Marathon Rehearsal on Saturday

[Thunderbroom]

I've planned a marathon rehearsal for this coming Saturday. Both of my bands are going to be playing a party together on July 23. The drummer in my country band is unavailable for the gig, so my rock band drummer is going to fill in. I've also got the keyboardist in my country band playing in the rock band.

 

To minimize driving for everyone (we're spread out pretty far), I decided to have everyone come to my house. Right now, I'm a bit overwhelmed by the thought of it all. We've (the family) have been out of town for several days and have lots of activities planned the rest of the week. Our house is a mess. We're allotting some time between now and Saturday to spiffy things up. I still don't have the rehearsal space 100% set up just yet either.

 

I guess what's concerning me most is my stamina. The first rehearsal starts at 1pm and the last one ends at 10pm with about a half hour in between bands. I know that we'll take a break here and there, but that's a lot of playing plus I'm hosting too. This is the first time my country band has rehearsed here. I want it to be a pleasant experience for everyone.

 

Not sure about the point of the post now that I've typed it...maybe just to vent (appreciatively...since I do have two bands) a little.

[tdempsey]

I'm sure adrenaline will serve you well.

 

Be sure to have fun with it, it's just music.

[Thunderbroom]

Originally posted by tdempsey I'm sure adrenaline will serve you well. Be sure to have fun with it, it's just music.

 

I'm getting the basement straightened up now. I've got the PA setup and the drums in position. I just need to vacuum the rugs and put some stuff away. The kids have to straighten up their play area and my wife has a craft section that needs to be tidied up a bit.

 

I'm gonna have snacks and drinks available too. I figure that's the least I could do since folks are doing quite a bit of driving to get here.

[TwYzTyR]

Good luck with that. IF you think you might have a problem with energy, you should just go pick up sone crank. You should be able to get some from your neighborhood trucker or trailer park.

[bassplayinguy]

haha, man our jam space is a mess all the time, but then again, we dont care what it looks like, we just go down there and jam it out

[BEAD]

If you get tired, act cranky. Make a mistake, and then blame someone else. That's what I do.

[WillPlay4food]

That's awesome dude!

 

Just have some snacks and drinks (plenty of liquid) available and get everyone to throw in for a pizza run and you'll have a great time.

 

*insert envious smiley here*

[timmerz]

T-Broom, I know this won't be popular, but if you limit yourself to one beer an hour whilst rehearsing the first band, you will have plenty of energy held back for the second one....

The best thing about the whole situation? YOU DON"T HAVE TO DRIVE HOME AFTERWARDS!!

Lucky bahstid.....

[mike fitzwell]

Serving drinks and snacks? Damn man, I wanna be in your band! It's always BYOS at our practices. Good luck with the stamina---our productive limit is right around 3 hours with only piss breaks. Of course it'll help that you're playing with 2 different groups & genres.

[Thunderbroom]

 

Originally posted by mike fitzwell Serving drinks and snacks?

 

 

The bar was set by my keyboardist. We (the country band) normally rehearse at his home. He and his wife always provide soft drinks and water plus snacks of some sort that always include some homemade treats.

 

When the rock band has rehearsed here in the past, I've always provided the beer. I figure it's a fair gesture since I don't have to drive. None of us live near each other.

 

I definitely won't drink too much. I've only done that once at a rehearsal...on my birthday...and it got ugly towards the end.

 

Though it will be a long day, I'm really looking forward to playing with everyone...especially my rock band.

[BEAD]

Practice at my house means I supply wine if needed... but one of my guitarists practically runs a small winery, and his stuff is usually better and cheaper.

[Thunderbroom]

Well...it's been a pretty effed up 24 hours.

 

The gig got cancelled...then we found another...then the country band backed out of the new gig...then we got offered another gig (but likely too late to consider it now).

 

We're still having a marathon rehearsal though.

 

My country band will have the full line-up (including drummer) sans our backup singer who's on vacation. The rock band will be in full-force though the keyboardist may slip out early. We're thinking of adding the rhythm guitarist from my country band to the rock band.

 

Folks should start arriving in about three hours.

[Jonny Five]

Good luck! look on the bright side! you get to play music all day! That's worth something, right?

[Thunderbroom]

 

Originally posted by Jonny Five Good luck! look on the bright side! you get to play music all day! That's worth something, right?

