A New Beginning?

So, how did the meet go? Pretty well, I think. Both the other guitarist and the harp player put in an appearance. We drank beer, talked music and politics. Nobody threw a punch. Nobody died.

Not too shabby.

It sounds like we're all in pretty much the same place, musically, both in terms of influences and aptitude. I texted the guys this morning to say it was nice to meet them and, somewhat to my surprise, they both texted back!

Why surprise? Well, I've had meets before which seemed to go really well. We've parted with enthusiastic handshakes and promises to get back to each other with dates and times for a jam. Then what? Well, they've basically ignored my emails and I've never heard back from them. You can't get too precious about rejection, though. It's just not worth it.

So, I don't put too much stock in the first meeting. Musos are flaky. I should know, there are times I've been flaky myself.

I'll admit to a quiet optimism, though. I'm optimistic enough that tonight, when I get home, I'm going to pull Red out of his case, dust him off, set him on a stand a plug him up. That way he'll be ready to go whenever I get the urge to wail.

What I need to do now is to keep the ball rolling. Momentum is key. I've asked the guys to think of songs that they like or songs in the style they'd like to play, if that makes sense. I'm going to pull a few standards out of my behind and send them across. I'm thinking stuff like "Key to the Highway", "Stormy Monday" and so on. Other suggestions welcome, loyal reader! I may throw in some Black Keys and Cream for good measure.

Hey, maybe I'll steal Col's "Monkeyphonics" progression for a stoner jam... you don't mind, do you, fella? Hey, maybe "Melissa" if I can remember how it goes!

I don't want this to be a covers band, unless we do covers but in our own style as opposed to homages. I don't see the point in trying to emulate what other people have done. Having said that, we do need a starting point, even if it's just jamming on a I-IV-V.

If there's something I learnt from my last band it's that you need both a driving force and motivation. If people get bored due to lack of progress or lack of new material to play around with, well, they start thinking about quitting. We don't want that, do we? If I can get us making a noise that sounds like music then that should keep them fired up, no?