Well this one was interesting...
Some of you may remember my previous blog I did when I played a jam night at the Maverick back in February. While they are nice people in there and the night works very well, it's not one I've made much effort to return to. Possibly because it was the first time in quite a while I'd felt out of my depth when I've been playing live, or maybe it's because the music tends to be of a 'Classic Rock' nature, and I'm not a big fan of Classic Rock. I never understood what was so great about Led Zeppelin or Bad Company, for example, glorified blues bands don't do all that much for me. I prefer Roxy Music (who were doing it just a little bit differently and not basing it so heavily on the blues) and AC/DC (who put a LOT of energy into their music.) So it's not often I go to the Maverick.
On this occasion, I asked the guy running the show if there was any chance of a few songs, and he said yes, all well and good, I went to sit down and wait for my go. Stood next to me was a guy I recognised, who turned out to be Pete from House of Eternity, who I'd seen play Katie's Jam Night some time ago. We shook hands and said hello, I told him I was playing later. "Do you need a drummer?" he asks me. Well, I'm playing my own stuff solo with an acoustic guitar... but do you know what, I play those same songs every week, why not try something a bit different? I asked the gaffer if it was OK for Pete to join me as well and he said that was fine.
Of course, with a drummer it's also germane to have a bass player, and Pete suggested we ask Matt, the resident bass player for that Jam Night. So on his way to the bar I accosted the guy and asked if he'd play bass for me, he agreed, and I had a rhythm section. We got as far as the stage area and a young guy called Ash on guitar was hanging around there, and I thought we might as well let him play too. So, for the first time, I played my songs live with a full band...
We started with Get Out Of My Head, after telling the guys that we're looking for a slow, funky feel, like Maroon 5 or Simply Red. I started playing the chords and the guys came in very well indeed, Pete and Matt holding it together while Ash was riffing quietly over the band. The chord changes might have thrown them a couple of times but as it was the first time any of them had heard the song I can hardly begrudge them that. We kept it together and stopped at the same time, it was brilliant.
Then we tried Bitterness. I told the guys we were after a fast, punky, MCR sort of sound, although without wishing to sound patronising I don't know if any of the 'band' knew who I meant! This suffered from a false start; because the song goes quite fast and uses a capo, it can be a bit difficult to follow if you don't know what you're doing. So I stopped the song and took the capo off so that Ash and Matt could follow my barre chords. In a song that fast they're not going to keep up all the time, and this was probably the one that showed the most mistakes, but they seemed to enjoy it!
I had to think on my feet for the next one, the original plan was supposed to be Storm From The North but I didn't want to have to explain the odd times to anyone before playing it. I eventually settled on Prisoner of my Mind. I told the lads we're looking for a shoegazing Radiohead sort of sound and that it changes key. This was probably the highlight of the set for me, grim though the song is, when I told Ash to play a solo and after turning the amp up he complimented the song perfectly with his guitar - despite the fact that we're in F minor, not a guitar-friendly key. Pete told me afterwards that he really liked this song too, though, again with the patronising, Pete looks about the right age to have Radiohead as an integral part to the soundtrack to his life.
So, matt486 plays with a band for the first time, and I think it went really really well given the circumstances. I'd love to do it again; despite the best intentions from all concerned I doubt I'll ever get this lineup together again but I'd love to give it a go, and if it can be arranged perhaps develop it in to something more permanent. But I was immensely satisfied with the fact that, simply by being arsed to do go out and do it, I managed to get a whole new reality onto my music...
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