier to add a second person to a solid act. It doesn't even have to be the same person every time. But if your act isn't already worked out, adding another player just adds to the confusion...jus' my $.02...something I have had to figure out on my own the last couple of years.

[senorblues]

Just something to ponder...it is much easier to add a second person to a solid act. It doesn't even have to be the same person every time. But if your act isn't already worked out' date=' adding another player just adds to the confusion...jus' my $.02...something I have had to figure out on my own the last couple of years.[/quote']

 

I think that's true, but mostly in the broadest sense. I've played with guys who wouldn't (and clearly couldn't) play a song with just one or two other guys or - especially - by themselves. For all intents and purposes, they were leaning on the rest of guys because they couldn't keep their own time. I've discovered that some songs I play better with other guys, but especially recently, I'm trying to be as self-contained - or let's say self-reliant - as possible.

 

Having said that, if you're looking for someone else to share the lead with, that's potentially a big batch of songs that you don't have to learn the lyrics to, coordinate the melody with the bass part, etc. Compared to a band, solo is more like walking and chewing gum, at least for what I'm trying to do.

 

 

[GtrGeorge!]

DaddyMack said it best: "I thought, having been a duo before, I was prepared for solo work, but I was shocked...it isn't twice the work, it is ALL the work..."

I agree 100%

[senorblues]

The organizational work doesn't worry me. I've done it all before. It's being responsible for ALL the musical content that I'm beginning to appreciate. If you ask me now, I would say that three or four now looks more likely than one or two. . . assuming I can find two or three people to sign on who are interested and qualified.

 

And nobody's has said a word one about the files I uploaded. (what should I make of that? . . . . )

[Bob Dey]

The organizational work doesn't worry me. I've done it all before. It's being responsible for ALL the musical content that I'm beginning to appreciate. If you ask me now, I would say that three or four now looks more likely than one or two. . . assuming I can find two or three people to sign on who are interested and qualified.

 

And nobody's has said a word one about the files I uploaded. (what should I make of that? . . . . )

 

I don't think your vocals are gonna get you very far. The ablilty to play keys and bass at the same time is a good asset. I think you should find a really good female vocalist and drummer and end up with a marketable trio. You could sing a few songs, but you either need a good vocalist or just play instruments.

[senorblues]

Thanks, Bob. I appreciate your honesty. I think my singing can improve as I get more familiar with the lyrics, but It's the untested component of this project and I'm focusing on ways to possibly reduce the role my singing plays.

 

Plan A is to work with the sax player I've talked to. We could conceivably play instrumentals primarily or even exclusively.

 

Plan B is to add a female vocalist. I've talked to one, but as with all new additions, musical compatibility is a big question.

 

Plan C involves the addition of a drummer or percussionist, but that seems to me to be the hardest chair to fill. Always has been for the kind of music I've played, and it will be a lot harder up here in midcoast Maine..

 

Plan D is actually my preference in the perfect world. Add both sax and a singer and talk them both into contributing basic percussion help . . shaker, tambourine, hand claps. Maybe even buy a cajon. I'm pretty sure I could play one right now, but I'm another frustrated drummer. . . . .

 

[pinkfloydcramer61]

Senor, I think your voice might work better (at least for the "music for the digestive tract" gigs) in your more relaxed-sounding lower range, like in your first song. But doing all instrumental is not a bad way to go, in fact, instrumental gigs (in my experience) pay significantly more for less time. I have been working 2-4 gigs a month in duos with a well-established jazz bass player, a Chet-Atkins-styled guitar player, and a sax player. No tracks, no charts, no rehearsals and it has worked out fine. The sax guy reminded me of just how much commercial potential the saxophone has, as it has such vocal qualities. And as you pointed out, paired with a sax you avoid clashes due to different interpretations of chords. Hope it works out for you.

[senorblues]

Thanks for listening. I'm guessing you play piano and the the other musicians you mentioned are all duo options for your gigs (one at a time)? Any chance of hearing any recordings? If you're a glutton for punishment, you can check out the second set of samples on soundcloud/seniorblues that I recorded a few days later. For comparison, it has no drum tracks.

 

I had to laugh at your reaction to the first song. It's "Heard it Through the Grapevine" in Eb, Marvin Gaye's key. I decided to leave it there and sing an octave lower! That's a first.

 

I'm guessing you're less than enthralled with the chorus of "All Over Now" at 2:47. That's about as high as I can get.

 

It doesn't help that I'm considering several Steve Winwood tunes. I've dropped several other songs a whole step, but that's usually not enough to deal with his range.

[pogo97]

It doesn't help that I'm considering several Steve Winwood tunes. I've dropped several other songs a whole step' date=' but that's usually not enough to deal with his range.[/quote']

 

Why not just sing songs where you're most comfortable and/or most expressive?

[daddymack]

Pogo nailed it...I re-key nearly all the songs I do to suit my voice, unless there is one of those 'magik' guitar parts that requires open strings to sound correct. Why not? No one has ever come up and dinged me for not singing a song in the original key, except other musicians, and, frankly, screw them, I'm a solo....

I do try to avoid the monotony of doing everything in one key, though, but I am pretty much in A, G, D or E [or their relative minors] 95% of the time, and occasionally Ami...Ab, Bb...

[senorblues]

(Don't you just love it when you've written a long response . . . and Safari crashes!

 

Anyway, the short version is that it's hard to let go of the priorities that my last band leader had about covering songs as accurately as possible. Beats the "good enough" attitude that we've all heard, but it no longer applies.

 

The link below is more like what you all are talking about. Make it your own. Play to your strengths. Make the effort to arrange a song differently. Joe Cocker, rest his soul, was a master of that. "Feelin' Alright" became a classic; so did "A Little Help from my Friends". In our case, we're just trying to rearrange things so we can present full band classics in a small format. We have no choice, so might as well take advantage of the fact that the audience doesn't expect you to sound like the original.

[daddymack]

Well, yeah, but the video above is n example of four people who can't put a band together doing the best they can.

With just a cornet, a snare drum, an upright bass and vocals, I'm not hanging around for a full set of material...

But that isn't really the same thing as a guy covering a song alone, with a harmonizer and a looper, or with midi tracks, who frames the song to suit his set-up, voice and skills. More like this...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLsye_LJ_Ks

not much similar to the original....this song is so basic it winds up in virtually everyone's repertoire.

 

 

Safari NEVER crashes... bite thy tongue, knave, or I shall have the minions of Apple descend upon you like a plague!