So I finally got together with the fiddle player..

[OutlawSteph1975]

If you were following this thread:
http://www.tdpri.com/forum/bad-dog-c...ndle-well.html

He had three of us over... me with my banjo and guitar, a rhythm guitar player, and a mandolin player. They'd never heard me do any flatpicking before, so he passed out a chart for June Apple which I already knew. I put my banjo down for June Apple to do some flatpicking. I sort of wanted to get over being under-estimated, and it worked. Not that I'm a brilliant flatpicker yet but I can keep up the the fiddle and play in harmony with him.

He passed out a chart for Temperance Reel, which I didn't know but rolled my way through it on banjo. We had to stop a few times for the rhythm guy and the mandolin player to learn their parts. I think they'll catch up. We did Old Joe Clark which we'd played together before. After a couple hours, it was all coming together.

I don't know if this is a band or not, maybe an embryonic band if we keep it up, which I hope we do because even if it's not a band it's great practice to have people to play with.

[Telarkaster]

Hey, that's great! Who knows where this will lead, but try to learn as much as you can from each experience. If you are more advanced than the others, now is your chance to work on your leadership skills. If you are behind, look at yourself in the mirror and figure out what to work on. Live in the moment and have fun!

Even if you never play with these people again, you can gain so much from this. And if you do, try to figure what you would do differently.

Way to go, keep it up!

[Telehackster]

Very cool, Steph! If thise doesn't turn into a band, it's their loss.

[Flat357]

Damn it Steph .. thought you were gonna give us a saucy insight into your love life there for a minute . I'm thoroughly disappointed
Even made myself a cup of tea and got myself comfortable for a good old Mills And Boon moment

Seriously ..... great news .
Hope it works out !!

[Califiddler]

Steph, from the other thread and this one it sounds like this guy wants to do only fiddle tunes. That's all well and good, and good practice, but in terms of a band, wouldn't you rather get into a bluegrass band? That way, instead of doing only fiddle tunes, you would do mostly songs, and you would get practice kicking songs off, taking breaks, playing backup, etc., plus you could sing (if you sing). I would think that nothing but fiddle tunes would get boring after a while - and I'm a fiddle player!

Don't mean to discourage you, just food for thought, and by all means keep doing this until something else comes along, if you want something else.

[boris bubbanov]

I thought you were gonna offer him a beer, then break the fiddle over his head.

Oh well, too many Hollywood movies I suppose.

[OutlawSteph1975]

Originally Posted by Califiddler

you would get practice kicking songs off, taking breaks, playing backup, etc., plus you could sing (if you sing).

I do all of that in the context of fiddle tunes. We tried to do a little singing. Sometimes we play the break together and sometimes we trade off. It's a situation where beggars can't be choosers because there are so few people around here who can play traditional music. I'm sure we'll throw some banjo tunes in the mix eventually.

I spent a while trying to put a country rock band together but every time I played a Buck Owens tune no one was interested. So I'm pretty much torn between electric country and an acoustic format. This is fun for now.

[mudbean]

Sounds like fun, Steph!

Glad to hear they gave you some cred when you dug in a bit!

mud

[Tim Bowen]

Very cool, Steph! As for trying to put a country rock thing together and not getting anyone to bite on some Buck Owens stuff -
says it all!

Just keep doing what you're doing. If you're a fan of arrangement and alternate instrumentation, all sorts of possibilities will present themselves over time. One of the things I most enjoy is putting together an arrangement for a tune (traditional, pop, whatever) that includes instrumentation that differs from the original recording(s).

What I really like to do with standards from the bluegrass repertoire is to dink with arrangements for guitar, banjo, and mandolin, along with a healthy dose of cross-referencing and curiosity; I learn a lot from this (sometimes haphazard) "method". "Cripple Creek" is a great tune for cross-referencing between instruments.

Today, I worked with a banjo student (it still cracks me up that I can call myself a banjo teacher!) on "Old Joe Clark", and that's a doozy for the left hand, what with all the clusters and stretches. A young guitar student has been asking me to play some banjo during her lessons, so I gave in today... we did some Eagles songs and some Taylor Swift (yes, Taylor Swift!) tunes, and it opened up her perspective a bit as to the use of drones, as well as toward right hand capabilities.

[OutlawSteph1975]

Originally Posted by Tim Bowen

What I really like to do with standards from the bluegrass repertoire is to dink with arrangements for guitar, banjo, and mandolin, along with a healthy dose of cross-referencing and curiosity; I learn a lot from this (sometimes haphazard) "method".

That's neat Tim. Eventually I'd like to have a band with more progressive musicians who are on the same page as me as far as experimenting with combining acoustic and electric instruments. The Dillards in the late 60s/early 70s and the Earl Scruggs Review did some really great stuff in that vein.

[sean79]

Very cool, Steph. I had been wondering if you heard from the guy. Sounds like you had a good time, and it sounds like you all have plans to play together again???

[OutlawSteph1975]

Originally Posted by sean79

Very cool, Steph. I had been wondering if you heard from the guy. Sounds like you had a good time, and it sounds like you all have plans to play together again???

Probably on Saturday we'll get together again. I think I inspired the rhythm guy to learn some flatpicking.

[sean79]

Yeah. That rhythm guy sounds like a slacker. Have fun.

[Tim Armstrong]

Originally Posted by OutlawSteph1975

That's neat Tim. Eventually I'd like to have a band with more progressive musicians who are on the same page as me as far as experimenting with combining acoustic and electric instruments. The Dillards in the late 60s/early 70s and the Earl Scruggs Review did some really great stuff in that vein.

Different Tim here (but Tim Bowen and I are obviously cut from the same "Tim" cloth...), just gotta say I'd be in that band in a heartbeat!

I was just driving around today with both "Wheatstraw Suite" and "Copperfields" in my CD player...

Cheers, Tim

[trag-o-caster]

Sounds like fun to me! Good luck to ya Steph!

[MandyMarie]

Steph, that's awesome!!! Nice guys? Everyone seem to get along well? I'm so glad it went good and that you had fun - hopefully this will keep growing and turn into something you really, really wanna do!

[OutlawSteph1975]

Hey Mandy! Yeah, they're nice guys.. it's like a starter band so I'm more ready once I get out of Florida.

I'd car pool with Tim any day.

[Tim Bowen]

Steph, when you find a good fit for yourself, you'll know it, and I'll bet it will be really good. You have cool taste in tunes, and it's obvious from reading your posts that you put a great deal of thought, care, and hard work into honing your craft. My very best wishes to you toward your pursuits.

Originally Posted by Tim Armstrong

Different Tim here (but Tim Bowen and I are obviously cut from the same "Tim" cloth...)

I'll happily take that as a compliment. Best birthday wishes to you!