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Topic: As a SOLO artist have you ever....................... |
Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 31 Mar 2015 11:58 am |
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Have you ever been invited to play SOLO in front of a great audience and altho' filled with excitement and desire to put your best face forward......
equipped with the best possible guitar/amp and/or other appropriate equipment.......
had the misfortune of having to play with
accompanists that had not idea what your songs were
and also lacked the ability to HEAR the appropriate chord changes?
I was just listening to some of JERRY BYRD's live performances.......and to my amazement discovered that he too faced the same distractions of wrong chord changes and/or the lack thereof that we lesser players have had to tolerate and still try to keep on with the correct melody.
I cannot imagine how frustrating it must have been to JERRY and other notables like him. |
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Don Crowl
From:
Medford, Oregon, USA
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Posted 31 Mar 2015 1:19 pm
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Ray - that reminded me once I was attending a memorial but this time in the audience. While talking to someone with I had only a half an ear to players but I sensed something really wrong. When I started to pay attention I noticed about half the players were in 3/4 time of Amazing Grace & the rest were doing 4/4.
What you say sure has happened to me. On the other hand a couple of times when I was doing a solo, back up tried to follow me when I forgot where I was in the tune & even once forgot what song I was playing. I really had to fake it, poorly at that, while giving other players a dirty look. Joking. |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 31 Mar 2015 2:33 pm
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| I have certainly been that accompanist. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 31 Mar 2015 4:05 pm
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Sometimes, Ray, they're good players, but they just don't know the songs. I saw Tommy White playing some years back, just outside of Washington, D.C.. He announced he was going to play the old hymn "In The Garden", and as soon as he had started it was obvious the band didn't have a clue about the "standard and accepted" arrangement of the song. He played it beautifully, guiding and prompting them as best he could, but I could really feel for the struggle he was having.
I was talking with a group of young alt/country musicians recently near Annapolis, and when I commented that some of their stuff reminded me of Johnny Cash, I got that "deer-in-the-headlights" look from everyone but their drummer. 
Yeah, I guess those days of most players knowing a few hundred country standards are gone. |
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Billy Easton
From:
Nashville, TN USA
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Posted 31 Mar 2015 4:43 pm
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Isn't that why we prepare charts for the other musicians?
_________________
Billy & Meriul Easton
Nashville, TN |
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Rick Schacter
From:
Portland, Or.
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Posted 31 Mar 2015 5:56 pm
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| Earnest Bovine wrote: |
| I have certainly been that accompanist. |
Me too...while backing up Ray. Ha! Ha!
I learned a heck of a lot though. |
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Walter Killam
From:
Nebraska, USA
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Posted 1 Apr 2015 8:23 am
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Ray, I think you just described "Adventures in Live Music"! I like the unpredictability of working with musicians of varying talent and ability. Sure it's awkward sometimes, but sometimes it's better than I could have hoped for. YMMV
_________________
Mostly junque with a few knick-knacks that I really can't do without! |
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James Jacoby
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 2 Apr 2015 12:23 am Re: As a SOLO artist have you ever.......................
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| Ray Montee wrote: |
Have you ever been invited to play SOLO in front of a great audience and altho' filled with excitement and desire to put your best face forward......
equipped with the best possible guitar/amp and/or other appropriate equipment.......
had the misfortune of having to play with
accompanists that had not idea what your songs were
and also lacked the ability to HEAR the appropriate chord changes?
I was just listening to some of JERRY BYRD's live performances.......and to my amazement discovered that he too faced the same distractions of wrong chord changes and/or the lack thereof that we lesser players have had to tolerate and still try to keep on with the correct melody.
I cannot imagine how frustrating it must have been to JERRY and other notables like him. |
Sounds like a lot of the musicians, I have to play, and/or sing with, most of the time! It's why I play bass, a lot of the time.Makes it easier to tune out, all those bad chords. I also hate to play lead guitar, or PSG, with those kinds of accompanists. How can they not hear the changes? Drives a guy crazy! -Jake- |
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