Not about ‘Satisfaction’. Though maybe for some. About getting what you want versus what you need. “You can’t always get what you want but if you try sometime you find you get what you need.”
I had a different topic in mind for this week’s post. But a conversation with a friend got me to thinking a little about how this week’s jam went for me. Don’t worry this is not going to be another train wreck story. Things went really well, that’s not it. I had a great time and got to play three sets, and like anyone, the more I get to play the happier I am.
Somethings went better than I feared they would and somethings just went different. And going different is sometimes the thing you need.
It’s easy to get stuck in a rut in anything. Including music and song choices for sets. You get a few songs down, what seems like enough of a rotation, and get really comfortable with them so that you expect or hope to play them every time. And then out of that bunch of songs, you end up with a smaller set of songs that you really like to play and you want to stick with that selection even more because you love to play them. That means you practice them more. That means you are more familiar and more comfortable with them. And you neglect some of those other songs a little because, they need work, or they make you work. That can work out ok, for a little while. Then what happens, when all those favorites, or most of them, have already been played? You can duplicate. Or you can adapt and go back to some of those neglected songs.
It’s a little like Bryan choosing from my not ready for prime time list. It requires a bit of stretching and reaching. And like any good stretching routine, it’s not so bad the more you do it. So the fact that Bryan had me outside my normal little box last time, made it a little easier to do that again this time. In addition to adding a new song. With a new technique.
New songs make me nervous. I’ve finally gotten fairly comfortable being on stage and singing and playing. Except. When it’s the first time I’m playing a new song. Then I shake 
like I don’t know what. Usually, once I get part way into the song I relax some and I’m ok. Still, getting through those first few bars, can be a little daunting. This week’s new song was ‘Voodoo Woman’. I’ve watched the video. It went pretty good. I needed to communicate the key and the structure of the song a little better. And I still need to turn up a little more on my leads. That aside. I think I made fairly effective use of the ‘Wah Pedal’. I used it for the intro and then again on my lead and I think it worked out pretty good. I need more practice with it to really make it what it can be. Even so, I think I did pretty good. I was and am, very pleased with how that turned out.
After that, for that set, I stuck with some songs that I really like and have become much more comfortable with. Which is my normal pattern. The second set got a little change up as I shared the vocal duties. I only sang on one song and then just played on the two others. I like doing that sometimes. It keeps me in practice following instead of leading all the time. So that was good. By the time I got to the third set, a lot of the songs I normally 
would fall back on, had been played by others already. This is where the adapting and revisiting neglected songs came in.
If anyone was paying attention, we went alphabetically and stayed in the B’s for song titles. That was fun. We did a couple of Jimmy Reed songs that I haven’t played in a while. Well not out, and not much at home. I try not to let them rust because of their rhythm and style so they weren’t completely stale. They just weren’t what I might have otherwise played. Not bad, just different.
Not being able to fall back to those ‘go to’s’ was maybe not what I wanted, and probably what I needed. That and Frank’s list. By going back to 
those songs, I’ve started to think about, spending a little more time on them and seeing what I can do to make them better. And doing the same with a few others. It also reminded me of the need to continue to expand my repertoire a little more aggressively. Though Frank’s list just makes that easier. I hope.
Frank’s list. I’m calling it that because he was the one handing it out. As I understand it, he put it together as a sort of cheat sheet of songs for when we’re on stage and can’t think of what to do next. It’s a great list. And a few of the songs I’ve found or brought to the jam ended up on it. Which is cool. Frank mentioned that he likes it when people bring something new or different. So I’ll be looking for that while I learn, or brush up, on the songs on his list.
We’ve got another jam this month and I’ve got video to get edited as well as songs to practice and learn. It was a three set night again so there’s a bit of work to do on the editing. I’ll try to be more timely with this batch. We had some interesting patrons and a few of them show up in the video so that should be interesting. The pictures are captures from the video of this last jam. Enjoy.
Ok I may have done two somethings not in my best interest. I’m not sure. I know only one impacts my guitar playing though.
the kids in between my regular Taekwondo class and my extra class to prepare me for my next test. I tried to jump over too many targets and I might have landed wrong. At least I think that might be what I did. I’m not really sure. It might have also been that I rolled that foot inward really bad on my way from the garage to my door while weighed down carrying two guitars, in their cases. I didn’t think too much of it at the time, other than it might hurt the next day. But it didn’t. So I’ve done something to a foot or ankle. Nothing is swollen and when I get to moving, it doesn’t hurt. So. Yes, not in my best interest. I’m just not sure what I did.
Today I look at them and think of what cool stuff could be done after I spent a lot of time really learning what they can do and how I want to use them. And what effects, though really cool sounding, should only be used sparingly.
found I didn’t like the overall tonal change that that gave me I figured I should just go back to the 10’s like it originally had. I changed the strings and lowered the pickups and sure enough, I got some of the volume back. It’s still not as loud as the Les Paul but as I understand it Les Paul pickups are notoriously hot.
The Telecaster, you would think that since I have one, I wouldn’t need to learn much about it. Not so. There are some differences. The brass barrel bridge, for one. You get just a bit of a different sound and it takes a little experimenting to figure out how to get that just like you want. The other thing is that it’s got the ashtray bridge with the cover. Yeah. Cool. I learned something really interesting. Bryan joked with me about me being the only person he knows that plays with that cover on. So I wondered if there was a difference. It turns out it does make a difference. That cover seems to dampen the pickup a little. I took it off.
fascinating to watch and listen to. I’m learning stuff. It’s sinking in slowly.
guitars. I don’t play them. I keep them for sentimental reasons. I have been wanting to hang them up for decoration. I’ve been putting it off because I needed a stud finder so I could be sure I was mounting the holder to a stud so they don’t fall. I finally got the stud finder and decided to give hanging one a go. I managed to get both those guitars hung this weekend. I have two more I want to hang but I’ve only got one more of the same kind of holder so I’ll need to get another one to finish out that project. I’m slightly surprised and pleased with the look and the ambiance it brings to that small room.
In case you hadn’t heard, we had a blues jam this weekend. It was interesting because for as big a turn out as we had last week, outside, at Moochies, this week, outside, at Halligan’s, we had a much smaller group. A smaller group of musicians and a smaller
prime time’ list and I find myself singing and playing songs that I don’t have down as well as I’d like. I need to work on those songs more or I need to take them out of the book to stop tempting him. Though, to be fair. It does cause me to step out of my comfort zone a bit and make that stretch which is a good thing.
With it feeling like the night went really well, and with as much fun as I had, I was really looking forward to seeing the video afterwards. I wasn’t disappointed overall. I had a fairly accurate read on the night. The only thing I was disappointed in was that I couldn’t always hear myself when it came to my solos. I did turn up for them. I really did. You can see it and you can hear it. I just started out not loud enough so when I turned up, it still wasn’t quite loud enough. You can still hear me. It just doesn’t have as much punch.
hard to evaluate how I did if I can’t hear myself. I know I’m getting better at leads. I know I still have a ways to go still. I just want to be able to hear what I’m doing right and what doesn’t work so that I know where try something else or work on a particular technique.