Preston
456 posts
Jul 06, 2009
3:27 PM
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big time. I live on a cul-de-sac and we had a street party for the 4th of July. I believe everybody from the street was there, plus a few people from another street over. We started the grills at 6:30p.m. and Bar-B-Qued and drank beer until the City's official fireworks display started at 9:45 p.m.(you could see the display from my yard so we didn't have to leave the comfort of our street) The fireworks lasted for about a half hour, after which I decided to play the starspangled banner on the harp.
I can play this in first position and 2nd position. I decided that night to play it in cross harp for a more bluesy sound. 2nd position requires you to sustain the 5OB in a couple of places, but I've been OB for awhile now and I felt confident enough to pull it off. I told my wife to record me "in case it was awesome."
Well, it wasn't awesome. For starters, I had either my amp or my mic turned up too loud, and after the first verse the amp started feeding back. I managed to make it all the way through the song, but when I went back and listened to it, my 5 overblow I tried to wail on sounded like shit. The amp feeding back was a distraction to the listeners I'm sure.
I managed to garner an applause from the audience, and someone yelled out "Play Ball!" on the next street over, but to be honest, I really sucked that night.
So what did I learn that hopefully I can pass on to some of you guys?
#1. Soundchecks are good. I didn't do a sound check on my mic and amp at the volume I tried to play it at.
#2. Beer is bad. I'm sure if I hadn't been drinking for over 3 solid hours I could've had a better tone and pitch control on my overblows. (I even noticed I bent the 4 draw down to flat)
Yes, I'm rambling, but I hope some of you are taking notes. And no, I'm not posting it on Youtube.
P
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scstrickland
113 posts
Jul 06, 2009
3:55 PM
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Don't worry, I blow it all the time. Practice the hell out of something until I can play it in my sleep, blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back. Then go to do it in front of an audience and choke, squeal, lose time and just plain stink. I never play after having more than a few beers and always hope that my audience has had more than a few. When I'm done embarrassing myself, I drink for 3 hours. There will be a next time. Use what you learned to make it better.
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jonsparrow
592 posts
Jul 06, 2009
4:00 PM
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#3. get an anti feedback pedal.
upload it to photobucket an post it. im sure its not as bad as you think.
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jonsparrow
593 posts
Jul 06, 2009
4:04 PM
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ya i know what you mean. i could play certain things great, an ill go to record it an fuck up a million times, stoppin a rerecording over an over. its cause you know the pressure is on so to try to be good insted of just doing good like allways.
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mickil
325 posts
Jul 06, 2009
4:16 PM
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#2. Beer is bad#2. Beer is bad#2. Beer is bad#2. Beer is bad#2. Beer is bad
That's always the culprit when I fuck up. No ability to judge jack shit: my playing or anything else for that matter.
But, most people who were there will not care a millionth as much as you do. We've all had that situation, or will have it.
Hope you had a good bar-b!
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'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
http://www.youtube.com/user/SlimHarpMick
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jonsparrow
594 posts
Jul 06, 2009
4:24 PM
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smoke pot. it will make you play better then beer will.
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JoshTheMagish
56 posts
Jul 06, 2009
7:48 PM
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welcome to the world of performing arts
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ElkRiverHarmonicas
84 posts
Jul 06, 2009
8:01 PM
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"I told my wife to record me "in case it was awesome."
I loved that. I got a good chuckle out of it and I really needed a chuckle.
Last Edited by on Jul 06, 2009 8:01 PM
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oldwailer
816 posts
Jul 06, 2009
10:29 PM
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It isn't the beer that's bad--it's the timing--as in when you drink the beer timing.
If you started playing when you started drinking--you just get better and better=good timing.
Drink for 3 hours--then play--that's really bad timing!
Of course a couple of tokes while drinking will improve tone--at least in MY ears--but you still need the beer to keep your throat protected from the heat of the toke. . .
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The Gloth
135 posts
Jul 07, 2009
12:09 AM
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If you're drunk, try to play "Star spangled Banner" the way Jimi Hendrix did : with machine guns and dropping bombs. No worry about wrong notes.
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Preston
457 posts
Jul 07, 2009
5:29 AM
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I was really kicking myself in the ass the next morning, but I'm determined to use this as a good learning experience, or at least a good story to tell one of these days down the road!
Oldwailer and Jonsparrow:
I haven't smoked pot since Halloween 2000 after we'd shut all the bars down and couldn't find any more beer. The next morning I woke up in an old farm house in the middle of some corn field in Iowa not knowing where I was or who the heavy girl sleeping next to me was. Or where my truck was... Or how I got there... Or how to get home without waking the girl next to me. It was my "Coyote Ugly" moment and I haven't touched the stuff since.
Come to think of it, that's another story where I tried to do something after alot of beer and failed. Maybe it's beer I need to quit...
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scstrickland
116 posts
Jul 07, 2009
6:18 AM
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HELL NO! Just learn to manage it.
