Recommendations for improvement?

Guys, I have read the thread about the live music scene dying and was wondering if some honest opinions about how we do our thing could be offered. Positive or negative.
If you have a Youtube account and like the video's I've put up of our band, please leave a positive comment or "like" if your so inclined. I'd appreciate it if you leave the negative ones here!!
:lol:

Here is the link to the video/audio page on our website:
http://www.blackdirtband.com/Bytes.html

Thanks for your time!!!
If you prefer a direct link to a couple, I can do that as well.

I didn't watch them all, but I thought it was pretty good. Main thing I've always thought about playing blues is that you need to be creative. If you're playing a lot of 12 bar stuff, you have to really mix up how you approach it without sounding repetitive.

Lead playing seemed nice and smooth, bass and drums seemed fairly tight. Best part was that the harmonica player knew when to play (and when not to :shock:)

Cheers,
Doug

Thanks Doug. Appreciate the feedback.

I liked them. I like blues. That's about all I do like. I don't think you have to be creative, you just have to play it. But blues is in eveything. Country, rock and roll, jazz and well, blues. For me personally this is really laid back. I can sit still for a set. I like a little more sweaty and on edge if I'm going to sit still for 4 sets. Your singers make it work very well.

I think the creative part comes in what you play for each part of the 12 bar. Sometimes it's a riff that follows the 1-4-5 pattern, sometimes it's just chords, sometimes it's the ol' standard 5-6-7 pattern with your pinky, or some other variation, etc.

Changing up the changes (ha, I'm so clever) is important too. Walkups, walkdowns, turnarounds, endings. If you break down a standard 12 bar song, there's about a million ways to play each part. That's what I mean by being creative, where even though the chord structure is a 12 bar pattern, all the parts and pieces are mixed up so it doesn't sound the like you're playing the same song all night long.

To me, that's the measure of a good "blues" band - where you can play 12-bar-ish stuff all night, but it doesn't sound like the same old same old for each song.

Of course there's also tons of non-12 bar blues tunes, which I also love to play.

Cheers,
Doug

Yeah, I know what you mean but I just like it as-is for the most part. A good singer makes a lot of difference. We wind up doing a lot of bluegrass and Haggard stuff that turns into blues, is 12 bar but not exactly your "standard" 12 bar.

Thanks Old Cane!

If you take the time to take a gander, please hit the thumbs up button on the video's page! Much appreciated!

Good idea.
My thread drew a lot of comments about the sad state of local Blues bands, guitar wankery, etc. but nobody commented o[specifically on my band.
Did they not bother?
Or were they just being polite by not coming right out and saying, "Dude,,,you're not doing well because your band sucks. People are sick of that stuff."
Granted...it is a pretty quick-and-dirty live demo.
Feel free to click the link and make a comment.
I can take it.

Good idea.
My thread drew a lot of comments about the sad state of local Blues bands, guitar wankery, etc. but nobody commented o[specifically on my band.
Did they not bother?
Or were they just being polite by not coming right out and saying, "Dude,,,you're not doing well because your band sucks. People are sick of that stuff."
Granted...it is a pretty quick-and-dirty live demo.
Feel free to click the link and make a comment.
I can take it.


Charlie,
I took a listen to the tunes and they were solid. I don't know if your voice is the best for the blues, but it has some grit! I didn't see a video link but I will look again.
Tim

Sounds good to me Charlie. Both of you guys do.

Lose the bowling shirts and blues hats. Engage the audience, even if there's three people there. Enjoy yourself. Play more obscure tunes, and make all the tunes your own instead of playing the same old arrangements. Take some tunes that aren't originally the blues and make 'em the blues.

Take some tunes that aren't originally the blues and make 'em the blues.

What? Like classical you mean? The rest is all the blues anyway.

Country - blues but you own a tractor instead of a mule
Rock - I tried to play the blues but it came out too loud
Jazz - I'm playing the blues but got to find a use for all these chords I learnt
Blues - well, duh

What? Like classical you mean? The rest is all the blues anyway.

Country - blues but you own a tractor instead of a mule
Rock - I tried to play the blues but it came out too loud
Jazz - I'm playing the blues but got to find a use for all these chords I learnt
Blues - well, duh

:lol:

Like this:
jpjERr772RQ

Lose the bowling shirts and blues hats. Engage the audience, even if there's three people there. Enjoy yourself. Play more obscure tunes, and make all the tunes your own instead of playing the same old arrangements. Take some tunes that aren't originally the blues and make 'em the blues.


I like my hats & shirts!
:cry:
:wink:

We do engage the audience as much as possible. Dance with them, stand on bars, ect!
Good advice.

The blues hat/bowling shirt thing is like an effing blues uniform. Branch out!:lol:

Alright Fezz. I'm gonna branch out and go with this this Saturday night:
http://images.halloweencostumes.com/scary-tree-costume.jpg

It'd be different!:lol:

And that's the point. For every one blues hat, there's a thousand other guys out there wearing the same thing. Bowling shirts are for bowling. Unless you're also wearing bowling shoes, and use a bowling bag to carry stuff in. And call yourself the John Petraglia Blues Band.:grin:

It'd be different!:lol:

And that's the point. For every one blues hat, there's a thousand other guys out there wearing the same thing. Bowling shirts are for bowling. Unless you're also wearing bowling shoes, and use a bowling bags to carry stuff in.:grin:


It's like country guys wearing cowboy hats, right? Silly.....

