Band Dynamics

It is only after a while that you kind of get to know people really isn't it. The band is starting to function as a band quite well...ideas are bouncing as high as a Northern Rock cheque and the music is certainly getting better and better .....and on the way we are having fun.

Last night's rehearsal was a good one with the problematic songs tackled hard on like Vinnie Jones on steroids. Earth Calling...in my opinion one of Wifey's finest instrumentals with so much going on was giving us trouble. Gurning boy went home last week re jigged it about....maybe layed it out in a way it made sense to him and The Phantom Pinger...funked up my bass line added a false stop threw in a mad all over the place bombastic bit (later discarded by Simon Cowell aka Wifey) and gave the song an overdose of speed at the end to make it a lot faster. It sounded great!!!and I get to put a wah effect on my bass....blinding!

Now due to the fact earlier this week I had a cold......and I'd been singing "The Park " like Aled Jones to hit the high backing my voice went last night and Kultural Karma vocally was by far not my finest hour...but it was during Kultural Karma I looked down at the The Phantom Pinger. You see Pings is a bit of a gadget girl. In front of her is only what I can describe as the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.
Out of the corner of my eye there is some weird and wonderful pad pushing keyboard plunking and knob twisting going on the result of which out of the monitors ...little atmospherics and keyboard sounds can be heard. At the front of the arrangement is a laptop which has her score tastefully hidden from the audience which scrolls down as she plays ...it's marvelous.

Earlier this week Gurning boy who I must say is not short of being a bit of a gizmo boy himself emails me a suggestion.......(they must come to him like Eureka moments.....) The new song we are learning of his "The Park" involves a lot of backing vocals (you know Aled Jones style ...I've mentioned this already...keep up) Knowing that I am a lyrical talent (head swelling by the moment )....well you are reading my blog so there must be something in the way I write!!!! anyway where was I?....oh yes self appreciation bit.....yes he asked me to write a prose for the beginnning of the song so he could put a little atmospheric bit in the background and then come in with the first chords as I finish linking the previous song in a seamless transition.....blimey.He described it as like Peter Gabriel did on some DVD he saw. So practicing the fine art of minimising and maximising my word document at work as my boss hovered I wrote a few lines and last night we tried it.....Ping the Gadget girl twisted some knobs and off I started ignoring Tomato slayer and Wifey looking like two howling witches round a cauldron as my lyrics embraced the atmospheric back drop....(blimey that did sound arty farty......I'm going to type that again )

my lyrics embraced the atmospheric back drop....

Anyway wifey reckons I should really get into the Peter Gabriel theme and come out dressed as a sunflower.....I told her to "go forth and multiply"...taking her sunflower and Dark Marge's faery outfit with her!!!!!!But then at least I've not spent a week's holiday on a naturist beach like some percussionists I know ....a very long winded explanation was given to me on how he ended up there and it did sound plausable. The Tomato slayer offered me some valuable parenting advice last night too on how to deal with 15 year old daughters..(Minx is 4 going on 15 so won't be long)
Anyway ...at the point where they walk about 10 feet behind you in public as they are embarassed of going out with dear old Dad.... (see last blog) The Tomato Slayer used to grab their hand smile theatrically at them and drag them along whilst skipping as high as possible like Laura out of little house on the Prairie...apparently it works a treat...I will bank that and use it in 10 years time. I think Slayer's Wife and my Wifey are related.....hmmm well he told us that some people are scared of his Mrs......the rest have never met her!!!!

This blog has really been about the band today....between work and band wifey and I have managed to get layed......a stone circle in the middle of the garden together with stepping stones from the patio to the music room. I've also managed to connect up Mother Dearest's DVD/ Video for her...the eyesight isn't that good these days bless her ....she tried putting a slice of bread in the old video thinking it a toaster so I connected it up for her ....the other day she was going round the underpass on her ferrari (on two wheels...ala James Bond) and she saw what she described as a monster with big arms out stretched coming towards her ....which turned out to be a lad on a bike with a roll of bubble wrap on his back.

So what of the Dark Marge.....dunno I'll let you know when he comes back out of "Second life " on the internet....

toodle loo