band_practice raze the band isn't mine, but i'm in it for the moment, for now, for at least one show. i'm in it even though i'm not a fan of the volume of live shows, or the venue, or the person who operates the venue. i'm in it because i played a lot of things on the album and i'd like to play at least some of those things at the cd release show, because ego, because recognition, because because because because because, because of the wonderful things he does, buddle-ee-doodle-dum-doodle-dum, bee-dum. the first practice was a bit of a wash. only half the band showed up. it's hard to get a feel for what a band is going to sound like when pieces of it are missing. the second practice was better, maybe. the drummer showed up late. the popular practice space i'd never visited before is just rooms with equipment and doors that close but no soundproofing, so the other, much louder band practicing in a different room drowned out most of what we did in ours. every song they played sounded the same, and all of them were in the same key as far as i could tell. it wasn't any key you could find to play along with on a keyboard or guitar. it was the key of too-loud sameness. but there are no accidentals in that key, so you can't hit a bad note. if you liked one of their songs i guess you'd like them all, if you like that kind of thing, if you do. do you? the PA system sent a feedback shockwave through my brain and just about broke it. my brain. my ceramic brain. the bass notes on the keyboard were too bassy, so i couldn't play them. most of the time we couldn't hear what we were doing very well. it sounded okay as far as i could hear it, which was about as far as one of my teeth is from the tooth on either side of it, whichever tooth you like, if you like teeth, if you do. they won't be offended if you don't. they're used to disdain, indifference, whatever you call it, whatever it is. they'd like the next practice to be somewhere else, at a person's house, but they don't know if they'll get their way. they're used to that too. they'd be case-hardened homicide detectives, except they're teeth, so no one would hire them. teeth discrimination is a sad, sad thing. give your teeth or someone else's teeth a hug today. let them know they're valued. 140123 ... unhinged practicing in the basement of his house near the airport, no one could hear us over the roar of the engines, no one could complain. he was hesitant to play the drums in our band back then. every band he's been in since, he's played drums. i told him, 'you just need to practice.' teachers know best 140124 ... epitome of incomprehensibility I like this... if the situation was in a dream and I was dreaming it, I'd have said, "Okay, guys, follow me," and led the band into the other room to join the Other Band of Vague Loudness and play along with them. I guess you can't really do those things in real life. I'm eating chocolate chips right now. Not sure that's good for my teeth. Sense of frustration, understood: I went to a rather unnecessary choir practice today. At least, it felt unnecessary. We didn't really get much done. Similar deal? Though your practice also sounded fun. 140125 ... raze it was kind of fun, once the frustrating parts faded a little. i think the next practice will be a lot more fun, assuming we can hear ourselves better. my teeth will have their way! or else! 140125 ... raze there still hasn't been another, and it looks like there's only going to be one more before the show, the day before it happens. it'll be the first time some of the songs have been played by everyone at the same time in the same room, 24 hours before it happens again in front of an audience. i don't think i'll be doing this again. 140202 ... raze the drummer wasn't supposed to show up tonight, but he did, and this time we got through all the songs. it was sloppy, but less sloppy than before, and tomorrow it should be less sloppy than it was today, and by friday it should be tidy enough to pass for not sloppy to all but the most attentive listeners. it'll probably be too loud in the bar for anyone to really hear what we're doing anyway. for some songs there are three guitar parts happening at once, one acoustic and dry, one electric and mostly clean, and then mine, also electric but drenched in delay that sounds like reverb, kind of watery, kind of airy, adding texture. i wish i'd thought to play that kind of electric guitar in a live setting in the past. at least i'm doing it now. trading off between guitar and piano in the middle of the same song is kind of fun, too, if you get the timing right. 140205 ... raze last proper rehearsal. bassist didn't show up. drummer didn't show up. two others showed up at the end to rehearse a few songs we hadn't rehearsed with them before. i had to fill in some of the bass parts on the piano, playing meatier things that won't work if i play them tomorrow with bass and drums. it was the best we've sounded by far, and we'll never sound like that again. i like the kurt vile song that's been added to the set list. it's only got three chords, and they never change, but there's a lot of room to stretch around and inside of b major, e flat minor, d flat major. sometimes i toss in a happy f sharp at the end of the cycle. because i'm a rebel. "when i'm walkin'", the song goes, "my head is practically draggin'. all i ever see is just a whole lotta dirt. my whole life's been one long running gag. two packs of red apples for the long ride home." that's a lot of apples to eat on one drive. you should save some for a rainy day, kurt. 140206 ... e_o_i You are playing stuff on Friday as in tomorrow? Best wishes and break a non-literal leg! I'll be sorting Literature from Linguistics and Religion and Philosophy and stacking them up into neat little piles (library book sale). 140206 ... raze yes! i am playing things tomorrow! and by tomorrow i mean today, since today is now tomorrow. thank you for the well-wishin'. i hope the library book sale is fun too. i'd say "break a book", but i like books too much to say that, so…break a bad book! 140207 what's it to you? who go blather from