Boy, have we got lucky. It was a moment of genius on my part (obviously) and the utmost good fortune that lead us to our first candidate for the post of "singer/front person" of the new band. We are delighted to announce the arrival of Charmaigne into our band and we are very fortunate to have her.
Charmaigne has been performing for years locally and is very polished and boy didn't it show last Sunday when she joined us for a jam. Setting the levels for her mic (SM58) gave me a insight into how powerful her voice is. All the PA does for her is sound reinforcement - not projection. I had to turn her right down from the desk and when you consider, in an empty room, the lads and I are pushing 400watts of back line in practice that is a BIG voice. She sings quite deeply to. It's a perfect soul, blues, rock voice and she knows it. She has confidence and is a performer as well as a singer and that is exactly what a good rock band needs. You know your on a winner with a singer when they start talking about phrasing and key changes and stuff (whatever that means). A voice is an instrument and needs to be used correctly by the player. When we fucked up she even improvised convincingly. Yup, we were all blown away. Si had such a big smile it looked like he had swallowed a coat hanger! Nice experience.
Charmaigne agreed to join us providing we keep our future bookings to a Friday. She is booked up doing her 1 woman show for the rest of year Saturday wise. We could live with that - no problem. Regarding the wider sound dynamic of the band the lads always thought we would need another player. Whether it be a rhythm guitarist or a keyboard player. If they could sing that would be a bonus. There is a gentlemen who drinks in my not-so-local pub. Quietly gets on with the Daily Telegraph crossie over a pint or 6 sitting at the end of the bar during the day. The long hair on a gentlemen of his vintage (careful everyone...) usually suggests there is a story to tell. It turns out that this dude used to play professionally and has played in America as well as recorded his own material. He's got a nice old Gibson SG and Les Paul to! This bloke obviously knows his way around a band so we are cutting some heads Wednesday this week.
The sad truth about band life - even at the very lowest level where I live - it takes work. On stage there is no where to hide. If you don't do the work you fuck up on stage and the thrill isn't quite the same. Talent is a rare thing but without a certain amount of endeavour and most of all "bottle" it doesn't quite work. Let's hope we are getting to that elusive blend so we can have some fun and do something we can be proud of. It would mean a lot to me if I went to bed at night/early morning knowing I play in a popular, respected outfit. Worth having a go at.
Well, a very music related post. Usually when I put a post together I know what song I want to have at the end. Most of the time it reflects my mood. Today is different. I haven't got a clue. 10 minutes later - I have come up with this one. We played this on Sunday and she nailed it. You must hit number 11 on the volume for this one chaps - you just have to! Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5soFkGX250
And here is another that we did. That we always do. That everyone does! Great performance, I was a boooooooggggggie'ing and I think it was dry!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNZUnvI8d7Q&feature=fvsr
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