It's time I tread into the wild wild sea of Craigslist. I need to find musicians in Austin Texas.
If I was a rich guy, I would hire the best available. But really bands are like any other group activity, chemistry is key. Usually a controlled volatility. No matter how much money is paid or how great the musicians are individually, they have to play and sound good together. They all gotta have the groove/philosophy of the music of the band-a collective vision. The band leader has to be able to communicate the musical and business agenda, plus manage expectations on both fronts. It's hard, a pain in the ass and when successful, better than sex.
I know some great players here in Austin, but they are busy because they are great players. I have a dream line-up of players I would love to have, but I need to keep it flexible. I want to have a couple of core people. Since I want great players, I know I will probably have some people in and out of the project. Hell, I'll hopefully be playing in more projects since I'm a music whore. The goal is to get album released by the end of the year. Since I'm the leader, I will handle the promotion and marketing, the booking, writing & arranging, incur the cost of rehearsals and try to pay the musicians in the band. I'll manage the Facebook, Myspace, Reverbnation, Bandize, Twitter, etc.. It's a lot of work. But the hardest thing might be writing the Craigslist ad. I wrote about one I liked here.
I've actually been thinking about this a long time. I wrote a lot of drafts and was not happy. I might have to rewrite this one. Here it goes:
The Quart of Blood Technique seeks a drummer & guitarist.
Aesthetic: The Quart of Blood Technique is an instrumental band-live, experimental jazz, funk/R&B, rock, sound texture music. Original music, arrangements of music from movie soundtracks-TV Themes and riff heavy music (reworking hard rock and jazz tunes). Basically danceable out-there in the pocket stuff…
Music influences: Medeski Martin & Wood, The Meters, The Funk Brothers, James Brown, Booker T & the MGs, Herbie Mann, Thelonious Monk, Cannonball Adderley, Miles Davis (Late 60s/Early 70s), Headhunters, the Screaming Headless Torsos & Vernon Reid’s Masque, T.J. Kirk
I’m a professional electric bassist. I’m in my 30’s, stable and my main bass influences are Marcus Miller, Jaco Pastorius, Larry Graham, James Jamerson, Tony Levin, Paul McCartney, Doug Wimbish. I also sing, play guitar and alto sax.
Ideally the drummer for this project will be in the vein of Clyde Stubblefield, Bernard Purdie, Tony Williams, Zygabo Modeliste, Stewart Copeland, Billy Martin, Gene Lake. Somebody the lives in the pocket, but can explore in the world of beats.
Ideally the guitarist will be in the vein of John Scofield, Vernon Reid, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, David Fiuczynski.
Business: I have a day gig. I will play at least $50 a gig, pay for rehearsals, handle the booking, marketing, etc. I tentatively have a weekly gig starting in April, depending on how soon I get the group together. I am looking for experienced professional, career minded musicians. I’m working on the web presence (FB fanpage, twitter, Reverbnation, Myspace..) and none of them are quite ready yet. I have demos of originals.
Plus, I bought a lot of music and saw a lot of shows. I was also writing music for my instrumental band The Quart of Blood Technique & my solo project (Greg & the Get Downs) looking for musicians, hanging out & drinking with my wife and friends, going to Dallas for All Star Weekend, watching the Saints win the Superbowl, working my Clark Kent job as a media analyst, recording LEOGS, getting my black ass back in shape for my boy's wedding in August, trying out for Honeybrowne....
A lot of stuff. Now it's March and it's just gonna get worse with SXSW. I will post a collective New Music (to Me) Tuesday tomorrow. Thanks for reading and being part of the conversation.
Every since here Grammy performance, I thought I should listen to her music and see what all the hullabaloo is all about. To me, her music is well constructed pop/dance music. It's catchy. My favorite tune from these discs is "Teeth". The groove is hard & deep. I think The Quart of Blood Technique is going to do a cover of this tune.
On August 27, 1990 I was driving either from or to work at a New Jersey mall when I heard the news about Stevie Ray's death. I pulled over and sat in disbelief. I just missed his tour with Jeff Beck the previous fall. Can't believe he's been gone 20 years. One of my best MTV moments is the video for "Couldn't Stand the Weather". I thought it was cool that he and Double Trouble played with swim googles on.
This is a great 2 disc set that contains 3 albums: The Hottest New Group in Jazz, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross Sing Ellington and HIgh Flying with Ike Isaacs Trio
Karl Denson-Dance Lesson #2-$5.99 Since I'm in the head with my new project The Quart of Blood Technique, I have funk groove soul jazz on my mind. I've been into Karl since his Lenny Kravitz days.
