what is going on in your musical life

First rehearsal was tonight, it was super fun! I only had a week to learn the songs but I did it in spite of it being the end of the semester!! #trooper

Also they are very catchy songs, that helps

Ahh, that's so cool, LL, glad you had fun.

i am taking drum lessons after three years of playing self-taught, it's totally rocking my world

Post some catchy tunes when you have them, LL! Looking forward to listening.

here's a(n obfuscated) link to the bandcamp -- https://bit.ly/2QmWdwG

what kinds of stuff are you learning brad? i love learning and practicing new drum stuff. it keeps me chugging along in the hellscape of 2019 life :)

v psyched for you ll

that's not me on the recording btw

i did however learn like 10+ songs in under a week

what kinds of stuff are you learning brad? i love learning and practicing new drum stuff. it keeps me chugging along in the hellscape of 2019 life :)

― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Thursday, May 23, 2019 9:42 AM (twelve seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

he taught me the full stroke first and in order to execute it i had to completely change how i've been holding the sticks and striking the snare lol. we're trying to get to a place where i'm doing as little work as possible and using the rebound of the stick instead of lifting my whole goddamn arm every time. we're also doing rudimental patterns from stick control and another book, which he has me exporting into different orchestrations on the drumkit

i guess it's cool to mention that my instructor is kid millions from oneida, i'm so so happy about the situation

nice! that is definitely the way to more control/playing faster and more precisely. def do not need to lift your arm!
i also recommend ted reed's SYNCOPATION for practicing, it's not only helpful but pleasantly meditative

colpitts!!! love him!!! he seems like a totally good person in addition to being an excellent drummer

we're trying to get to a place where i'm doing as little work as possible and using the rebound of the stick instead of lifting my whole goddamn arm every time.

it's all about the wrists! that was pretty much the one good thing that came out of 4 years of marching band

ironically, the last few years i've been dealing with chronic wrist pains, so on the rare occasions that i play these days, my technique is awful

i guess it's cool to mention that my instructor is kid millions from oneida,

whooooooa! buried the lede there!!

Nice LL!

My drum technique is feeling better than it has in a long time, maybe ever. A big part of this is due to (as always) recognizing my limitations, but also strengths, and accepting that one grip/technique doesn't have to work for all situations. It's totally fine to switch grips for different phrases or musical situations, and even though most drummers do this naturally, it doesn't usually come up in drum lessons in my experience. I even switch left vs right hand lead for certain beats & tempos, and I've come to embrace that rather than thinking I have to be able to do everything one way.

xp whoa Brad

It's all about the wrists but the fingers have to be following the stroke in a natural way, or else it'll lock things up. My mantra lately is for the hand to follow the stick, and do what it wants to do rather than vice versa.

jordan completely otm, that is practically word-for-word what john told me during my last two lessons

colpitts!!! love him!!! he seems like a totally good person in addition to being an excellent drummer

― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Thursday, May 23, 2019 9:50 AM (eighteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

he's a huge sweetheart and such a good teacher

and the other book he's teaching me out of is, indeed, ted reed's syncopation

Oh wow, good to know I'm on the right track then. Only took me 23 years to get here, I'm a late bloomer.

if you're a late bloomer, idk what that makes me
a revived corpse?

lol :)

i am feeling good about things clearly if i can make jokes about that

LL - those tracks are great! Gotta say I'm enjoying it more than the noise stuff, but I'm a sucker for catchiness.

Haha, you're not a late bloomer, just a late starter

I started playing guitar and singing lead vox in a Grateful Dead (and other similar stuff) cover band. It's a lot of fun.

https://midwestaxn.bandcamp.com/album/life-is-twigs

album out today, also on spotify and hopefully the other usual places

also i'm trying to get back into doing my own stuff but i've set a very leisurely pace for myself: write and record one song per month. attempting to follow the loose monthly schedule of writing lyrics the first week, writing music the second week, and recording the third and fourth weeks. trying to not worry about the songs being "good" or other people hearing them. the goal is just to be regularly working on my own music without putting too much pressure on myself. i finished the first one of these yesterday.

Just played a decently lengthy set before a decently large arts-festival crowd, and was decently well received. Pleasurable.

NA -- holler if you want to record or borrow some drum shit! that sounds like a fun project.

i am playing with the new band on a porch this afternoon. i feel prepared, which is pretty weird! i need to write down the set list and some notes so i don't get confused bc i'm not used to playing a bunch of rock songs in a row. on a porch.

Band released a record, I’m pretty proud of it. I think the producer/engineer did a great job making a gang of hacks sound decent. salthorse.bandcamp

Next batch of songs is nearly all written; now we need to start whipping them into shape. Summertime is always tough for that bcuz everyone goes on vacation & we never seem to be able to coordinate that.

