Pt 2: Rehearsals, Songwriting, Live Shows…

 So let’s pick up where I left off in Pt 1. 

All bands rehearse. If you’re lucky enough to score musicians who want to rehearse, then you’re only gonna get tighter, form a bond, and grow as musicians. For me I’ve had bands that rehearse… but that that doesn’t mean they rehearse in general. I can list all the guys I’ve played with that have under performed but that would take up way too much time. There’s at least 1 guy in each band I’ve been in who just lacks and drags the whole thing down. I’ve had a guitarist who showed up every week and literally just solo over everything. Never took the time to actually learn the songs. Plus he was in at least 2 other bands, so how would he have time to learn 3 bands worth of material? I’ve had 2 different drummers who couldn’t remember endings of songs each week, yet rehearsed them multiple times a day. Also never learned the actual songs. So each time we played them, they’d sound different at every show. Same thing with the guitarist. I had a bassist I worked with almost 20 years ago who brought a tape deck to rehearsals. He’d record them to learn the songs. Yet when it came to every rehearsal and shows he still didn’t know the songs or what to play. I’m still convinced he had a pile of cassettes in his living room. As if he walked in his home and said ‘that was another great practice’ and flung the tape into the pile never to be heard again. I should’ve known about him because he looked like a spitting image of Doc Brown from Back to the Future. I hate to bring up image again, but every band I’ve been in somehow always attracted at least one older guy. Which is not bad because at least the have the experience and knowledge. But in reality, the image of the band was in the shitter from the start.

As my last band was disintegrating I realized that I was lacking in rehearsing and learning my lyrics. I couldn’t remember them for the life of me. But soon realized what was happening. I realized that I had to carry every band I was in for the previous 5 years or so. I had to cover all the Rhythm guitars and song structures because 2 of the 4 couldn’t remember how the songs went. I couldn’t drop out on a verse and create dynamics because who was gonna carry the song? It had to be me. With that comes stress, disappointment, and memory loss. I was too busy trying to hold it all together that I lacked with my vocals and lyrics. It was embarrassing. I actually had cheat sheets on a music stand to hold my lyrics! I’ve never had to do that before. With all that, the songs suffered, and stage presence was terrible. Not that it mattered because literally nobody showed up to see us. Which leads me into the next paragraph. Live shows in LA vs Nashville.

I grew up in LA, played all over that city since I was 14 years old. I’ve played many genres of music thru the years including rock, rockabilly, alternative, and some country. I’ve played some great venues like the Hard Rock Cafe, BB Kings Blues Club, Viper Room, The Roxy… all the Hollywood staples. I also played some less intriguing places such as an El Pollo Loco parking lot, some coffee houses. But in all honesty those less than attractive gigs got us recognized by some really high end people who booked us for casino nights, big festivals, proms, and more. We got paid really well for these gigs. But… those gigs turned that band into something I didn’t want to be. I had to turn to more cover songs, and be more of a cover act. No thank you! I’d rather watch grass grow then be that band. So I stopped booking gigs and formed a new band. This new band was probably the best band I had. We played everywhere, had a pretty good draw from the start. We had an image, a band name to match, and we just had fun! If we made a few dollars then even better. But it was never about the money. We made an 8 song record that was ok. The mix was bad, so we never did anything with it. That band lasted a good 3-4 years. After that every band I had was just turning into a solo act with a rotating cast of band mates. Nobody really stuck around. The gigs got few and far between playing less than fortunate venues. Nobody came to see the gigs anymore. It was becoming sad. A couple years later I moved to Nashville. I though ok, music city! Let’s do this! Well… music city is just a name. It was far from what I thought it would be. You could really play a ton if you played cover songs, or Christian rock. No thanks! Not what I want to do in the least! It took me 2 years to put a band together. Of course it was always the same situation as the previous few years back in LA. A rotating cast of characters and guys who didn’t take their roles serious enough to actually learn their parts. There was at least one guy in each formation who practiced and knew his stuff. Thank god for that! Don’t get me wrong, most of the guys I’ve played with from the early 2000’s till now are all really nice guys! Some have become some good friends. Now back to this. I had to go by my own name because (I hate to say it again) the image was bad! I had a look, these guys didn’t fit the look. I can easily promote myself, but can’t promote a cast of characters that didn’t fit. I’m gonna say it again. Even if you’re backing a solo artist, dress up and look the part. You’re selling an image, and honestly you’re selling yourself. A crowds first impression is in all honesty how a band looks. It’s how it works. It took a long time to get venues to book us. Most venues wouldn’t get back to me. They only book a limited amount of bands and keep them in rotation weekly, so there’s no chance of playing the good venues. I’d look at their calendars and think ‘where’s the variety here’? It was literally the same few bands a few times a week, but booked weekly for months at a time! It was nuts! Then I heard from some venues that said I sound too California for this town. Another booked us, then took it back and said he’d rather have it be just me playing acoustic for 90 minutes. No thanks! I said no, and didn’t play it. An acoustic show for 90 minutes sounds boring as can be. Everything starts to sound the same after the 3rd song. We finally got to play a few shows but having to to hold everything together myself because some guys couldn’t pull their weight was draining. We’d be 8 songs into a 14 song set and I’d literally be thinking ‘can we just stop and leave now?’ I’ve never thought like that before. We couldn’t draw anyone to the gigs other than our wives. As happy as we were to have them there, it’s still really disappointing. The venues had no draw of their own. I don’t know how they stay in business honestly. It became so disheartening that in March of 2020 I decided to leave the band and quit playing live. Everything I used to love about it was gone. It was only bringing me frustration, depression, and I dreaded every rehearsal. It left such a bad taste in my mouth that I eventually sold every guitar I had used within the past 2 years with this band. To me it left bad vibes on these instruments. 

Songwriting has always been the backbone of my bands. I wrote all the songs. I knew being an original act was gonna be a little tougher but that was the only act I wanted to be. An original act to me is more fun. How many bands are out there playing the same old covers the same way? Probably 80% of them. Not what I’m into at all. Again it goes back to having a vision for myself and my life. I’m a creative person with a creative mind that is always on. It never shuts off. I’ve noticed here in Nashville if you wanna be an original act you may succeed like I said in country and Christian rock. Most country guys here dumb down there names to 2 first names probably because it’s easier to remember and dumb down the lyrics to appeal to the masses here. Again neither is me and I can’t stoop that low. This is just how I see it, and I may be wrong but it sure seems that’s the way the Nashville machine works here for original artists. It’s unfortunate because I’m not getting any younger here, and at a certain point the general public stops taking you seriously as an older original artist. Not that I’m old, I’m 43 now and certainly don’t look it.

Anyhow, that’s how I see it based on experiences. Part 3 will be finding out where do we go from here?