These Boots Are Made For Walking

So parking 'What makes a Rock n Roll Star?' this time, What is/makes a Musician?

Well I'm going to start with a (bit of a) rant. Dylan and the Beatles have a lot to answer for. Previous to them there were broadly either songwriters beavering away in offices in NYC etc (Carole King, Neil Sedaka, Willie Nelson....) or guys writing/recording songs on obscure labels for specialist (read Southern Black) audiences. The likes of Elvis would then take the song and bring them to life. Later on, in the early 60s, English bands would pick up a 45 from someone off a merchant ship and perform it in their local club to an audience who were a million miles from the original/origin of the song.

So then comes along Dylan and a little bit later the Beatles. They're bored with what songs are out there and start to write and perform their own. Luckily they had the talent and inner magic to do this consistently and to a very high standard producing literally hundreds of modern music classics.

So fast forward to today, the last thirty/forty years really. The music world seems to be divided into two camps, by audiences and increasingly venues. A band/singer is either an 'original material' bod or a 'covers' band. The implication being that if it's a song you/the band has written it must be of worth and truer to some artistic spirit whilst if you play other peoples songs then you're just a jukebox churning out facsimiles of the original. Well I'd say that neither is necessarily true. There are plenty of bands and singer/songwriters singing utter tripe and plenty of bands transforming unknown/bland original material into sublime soundpieces. I realise that venues are at their most basic level in it to make a buck, if only to keep the place open, but I despair when I get a reply saying 'sorry, we only have bands here who play their own material'.

So 'What makes a Musician?' then. When I worked in an office I couldn't really get into the right frame of mind unless I wore the suit (bit like Batman with his cape & cowl) I think it was Beryl Reed, English actress, who said that she couldn't get into a part until she'd found the right shoes to wear. So I reckon part of being a musician is feeling good about how you look (forget that learning an instrument, paying your dues stuff)

Before Elvis had recorded his first song (June '54) as Scotty Moore recalled, 'He had on a pink shirt, pink pants with white stripes down the legs, and white shoes, and I thought my wife was going to go out the back door -- people just weren't wearing that kind of flashy clothes at the time'. I may have moved into the 'What Makes a Rock N Roll Star?' here but anyway hopefully you get the point. A musician is different from Joe Public. Or if he/she isn't they need to believe that they are, at least when they are on stage. So get the look right

Just a short, but I think vital, point - you need to believe in what you're doing. Playing the material you want to play, the way you want to play it. Sod the audience. 1966 Manchester Free Trade Hall "Judas" "I don't believe you. You're a liar. PLAY IT F**KING LOUD"

But ultimately you're a musician if you're recognised/treated as one. We went to see a great 'covers' band from York last night - The Rusty Pegs. They play mainly other peoples songs with a sprinkling of their own making all of them their own on the night. First time we'd actually spoken to them and it was as musicians (I've no idea what they do as a day job and vice versa)

Today I went to MORMusic to drop off a sustain pedal for repair with Phil (band kit-fixer extraordinaire) 'Hi Stan, we've sold your Rickenbaker' Wandered down Goodramgate to buy a Owl-shaped rubber stamp for the Nite Owl Club we're stating in September at the Winning Post and bumped into Steve from Red Cow Music carrying a vacuum cleaner (c/f Once movie) 'Hi Stan'

Back to last night. 'What do you do?' 'Well I don't work anymore. I'm a Musician' :-)

Moore recalls, 'He had on a pink shirt, pink pants with white stripes down the legs, and white shoes, and I thought my wife was going to go out the back door -- people just weren't wearing that kind of flashy clothes at the time'. - See more at: http://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/elvis_presley_1953_1955.html#sthash.in8uynYO.dpuf

Moore recalls, 'He had on a pink shirt, pink pants with white stripes down the legs, and white shoes, and I thought my wife was going to go out the back door -- people just weren't wearing that kind of flashy clothes at the time'. - See more at: http://www.elvispresleymusic.com.au/elvis_presley_1953_1955.html#sthash.in8uynYO.dpuf

Peoples Parties

“Give us a song, Stan” I can’t resist a request for a quick burst on the banjo, will merrily burst into song on any occasion given half an opening. I sing most of the time anyway throughout the day but it’s always good to have an audience. The thing about being in a formal situation like a gig though, with or without a band, is that you’ve minimised the cock-up  variables to give yourself the best chance of sounding half decent i.e. probably rehearsed the songs, have your own guitar which you’re used to, bit of a PA to make yourself heard etc and an audience who have come expecting to hear some music

