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Whole Lotta Nuthin’ Goin’ On

This has been tougher than I had hoped.

As I mentioned in previous posts, I thought it would be weird not having Blue Funk as part of our lives, and it has. There have been times I've really been itching to go out and play or to have an upcoming gig, but it's been quiet on that front since the breakup of the band. I haven't even had a gig with Collective Hallucination since the one in January. I know Ant & Co. have done some things, but I haven't been a part of it.

At the same time, I haven't looked for any gigs, even though I could. So my lack of playing out lays squarely at my feet. My intention was to use this time for woodshedding (practicing), and that's what I've been trying to do. It probably should not be a surprise to me that my progress is going much slower than I had hoped. I'm not bagging on myself so much as saying that these things rarely go as fast as you'd like. I admit fault in not spending as much time as I should practicing though. I am not the most motivated person in the world and too often allow myself to be distracted by teh shiny.

I have added the Tim Richards Blues and Jazz piano books to my practice routine, starting with the Blues edition. This has been more challenging than I thought it would be. Then again, I don't know what I expected, because if it was simple I would have known it already. Duh. I'm still trying to get that left hand/right hand thing going, and that's probably the biggest thing slowing me down, at least technically.

I have done a *little* songwriting, but nothing to really mention. I also found out that Beth Black is moving to New York in July, so I should get my act together and finish that song so she can reject it already.

Fri, 2009 05 08 at 10:40 AM | Permalink for this entry

Eff It

Not my post, but a great read anyway

I've been really slacking on posting here, but I hope to have an update "soon." Meanwhile, I just read this article, and it really lines up with what I've been talking about. Check it out.
Eff It… Quitting Your Job to Pursue (Insert Passion Here)

Tue, 2009 04 28 at 7:09 AM | Permalink for this entry

What Is Next

As I mentioned in my last post, I already have had some ideas about what to do next, now that Blue Funk is no more. So here they are, in a particular order.

• Find more gigs with other bands. I’ve already done gigs with Collective Hallucination, and could find gigs with other bands if I made an effort to do so.
• Blues jams and open mics. Lori and I, as well as possibly Rebecca, could go more frequently to blues jams such as the Thursday jams at Dan Electro’s and the Houston Blues Society one at The Big Easy.
• Work on songwriting. This includes finishing up songs that I have started, as well as learning how to use the tools I have to make demos and printed music for these songs.
• Woodshed. My playing chops are nowhere near where I’d like them to be, and I think they need to be better to do the first item above. See my post from 3 March. I also think they should be better in order to do the next item.
• Last but not least, Joe Stone goes solo. I heard an ad the other day for a performance by a singer/songwriter, and it talked about the great band he was going to have. While I don’t have the chops, repertoire, nor pedigree that someone like this has, I thought about all the options this would give me. I could use any musicians I wanted and could do the gig. I think my songs would be better promoted as a solo act “songwriter Joe Stone” than as part of a band. There are some cons, like having to do all the work myself as far as promoting and merch, and I don’t have any money to pay the musicians until/unless the gigs pay so that might limit who I can get at first. But after talking to some other musicians about this, the idea of just hiring musicians is really appealing.

Another aspect I’m already liking is managing one artist. For the past few months, I’ve been having to do things like update calendars for Joe Stone and Blue Funk, sometimes the same event for both. Now, it’s just me. Even if I play with other bands, I would just be updating my friends, family, and fans about those shows, leaving the band to do their own promotion. So I would just update the Joe Stone events like I have done with listing the CH gigs. I’m not saying anything bad about the work I did for Blue Funk, just that the dual entities were difficult to manage in parallel.

Notice that none of my options talked about joining another band. I just don’t see doing that, for several reasons. One, I know myself too well, and know that I need the creative outlet and the control of the artistic direction. Two, once you’re in a band, you’re obligated to them. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if I started playing with several bands, and there was a conflict, I’d have to be obligated to the one I was a member of. Three, I just don’t want to deal with those dynamics and potentially drama. One of the things I enjoy about my time with CH is I just do my part, play the songs. Not that I don’t care, but I don’t have to deal with things that may happen around me. I can focus on the music as well as showing up on time and not worry about the rest.

First on my list, woodshedding!

Next, in part 3… nah, I’m done for now. 😉

Fri, 2009 03 13 at 4:49 PM | Permalink for this entry

On the Cusp of Greatness

No, not really, but it's fun to say.

I've been saying for the past week or so that sometimes, when you put a piece of steel in the forge, it comes out stronger, but other times, the forge reveals the flaws in the steel. That's one way of looking at what happened to Blue Funk last weekend, because the band broke up. It is not worth going into all the details, but looking back over the longer picture, this may have been coming for a while. As I posted previously, we have had trouble getting our groove back as a band. There may have been other factors that were causing that difficulty, and these may have led to the breakup.

