My Rant

I am really starting to grow a bit impatient and frustrated with my band. Part of me just wants to put in my time with this project until I get my finances straightened out, and then buy some new gear and move on to a new project. Ever since Nathan and Brant were unilaterally fired by my drummer without discussing any of it with me first, we really have been getting no where. We have had only one person even show up for an audition, and he sucked.

I usually don't go public with this kind of frustration, but I no longer see this project going anywhere, so I really feel confident in shedding a little light on my frustrations at this point. I need to bring in some people that are more on the same page as I am musically, and try to make Paul see the light. I don't understand what the fuck his problem is with playing songs that are catchy and some one might actually want to pay to listen to. This is a fucking business for crying out loud. All the shit that he wants to play either makes me want to fall asleep, or fucking put a bullet in my skull.

So what if a verse only uses three chords? That's how its done. I mean, not on every song, but on a lot, and I can name a hundred hits that were written that way. If you don't like it, find yourself another guitarist. God damn this bullshit. I want to tough it out, but fuck, I don't know how much longer I can take it.

Auditions Begin

On Thursday, Paul brought a guitarist in to audition, as planned. After getting to know him for a little bit, we spent some time jamming. He seemed like a really nice guy, who was easy to get a long with, and I had fun jamming with him.

Unfortunately, his inexperience held him back a little. He was just a bit behind the curve on most songs we played, and I was left with serious doubts about his ability to keep up with us. If we were just a jam band, I would have no problem bringing him on board just based on personality alone, but we are trying to be a professional band, and in order to be successfully we will need a certain calibre of musicians. We might give him another shot or two to see if he can calm his nerves, and get up to speed, but at this point, I believe we need to keep searching.

Ideally, I would like to be working with musicians slightly better than myself, and by doing so, elevate my own level of playing. Until that happens though, I am going to try to become comfortable taking more of a leadership role in the band. I just have to sell Paul on the idea, and I am not sure if he could ever respect me as a band leader.

I am excited for Monday though, as we have a singer that I have been talking to for about a week finally coming out to meet the band and audition. I watched a clip of her performing on youtube, and I was pleased with what I saw. Now, all that remains to be seen is what will Paul think, and will she be a good fit for our particular brand of art rock.

Got my Guitar Back

I finally got my guitar back from the trunk of my car, which has been sitting at my uncle's garage do to a blown engine. For the last couple of weeks, I haven't had a guitar to practice on at home, so I have had to really on what little bits of practice I could get at work and band practice, and I have really felt my playing start to suffer. Now that I have my guitar back, I can really get down to business.

I feel that this will be a big help to not just me, but my band building efforts as well, since I will be able to come much more prepared to practice each week. I have already started using every spare moment to do drills and exercises on the guitar. You would be amazed how much of a difference it makes just to be able to pick up the guitar every day.

Now that I have my guitar back, the next item on my agenda will be to get some new strings; preferably good ones. Over the coming months I am going to try to experiment with different types of strings, and see what works best. I am definitely long over due for a string change.

First Practice Without Nathan and Brant

This morning I had my first band practice with Paul without Nathan and Brant. It was kind of like starting over from scratch in a way. I have to admit I felt a little lost at times without my band mates.

This is all the more reason to find some good musicians to play with. I have had some interest from a couple of different bass players, and at least one singer at this point, and Paul invited a guitarist to audition with us on Thursday. We shall see how it goes.

At this point, we aren't really much of a band anymore. We are just two guys jamming. Some of the stuff we worked on sounded okay, but nothing sounded great. We just have to persevere, and keep working.

Band Meeting

Tomorrow morning I meet with my drummer, and now soul band mate in DOS for the first time since the departure with Brant and Nathan. I have been anxiously awaiting this meeting for over a week now. We will be discussing the terms of Brant and Nathans departure, as well as the future of the band.

I am fully aware of the terms of Brant's departure, which I will keep private out of respect for him, but I know very little about the circumstances involving Nathan leaving the band. The only thing I will say about this is that I feel that Brant's departure was necessary, but without knowing anything else about Nathan's situation, I am a little disappointed by him leaving.

As for the future of our band, Paul says he would like to continue playing the same style of art rock music, and I am largely in agreement with this, which is why I have agreed to stay on at this point. I am just going to have to see how it goes without Nathan and Brant, and try to bring in good people to complete our line-up. I wasn't to begin auditioning new members as soon as possible, starting with a bassist. I have already started putting up ads on craigslist, and putting out the word, so hopefully everything works out for the best. I am a little nervous about the future, I will admit, but maybe this will be my opportunity to shine.

DOS Line Up Changes

The time has come, as it does with every band, that DOS has begun discussing line up changes. Brant, our front man, and Nathan, our rhythm guitarist are out. We are now looking for a new bass player to fill out our line up.

For the time being, I am going to handle vocals, as well as continuing to play guitar, although my role as a guitarist is going to shift a little bit since we just went from three guitarists to one. Our drummer, Paul says he has a keyboard player that can work with us for a few months, but not on a permanent basis.

I am going to be posting an ad on craigslist and maybe a few other sites looking for a bass player, and we will start auditioning prospective members immediately. We need some is interested in playing original music in the art rock style, such as Velvet Underground, or Radiohead. I wish Brant and Nathan the best in there future endeavors. Perhaps we can work with them again in the future.

A New Begining

I have decided to clear out all my old blog posts, and get a fresh start. Consider this a new blog from this point forward. With that in mind, I think a little introduction is in order, for any future readers of this blog.

My Name is Devin J. Garman. I currently reside in Columbia Pennsylvania, and I am a musician. I work part time at the local Guitar Center store, and I recently joined a new local band, which is tentatively called DoS, which stands for Dictionary of Sound. I am also currently writing music for what is currently a solo project that I am hoping to build into another full fledged band.

In addition to my duties as a songwriter and guitarist for various bands, I am also looking to get into concert promotion, although I admit I am an armature in this regard, so I will be needing a lot of help to get started. I am hoping to start things off by putting together a benefit concert for the Crones and Colitis foundation, to help battle digestive illnesses.

Okay, so if anyone ever finds themselves reading this, now you know a little about me. Please leave a comment, and tell me a little about yourself!