I bought my first synth after years of jonesing — a Mopho Keys. Looking forward to learning something new from scratch (the synthesis part, not the playing part).

Sounds fantastic!

Shoutout for the physical strenuousness of playing 45 min/12 energetic rock songs (only 3 are even moderately slow) in a row at full enthusiasm in a row.

Wow

Show is on Tues, I need to practice more! We played on a porch on Sun and it was fun but also very low pressure. A 94 year old lady offered me a $5 billl while I was playing <3

Clearly the things that are getting to me are 1) in a row continuously and 2) at full enthusiasm

Sigh

we have a show on the 14th and my drum lessons are changing the way i'm playing significantly, it's both great and... well, i just wish my playing were a little more fine-tuned at this point, it's v erratic from where i'm sitting (my bandmates mostly hear improvement)

I hear you! It’s very difficult to play the same songs with new skills ime!! It’s almost easier the less you know... :-/

Also playing songs is different for me — I played some songs last summer and the summer before but mostly when I play w people it’s more improvised and therefore less strenuous. Songs are hard, esp when I’ve only listened to them for like 2-3 weeks?

You should expect hiccups as you learn imo — that’s good! It means your playing is expanding 💕

2 funny things from my musical life

two weeks ago: played on a porch as part of a "porchfest" neighborhood summertime thing. i was set up directly next to the front door in a little corner. during our 2nd or 3rd song, the 94 year old landlady (who lives upstairs) walked out the door and stood there on her porch/the stage right next to me while we played, but the singer had no idea because her back was turned to the door. Landlady was kindly ushered back inside, but she came back out a few songs later and offered me a $5 bill while we were in the middle of the song. i did not stop playing! good times.

last night -- played a free show with a touring band and a local band that had no social media presence but had been written up in the Trib (I didn't read it before the show). They were ok but had bad manners and did not stay for either of the sets after theirs and took all their people out to the bar to socialize amongst themselves for the entire evening. i looked it up this morning and guess what -- the drummer was my old dermatologist. i didn't recognize him. lol!

good times, feeling happy :)

i had another lesson on monday where my instructor made some final adjustments to my grip and i'm pretty confident with how i'm playing rn, even though it's still a little difficult (my right hand has adjusted organically, but my left hand considers what i'm trying to do a grave injustice and cramps up a lot). instructor emphasized that comfort is paramount, but i think i'm getting there anyway? i move around way less (and waste way less energy) and can play faster than i used to, just after 4.5 weeks of rudiments

band practice last night was wonderful, we've never sounded better

that's great! what are you doing for warm ups to your rudiment practice?

i've just been dipping in and out of the first 10-15 pages of both stick control and ted reed syncopation and alternating these with the PAS rudiments

rudiments have been mad fun to play but also excruciating at 40 bpm which my instructor insists on lol (he finally upped the speed to 45 this week)

prob the most immediate benefit of these lessons is that i'm no longer baffled by drummers that really impress me, i can now tell what they're doing even if i can't do it yet/at all

been there! otm about understanding impressive drummers more. i think at heart i am ultimately most impressed by feel and seek out unique voices in that regard.
i did a lot of strength building a few years ago and have been maintaining my routine -- it definitely pays off. i am currently at the point where i aim to increase my vocabulary so i can express more things, just like with language :)

even though that lady was trying to give me $5 to stop, it will take more than that!

i think at heart i am ultimately most impressed by feel and seek out unique voices in that regard

this is otm for me too

it took me forever to wrap my head around jeremy taggart's drum part on our lady peace's "automatic flowers" and but i think it's all just lightly modified stroke rolls? anyway just *thinking* about this stuff is fun

oh excellent i found a decent drum cover, maybe this one is still baffling

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_xFjY3y1nQ

the drummer was my old dermatologist

Insert "skins" joke here

I just sang Love Bade Me Welcome at an evening service tonight, which means I’ve now performed all 3 of the solo numbers from Vaughn Williams’ “Five Mystical Songs”

The singer/bandleader for the band I play bass in dissolved the band yesterday, after 6 months of rehearsals & one fun show. It’s a bit of a relief, because I feel like I’ve taken on too much in my life & need to simplify, & now I get to not be the flaky guy who quit.

Need to make sure I keep up my bass muscles/chops, though — those took a while to come back!

did not stay for either of the sets after theirs and took all their people out to the bar to socialize amongst themselves for the entire evening

I hate this. I am relatively understanding if a band's on a big tour and they need some chillout time for themselves but it smacks of arrogance to not bother watching other bands on the bill.

My band's album is soooo close to coming out now, just finalising artwork and checking test pressings. It's been a long time coming!