Members Vito Corleone Posted October 22, 2016 Members Share Posted October 22, 2016 Yeah---the band is still kickin' it! Been a rough year, however. So I'll fill ya'll in briefly because there's not much else getting posted around here these days...lol As I posted a few months ago, our long time drummer and my right-hand man left the band at the beginning of the year. The search for a new drummer didn't take long as one of the most sought-after, talented and experienced drummers in the area quickly jumped up to say he wanted the gig. We auditioned him and it sounded and felt great. And he was a young guy with a fresh attitude -- really easy to work with, really pro, a lot of ideas and energy for wanting to move the band forward. All great stuff. Except... After the first couple of gigs it started to fall apart. He played pretty well the first show --- about what you'd expect for a first gig --- and the second one was even better. But then the third show it dropped off. And the fourth show even more. And this was with doing a lot of rehearsal with him. I really was stunned for an explanation other than that after so many years of playing with the same drummer---who really led the band musically from the stage in the same way a guitarist or lead singer might (everyone in the band counted on him for their cues) that we just have no other way of playing together. And, most importantly, the energy just wasn't there. As a good friend told me "you sound like a party band without the party." Luckily all those gigs went really well (crazy what audiences DON'T know most times) but it wasn't good. I really hated to have to let the new guy go--I really liked him and we personally got on really well together along with a ton of mutual musical respect--but it was clear it wasn't working. But I told the guys that I'm getting way too old for this, and really had no desire to audition a bunch of other drummers. We already proved we can't work with the best drummer in the area (I did put a lot of the blame on us) so what was left? I told the guys that either the old drummer comes back or it's time to fold up the band. So I asked him back and he was delighted. He missed that band and I never really thought he wanted to leave in the first place. (At the time I thought he was just playing us a bit and was probably surprised when I accepted his resignation so easily. But I can't stand that sort of game-playing.) So we're back together and sounding better than ever, IMO. He's got a new attitude and the whole band sounds fresher. The girls up front have been working together going on two years now and are really jelling. And the shows since he's been back have all gone really well. In a blessing-in-disguise kind of way, this last year was our slowest yet in terms of number of gigs. But it still is incumbent upon us to figure out ways to turn that around. Already next year seems to filling up at a faster pace, so that's a good sign. But a lot of the promo and website is still dated and in need of a major reboot. On a positive note in that regard, our young singer (who's been with us 4 years now) finished college and is more interested than ever in helping to promote the band. I think she's looking at her career options and thinking that making as much money she can doing gigs isn't the worst thing in the world right now. But frankly, I'm just getting too tired and busy with other things in my life to put all the necessary effort into turning the band into the best operating business concern it could be. So I'm working with her to take over a lot of that stuff going forward. We're still in need of a better, more professional produced video demo. But here's the bit we're running with for now. Hope everyone else here is still working hard and moving forward! Let's post some more stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitar Slim Posted October 24, 2016 Members Share Posted October 24, 2016 Glad to hear it's coming back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wesg Posted November 7, 2016 Members Share Posted November 7, 2016 Glad to see some news from JumpStart, David! I just wanted to quickly thank you for the wedding form you sent me a few years ago. It came in VERY handy this summer. A quick way to turn an unplanned disaster into neither and make me look organized at the same time. Wes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Outkaster Posted November 22, 2016 Members Share Posted November 22, 2016 Nice story for a change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AJ6stringsting Posted December 17, 2016 Members Share Posted December 17, 2016 I love hearing stories of bands or people , landing on their feet.Strange, how some new members can start charging out of the gate and then cramping up and stalling.What great luck , to have the original drummer come back more humble and re invigorated.Love the video, top notch Delivery and getting the crowd moving .... somebody is busy👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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