Another way to look at it, because you can never have too many metaphors, is two people are dating, and one asks the other to marry, and the other says, "no." Once it's clear that the direction of relationship for the two people is different, is there really any point in carrying on?

The other side of this is the shame of it all. We had gotten a couple of gigs, had been talking about doing a recording so we would have material to try to get more gigs, we had Angelina take photos for us, and were discussing merchandise to have to sell at gigs as well. I guess in that regard it was good that this happened now instead of after investing in all that, but it makes me realize how close we were to taking the next step.

The situation is a bit odd for me in many regards. I've been kicking around "Blue Funk" since around 1994 or so, if not earlier. Besides the time with Mikey and Joe, this is the furthest the band has ever gotten and the longest it has been "a thing." We started with Tony and Rebecca in late 2005 and Jeff joined in January of 2006. We've been going ever since. To not have that as part of our lives will be odd. Whenever Lori and I visit an open house or home tour, my first thought is always, "is there a room we could use for the band if this was ours?" If it weren't for the experiences I've had in this band, I would not be taking on the whole professional musician thing. The growth I've experienced as a person and player over the past few years because of the band is immeasurable. But now I will have to learn to move on without it.

What's next for me? I've hinted at it above, but I think I'll save it for a separate blog post. You don't want this one to be even longer, do you?

Fri, 2009 03 13 at 11:49 AM | Permalink for this entry

Cancellation

March 21 at Coffee Groundz has been cancelled

You may have noticed this gig has been removed from the calendar. We just wanted to let you know you were not missing it, it is no longer there.

Sun, 2009 03 08 at 4:28 PM | Permalink for this entry

I’ve Been Bad. Sorry.

Sick and swamped

It's been exactly a month (same day last month, 28 days/4 weeks ago) since my last entry. The reasons I haven't posted are because I've been sick and I've been swamped. The Twestival gig was the week after my last post, and dangit if I didn't get sick again that Monday, sucking up all my energy that I had planned to use to get prepared for the gig.

The week after was the CH gig. I didn't really spend much effort getting ready for that because most of the songs were the same as the previous show, albeit with Ant's usual changed-up arrangements. There were a couple of new songs that I should have worked on a bit more, but oh well.

Blue Funk confirmed a gig at Coffee Groundz for March 21, and our good friends The Distracted are opening up for us. Some of you may know, Tony was the drummer in Blue Funk before Phil. We are spending the next few weekends getting ready for that show.

One unfortunate thing that has been happening with Blue Funk is that we still haven't gotten our groove back. What I mean by that is before Jeff left in October 2007, and with John afterwards, all agreed we were a pretty tight little band. But, John sorta leaving and us not getting together regularly during the latter half of 2008, we are not as good as we once were. Before we knew it, we had shows to get ready for, and the only way to do that was to rehearse, something we've never done before. We have always just jammed and grew as a band that way. Rehearsing can be very draining, because instead of just having fun and playing, you're trying to get the arrangements of the songs just right. Some in the band are feeling it and struggling with it. But, we plan to get back to the jamming so we can be like we were before, and not have to rehearse for any upcoming shows at that point.

I am happy to say that I have been able to spend some time practicing on my own technique and skills. Like I mentioned in the post about Irie Time, there are certain skills that I don't have that I want, and I've been taking the time to start to develop those. I feel that if I can develop these skills, I can be much more marketable to other bands, and then I can decide if I want to play with them, not the other way around.

Tue, 2009 03 03 at 10:10 AM | Permalink for this entry

Taper Policy

Blue Funk Announces Taper and Recording Policy

Blue Funk is a taper-friendly band, and encourages fan taping and trading. We cannot provide soundboard (SBD) access, and we ask that you respect the venue and those around you. Microphones with stands are fine to use from your seat (the standing request is to keep them at head height) and please do not set up directly in front of the soundboard. Please respect the crew and venue staff as they do their work as well as all those around you so that everyone has a good time. Tapers are responsible for their own power and equipment.

Possible Exceptions to Taper Policy When Blue Funk is performing at a festival or other event featuring multiple bands, that particular event's policy may override Blue Funk's taping policy. When Blue Funk is opening for another artist, that particular artist’s policy may override Blue Funk's taping policy. While Blue Funk works to make sure venues know of the taper policy, in some cases venues will not allow any kind of recording in their venue. Blue Funk will try to make sure this does not happen but in some cases it is unavoidable.

Copyrights, Ownership, and Free as in Beer All participants in audio recording exchange (regardless of format) acknowledge and respect the copyrights and exclusive ownership of the music and performances by the performers, writers and publishers. All taping must be for personal use only, which may include trading (via analog or digital tape, CD, or digital file transfer). Recordings may be traded only for an equivalent amount of similar media (cassettes or CDs, pre-recorded or blank) or given away for free. If we have chosen to offer for sale (via physical media such as CD, Cassette, or via digital download) a particular Blue Funk performance, this "official" version will take precedence over amateur recordings and said performance should no longer be traded. In no case may any officially-released Blue Funk recording (live or studio) be duplicated or otherwise traded or offered.