FWIW, I usually don't play country. Mostly hard rock stuff. People see me they expect country. Then I play this:

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Or this:

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People tend to hear with their eyes. Every now and then you gotta kick 'em in the nads.:lol:

I was aware that you play different stuff. I wasn't referring to your hat in your avatar! Just a generalization! I don't wear a hat on every gig. Sometimes it's just too warm. However, I do like to have a decent shirt, nice jeans and shoes when I am in front of people. There are plenty of rock star posers wearing whatever so I don't mind being a blues poser either!!

Liven it up a bit. Put on a show. Muddy and co didn't just stand and play. They kicked ass. You should kick ass too. Risk looking a foolm but do something entertaining and unexpected. Do womething you'll be remembered for. I have loved the blues since I was a kid but blues can be sooo boring. Make sure your audience never thinks that about you.

PS The music you play is good...you just need some stagecraft and FUN to complete the picture.

Liven it up a bit. Put on a show. Muddy and co didn't just stand and play. They kicked ass. You should kick ass too. Risk looking a fool but do something entertaining and unexpected. Do something you'll be remembered for.

That's what I've been trying to say. I guess I'm not saying it right.:cool:

At the beginning of my show, the band plays Peter Gunn without me. I walk on in handcuffs, dressed in an orange prison murder suit (made with tear away velcro) escorted by a fake cop (Usually a female in one of those sexy cop outfits). She removes the handcuffs, I tear off the suit ( that has my usual pearl button shirt and jeans underneath), put on my guitar and hat and start rippin' it up. It's memorable to say the least. At the end of the show, I'm handcuffed again and taken away.:lol:

No Fezz you're doing fine buddy...just adding my thoughts even though they were similar to what others had said.

Fezz, we were talking about music, not lady gaga. I expect better from you, chaging the subject like that.

Hear with their eyes. Right on. People look at me and figure I must play ugly music.

And no, cowboy hats are for cowboys, not country music players. It's a lifestyle we choose or rather, for all you touchy-feely types more and more prevelant around here, it chooses us. Boots, jeans and hats were how I grew up. When I played in soul bands that's what I wore. That's all I had. It's like you guys now that all wear those awful ugly sandal thingies. Eck. Sorry, I re-enjoy lunch when I picture guys feet in those things. Guys feet only need to do 2 things. 1-let you stand up and 2-fill out your boots so they don't collapse.

But basically to kind of summarzie everybody, if you're not entertaining how do you expect to entertain? Yeah, there will always be those 3 guitar players out there that sit all night just to pick you apart. But if you make them your buddies because of your sparkling personallity then they will be looking for bright spots in your playing, not dead spots. As long as I've starting using the numbers in my posts here are some more:

1-drunk chicks dancing are good
2-drunk chicks dancing with each other are better than #1
3-guys wanting to dance with drunk chicks will try to make eye contact with you. that's ok.
4-guys wanting to dance alone and make eye contact....not ok.
5-if she looks like a guy....she is
6-if they buy you a drink let them even if you don't drink like me. the bar makes money selling drinks. duh.

I could go on and on (and often do) but a lot of you have probably blocked my posts already so I'll stop.

Fezz, we were talking about music, not lady gaga. I expect better from you, changing the subject like that.

.

:lol: You're maybe expecting too much?

Poker Face is a good song. Imagine it done in a more bluesy style. The form is there, it just needs tweaking.:grin:

bqT4VnnEU0M

I'm not gonna have to imagine it much longer. We're bringing a girl in that wants to do it. I haven't been able to make it past the intro. She said she'll bring charts so maybe I won't ever have to actually hear it.

I run a couple of open mics a month and I've probably heard half a dozen guys do covers of Poker Face. It an OK song but the days of covering it being cute or cleverly ironic are coming to an end for me...but I am sure people who go to fewer live music events than me may well still get a kick from it.

Before Poker Face the song that fell into this pigeon hole was Hit Me Baby One More Time.

:lol: You're maybe expecting too much?

Poker Face is a good song. Imagine it done in a more bluesy style. The form is there, it just needs tweaking.:grin:

bqT4VnnEU0M

Still, I feel like I'm the only one my age that still wants to rock. All this new crap people want to do. Well, if I have to listen to it much more I'll have to break out the razor blades and the sleeping pills. I don't want to do it half-way. I'm to the age that if I can't hear it in my head as Bad Company would do it I really don't want to hear it.

The songs like this are what we call "writer-nighters" around here. Writers writing for each other. Usually a song about (if it's country) how their grandpa took them fishing. If it's "modern" then it's about how their grandpa abused them.

But this helps. She has a video of how she did it with her last band and it came out kind of a polka. I don't think that was the intent.

Still, I feel like I'm the only one my age that still wants to rock.

Meh, I'm basically your age (+ a few years) and all I want to do is rawk! The guys I play with are half my age, and they wanna rawk too. It's kinda funny sometimes, but it's fun too.:lol:

if I can't hear it in my head as Bad Company would do it I really don't want to hear it.



Great line!

Yeah, I don't try to make the voices in my head stop. I just try to make them sound like Paul Rogers.