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mickil
330 posts
Jul 07, 2009
6:19 AM
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The last time I smoked pot was back in about '90. I ended up crawling on all fours through the corridor of my college dorm with people laughing and taking photos of me. I thought I was going to die; I wanted to die. Never again. I suppose I should add that, at least for me:
beer + pot = hell
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'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
http://www.youtube.com/user/SlimHarpMick
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The Gloth
137 posts
Jul 07, 2009
6:26 AM
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I always drank beer or wine while doing a gig, and it generally went well (at least, no one complained). I even played as a guest with some bands, was so drunk that I didn't remember my playing the next day but was congratulated by the other musicians...
Pot works also well on playing, if you take just a little, not to be completely stoned. I think it stimulates imagination.
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jaymcc28
77 posts
Jul 07, 2009
6:53 AM
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"...The next morning I woke up in an old farm house in the middle of some corn field in Iowa not knowing where I was or who the heavy girl sleeping next to me was. Or where my truck was... Or how I got there... Or how to get home without waking the girl next to me..."
Hey...there's a country song in there just waiting to be written.
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oldwailer
818 posts
Jul 07, 2009
9:20 AM
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Wow! Nothing that cool ever happened to me on weed! The best I ever did was to wake up uncomfortable wondering how all the crackers and cheese ended up in my bed. . .
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jonsparrow
597 posts
Jul 07, 2009
10:30 AM
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"The best I ever did was to wake up uncomfortable wondering how all the crackers and cheese ended up in my bed. . ."
lol
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Leanground
64 posts
Jul 08, 2009
3:51 PM
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At this moment I'm drinking several shots of single malt scotch and dark beers before playing...
I smoked a bone once before a gig and felt like I was stuck at the blackboard frozen without the answer in a Catholic school with mean ass nuns...everyone was looking at me and I was totally disconnected with my lead guy.
Never again will I partake BEFORE a gig
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oda
122 posts
Jul 08, 2009
9:02 PM
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I'd like to petition for Preston to tell us more about his toking days. That Coyote Ugly store made me lol.
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Preston
462 posts
Jul 09, 2009
5:50 AM
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That was an exception oda. I didn't toke alot, it was on a rare occasion, and most of them ended up with crackers and cheese in my bed.
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mickil
337 posts
Jul 09, 2009
8:07 AM
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Preston,
So, it's either 'heavy girls' or 'crackers and cheese' I suppose. Both are good fun in their own ways! haha !
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'If it sounds GOOD to you, it's bitchen; if it sounds BAD to YOU, it's shitty' - Frank Zappa
http://www.youtube.com/user/SlimHarpMick
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geordiebluesman
189 posts
Jul 10, 2009
2:42 AM
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Two Weekends back i was at the MAG Farmyard Party which is a massive bikers rally in Yorkshire, As usual i drank about 10 pints during the afternoon whilst smoking endless joints then went up with the gang to watch some music. I always change to Gin at this point in the proceedings coz i'm not a big drinker and i get bloated after 10 beers, So i took a litre bottle and mixed it up with bitter lemon and was as happy as larry( whoever the f**k Larry is!) Any way my wife decided by about 11 o/clock that i was getting ahead of schedual wasted wise and snatched me booze, We then played drunken chassie for a bit till i realized i would never catch her so i went to the bar for more beers,For the next 45mins unknown to me my little darlin was necking my Gin and she was doing OK but then someone passed me a big fat Skunk spliff which Wifey decided to snatch and take a couple of mighty draws on, BIG MISTAKE,She don't smoke and this was shit hot weed, Within moments she was reeling all over the place arms flailing knees buckling propelled about by nothing other than her own self induced momentum untill with a mighty crash she hit the deck face first and gave herself what is medically described as a FUCK OFF BLACK EYE!, What joy what rapture i now have Cartte Blanch to do whatever i want forever coz from now on everytime she tries to reel me in when I'm heading for the "Drunk Of The Weekend Award", I'm just gonna look her in her one good eye and say Farmyard Party Bitch! and she will have to let me fly!
Last Edited by on Jul 10, 2009 2:45 AM
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jaymcc28
82 posts
Jul 10, 2009
6:56 AM
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"...I'm just gonna look her in her one good eye ..."
LMAO: That's too funny. I remember those days back in college but I refuse to retell any tales in fear of implicating myself. I have an 11 and 15 year old now and they don't need to know about Daddy's sordid past;)
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geordiebluesman
191 posts
Jul 10, 2009
7:38 AM
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Hey jaymcc28, I'm 50 and my wife is 44, Life is for livin and we're livin it large!
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jaymcc28
86 posts
Jul 10, 2009
8:01 AM
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Geordie, you're a better man than I am. I'm 44 and I simply can't take the abuse on my body any more! Used to be a party animal but now a couple of Bass Ale's and I'm fine.
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