Hey Jon,
I wrote some of my thoughts from last night and I'm thinking about posting them as a blog on the site. I'll attach it so you can approve it first. I think it was a pretty good show, it could have been tighter as you well know but it's all good. I want to simplify things if I can, I'll ponder on that and see if I come up with anything, I'm thinking minimalist. Marisa brought to my attention that when you download the door it has a tag on it that says "The Queue" on the mp3 player. We should try to re tag it so people don't get confused. Also do you think we should ever just be known as Lancaster Project also to avoid confusion?
I will call John and get more info on his drummer acquaintance, we'll see just how punk this guy is. Should we plan on our usual Monday meeting next week?
Jon T
hey there:
As I sit here in the writing center, reading your little blog I must
say: excellent work. Great tone, presence, flow. No grammar issues.
Beautiful.
Seriously, I really liked it. You don't have to approve stuff through
me before you post it. I will always enjoy and approve of the stuff
you write. Here is my response to both your blog and the questions
that you have.
1. Last night. The more I got to thinking about it, and as critical
as I am about my own deficiencies as a musician (you know them all:
playing by ear, lack of experience with sound levels and
equipment—including my own amp and pedal tray, etc. etc.) , I really
think what happened last night was a success. The essence of who we
are and what we are about (great songwriting, great melodies and
harmonies, unique presentation) came through. We are different from
the typiocal, and I think that is really, really good for us. As a
tutor, and really the more that I study art in general, whether it be
writing, literature or whatever, the more I understand that art is a
process. Last night and right now we are in the early stages of this
particular art project. If we hadn't have played last night and made
the mistakes that we did, we wouldn't know what we can do to make it
better the next time and the next and the next. So, last night—even
though I totally screwed some stuff up and felt a little embarrassed
in front of my friends—was a success. Let's do it again as soon as
possible.
2. Do I think that we should be called "Lancaster Project"?
Absolutely not. I know that is kind of a strong opinion, but I really
don't think that there is any confusion, really. As soon as we tell
them that our name is Lancaster, they will know not to call us
Lancaster Project. I think I may be able to change our URL on myspace
to say lancastermusic instead… I will see what I can do. We could
also get a new gmail account that doesn't say lancasterproject if you
want, but I really think that small details like that just don't
matter in the long run. People will know who we are.
3. As far as the tag on the door still saying the queue, I will fix
that as soon as I get home. I am also going to try to have Resolution
done in the next couple of days so that I can get that up there too.
4. The minimalist thing. I agree with this. Nobody likes to feel
like there is too much going on. I have been thinking about this a
lot actually and here are some of my random, sometimes conflicting,
thoughts on the matter:
a. I think that the fact that we have two members and what you call
the "curiosity" factor really adds to the strength and appeal of our
band.
b. I don't think that trying to juggle a million parts on stage is the answer.
c. I think that maybe adding a member to play bass or guitar (or both)
might be a good idea—maybe John Heidenriech?
d. I think that doing everything we can to maintain "the sound" with
two members is the best idea—John is always kind of flaky about the
band thing, he can't ever decide if he really wants to be serious
about it or not. (I really enjoy playing the bass on some songs, I
just need a bit more practice.) Plus, we have never had this much
success as a band in regards to practicing. Think about it, we have
never been able to practice almost every week. More members are bound
to complicate things.
e. I don't necessarily want a real drummer. We have been getting some
love for the fact that we don't have one. Our beats (your beats) are
really good. Some of them need a little tweaking, and maybe we can
learn better ways to assemble and edit them.
f. I think that a real drummer would be great.
g. I think that if we do have a drummer, they would have to understand
that part of the sound that we are going for included electronic
drums.
5. I think that we have already caught on to what makes small,
starting bands like ours successful. This is something that we have
never done before and with the miracle of myspace is now very possible
and that is networking with other bands and creating a fan base. I
think that we need to continue attending as many shows as we can (I am
going to try to go out at least once every 3 weeks or so) and meet
other bands, show them support and get to know them so that we can
play a gig next time with cool bands and not Godplow or Liquor Bike.
The next show that I am going to try to go to is at the Clubhouse in a
few Saturdays from now. Before Braille is releasing a CD. Dear and
the Headlights is playing and a few others. BB are one of the more
successful bands in the valley. Once we know the bands, I think that
we will be invited to play more often.
Anyway, I think that is it. Let's try to get another gig ASAP. I
will talk to you soon. As far as I know we are on for Monday.
Laters.
As I sit here in the writing center, reading your little blog I must
say: excellent work. Great tone, presence, flow. No grammar issues.
Beautiful.
Seriously, I really liked it. You don't have to approve stuff through
me before you post it. I will always enjoy and approve of the stuff
you write. Here is my response to both your blog and the questions
that you have.
