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Instrumentals


SeniorBlues

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Which ones? . . . . How do they go over? . . . . etc.

We added Jaco's "Chicken" to you set list after an impromptu jam, but I'm wondering how it will go over if and when we play it.

A couple years ago, we played Booker T's "Time is Tight" as an opener.

The Meter's "Cissy Strut" seems to get called at jams whenever a keyboard player sits in.

I considered putting together an all-instrumental fusion trio, but I'm not sure it would have had any commercial success, nor am I sure I could have pulled it off musically . . . at least to my satisfaction.

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Quote Originally Posted by rsadasiv View Post
Unpossible. It's all about the vocals. Additional negative points for Jaco content - obviously no one wants to hear that stuff.
It's all about the vocals for bands that have vocals. Nothing is worse than bad vocals.

There are all sorts of bands that do great with instrumentals-only: jazz groups, easy listening/background/cocktail groups, flamenco, etc.
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Quote Originally Posted by guido61 View Post
It's all about the vocals for bands that have vocals. Nothing is worse than bad vocals.

There are all sorts of bands that do great with instrumentals-only: jazz groups, easy listening/background/cocktail groups, flamenco, etc.
Why can't you be this reasonable all the time? poke.gif
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In the funk/R&B dance thing I was a part of, we usually started out the night with an instrumental: Mr Magic by Grover Washington, Snakes by Marcus Miller, The Chicken by Maceo Parker (Fred Wesley wrote it BTW), Watermelon Man by Herbie H.....stuff like that. All of it funky, and the 3 upfront singers would introduce the soloists, and do simple unison dances while we played. They stepped like the Chi-lites and we blew our brains out.

It worked great to warm up the crowd and got us warmed up too.

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From what I've seen, it's not a matter of whether one plays instrumentals or vocal tunes; it's a matter of familiarity. If everyone in the crowd knows the song and the band can halfway do it, it will usually work....vocals or not.

In fact, if the song is something of a departure from the rest of the set, then it can actually be a highlight, and one the most memorable aspects of the show.

My band is mostly a 70's-thru-90's classic rock band....but we occasionally throw Wipe-Out into the set, and the crowd always eats it up. (It seems that cheese and campiness always go over well.) We used to have a locally prominent jazz/funk/jam band here in town that would absolutely bring down the house with extended renditions of the Barney Miller and the Sanford and Son theme songs.

I would just be make sure and differentiate between instrumentals that musicians would consider to be "standards", as opposed to instrumentals that would appeal to the average listener. For example, you could play Rush's YYZ for a room of musicians and rock aficionados, and they'd eat it up. But if you played it at a wedding, it would be like a fart in church.

Personally, I'd probably stay away from the "musician" instrumentals, and focus on stuff that's more recognizable and a bit more mainstream. But I'd also try to find something with a pop-culture/novelty angle, as well. The Simpsons theme song, for example....or the instantly-recognizable Super Mario Brothers music. Stuff that's just as much fun for the audience as it is for the band, y'know?

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I play in a Billy Joel tribute band and we open most shows with "Prelude/Angry Young Man" which has about 2 minutes of instrumental before any vocals. Any casual Joel fans in the crowd will likely not recognize it but we dig opening the show that way.

We also play "I Go To Extremes" and our keyboardist throws in a bunch of pop culture references at the end such as the Simpsons theme, Hee Haw, the Muppets, etc. It's fun and perks up the crowd.

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I just joined what is currently a three piece (bass, drums, guitar) fusion band about a month ago. So far we have...

Stratus - Billy Cobham
School Days, the Dancer - Stanley Clarke
Cause We Ended as Lovers, Led Boots - Jeff Beck
Rampage - Marcus Miller
3 of bandleader's originals

I don't have the list and am forgetting some of the covers. We'll probably add Cissy Strut. We could really use a good keys player. And yes.... I don't see it having much "commercial" success. The band leader of the last band I was playing with couldn't get his price, so he essentially pulled the plug. I have always been interested in this type of music, but never had the courage to try and really do it until now. The only way to get there is to get out there and do it. I imagine at best we will play charity type events once a month or so. It has really been a kick in the butt for me musically though and these guys are turning me on to a lot of really cool music as well. Everyone involved realizes what type of gigs will, and won't, be available for this project.