"There's a thin line between clever and stupid." Nigel Tufnel
Band names.
The right one is iconic. The wrong one is stupid. Band names brand your tribe. Your fans will paste it on their cars, windows, bar bathrooms, clubs, telephone poles, guitar cases, Trapper Keepers, wear it on panties, t-shirts, hats, etc. There are many types of band names:
1. The (Your Name Here) Band, Group or Duo,Trio, Quartet, Quintet, Sextet, Octet or Explosion or Experience or Unit or what have you.
The easiest, most direct way to name a band. Jazz groups love this. It's also because jazz groups usually have leaders or feature players-those leaders are the band. The leader of the group could be dead, but it's still his or hers band. Rock bands that use this type of moniker like to, dare I say, jazz it up with funky adjectives for "band". Ex: The Miles Davis Quintet, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Sonny Rollins Trio, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Jazz/Funk Unit, The Charles Mingus Big Band. James Brown & the Famous Flames, Hootie & the Blowfish. A personal favorite of mine-Rock Stardom & the Fashion Jerks. I was a Fashion Jerk
By the way, I actually like the name-The (Your Name Here) Band. Your welcome, use it.
2. The name that defines your primary influence. Sometimes the name is spelled different, sometimes it's a combination of things boiled down to a couple of words or phase. Something that is important to the band or the leader of the band. A style of music or philosophical world view or a song or another band.
Ex; The Rolling Stones, Soul Track Mind, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Doors
3. The made-up name or phrase
Pretty simple in concept, whether it's intentional or found in a dream. Sometimes words are just cool together
Ex: Aerosmith, Metallica, Arctic Monkeys, Audioslave, Air Supply, Nine Inch Nails.
4. The obvious name.
A common word or phrase, sometimes in a different language.
Ex: The Eagles, The Police, The Band, The Cure, Helmet, No Doubt, Yo La Tengo, Pantera, The Time
These are just a few types of band names. There are some many reasons and choices bands make about their names. I keep a list of band names, song titles with me all the time. Ever time I think of one, I write it down.
My favorite band names: Radiohead, Soundgarden, Living Colour, Sly & The Family Stone, The Jam, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Bad Brains, Public Enemy, Pearl Jam, Screaming Headless Torsos, Massive Attack, Led Zeppelin, Funkadelic.
The name I choose for my new instrument group is The Quart of Blood Technique. Here are the reasons:
1. I like a name that can be shorten by a fanbase-perhaps the QoBT, The Technique, etc. Like the The Rolling Stones go by the Stones a lot.
2. The music of the group will be live, experimental jazz, funk/R&B, rock, sound texture stuff. Original music, arrangements of music from movie soundtracks-TV Themes and riff heavy music (reworking hard rock and jazz tunes). I ultimately want some of the original music used with film. I wanted a name to reflect film, so I wanted something from a film.
3. I wanted a name to reflect my mindset. I have an absurdist, subversive sense of humor. It's why I love the human condition. The absurdity of situations, even the tragic ones. It's how I deal with stress,
4. One of my favorite movie scenes ever is from Trading Places. The first time I saw this scene I was hyperventilating. I was a kid, but the fact the Billy Ray Valentine could bullshit so much just tickled me to no end. What he says is so absurd, yet his jailbird minions hang on ever word of his heist story.
So be on the lookout for updates on my group The Quart of Blood Technique. The next step will be filling out the line-up.....
I attended the 40th Annual Grammy Awards February 25th, 1998. I was a head seat filler, so I had a lot of friends come and hang being seat fillers. It was a great experience. It was hosted by Kelsey Grammer and had these famous/infamous moments:
1. Wu-Tang Clan member Ol' Dirty Bastard interrupts Shawn Colvin's Song of the Year acceptance speech to protest the Clan's loss in the Best Rap Album category.
2. Immediately after performing "How Do I Live," LeAnn Rimes loses Best Female Country Vocal Performance to Trisha Yearwood's cover version of the exact same song.
3. Aretha Franklin performs the aria "Nessun Dorma" after standing in for Luciano Pavarotti at the last minute.
4. During a Bob Dylan performance, a shirtless backup dancer named Michael Portnoy rushes to the front of the stage with the words "Soy Bomb" written on his chest.
