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Got hired for my dream gig!


wesg

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Just a one-night sub, in a band kind of like Guido's, working at a very high level...horns, best drummer in town, killer bass player, singing girls, singing guys, playing R&B / disco / funk (Sweet Soul Music to Boogie Oogie Oogie to Superstition).

 

Then I got fired! Apparently singing was part of the job. They didn't even get to hear me play. Hell, I didn't even finish building the rig I was going to play to learn the tunes.

 

Man, I need to learn to sing. So. Damn. Frustrating. Vocals are miles better than they were 5 years ago, but I'm still not up to taking a turn at lead vocals on anything at that level. Especially not while working up 30 tunes in under a month. I did some lessons. That helped. Not enough. Intonation is still frequently embarrassing.

 

I joined a Grateful Dead band recently. It was going to be a one-off show, then we decided to take the core and try to make a band out of it. They were talking "Grateful Dead Cover Band". I'm steering them toward "Grateful Dead Tribute Act". I didn't really bother telling those guys I can't sing. I'm covering backups on a bunch of stuff. As a keys player, I'm mostly Brent, but I seem to sing more like Donna. Except without all the shrieking.

 

The Dead act is a long way from making money, but we're taking it out for chump change on Sunday. I'm playing piano and organ. We have a good Jerry, a good Bob, a fantastic Phil and double drumming. Definitely the right ingredients for a tribute. Although it's more likely I'll learn to sing than it is I'll be able to grow a decent beard.

 

Wes

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sometimes the whole singing thing seems so impossible, but y'know...it only happens if you do it.

Pick four or five songs, work them up one at a time.

I sang back ups for decades and then about 20 years ago, I pulled up my socks and said, dad-gummit, I can sing, it may not be purty, but I can sing...and now I sing lead vocals in three bands, not full time [actually in the R&B band, I am the main vocalist]...so you never know. Just work on it.

 

yer on yer own on the beard thing, but Bob Weir was clean shaven... ;)

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Sorry to hear they canned you because you couldn't sing. I wouldn't expect that to be a requirement for a band with some front vocalists. Especially from a keyboard player who is no doubt going to have his hands full. Maybe hoping you could fill in on some harmonies, but needing you to sing lead?

 

Glad you having some fun with the Dead band and seems like good potential there! But honestly I wouldn't put a whole lot of focus on learning to sing at this point in my life. That's what singers are for, not keyboard players!

 

 

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I have to admit, I was pretty surprised they wouldn't accept a non-singing keys player as a one-night sub, given the vocal talent within the group (I actually told them I could them I could do very limited backups). There's probably some other stuff going on behind the scenes, but I suspect they will have a hard time finding some who can completely fill their usual guy's shoes on a one-off. It's a small town and he's really good.

 

On the plus side, after listening to their last show and mentally dissecting the keys parts - I want to play this music now more than ever. I may just have to take the bull by the horns and become a band leader if the opportunity doesn't present itself within the next 2-3 years. Bust out the Sibelius and write some horn charts. Or just buy them, I guess.

 

Guido, it's funny what you say about not learning to sing -- a lot of the really, really good keys players I know tell me the same thing. I'd almost buy that, except I really love singing. I'm just not good enough at it, yet. Maybe I will volunteer to sing lead on some Grateful Dead tunes. I sing "My Sharona" in my rock band.

 

The Dead band is pretty cool. I never listened to the group at all before I got drafted. I took the first gig because I liked the players and they had a gig lined up I wanted in on. Now I'm having a lot of fun, and seeing potential in the group. It's also allowing me to stretch my legs, since I can basically play whatever I want. I haven't had that kind of musical freedom since I was doing originals, 20 years ago.

 

Wes

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Dead cover and tribute bands are super popular around my neck of the woods. There are several and they all seem to play good rooms and even some theaters. Fun for jammers and your singing doesn't have to be all that great.

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I have to admit, I was pretty surprised they wouldn't accept a non-singing keys player as a one-night sub, given the vocal talent within the group (I actually told them I could them I could do very limited backups). There's probably some other stuff going on behind the scenes, but I suspect they will have a hard time finding some who can completely fill their usual guy's shoes on a one-off. It's a small town and he's really good.

 

On the plus side, after listening to their last show and mentally dissecting the keys parts - I want to play this music now more than ever. I may just have to take the bull by the horns and become a band leader if the opportunity doesn't present itself within the next 2-3 years. Bust out the Sibelius and write some horn charts. Or just buy them, I guess.

 

Guido, it's funny what you say about not learning to sing -- a lot of the really, really good keys players I know tell me the same thing. I'd almost buy that, except I really love singing. I'm just not good enough at it, yet. Maybe I will volunteer to sing lead on some Grateful Dead tunes. I sing "My Sharona" in my rock band.

 

The Dead band is pretty cool. I never listened to the group at all before I got drafted. I took the first gig because I liked the players and they had a gig lined up I wanted in on. Now I'm having a lot of fun, and seeing potential in the group. It's also allowing me to stretch my legs, since I can basically play whatever I want. I haven't had that kind of musical freedom since I was doing originals, 20 years ago.

