Members SpaceNorman Posted December 9, 2012 Members Share Posted December 9, 2012 My schedule for next year is starting to come together nicely. Between my various projects - I've got a solid 3 nights a month booked through April ... and there's certain to more added during this same time frame. The act that I've long considered my "showcase" project is facing a serious challenge from my new project - both in terms of musical quality as well in terms of show quality. The new project has the added plus of actually wanting to work more than once a month! The new project is coming together in a BIG way in terms of sound and show ... the only question is whether or not we can get the $$ to the right spot. Right now we're gigging as an eight piece (bass, drums, guitar, keys, sax, trombone, trumpet and female vocalist). We moved to being an eight piece with our eyes open - and making a conscious decision to accept a little less money individually - in order to get the horns up to speed and the show tight (we're essentially considering it an investment in "product development"). Crowd response and return bookings are certainly headed in the right direction ... but as is often the case, the corresponding $$ aren't breaking any records. It's improving - but not as fast as we would like. I'm just hoping that we're able to hold it together until the $$ catch up as well. While it ain't exactly raining $$ on the new project - I'll be damned it I can remember when I've had more fun or been more excited about playing than I am with this new project! ... and at the moment that's worth more than the $$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mstreck Posted December 9, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 9, 2012 Originally Posted by SpaceNorman While it ain't exactly raining $$ on the new project - I'll be damned it I can remember when I've had more fun or been more excited about playing than I am with this new project! ... and at the moment that's worth more than the $$$. I can't speak for the others in the band, but I feel the same way. Adding more modern pop - and playing keys on both old and new songs - has given me a renewed energy for this. The downside is that I can't spend quite as much time focused on the behind-the-scenes business aspect of the band like I could in the past - and I think we could benefit from some more of that since things are pretty slow right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted December 9, 2012 Members Share Posted December 9, 2012 Originally Posted by mstreck Adding more modern pop - and playing keys on both old and new songs - has given me a renewed energy for this. For me, it's the addition of the horn section. The members of this project are all in their 50's and 60's - and while we've got some new stuff in our playlist - we're never going to be living and loving the cutting edge. We don't draw a 20..something crowd (although, many of the 20..somethings that have heard us come back regularly!) However, with the addition of the horns - we're seeing tunes that would have been considered "filler" in the past take on a vibrancy of their own. (Our horn players are all high school band director types - school trained, experienced - and filled with an enthusiasm that only high school band directors seem to have. Bottom line is - they're pretty damn good!) While we do pretty well with the dance floor at our gigs - what is really surprising me is the enthusiastic response we get to virtually every song from the folks aren't dancing! With eight pieces - we get to explore lots of cool rhythms and counter-melodies in the material we're doing - and we're playing "big". There are times where it feels more like I'm playing a concert than a bar gig. Like I said - I can't remember ever having this much fun with music! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted December 10, 2012 Members Share Posted December 10, 2012 Late fall-mid spring is our busiest time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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