I had a lot of great interactions with famous musicians. I'll have to check my journal for specific stories (one day...). It was the closest I've ever gotten to a Grammy stage. It was maddening, intoxicating and yes a little depressing. I always felt kinda torn about the Grammys. It's like when I lived in New York City. I lived in Brooklyn (Park Slope, Flatbush, Bed-Stuy, Midwood), Queens (Briarwood) and Manhattan (Washington Heights & Soho). A lot of my friends lived in Brooklyn and Queens and made it "cool". All the "hipper than thou"crowd bemoaned how uncool Manhattan was. They loved scraping cash for long ass cab rides, taking the L, G, E, F to outer Mongolia late at night. Yeah, real cool. You know what was cool? Walking home from work, gigs, clubs. You know what was cool? Telling women "We can go back to my place on Sullivan Street, between Prince & Houston.." (Ok what wasn't cool was the rent-$850 for my share of a 4 bedroom joint that was tiered to what each person could pay. My share wasn't the highest and this was 1997-1998.) Most of my friends that liked living in the boroughs couldn't afford to live in Manhattan. They had to make it "cool" to put up with the P.I.TA. factor (pain in the ass...) If they had the bread, 99% would've lived in Manhattan.
It's the same thing with the Grammys. Most of my musicians friends haven't been to the Grammys, been nominated or won. I know a few that have won or were nominated, but they are established acts-nobody I came through the trenches with. It's easy for us independent musicians without deals, press or hits to bag on the Grammys (there's plenty to bag on). The truth is the worst thing about the starving artist thing is the starving. I never pretended that I didn't want more exposure for my work. I believe my role as an artist is to be a reflection of the human condition. I want that reflection to shine on as many people as possible. I want the opportunity to have someone blog about my musical expressions, criticize me, cut me down or love what I do and praise my music. Do I wish I was nominated? Do I wish to win a Grammy one day? Of course I do. Acceptance is not overrated. If just one day or week or year I could have an album that grabs people, it would be cool.
Another aspect of the Grammys plays into the ego. We artists/musicians believe we have something to say. To be honest, must of us think people should listen to us. And hey, we all think we're pretty good or great. We on the outside who think we have talent look at some of the performers and question everything:
Can't I sing better than that? I know I'm a better bassist/guitarist/vocalist/songwriter than these people...Why are they getting Grammys while I've been work Clark Kent jobs for 20 years? Why didn't any of the music projects I was involved with get popular or signed? Why am I still trying to do this?
So is there jealousy involved in watching the Grammys? Absolutely. The elephant in the room when I watch the Grammys with friends or family. I'm just trying to be honest with myself. To admit that my ego doesn't exist is ridiculous.
In the end, I like a celebration of music. I hadn't watched a whole Grammys Show since I moved to Austin. In my music sabbatical, I really checked out on pop music. My friend Megan decided to have a Grammy party and I decided to attend and watch the show with some Gen Yers. They schooled me and caught me up on the stuff I missed. I did tweet the show then watched it again on DVR These are my observations (some of them are tweets I posted)
I should note that I watched a lot of the streaming pre-telecast stuff and liked it very much. Kurt Elling should host more stuff and he has one of the best voices around. His co-host featured a Tia Carrere sighting. The backing band was great and the perfomances were grittier. It probably had to do to the fact that it was a smaller theatre.
This was the 1st time I saw Lady Gaga. She is what pop stars should be though I wasn't particularly moved by her music. Maybe I'll pick up her record and listen to it, just to see if the kids are all screaming about. I do like the fact that she can sing and play piano. Elton was Elton.
Stephen Colbert made a great point about Susan Boyle. "Remember-you may be the coolest people in the world, but this year your industry was saved by a 48 year old Scottish cat lady in sensible shoes."
Man I'm old, I had no idea Green Day is a musical now. 7:32 PM Jan 31st from Tweetie
I guess they are the Gen X version of the Who. Is American IdiotTommy? I'm not a big fan of musicials, but this performance was aiiight.
Beyonce does Alanis M. Not bad. 7:35 PM Jan 31st from Tweetie
Beyonce was good. I think she outdid Lady Gaga, but Beyonce to me has no personality. She seems like a nice person, she's like a robot. She can sing, but there isn't a lot of there, there. That's why she's such a terrible actress. She can sing her ass off. And she had an all female band. I thing they were all females of color, which is nice to see. I wish Beyonce and the recorded industry would recognize more black rock/alt music (There are books written about the struggle of black rock musicians) By recognize I mean support with albums, marketing, touring, promotion, etc...
People in the audience are like "yo Pink, u know how much my hair cost, this suit and you are pullin' this flash dance sh*t?" 7:47 PM Jan 31st from Tweetie
She was ok, but the song bored me to death.