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Quote Originally Posted by Yer Blues View Post
I just joined what is currently a three piece (bass, drums, guitar) fusion band about a month ago. So far we have...

Stratus - Billy Cobham
School Days, the Dancer - Stanley Clarke
Cause We Ended as Lovers, Led Boots - Jeff Beck
Rampage - Marcus Miller
3 of bandleader's originals

I don't have the list and am forgetting some of the covers. We'll probably add Cissy Strut. We could really use a good keys player. And yes.... I don't see it having much "commercial" success. The band leader of the last band I was playing with couldn't get his price, so he essentially pulled the plug. I have always been interested in this type of music, but never had the courage to try and really do it until now. The only way to get there is to get out there and do it. I imagine at best we will play charity type events once a month or so. It has really been a kick in the butt for me musically though and these guys are turning me on to a lot of really cool music as well. Everyone involved realizes what type of gigs will, and won't, be available for this project.
Say bro, I released an instrumental trio record and worked it for a couple of years. We don't play much anymore as the bassist has moved about 3 hours away and the drummer took a gig with a Canadian artist and is never home.

But you can build a following for this stuff. Our stuff could get pretty weird and our covers could be as much a challenge for the listener as they were for us (Chromazone by Mike Stern, Trim by John Scofield, Cogent by Rodney Kendrick etc.). But we did have some "normal" sounding stuff, and plenty of funk stuff too. The first 2 & 1/2 years we hit it pretty hard.

1) Get a regular gig. Weekly or monthly. Weekdays are good (ours was the Tues of each month) in a college town or a place with a good 20 something crowd. Ours was a hip little bohemian place with import beers, a nice humidor, and local art on the wall. I plastered the campus and hit the local media the first couple of gigs. Over time we would see the same faces, but it took some time. Grad students and dirty hippies, baby.

2) We did 4 cd release parties. 2 in my hometown and 1 in Nashville and one in a college town that we had the residence in. We basically made our money back for the project and then some in those 4 gigs.

3) Pacing. Music lovers are your target and they're paying attention. They want to be moved. So attention needs to be paid to making each solo tell a story. And each tune needs to follow the next in a cogent way. We started each set out with a killer, then brought it down, then a ballad, then something funky, something weird, then the barn burner. Always have a barn burner and make sure the soloists don't blow their load before it.

I remember a conversation I was having with Regi Wooten, and he was talking about how even the best players get caught up in the songs, and they don't PACE their set to provide NARRATIVE throughout the set. That narrative is what sets bands apart.

4) Have something to sell. Yeah, we made some gig money. Mostly at festivals....which are a bitch to get when you play fusion cuz the rock people hate you, and the jass people REALLY hate you...but we made our way in a few after they saw us....but we made our money selling cd's and tshirts.

We also often did a "freemium" thing starting on our 3rd year. At some point in the night I'd say "If you like what you hear, I want you to come over here and grab a cd. Pay what you can. If you spent all your money on beer cool, whatever, just pay what you can. But don't go home without a cd." Averaged about $6. A nice way to help dump your surplus discs and grab some good will.

We even sold some demo discs for $3 of the stuff we were working on for our next cd. Sold a {censored} pile of those.

So there ya go.
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Quote Originally Posted by Guitar Slim View Post
I play in a Billy Joel tribute band and we open most shows with "Prelude/Angry Young Man" which has about 2 minutes of instrumental before any vocals. Any casual Joel fans in the crowd will likely not recognize it but we dig opening the show that way.

