Block party

[sunvalleylaw]

Headed across the street to a block party. A shared long driveway with four homes and families was blocked off, with the band on the covered porch of one house, and a barbecue and keg over across the driveway at another. The band included a good friend and some acquaintances, who I have jammed with once or twice before. We had talked about he hopping in with them but had not found time for a practice before hand. I did run through the "guest appearance' song list with my buddy a few nights before.

The band has invested in a significant amount of equipment with two boards, two big EV speakers for a PA, and the guys own gear. They have three guitars up there, a bass, and drums. A guy sat in on harp for some of the numbers and they really sounded good. They did classic rock covers, heavy on the Neal Young, with some Floyd, Tom Petty, Stones and the like. My buddy plays rhythm and sings, and the other two guitars trade lead and rhythm roles. One guy has a Schecter dual humbucker guitar that looks a little like a SG, but is more like an LP with two cutaways, but sharpened in shape as opposed to a true LP. The other guy plays an Eric Johnson strat. I am happy for him. He is a working guy, and when I first jammed with him, he had a Squire Strat (Japanese, white, actually very nice) and one of those cigarette amp things that sticks out of your input jack. He earned some good bonuses last year, and treated himself to his EJ strat, a coupla nice pedals, and a Blues Jr.

After they had played a couple sets, I got to hop in with the guys. Like I said, we had not rehearsed, but I knew the songs we had discussed, and was able to key off the other guys on a couple more. I played mostly rhythm, but since there were three guitars up there, I looked for some space to play some fills, and some mini leads here and there as seemed appropriate. I didn't piss anyone off, and everyone said I sounded good. It was different just hopping in and playing off of what the other guys were doing. It was good practice. I love playing with that drummer. He is a good rock drummer I think.

I got to play the one guy's Eric Johnson strat through his Tube Driver pedal into a mic'd Blues Jr, also plugging my strat into the same rig, then play my own rig to finish up through my own pedals and C-30. The EJ was nice, but I honestly liked mine just as well. It was a lot of fun, and I can't wait til the next time I get to and have some sick tones dialed up out of my new Rodent from DVM and my new Vik to go along with my trusty not so ol' Strat!

[t_ross33]

Sounds like fun! Especially the part about the keg :beer:

[sunvalleylaw]

Yeah, it was a fun scene. Kids cycling and scootering up and down the drive, or throwing the football around, etc. Parents eating and enjoying, nice fall day, and live music and beer. What more could you want?!

One set of girls had some old Schwinn Stingray (the version with the spring on the front fork like a kind of shock) that they had spray painted gold, and then had stood around with paint brushes and splattered orange, yellow and red all over, to turn it into a working modern art project that they rode up and down the driveway, smiling their faces off. Pretty fun!

[Spudman]

Stevie the rock star. Tres coolio. :bravo: Glad you got some live time. It makes all the difference.

[sunvalleylaw]

Thanks Mang. I stuck around and helped them break down and load up, so that I would not be just cherry picking a playing op and not help out. They indicate that I might be able to play a little with them on some other occasions, jamming and such.

[Jimi75]

Steve thanks for sharing. It's good to hear that you play on stage, because the most valuable experiences are made on stage and on the road! The atmosphere is very importat. Such gigs with familiar surrounding make you feel sooooo goood - it is different to a club gig - kind of more relaxed and one is not that nervous.

I once also checked the EJ Strat and liked it very much - but did not feel better than my JV Strat so GAS didn't get me that day ;-)

Jimi

[warren0728]

steve....that sounds like a great time....glad you shared it with us! :beer:

ww

[SuperSwede]

You included all the important words (keg, bbq & guitars) ! Must have been a great evening :)

[sunvalleylaw]

Thanks guys! It was a great atmosphere. Interestingly, the guys I was playing with had not played out before, having focused on their basement sound room practice and some recording. And while the two main guitarists have more skill than I, they were tremendously nervous. I was giving them some sound feedback, etc. that they asked for, and when I would walk up to them, they were filled with how bad they stunk up a song or focusing on where they struggled. The difference between the fun out in the crowd and the worry on the stage was surprising. I was able to tell them that the crowd was having a really great time and really enjoying their sound and performance. They started hearing some applause and started seeing the fun the folks were having and got looser. :rockon:

There was a nice cover of Pink Floyd, "Time" that stands out, and the Neil Young songs and Petty's "Last Dance with Mary Jane" were stand outs. The EJ really shone with a lead that bit through some nice, lush, saturated sounds coming out of the Schecter.

By the time I got up there, they had relaxed and were having fun. I was not nervous at all, and just was focusing on keying in to the other musicians and finding a place to play. I use to be shy before law school, but somewhere during law school, shyness dropped away. The overall feel at the party was quite nice and so it was really easy to focus on playing and having fun with it. :D :beer: