Online Mini-Gig 001 - nzmetal, JK, jenndye429

Community Recordings Playing Live
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@Richard_close2u Thank you so much for watching! We have a lot of fun playing together.

We played a different RATM song (killing in the name) a couple open mics back and Dan took the vocals on that one as well, so that was his debut. I let him have the vocals every once in a while :wink:

I really enjoyed the process of picking out a “set”. It was fun seeing how the songs sounded together. I feel like the nerves/anticipation of the show were a little higher than the regular OM’s simply because I’ve never played more than one song for a “live” audience before. Once I started playing though, I feel like it was actually a little easier to tame the nerves. By the end of my set, it felt like I probably could have kept going. I agree with JK that the prep for the show was probably the most difficult part. Dan and I played our full set every day for almost 3ish weeks leading up to the show to prepare. We also recorded it and shared it with Jeff and JK in advance.

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Hi Richard, thanks for these questions, they were important reason for testing out this type of event so very happy to share :slight_smile: :+1:

Firstly, in terms of coordinating the event, I felt that was pretty smooth, we had a couple of boxes to tick initially and a few back-and-forth conversations with various interested parties about how to best run things, but overall it was by no means a big undertaking so I would want to reassure anyone thinking about this, not to be put off by admin. In saying that, I would be very willing to take a lot of that admin load off any others wishing to run one of these. They’re more than welcome to just reach out to me via DM :slight_smile:

I would also say that working through this event coordination with @Jenndye429 & @jkahn was fantastic. Bouncing ideas around and getting different perspectives was super helpful :sunglasses:

Stepping up from one song was certainly more challenging but I really found it quite fun! Needing to think about how each song sat in the set (i.e. is it a good opener or better at the end and does it enhance the set or detract from it, etc.), how I could easily manage the flow from one to the next (given I was using backing tracks) and am I able to learn both guitar and vocals for both in time, made all this an interesting challenge! I went through a few different iterations of my set before finally settling on what I did. “For Whom…” was my last inclusion as it seemed a good middle track and I had done it before (without vocals) so that fitted with the idea of building a repertoire.

It did feel more taxing on mental energy, maintaining focus on the performance for around 14-15mins instead of 4-5mins, but not so much from a physical perspective, at least for me, in fact the adrenaline was pumping so that alleviated any issues there :joy:

So that answers the last question, it was a great buzz and I highly recommend giving it a whirl to anyone who’s sitting on the fence! :partying_face:

In terms of nerves, I had spent some time leading up to this event coming up with a strategy to deal with my biggest issue in previous OMs, which was my terribly shaky hands interfering with my ability to play guitar! :wave: :grimacing: :joy: I was very pleased that that strategy seemed to help on the night, but also I felt once I had got through the first song and a half, I was feeling more relaxed and, like Jennifer, I could have happily kept going.

Overall, it was a great experience and inspires me to do more of this, potentially even in the “real world”! :see_no_evil: :sweat_smile:

EDIT: I also forgot to mention that your guidance along with @DavidP’s excellent advice in the initial coordination was greatly appreciated too!! :clap: :smiley: :+1:

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I finally made it to enjoy your show…and what a show! I think the order of performances, with the acoustic interlude in the middle worked really well. Congratulations for making this, that must have been fun to prepare it and you all did great!

Jenny @Jenndye429, any thought about starting a wider band? I think your vocals really suits the rock style and I enjoyed very much your performances, also, Dan’s Rap…that was really great!

Jk @jkahn, I very much enjoyed your rendition of Hurt, I love seeing what a great job you’re doing on your vocals…you seem well on your way to enhance your low, full, deep voice, bravo!

Jeff @nzmetal, this is the first time I hear you singing and you need to know that it left me quite speechless…now I’ve been quite in trouble to source the right word from my english vocabulary…Gorgeous? Wonderful? Amazing? Stunning? Mind-blowing? Please do feel free to pick the one that you like best. I’ll just add a Wow Wow Wow…that little “diabolic laugh” in Killed by Death…Wow!

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True. That was a special highlight of the event for me as well :slightly_smiling_face:

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Thank you so much! Yes, I have definitely thought about forming an actual band :grinning: I just need to find more musicians to join in! Definitely easier said than done. My friend/neighbor picked up a bass a while back, but hasn’t played for a while and I’m not sure how interested she is in keeping up with it. I wish I knew of a good way to find others that would be compatible with us to play with. I’ll definitely keep looking though :wink:

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@SILVIA Thank you so so much for your very kind words, it means a huge amount to me!! To wake up this morning and read this was the most wonderful start to the day! :hugs: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: Vocals hasn’t really been something I thought I could do and have actively avoided it over the years until recently. But having seen the amazing progress and performances of many on this forum, I was inspired to give it a go. To my surprise, I didn’t hate it and actually found it a bit fun! :joy: Your kind words of encouragement really motivates me to keep at it. Thank you again, it means the world to me :heart:

Thanks Nicole! :smiley: I debated about adding that for quite a while, I found the laugh a bit tricky to pull off without sounding totally silly! :joy: But in the end I thought, hey why not just do it?! :sweat_smile: Glad you liked it! :hugs: :smiley: :+1:

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You know that little tune going like “:notes:…if you keep on believing the dream that you wish will come true!:notes:” :wink:

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Hey Jeff I’m very glad you appreciated so much my words of praise, that’s all well deserved! :blush::hugs: And I’m very happy I now have the chance to give back…as you have been even kinder to me :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: and I remember well the feeling! You might post a very good rock or metal guitar part, but if it’s a song I don’t know and I can’t connect with I would not understand it fully and I would probably just enjoy it …the singing here, it makes all the difference! :100: Also I think that singing is a very powerful and natural way we have to express ourselves, and you do that beautifully, no matter it’s rock blues metal or whatever!