 

 

I realize that I'm pretty fortunate to have two bands to play with. The added bonus for me is that every member of both bands are more talented than I am which only helps me elevate my game.

[Jonny Five]

The first band I ever played in was with the most amazing guitarist I ever played with. Trying to keep up with him was one of the most difficult and rewarding playing experiences I've ever had.

 

Just keep in mind, you may not feel like you're at you're bandmates level, but they're keeping you around, cause they feel like you're at the level they need.

 

T-broom, you too modest

[Thunderbroom]

Whew!

 

I'm freakin' beat...to a pulp.

 

Both rehearsals went well. I invited the rhythm guitarist from my country band to hang around and play with rock band a while. I think he really enjoyed himself. We invited him to play with us on 7/23 since the country band bailed on the gig.

[burdizzos]

Good suff, man.

 

How'd the new PA do?

[Thunderbroom]

 

Originally posted by burdizzos Good suff, man. How'd the new PA do?

 

 

The PA worked well with the country band (ran out of inputs for the rock band...fortunately my guitarist brought his powered mixer). Using the Avatar B115 for a sub was a good idea...thanks! The DBX 223 crossover works well also (thanks again for helping me set it up). I think once I get a mixer with a few more inputs, I'm set.

 

The two rehearsals were a study of contrasts.

 

The country band started late (as usual due to one or more members being late). For the first time ever, we actually got through all of the songs in one rehearsal. There was some nit-picking on some of the songs by some members in the band, but others stepped up and put a stop to it. The rehearsal was probably one of our better ones, though it was a bit tense.

 

The rock band started late also (the country band just played until they got there...only 10 minutes or so). The rock band was all smiles from the get go. We hadn't played together since we gigged in Chicago in late April. We started at the top of the set list and started ripping it. We bounced around though because we wanted to accomodate the rhythm guitarist from my country band. We asked him to stay so that he could play with us on the songs that he knew. I think he enjoyed himself. It was very relaxing and I was beside myself with pure joy. I didn't realize just how much I missed playing with these folks. Some songs were sloppy, but we just played those a time or two more. It was a productive rehearsal that was fun...plus we just jammed alot on some stuff too.

[bonscottvocals]

Had a 6 hour rehearsal with my 80's retro band yesterday (vocals), and that is 10 times as trying as playing bass and singing in my dance/party band. Try singing "Ordinary World", "Girls on Film", "She Sells Sanctuary", "Synchronicity II", and "Send Me and Angel" (among others) several times over for hours on end. That's like shredding for hours, you're using your little muscles at their highest speeds - compare it to curling 3 pound weights as fast as you can for the same length of time or running a marathon at sprinting speeds.

 

Sorry to hear about your gigs. I like your country bands posted set list - interesting stuff. We do some of those in my dance/party band.

[burdizzos]

 

Originally posted by Thunderbroom The PA worked well with the country band (ran out of inputs for the rock band...fortunately my guitarist brought his powered mixer). Using the Avatar B115 for a sub was a good idea...thanks! The DBX 223 crossover works well also (thanks again for helping me set it up). I think once I get a mixer with a few more inputs, I'm set. The two rehearsals were a study of contrasts. The country band started late (as usual due to one or more members being late). For the first time ever, we actually got through all of the songs in one rehearsal. There was some nit-picking on some of the songs by some members in the band, but others stepped up and put a stop to it. The rehearsal was probably one of our better ones, though it was a bit tense. The rock band started late also (the country band just played until they got there...only 10 minutes or so). The rock band was all smiles from the get go. We hadn't played together since we gigged in Chicago in late April. We started at the top of the set list and started ripping it. We bounced around though because we wanted to accomodate the rhythm guitarist from my country band. We asked him to stay so that he could play with us on the songs that he knew. I think he enjoyed himself. It was very relaxing and I was beside myself with pure joy. I didn't realize just how much I missed playing with these folks. Some songs were sloppy, but we just played those a time or two more. It was a productive rehearsal that was fun...plus we just jammed alot on some stuff too.

 

 

 

Kick Ass!

[J the D]

Glad it worked out. Make sure you stay well hydrated for marathon session. In my experience with long days playing lots of water helps prevent cramps. Pottassium from a banana helps, too.