Get along Kid Charlemagne

Practice today was a blast. Charles and Marc (drummer and bass) get along great and are becoming a rock solid rhythm section. In between songs we got into some jams on Steely Dan, (Peg, Bodhisattva) Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin and a bunch of off topic songs.
I'm honored to have these guys sharing a band with me. They put the big time back in big time fun. What a rush.

FINALLY!

We auditioned a bass player today. This guy is the real deal. Very talented and professional. He has a great personality and an all around amiable guy.
He loves the set list and picks up the songs easily on the fly. Best of all he can rehearse any time and is open to doing two a week to speed up the learning curve.
It's been a long, trying process to this point, but I'm excited again for the first time in weeks about this project.

The Search Continues

I haven’t posted in a while since our bass player moved, because the search for a replacement has been so frustrating. I’ve continued networking and posting on Craigs List for bass players and have had mixed results.

After a long stretch of no responses, suddenly there have been several bassists responding.

The first was very excited about the set list, lives up here and wanted badly to do an audition. After a few phone calls and setting up an audition for last Tuesday he called and said he’s going on vacation and couldn’t make the audition. He won’t be back until July 15^th.

The next guy responded with the first sentence being, “I’m not a prima donna, but there are just some songs I hate.” Then goes on to say he’s more of a guitar player than a bass player. Yeah, good luck with that.

Next guy tells me he’s in a band but wants to do more gigs in better venues than they’re playing now. Nice thought, but start ups don’t get those gigs without developing a good following and proving their worthl.

The last two responders have potential and a decent attitude. Will be auditioning one maybe next Friday and setting up the second for an audition the week after that.

Some bad news

Our bass player Doc has been struggling trying to make ends meet both financially and physically with his injured arm and has decided to move back to Missouri.

He has worked hard with me in this effort to put this band together and has been a good friend. I really hate to see him go but I understand completely the difficulty in fighting a battle with money and health issues.

He has family, including grand children, back in Missouri and old friends who have offered some relief and there is nothing like being around family to help you overcome a difficult situation.

It’s been a difficult decision on his part and after listening to him describe the benefits of moving, I have to agree that his decision is the right one for him.

The problems I am having putting together this band pale in comparison to the struggles of a person trying desperately to pull his personal life out of the abyss

I wish him well and hope he has better luck getting his life on track..

I have discussed this situation with Charles, the drummer, to see what his thoughts are on continuing to pursue the Cooter Creek Canyon Band project and a replacement bass player and he has expressed interest in continuing with the band project. The situation is further acerbated by the fact that Doc’s house is where we rehearse, leaving us with a search for new rehearsal space as well as a new bassist. Charles said he is willing to let us use his garage for practice.

I received a response to my Craigslist ad from a lead guitarist who also plays bass. I will go down to the Springs to see him play on Saturday and ask if he is comfortable with moving to bass while we continue our search for another bass player.

To be continued…..

Let's get this party started.

Had a good rehearsal last night. Songs are coming together nicely. We're looking at having 20 songs down pretty tight by our next practice. As soon as we get 20 songs tight I'll start booking.
By the time we enter the rotation in club schedules we should have the next 20 down pat. Looks like we'll be out and gigging sometime by the end of June.
I have a couple tricks up my sleeve to get maybe two or three club gigs by early June up here in the mountains.
Stay tuned and let's get this party started.

Drummer update and possible lead guitarist

After having our latest drummer bail on us last week, spirits were running low and I ran the ad on Craigslist for a replacement.

Doc (bass) called Charles and talked to him about why he quit. Turns out he was more put off about having to play a little softer than he was concerned about the long drive to practice. After some negotiation and a pair of bamboo sticks that muffle the sound of a hard hitting drummer, Charles decided to rejoin us. He'll be able to hit em hard when we play some of the larger rooms, but we like to keep the volume down during practice.

Last nights rehearsal started off a little slow, but within a couple songs we hit a groove and got a lot of work done. We're working out the kinks on the dynamics and arrangements of some of the more complicated songs and they're sounding pretty good.

I was going to audition the other drummer that responded to the Craigslist ad this Saturday, but after a few simple questions like, "Can you come to Woodland Park to practice twice a week for a few weeks?" and getting a "Hell no!" I decided not to bother with him at all. I'm really sick of flakes and fruitcakes who respond to Craigslist ads. They should have  a breakfast cereal named after them. "FLAKES AND FRUITCAKES" all air and no substance.

A lead guitarist who just moved to the Springs from Nashville responded to the ad for a lead player. Says he's a chicken picker. I like that. I emailed him back yesterday with some questions and have yet to hear back from him. We'll see.

The continuing saga of Starvalley Nut House continues to continue.

The other drummer who responded to my Craig's List ad has contacted me via email and has agreed to do an audition this Saturday.
The continuing sage of Starvalley Nut House continues to continue.