Re: Australia - Egotistical jerk singer looking for subservient instrumental flunky...

On Nov 20, 12:56 am, Ozric <n...@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
Not really, but I know that's how some guitar/keyboard heroes will see it...

Maybe of interest for the Aussies on this group.

A bit long-winded but hopefully it'll weed out the tire-kickers, wanna-be's
and the "I just wanna jam, man" types.

I'm a "mature" (read - old fart) singer/acoustic guitarist in Perth looking
for an acoustic soloist/accompanist. I'm NOT a soloist and I'm looking for
someone to play TASTEFUL, APPROPRIATE accompaniment and take the solos.

I play mostly Blues or Blues oriented and Rock'n'Roll with some other stuff
from a bunch of styles (swing, reggae, country, ragtime, R&B, etc.). Mainly
uptempo-ish stuff that would (hopefully) encourage dancing. Also, I'm not
trying to pretend I'm still 23 - I don't have delusions about a career as
a rock-star.

I'm NOT into playing to polite audiences who sit on their hands in
worshipful silence. To me the big thing is entertainment. I'm not
interested in "educating" an audience. I sing well and play rhythm and
some finger-picking and slide.

I have 30 years experience playing (not as a guitarist) and singing at
a real-world pro and semi-pro level (by pro I mean in front of people for
money) and have decided to branch out with an acoustic duo as I'm sick of
being in bands where the guitarist or keyboardist is too precious to play
rhythm and is impatiently waiting for the vocals to finish so he can stun
and amaze everyone with his awesomely clever, jaw-droppingly virtuosic
solo.

I would prefer a guitar or a decent harp player, but would consider other
instruments. Vocals would be an advantage, but not essential. If you want
to sing stuff that's cool. You MUST have performance experience - I'm not
looking to mentor someone whose granny thinks they're marvellous and who
has a bunch of chops but they've never done the "hard yards". If you have
a couple of originals that would fit the rep that's o.k. as well.

If you're looking for a showcase for your Jazz-Fusion/Prog-Rock/Avant-Garde
chops and general cleverness, *** off right now. I want someone who knows
when to shut-the-***-up and not stomp all over the vocals. If you're
uncertain as to the meaning of tasteful, appropriate, or shut-the-***-up,
you probably shouldn't bother...

If you're obsessed with nailing songs absolutely note-for-note, and/or
doing them exactly the same way each time, don't bother. I do change stuff
round on the fly, extend songs if the crowd's into it, etc.

Don't get the impression from this that I'm an egotistical, selfish control
freak. Or suffer from "Lead Singer's Syndrome". I just want to make sure
that whoever is interested in the gig has the same approach i.e. the SONG
and the AUDIENCE are the important things in this context, not instrumental
ego-tripping. And it will be fun; I don't get hung up on the occasional
fluff or flub - it is live music after all.

I'm not really fussed about your approach to lead breaks; tasteful melodic
or blazing and a bit "out there", as long as it fits in and you're not
stomping over the vocals I'm happy.

This would suit someone who is already in a band and is maybe looking for
another occasional outlet. I don't intend to be trying to gig every
weekend with this duo (although if it takes off, who knows...) but I can
get some gigs straight away.

No pot-heads, speed-freaks, junkies, booze-hounds, psychos, fundamentalists
(religious or political). If you're more interested in the party than the
playing, see the bit about fucking off. I don't need a new best friend, I
need someone with a professional approach to performing.

email me at: aussiebassATgmailDOTcom

Now this is a post I can bump to. I stopped playing guitar after about
25 years for a 7 year period. When I picked it up again in 2001 I met
a guy doing a solo acoustic act that was looking for something
"interesting" to add to his sound. He asked me to sit in one night at
a little club on the main drag in Virginia Beach, VA. I brought along
my Tele, my lap steel, and my little Boogie 22. I had no fucking idea
what this guy did. I sat and listened to his first set and was
astonished by his voice, his constantly changing open tunings on his
acoustic, and the wide array of material he was doing... lots of
original stuff, some Peter Gabriel, Jack Johnson, Radiohead, Joni
Mitchell... all kinds of ***, most of which I had never before
played.

I set up for the second set to play with him, asked what he was gonna
do, and he said "just follow along, do what you want, I want this to
sound as exotic as you can possibly make it... I trust you". So I did.
We wound up playing together for about a year every Sunday night, and
we never once rehearsed. I had no idea from night to night, even song
to song, what he was gonna do. When I asked after the 3rd or 4th gig
if he thought maybe we should get together and rehearse a bit his
answer was... "nah... I don't really give a ***. What I really want
is for you to make the songs sound as interesting as possible, I
don''t really care if you completely change them from gig to gig, and
nothing you are doing is taking away from what I'm looking for. I just
want it to be as organic and open as possible. Lay back when you think
it's right, take it up a notch when you feel it... we'll just let
things evolve as they do".

Needless to say it was a challenge. That he was a remarkably competent
and comfortable performer, had complete faith in me, and put no
boundaries on me other than my own sense of taste and musical decorum
made things easier. it was however an astonishingly fun ride due to
the fact that it was the total opposite of the "jam session" stuff I
was doing on Wednesday nights. This was all very cerebral... I had to
pay especially close attention to what he was doing earwise, as his
tunings were completely off the wall, and watching him gave me no
indication of his chordal intentions. I either heard what he was
doing, followed what I anticipated his intentions were, or I was lost
(and that did happen on a few occasions).

My only reasons for mentioning this is beacuse you, to an extent, seem
to have the same approach. Not sure what kinda stuff you do, but I'm
quite intrigued by your eagerness to approach your presentation with a
semblance of the same sense of freedom. And your requirement that said
accompanist be capable of realizing when to move up and back is what
will eventually determine the success of that person.

I applaud what you're attempting here. The short time I spent doing
this was a constant brain teaser, but at the same time enabled me to
relocate some of those attributes I had somewhat lost during my "down
time". Nothing makes you think harder than not knowing what's going to
happen next. Effectively executing it is musical nirvana. The ability
of your partner to be able to tastefully antipicate your next move is
an imperative, and I hope you find someone capable and willing to give
it a shot. I'd personally love to hear what comes out of this. And I
would assume what comes out of it would be live.

Hope you find a good partner, and I especially hope you'll post some
of the results for me to hear. I'm really looking forward to it.

The only caveat I have here is the fact that when I was doing this it
was always.... always post ganja. I can appreciate your wanting a
clear headed stage partner, but my buddy and I felt (however misguided
it may seem to others) that it helped our ability to open up in a
fashion. It always helps when your audience is anticipating, or at
least is not averse to, this type of approach.

So good luck Ozric... and keep me at least posted on what the hell you
come up with. If you were in the Phoenix area I'd be all over this
sort of thing. Too bad...

Play pretty...

Lewis
http://www.lewisray.com/
http://myspace.com/lewisraycammarata
.