 

Wes

 

 

If you want to do it, then go for it.

 

I like singing as well, and am not very good it. But I learned many years ago to become decent at it. Developed my ear enough to be able to sing some harmonies and to sing lead pretty well if it's the right song. I'd never be any band's front man, but I can do it without completely embarrassing myself.

 

I don't know if I'd try to learn it now, but it certainly can be done. I sing "My Sharona" sometimes too. :)

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That's too bad, but are you saying you don't know Sweet Soul Music, or Boogie Oogie or Superstition? If so, not knowing the material might have been the deciding factor. Around my parts if you want to play in a party band there's a bunch of Party band tunes you should already know (or have charted) like Uptown Funk, Forget You, Moves Like Jagger, Stayin' Alive, Mercy (Duffy), Smooth, Soul Man, Old Time Rock & Roll, Rolling In The Deep, Don't Stop, Billie Jean, Play That Funky Music, Addicted To Love, Tush, Shook Me All Night Long, Rehab and so on. Probably have to add Desposito to that list, it goes over like gang busters for the DJ's. I've had to learn (or remember!) all the aforementioned tunes plus another fifty of that same genre, and I normally play in Jazz, Soul, and Blues bands. But if someone yelled out Lady Marmalade I'd just need to know the key.

 

Maybe this is an opportunity to get on some of the party stuff, and who knows, if you learn the tunes maybe they'll need a sub for the sub. Good luck and happy charting.

 

BTW if you can't sing, you can still sell it. Pick some retro tunes like Ice Ice Baby, or Achy Breaky Heart or Gloria (Them) - perhaps questionable songs, but they don't require real singing. Put on a cowboy hat or an eighties head band and have at it. Just keep them short. There are probably some better songs that don't require singing or rapping, find them and work on them, and see if they fit your style and ability.

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Shaster - that's right, didn't know the material, but confident I could learn it in the allotted time. That was a 'known' before I was hired, it the vocals that nixed the deal. I was ready and able to put in ~30 hours of personal practice time on this job, which should be enough to not only learn the material, but also commit it all to memory. Normally I'm too busy for that kind of commitment, but this summer has been a bit sucky due to bandmate vacations, decreased union funding, and a Dixieland group folding.

 

Good advice re learning the material ahead of time if I want this kind of work, and working on less challenge vocals. (Why do I always start with DSB? LOL). I should take it. I find it hard to work without a goal, though. It's easier to tell the wife, "I need to prepare for gig X" than "I need to practice". The first, she interprets as "I am making money" and the second she interprets as "I love music more than I love you". But that's a story for another day, I guess.

 

I will definitely have to take your advice if I want to 'own' a party band. Nobody wants to work for a bandleader who doesn't know his own parts.

 

Wes

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Just a one-night sub, in a band kind of like Guido's, working at a very high level...horns, best drummer in town, killer bass player, singing girls, singing guys, playing R&B / disco / funk (Sweet Soul Music to Boogie Oogie Oogie to Superstition).

 

Then I got fired! Apparently singing was part of the job. They didn't even get to hear me play. Hell, I didn't even finish building the rig I was going to play to learn the tunes.

 

Man, I need to learn to sing. So. Damn. Frustrating. Vocals are miles better than they were 5 years ago, but I'm still not up to taking a turn at lead vocals on anything at that level. Especially not while working up 30 tunes in under a month. I did some lessons. That helped. Not enough. Intonation is still frequently embarrassing.

 

I joined a Grateful Dead band recently. It was going to be a one-off show, then we decided to take the core and try to make a band out of it. They were talking "Grateful Dead Cover Band". I'm steering them toward "Grateful Dead Tribute Act". I didn't really bother telling those guys I can't sing. I'm covering backups on a bunch of stuff. As a keys player, I'm mostly Brent, but I seem to sing more like Donna. Except without all the shrieking.

 

The Dead act is a long way from making money, but we're taking it out for chump change on Sunday. I'm playing piano and organ. We have a good Jerry, a good Bob, a fantastic Phil and double drumming. Definitely the right ingredients for a tribute. Although it's more likely I'll learn to sing than it is I'll be able to grow a decent beard.

 

Wes

 

Congrats !!!!

 

You lucky dog !!!!

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Sorry to hear they canned you because you couldn't sing. I wouldn't expect that to be a requirement for a band with some front vocalists. Especially from a keyboard player who is no doubt going to have his hands full. Maybe hoping you could fill in on some harmonies, but needing you to sing lead?

Ya this sounds strange to me, esp since in the OP it hints that they have a bunch of people who sing already. I would not expect much vocally from a fill-in.

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I couldn't sing and it cost me a gig but more than that my gear wasn't up to snuff back in 1990-1991. Now that it is I subbed back in 2010 for a band that had a couple members that wouldn't hire me back then.....big mistake on their part. There is always a way to work around getting gear if you are clever. It's more about the player. I remember they ended up hiring a guy that sang but only played a Korg M1 at the time. It was cheesy but that is what they wanted.

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