1. Last night. The more I got to thinking about it, and as critical
as I am about my own deficiencies as a musician (you know them all:
playing by ear, lack of experience with sound levels and
equipment—including my own amp and pedal tray, etc. etc.) , I really
think what happened last night was a success. The essence of who we
are and what we are about (great songwriting, great melodies and
harmonies, unique presentation) came through. We are different from
the typiocal, and I think that is really, really good for us. As a
tutor, and really the more that I study art in general, whether it be
writing, literature or whatever, the more I understand that art is a
process. Last night and right now we are in the early stages of this
particular art project. If we hadn't have played last night and made
the mistakes that we did, we wouldn't know what we can do to make it
better the next time and the next and the next. So, last night—even
though I totally screwed some stuff up and felt a little embarrassed
in front of my friends—was a success. Let's do it again as soon as
possible.
2. Do I think that we should be called "Lancaster Project"?
Absolutely not. I know that is kind of a strong opinion, but I really
don't think that there is any confusion, really. As soon as we tell
them that our name is Lancaster, they will know not to call us
Lancaster Project. I think I may be able to change our URL on myspace
to say lancastermusic instead… I will see what I can do. We could
also get a new gmail account that doesn't say lancasterproject if you
want, but I really think that small details like that just don't
matter in the long run. People will know who we are.
3. As far as the tag on the door still saying the queue, I will fix
that as soon as I get home. I am also going to try to have Resolution
done in the next couple of days so that I can get that up there too.
4. The minimalist thing. I agree with this. Nobody likes to feel
like there is too much going on. I have been thinking about this a
lot actually and here are some of my random, sometimes conflicting,
thoughts on the matter:
a. I think that the fact that we have two members and what you call
the "curiosity" factor really adds to the strength and appeal of our
band.
b. I don't think that trying to juggle a million parts on stage is the answer.
c. I think that maybe adding a member to play bass or guitar (or both)
might be a good idea—maybe John Heidenriech?
d. I think that doing everything we can to maintain "the sound" with
two members is the best idea—John is always kind of flaky about the
band thing, he can't ever decide if he really wants to be serious
about it or not. (I really enjoy playing the bass on some songs, I
just need a bit more practice.) Plus, we have never had this much
success as a band in regards to practicing. Think about it, we have
never been able to practice almost every week. More members are bound
to complicate things.
e. I don't necessarily want a real drummer. We have been getting some
love for the fact that we don't have one. Our beats (your beats) are
really good. Some of them need a little tweaking, and maybe we can
learn better ways to assemble and edit them.
f. I think that a real drummer would be great.
g. I think that if we do have a drummer, they would have to understand
that part of the sound that we are going for included electronic
drums.
5. I think that we have already caught on to what makes small,
starting bands like ours successful. This is something that we have
never done before and with the miracle of myspace is now very possible
and that is networking with other bands and creating a fan base. I
think that we need to continue attending as many shows as we can (I am
going to try to go out at least once every 3 weeks or so) and meet
other bands, show them support and get to know them so that we can
play a gig next time with cool bands and not Godplow or Liquor Bike.
The next show that I am going to try to go to is at the Clubhouse in a
few Saturdays from now. Before Braille is releasing a CD. Dear and
the Headlights is playing and a few others. BB are one of the more
successful bands in the valley. Once we know the bands, I think that
we will be invited to play more often.
Anyway, I think that is it. Let's try to get another gig ASAP. I
will talk to you soon. As far as I know we are on for Monday.
Laters.
Jon S.
____
Yep, let's keep workin' it and refining it, we'll nail it. I just realized Monday is a holiday and nobody's on regular schedule. We're going to Tucson on the weekend but we will be back sometime on Monday so what time do you want to do it?
Gigs, yes let's do some. I'll work on Modified and find some other prospects, maybe something will come of it soon. I talked to a guy at a club called Last Exit bar and grill and he said we sounded pretty cool but he is hesitant to book a new band, he told me to get some fans and call him back when we can guarantee 50 -75 people. I'm not super eager to play at all the "bar" venues but he said he will keep us in mind as an opener. I'll look into Borders and try to find some non alcoholic show opportunities. There are some art galleries on Grand in Phoenix that host rock music in the evenings, a place called The Trunk Space and another called Four White Walls. I'll look for some festival, downtown saturday night type events too. In Tucson I know some bands would reserve the outdoor bandstand at Udall park and play shows there, I think they had to pay $25 for the "electricity" but maybe we could organize something like that up here and get a group of local bands into it. When we get a cd we can sell them at shows to make some sweet moolah and the next time The Cure comes to Phoenix I'm sure they will ask us to open for them. We can name our first album The Unathourized Biography of Robert Metzner.
I'm anxious to hear resolution. Do you need the good mic or are you done with vocals?
let's just keep lancasterproject@gmail I'm not really too concerned about the whole lancasterproject thing, just a thought, you're right, there won't be confusion.
See Ya
JT
