(no subject)

[shermarama]

Someone tried out again last night as lead guitar for Punch Judy. In a lot of ways he's everything we could ever ask for in a lead guitarist and it feels like we'd be throwing away an opportunity to not take him on. Which is why we're not. I suppose *because* we keep thinking of him in terms of potential and how good a guitarist he is, not in terms of what he's doing fitting with the sound or adding anything to the music. We could spend ages carefully crafting everything so that it all fits together but that doesn't seem like the thing to be doing right now. As a three piece and well-used, by now, to working together, we can get do last-minute gigs and jump on stage and just get on with it. We get to hear the good basslines Debz puts together, there's nothing to crash Jodie's vocals. The times we could do with an extra guitar are clearly there, but there's not enough of them at the minute to justify the extra complication. I think everyone who's seen us live in both incarnations has said they prefer the three piece, though that includes some known (indeed, Kn0wn) devotees of the form and we have just plain old got better with time and practice.

That's not to say that we're not likely to have one again in the future, especially if things do get bigger, the sound moves on again, but I think it'll be the right person and the right time and there's no point trying to force something now. What we need now, playing in London pubs and little club nights to people who don't, when it comes down to it, need to care, are attention-grabbing vocals, head-nodding/foot-tapping/bounce-inducing rhythms, catchy songs. What we don't need, call me rhythm section like, is widdle. We could *use* some more hooks, perhaps, but not at the expense of also adding a layer of obfuscatory shred.

Comments

[mzdt.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with you on the widdle factor; good call. I left my only serious band, years ago, because all the world msuic space and colour had turned into a wall of pub rock, with everyone playing all the time. I remember realising in the middle of a gig that I needn't have bothered coming, so in the future I didn't.

[rgl.livejournal.com]

I think it is possible to get two guitars to stay out of each other's way in a widdle-free environment, but I've only seen it happen where one person has written both guitar lines.