We also play "I Go To Extremes" and our keyboardist throws in a bunch of pop culture references at the end such as the Simpsons theme, Hee Haw, the Muppets, etc. It's fun and perks up the crowd.
Nice you don't limit your Joel tribute band to either just 70s or 80s Billy Joel...
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Quote Originally Posted by 3shiftgtr View Post
Say bro, I released an instrumental trio record and worked it for a couple of years. We don't play much anymore as the bassist has moved about 3 hours away and the drummer took a gig with a Canadian artist and is never home.

But you can build a following for this stuff. Our stuff could get pretty weird and our covers could be as much a challenge for the listener as they were for us (Chromazone by Mike Stern, Trim by John Scofield, Cogent by Rodney Kendrick etc.). But we did have some "normal" sounding stuff, and plenty of funk stuff too. The first 2 & 1/2 years we hit it pretty hard.

1) Get a regular gig. Weekly or monthly. Weekdays are good (ours was the Tues of each month) in a college town or a place with a good 20 something crowd. Ours was a hip little bohemian place with import beers, a nice humidor, and local art on the wall. I plastered the campus and hit the local media the first couple of gigs. Over time we would see the same faces, but it took some time. Grad students and dirty hippies, baby.

2) We did 4 cd release parties. 2 in my hometown and 1 in Nashville and one in a college town that we had the residence in. We basically made our money back for the project and then some in those 4 gigs.

3) Pacing. Music lovers are your target and they're paying attention. They want to be moved. So attention needs to be paid to making each solo tell a story. And each tune needs to follow the next in a cogent way. We started each set out with a killer, then brought it down, then a ballad, then something funky, something weird, then the barn burner. Always have a barn burner and make sure the soloists don't blow their load before it.

I remember a conversation I was having with Regi Wooten, and he was talking about how even the best players get caught up in the songs, and they don't PACE their set to provide NARRATIVE throughout the set. That narrative is what sets bands apart.

4) Have something to sell. Yeah, we made some gig money. Mostly at festivals....which are a bitch to get when you play fusion cuz the rock people hate you, and the jass people REALLY hate you...but we made our way in a few after they saw us....but we made our money selling cd's and tshirts.

We also often did a "freemium" thing starting on our 3rd year. At some point in the night I'd say "If you like what you hear, I want you to come over here and grab a cd. Pay what you can. If you spent all your money on beer cool, whatever, just pay what you can. But don't go home without a cd." Averaged about $6. A nice way to help dump your surplus discs and grab some good will.

We even sold some demo discs for $3 of the stuff we were working on for our next cd. Sold a {censored} pile of those.

So there ya go.
Focus. It's all about the vocals. You are stuck in the dive bar scene and that is all you will ever experience. Why is this so hard to understand?
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For country bands, Last Date is a great instrumental. It's a rare treat when the bass player does 4 2 5 at the end of the bridge, instead of 2 2 5. You can also blues that one up or play it with a gospel feel. I also used to play Beverly Hillbillies theme with a banjo sample. I mess around at home with Foggy Mountain Breakdown sometimes, but that one's pretty challenging.

 

Most of my instrumentals playing, with bands at least, is that Last Date and Green Onions- or what I call the "broken guitar string song". And I don't even much like playing it anymore. I much prefer Hip Hugger, but that one takes more time to work up.

 

I enjoy getting on Rhapsody and listening to the old Nashville cat's instrumentals- Chet, Floyd, Charlie McCoy, Boots etc. I remember Floyd's "On the Rebound" being on the radio 40 years ago, but it's not a familiar piece.

 

It's possible to do a full band treatment of the "Peanuts" theme (Linus and Lucy). Never heard a band do it live, though.

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How does Green Onions go over? People seem to know that tune, so I'm thinking it might go alright. I'd love to do either GO or Hip Hug Her, but I think the latter would flop in market, as few people know it.

 

 

The only times I've seen it performed, the guitarist absolutely lacked any level of restraint, and completely missed the point of the Cropper thing.

 

I used to play in a bluegrass band, where we'd do a half-dozen or so fiddle tunes throughout the night, and they either died with a thud or the dance floor filled up with drunk faux square dancing. I'm not sure which is worse.

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