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Great job all, really nice production all-around!

One pointer or comment Jenn. At times your vocal was a tad overpowering. I wonder if when you perform in this manor, if you could monitor your sound via in ear monitoring? If that is too expensive, perhaps cans would work. Either way, if you could hear an overall mix you could touch up the levels live. In this case you would simply step back a bit from the mic and address it at more of a distance. Which in turn would tend to perhaps blend the sound or mix better? Just a thought mind you…

Again, great job and I look forward to another installment!
LB

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Thanks for the feedback! I’ll keep it in mind. Having the appropriate mix is always an ongoing struggle :laughing:

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Uh,
The mix is hard enough under a full blown studio environment where one has full control of it. Much more difficult in my thinking is when one tries to pull it off “live”. All the best in making it happen or at least in trying! :slight_smile:

Take good care,
LB

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Thanks again, Silvia!! :smiley: :hugs: :hugs: :hugs:

Totally get you on this! :smiley: :+1: I have more and more come to appreciate that perspective over the past few months. It is something I have seen @jkahn mention many times (and hopefully I have grasped his meaning correctly! :joy: ) that playing over a backing track is fine and all, but a true solo performance, one that will really grab people and get them invested in what you’re doing, is when it includes doing the vocals as well. Watching someone play is one thing but watching someone sing and play is a total other thing. I intend to focus more on this approach going forward :sunglasses:

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Sorry for stepping into your conversation @SILVIA and @nzmetal but I couldn’t hold back myself :see_no_evil: . No need to be daubtful about your singing JK and Jeff. Jk is making amazing progress with singing, -killer voice- already, when he’s taking and he will learn to tame it for his needs while singing. He’s much more confident than when he started singing and that’s the right way. Huge progress already made!
And Jeff, you totally blew me away! I was sure, we’ll get a kind of surprise (waited for some fingerstyle on acoustic :innocent:) but didn’t expect you to sing.

YES!

Your performance was so full of high energy, so thrilling, that made me really happy. It was a joy to listen! You really should keep that! Imagine, the vibes crossed several oceans and continents, thousand and thousands of miles, so it must have been good!
Would love to hear one of you perform some Billy Idol :heart_eyes: (am I retro?)

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Andrea you’re most welcome to step in whenever you like :blush::hugs:

Exactly this Jeff :star_struck::wink::blush: …something that one remembers about! Keep at enjoying the singing Jeff…now we all would like to hear more, :pray:… (begging please, of course!) :innocent::grin:

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@Helen0609 & @SILVIA
:hugs: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: :blush:
Thank you both so much! :pray:

That is kind of crazy when thinking about it that way! :crazy_face: :sweat_smile: Thank you again :hugs:

:rofl: Now that is an interesting idea, Andrea! Hadn’t consider any Billy Idol songs before?! :thinking: :sweat_smile: You’re not retro, Billy’s tunes are timeless! I am going to investigate this idea further :face_with_monocle: :wink:

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Jeeey…Rebel Yell :partying_face: :joy:!

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Hmmm…Or White wedding? :rainbow:

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JK, check out ‘Big Bad John’, fun song and would suit your vocal range. :smiley:

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Oooh those are both great tunes!! I’ll check out how to play them, no promises though… :wink: :sweat_smile:

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I haven’t had a lot of community time recently, so replying to some of the comments left in the meantime…

Thanks Silvia, I’ve still got a long way to go with my vocals but am feeling that the low range is coming along nicely, still so much more work to do! But very glad you enjoyed it. Thank you.

Ah yeah, I had mentioned that, and it’s totally opinion not some kind of fact. I do think there’s nothing wrong with people just playing guitar, or playing with a backing track - after all I’ve done that plenty of times… but when I’m performing it feels different when you’re the whole act, rather than playing just guitar with a backing track that covers bass, vocals and drums. For some reason playing in a band seems different, you’re all humans working together. I don’t know why I feel this way.

Backing tracks are also cruel bandmates… they don’t adjust tempo to each other, or try to help you get back on the beat, they just all keep playing. You can’t even look at them so they know when to start or stop!

You’re so kind Andrea, thank you. Still a long way to go. And yes, when I started recording and singing I was not confident of it at all. In fact I hadn’t really sung solo in front of anyone in my life. Now at least I try to fake it if I can’t do it, and am slowly getting parts. I will say it again though. Singing is SOO much harder than guitar. On guitar I can tell when I hit a dud note, move the fingers… singing, er, sometimes I just can’t fix it. Takes a lot more work. I’d like to get to the point where I would feel confident at an IRL open mic. Not there yet.

Thanks Mal, I’ll check it out.

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