Members phaeton Posted January 17, 2015 Members Share Posted January 17, 2015 When I asked about guitar lessons, you guys told me I should just play with other people. So last night I finally agreed to go jam with this guitar dude from work who is constantly asking me to do so. He's got a basement full of guitars and amps and a bass and a synth and an electronic drum set. I'm probably an idiot for this but normally I say 'no' because we're not really into the same kinds of music. He brought in another mutual friend of ours who just started playing drums a couple of years ago and that's all he ever wants to do. Those guys are into a lot of the same music (that I don't really like), but instead of playing 'their' music we just threw together chords and beats and jammed on them. In short, it was fun. I wouldn't say I'm a better musician, but I do have more experience for whatever that's worth. I didn't play dictator but I did occasionally impart a little bit of helpful guidance, which was always met with interest and enthusiasm from the other two guys. We recorded the whole thing for farts and hahahs and when we played it back they were really pumped by it. The drummer especially- this sort of thing is still pretty new to him and he was just beside himself the whole night: "Man, I love what you were doing with the bass guitar right there, and I was trying all these different ways to play off of it!" "I can't believe how sometimes things just fall together and it works and it's awesome!" "I never thought about doing that on the hihat before but when I heard that riff it just happened." "That one thing we were doing there, we were SO in the pocket. It's like we all became the same person. I didn't want to stop!" "OMG, we sound like a real band!" It was really cool seeing a grown man glowing with that child-like awe. I completely forgot what that was like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Floyd Rosenbomb Posted January 17, 2015 Members Share Posted January 17, 2015 Yeah, Dude. Passion is way, way, way more important then talent.I'd much rather listen to someone who is passionate about the three chords that they know and the story that they want to tell then someone who approaches the guitar with all kinds of mechanical technicality and is all timid about what they think they don't know yet. Passion is what is interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted January 17, 2015 Members Share Posted January 17, 2015 ^That's some wisdom right there and I concur 100%. Phaeton, that "child-like awe" is what we're in it for. You just cop that buzz and then go home and practice till it gets tighter and tighter. Sounds like you're having fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jtr654 Posted January 17, 2015 Members Share Posted January 17, 2015 That's what playing in The Zone is and when the magic happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted January 17, 2015 Members Share Posted January 17, 2015 Awesome big daddy! That's what its all about - just zoning in the moment that everything just clicks. Those few hours that you can throw ' pentatonic, diminished, mixolydian' crap out of your mind and just have fun. Like said above - that's what we're in it for. Put your foot on your amp, stand your guitar up and just let it rip, power step, whatever We do 'black out' practices on occasion - black lights, strobes, sometimes fog. We say its so we can all stay used to it, but really, its just fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phaeton Posted January 17, 2015 Author Members Share Posted January 17, 2015 Put your foot on your amp, stand your guitar up and just let it rip, power step, whatever Steve Harris, is that you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members billybilly Posted January 17, 2015 Members Share Posted January 17, 2015 Right on man, glad you had fun, that's what it should be about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundcreation Posted January 18, 2015 Members Share Posted January 18, 2015 Steve Harris, is that you? lol......check out this....around 20 seconds.... [YOUTUBE]dqoBQHYTe10[/YOUTUBE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phaeton Posted January 18, 2015 Author Members Share Posted January 18, 2015 lol......check out this....around 20 seconds.... Yup. Morello wore out Piece of Mind, but I wore out Live After Death. Many times over. I also had the World Slavery Tour video on VHS and wore that out. Butt... That is where I first saw Maiden in action, and the "Steve's foot planted on the monitor" is forever emblazoned in my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members knotty Posted January 18, 2015 Members Share Posted January 18, 2015 Enthusiasm is fine but you have to know what youre doing. Ask your wife. .png.197c47f720636f02390cc2b0a33804da.png' alt='smiley-veryhappy'> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Virgman Posted January 18, 2015 Members Share Posted January 18, 2015 "Fun" is the operative word. Awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted January 18, 2015 Members Share Posted January 18, 2015 Vid won't play for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted January 18, 2015 Members Share Posted January 18, 2015 Glad you enjoyed yourselves. Until I started playing in praise band several years ago, I didn't realize what I was missing. We'll never win any Grammys but I for one enjoy myself immensely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phaeton Posted January 19, 2015 Author Members Share Posted January 19, 2015 We'll never win any Grammys but I for one enjoy myself immensely. This is something that's a little rough for me. These guys are all jumping up and down and having a great time. When we do this (it wasn't the first time, but it was the first time in a couple of years we were all together and we were all really 'on' this time) their thought-train goes like: 1) Jam a bunch, get good 2) Add more people (bass and a lyricist/songwriter) 3) Write songs 4) Play out everywhere 5) Get record deal 6) Tour 7) Bone Groupies, etc ..and why not? I'm old and jaded and I know the likelihood of that happening, especially since we're all over 25 and only one of us (the other guitar guy) is actually attractive. But I don't want to crush their dreams, you know? The other issue I have is that they both like to do drugs. Harder stuff on occasion, but mostly weed. I don't care that people smoke weed (I used to do it myself) and I don't judge them. Honestly, I wish I could do it too. But I had some bad experiences with psychedelics as a teen and for me even smelling pot is almost a PTSD-level panic attack. I wish that it weren't the case, but it is. Since music and pot goes hand-in-hand, this is the sort of thing has kept me out of bands for years and years. I feel that if I talk to these guys about it- give em the ole "I don't care if you smoke buds or vape THC, just honor your commitment to a band and do it in a way where I won't breathe it" they'll be cool... for awhile. I've done that I don't know how many times over the last 20-some years and it always eventually ends up where I open the door to the practice space and Cloud 9 rolls out. I feel like I'm always the party pooper. Besides, as much as I love '60s Psychedelic music (and I do, and most of what I write falls into that category), I worry about the crowd we'd attract if we actually gained some traction playing stuff like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted January 20, 2015 Members Share Posted January 20, 2015 Man, I've jammed with dudes that partied hard over the years, and before I had a job/family where I couldn't anymore, so did I. Now that the job and family life have filled that, I feel you on the 'band members doing drugs' thing. So far, everyone I've jammed with has been cool about it and not done anything around me, I just had to explain the severity. Maybe try that and see how it goes, if you want to continue jamming with these same dudes. Or try jamming with people you havent, and put that out there first and foremost. As far as the crowd, I don't know how you get past that, other than maybe think that they're the ones paying the cover to see you. A lot of folk still have those ambitions, well into their forties +. I don't let it stop me from having a good time now though, you know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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