The danger of an ‘impromptu’ performance is that some or all of the above may not be in place which can make it a rather dangerous sport. The party you’re at may be going perfectly well, with most participants perfectly happy with the music provided by the host when the ‘play us a song’ arrives. So now what do you do. Take the safe path and politely decline? Best of course as it’s likely that a fair few people there would rather not have to listen, you haven’t brought your guitar anyway and can barely remember a song to sing. This is even more true with a truly captive audience such as singing at the back of a minibus

But you’d never sing anywhere if you took the safe path so of course you grab a guitar and launch into something. If you, and preferably the vast majority of the ‘audience’, are nicely inebriated then it will all be brilliant. If you/everyone else isn’t then who knows what will happen. A problem certainly with me as I’ve been sober for 10+ years so there isn’t the option of heighted reality. It is what it is and it will sound to me what it really sounds like

So last night. A request to play at a friend’s. A classical guitar on hand rather than my trusty acoustic which stretched my usually passable guitar technique. Fortunately the small group present were more than kind and Ann was there to help out on the vocal harmonies and to indicate when enough was enough. The last problem with party players being not knowing when they’ve well and truly lost their audience. Better to leave them wanting more rather than singing them into submission, my default strategy :-)

Doh!

You'd think that being in a band was pretty much all about learning to play a guitar and/or sing, learn the songs, turn up roughly on time, plug in and you're away. If only. Maybe if you're well and truly established with a road crew, sound guy, guitar tech guy etc then you can forget about how the sound gets from your guitar and mic to the audience. With everyone else it's an ongoing battle (which I'll no doubt bring up fairly regularly in future posts)

Anyway, do you remember that episode of the Simpsons where Homer has his beer cans wound around the power cable running over his garden (as you do) and climbs up to reach them. He can't get them off the cable but can flip the ring pull so a can's open. He then sees if he can drink the beer.

So at the last gig I picked up my trusty Rickenbacker 12 string and launched into the Byrds My Back Pages. As I started to sing the first few words I leaned into the mic and felt a shot of  voltage buzz my lips. Doh! Following Homer's fine example I then kept singing, periodically sustaining shocks until I moved further from the mic and shouted louder.

I survived to write the blog and thought it was about time I tracked down the problem. It had been happening for about a year since we had the new PA desk, bought from Germany via Tinternet. We'd sort of got around the shock thing by putting those willy warmers on the mics (mine was wet with saliva, hence the shock) So today I thought I should concentrate on sorting it. The power lead from the desk was a two pin one which I'd used an adapter to fit our three pin plugs. "I wonder" I thought "if going from two to three plugs it's leaving the earth behind?" A quick visit to the excellent MORMusic shop and a chat to Lloyd and the answer was/is "Yes"

So just a matter of replacing the european plug with a trusty UK three pinned one. Picked up a plug, went home, took out my cable cutter and promptly cut the wrong end off the cable. Doh!

I had a spare UK power cable anyway so all sorted.

Next thing to concentrate on - making sure Ann's accordion has sufficient volume through the PA without causing howls of feedback

Spot of bother with the Tour Bus

Afternoon before gig

Start to load up the gear into the car. All fits in nicely now we have the nifty trailer (all loaded up yesterday) Go to take off the trailer wheel lock and notice we have a flat Not a problem, still plenty of time

Grab the spare out of the trailer and realise there's no jack. Unload the gear from the car to get at the jack under the floor. Reload the car and put the jack under the trailer. Realise there's no wheel brace. Unload the car, grab the wheel brace. Load up the car. Wheel brace doesn't fit the nuts on the trailer tyre

Drive to Halfords and buy a wheel brace. Take off the tyre and put on the spare. Spare is flat. Still lots of time. No need to panic. Take both tyres to Kwikfit. "We don't do wheelbarrow tyres" "It's a trailer tyre. Know anywhere that does?" "Try ATS"

Drive to ATS. Spare tyre needs a tube (none in stock) Main tyre ok when they pump it up and reseat it on the rim. Leave the spare and arrange to have both tyres fitted with tubes later in the week. Drive home, fit tyre on trailer, hook up trailer to car. Time for a cup of tea.

I think Elvis started like this