When did country dudes start dressing like dressed up frat guys? The Best New Artist Zak Brown Band looks like guys that hang out on 6th Street. Good for them, hopefully this doesn't kill their career.
I will never, ever ever ever ever EVER understand the appeal of the Black Eyed Peas. They dress like freaks, their music is like cotton candy-all suger and air. I heard they actually rapped back in the day:
Wha' happen?
Of course Colbert was going to win a Grammy. It's the only reason he showed up to start the show.
Kings of Leon- I know nothing about this band. I guess they are the kings of arena rock now. They music is a was to me. Maybe I need to buy the album the see what kids are all a flutter about. Congrats on the Grammy.
November Rain? With Jamie Fox , Timberland, TI, Slash.... man pop music is weird 8:33 PM Jan 31st from TweetDeck
WTF was this? I forgot to mention Doug E. Fresh and T-Pain. This performance made me feel so old. I stopped listening to new hip hop after Biggie died. That autotune, dirty south stuff was never my cup of tea. Strong Island, Brooklyn Took It, Boogie Down Bronx-that's me stuff.
Jamie Foxx is a talented dude, though. This guy's an Oscar winner, too.
Leon Russell looks like he's been hanging wth JD Salinger... 8:41 PM Jan 31st from TweetDeck
Hey Grammy Soundguys, please improve the mix in Taylor Swift's monitor. She is singing kinda flat.... 8:50 PM Jan 31st from TweetDeck
She's sweet. She's cute. She's young. She's tall. And she was not good. I don't know if she sings flat all the time, but with Stevie Nicks (Not exactly the most accurate singer herself) She won big tonight. (Four wins including Album of the Year)
Hudson, Usher, Smokey, Underwood and Dion and a trippy booby Beyonce in the audience... Who needs 3D? 8:58 PM Jan 31st from TweetDeck
The Michael Jackson tribute was ok. I just wished they picked a better song. Earth Song is kinda a durge of a tune. I didn't have 3D glasses so I couldn't get the full effect. Smoke Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, User, Carrie Underwood and Celion Dion were all adequate enough, I guess. When his kids came out and Prince had the speech down, it was sweet. I guess Michael was a good dad to them. The crowd in 3D glasses was very 50's. Beyonce rocked them....
How did Bon Jovi go from hair metal to country pop? #grammys 9:11 PM Jan 31st from TweetDeck
RT @thecultureofme: richie sambora looks like an old lesbian these days. #grammys 9:12 PM Jan 31st from TweetDeck
So can Jon Bon Jovi not hit the high note anymore in Living on a Prayer? He let her take it... 9:16 PM Jan 31st from TweetDeck
Amen on people paying for music. It costs real money to make music. When recording, mkting & touring r free, music should be free. #grammys 9:46 PM Jan 31st from TweetDeck
"Now, what if someone told you they really appreciated your work but didn't think they should have to pay you for it anymore. What would you do? How would you pay your bills, support your family? How would you survive?
This evening, you've seen performances by the most successful artists today. And you know about their generosity and giving back. But standing right behind them are thousands of unknown and up-and-coming music makers who face the question of survival every day (THAT'S ME!!!). In the coming decade, unless they can make a living at their craft, the quality and creativity of the music will be at risk.
Well tonight, we're all fans and music lovers who want to ensure that the future of music is a bright one. New technologies will bring music whenever and wherever you want it.
But as fans, let's all truly value the music and the songs that change our lives by supporting and compensating these gifted creators of the music we treasure. And together, let's make this next decade a time of renaissance for the music that plays as the soundtrack of our lives."
Dave Matthews band has always been a snoozefest for me and their Grammy performance did nothing to wake me up to their music.
Nice to see Maxwell and Roberta Flack together.
Man that Les Paul tribute was weak. They couldn't put a real band with Jeff Beck? Why not Al DiMeola who actually plays jazz on a Les Paul? 10:07 PM Jan 31st from TweetDeck
Tarantino is in his fat Elvis phrase doing a terrible Samual L Jackson. 10:13 PM Jan 31st from TweetDeck
I see Little Wayne & I hear "Pants on the Ground.." 10:15 PM Jan 31st from TweetDeck
The should've live twittered it with the lyrics since most of them were muted.
Digital Antique is a great instrumental soundscape band. In the small room above the University of Texas campus pizzeria, the band had command of the room.
It wasn't the best sounding room (the bass could've been louder), yet the crowd listened intently.
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