Tag: Session work

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“One Down, One to Go… Then We Hit the Stage!”

Smooth Rehearsal, Slow Tempos, and Final Prep for Sacramento County Fair Performance

One Down, One to Go… Saturday’s rehearsal with an old bandmate and two fellow musicians couldn’t have gone better—aside from the brutal traffic getting to and from the studio! Once we were all set up, the session turned out to be incredibly productive and energizing.

We ran through the entire setlist twice, which gave me a clearer understanding of how these songs are performed live—surprisingly different from their original recordings. One of the biggest insights? The live versions are played at a noticeably slower tempo. This threw me off at first, especially since I had already checked and practiced all the BPMs based on the recordings. Looks like it’s time to recalibrate!

To lock everything in, we made a game-time decision to record the rehearsal. That recording will be a crucial reference for me this week as I fine-tune every detail before we hit the stage at the Sacramento County Fair on Friday, May 23rd. Can’t wait to hear the final playback and bring these songs to life for a live audience!

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I got this interesting call from an old acquaintance.

A couple weeks ago, I got this interesting call from Mark a bass guitar player that I worked with a few years ago and he asked if I was interested in sitting in and playing drums with his current band for gig in the valley. After learning as much as I could about the band, I said yes and that’s when the fun began. Everyday I’ve been listening to the material and thinking what can I do to make the drums better? Can I do anything that makes it better? What ways can I find to increase the energy from the drum throne?

The goal is not for me to change the bands sound or approach it with any less intensity than the music already conveys, so it’s really a matter of me adding my performance style to material that I’m not entirely familiar with yet. My previous experiences doing this have all been positive and I’m sure this will be another positive experience. I’ve already had great conversations with the songwriter and lead guitarist of the group and of course played the material multiple times since receiving it.

Coming up next will be our first rehearsal and that’s where the rubber meets the road. It’s there that we’ll all find out how compatible we are when playing these songs. I’m very curious and hopeful to find out what we all sound like when playing together.

So onward… More to come after the first rehearsal.