Legal Stuff Stolen from Other Taper Friendly Bands' Web Sites Audience taping at Blue Funk concerts is authorized for non-commercial purposes only. Unauthorized sale, duplication and/or distribution is strictly forbidden. All Blue Funk performances and recordings are the exclusive property of Blue Funk. All rights reserved. The rights to record Blue Funk performances set forth in this policy constitute an express, revocable license. We reserve the right to withdraw our sanction of recording, tape trading, and/or non-commercial digital audio file transfers on a case specific basis or in general, as we deem necessary. No waiver of any copyright or trademark right is intended.

Still and Video Photography If venue policy allows it, video and still photography are allowed for private, noncommercial use only. Photographs and videos cannot be published, sold, reproduced, transferred, distributed, or otherwise commercially exploited in any manner whatsoever. They may be published on freely accessible web sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, Facebook, etc. Flash photography is generally allowed. However, the band reserves the right to restrict flash photography at individual events. We don't want to be blinded by the flash and fall over something. Please use discretion when using a flash. Also, please be considerate of those around you and do not obstruct anyone else's view of the performance.

We Want a Copy! We ask that you share with the band. Please use the Contact Us page on the web site to let us know where we can download the recordings, pictures, or if you posted the video somewhere, or if you want to arrange to send us the material directly. We love to see what you do!

This policy is subject to evolve and change. Please make sure to review it for any changes before you attend the show or distribute it. Thanks and enjoy the show!

Tue, 2009 02 24 at 6:13 PM | Permalink for this entry

I Don’t Think So from Twestival

First video from Twestival is now available.

Mon, 2009 02 23 at 6:16 AM | Permalink for this entry

Versus

I've been thinking a bit lately about what I'm working on vs. what I want to be doing. Some of this comes out of what happened over the weekend with Scottie McDonald and Irie Time. In a way, I was relieved that gig didn't come through because right now, I'm still learning to balance playing with other bands against working on my own things. Most other bands are looking for someone to be a full time member, and I'm just not going to do that. I already am in one band, and since it's "my" band and I'm the "leader," I have enough work to do there. Also, most bands want to rehearse a bit. There's nothing wrong with that, but I'm struggling with rehearsals between Blue Funk and Collective Hallucination. Throw in having gigs and it's tricky to get your head around all the scheduling. I hear it gets easier…

Therefore, I've decided a bit of focus is necessary. I want to get better as a player, so I can do more things. I have to be careful, though, because I've never met a musician that was happy with their playing ability and skill level. But there is so much that I feel that I'm on the cusp of being able to do, and that I need to be able to do in order to get some of my shorter term goals accomplished, that it seems that I should focus more on those skills right now.

Also, things have been happening with Blue Funk, and that has been taking my time as well. We have a gig this month, and potentially one in March and another in April. None of them are huge, but we should make something out of each of them. This requires us to both be ready to perform, as well as to market ourselves a bit. If we let people go away empty-handed, they're much more likely to forget about us. Before the rehearsal we had on Sunday, we had photos taken of us, and we need to use them as part of our promo material and whatever else we distribute. We need to work more on our originals, because that's where our focus is as a band. We have a decent number, but we have let a few fall by the wayside that we need to bring up to the level of the others so that they're available to include in sets.

I don't plan on disappearing. Getting involved in the Houston music scene has been one of the coolest things that I've done, and I hope to do it more. But I think if someone comes to me looking for a keyboard player, for now I need to be more choosy about with whom I consider playing. Yes, I can learn a lot "on the job," but I can give them much more if I'm a better player when I start playing with them. Also, hopefully it will then take me less time to get up to speed on their style and material, giving me more time to continue to do my own things.

Tue, 2009 02 03 at 9:12 AM | Permalink for this entry

It’s Not Irie Time for Me

Because it's a journal so not everything works out

After the CH rehearsal yesterday, I stopped in to see Scottie McDonald of Irie Time. They are looking for a permanent keyboard player. I did tell him that I'm not looking to join another band, and that I don't do other sounds besides the basics of piano, organ, and electric pianos (in other words, what's provided by the awesome Nord Electro). Still, he was very interested in hearing me play and seeing if I can do what they are looking for.

Even though he didn't say it outright, I don't think I quite made the cut. He's looking for a keyboard player that can solo in a very jazzy style, along with their "Tropical jazz / Reggae soca-calypso / Caribbean party music." While I felt that some of the stuff I played was pretty decent, I guess he was looking for more. Once he explained what it was, I kind of knew it was currently out of my league. I'd love to be able to play very jazzy solos, but I'm still working my way towards that. Still, he seemed interested in me and seemed to hope I could get there and work with them in the future.

Sun, 2009 02 01 at 3:31 AM | Permalink for this entry

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