Band experiences

[shermarama]

Grief, I feel like a heel now. There's a house across the street that every week or so has a band practising in it in the evening; they go for about three hours once they've got going, and I can hear them sufficiently well in my room, even with all the windows and curtains closed, that it cuts easily through any music played in here. I end up just listening to them all evening and listening to bands working out songs is both tedious and frustrating. This time when they started up a few minutes ago, I thought I'd take the bull by the horns and try and head off another evening of teeth-gnashing; I went over there. They were too loud to hear me knocking at the door but a girl who was downstairs heard me and went running up the stairs and shouting. The lad who answered the door clearly had some idea they were being irritating and was a bit bashful right from the start. I pointed out that there are practice rooms in the area and that they're not that expensive; he said they'd tried the Redemption Rooms in Hackney and that was sixty quid for four hours so I told him to try Bonafide Studios on Curtain Road, near Old Street, who charge about half that. Hopefully that'll solve the problem all round, but now they've stopped I feel like I've spoilt their fun. Well, and I have, but their fun was driving some of the other occupants of the street nuts.

Now, how do I know about Bonafide Studios on Curtain Road? Because I was there last night. On Friday evening this lad came up to me on the street and said he recognised me from a gig we both played at once in Brighton. He mentioned a new band he was trying to put together and that he needed a drummer, which led to me being in them there studios last night. It was an interesting experience - he's got a really good bassist and a pretty good guitarist, insofar as I'm any judge, and a handful of song ideas. The songs aren't very structured and don't really do anything other than rattle along in a 12-bar blues kind of way, but this lad Mike does some entertaining rants over the top at least, and the aim isn't exactly to be the future of rock and roll. He's putting on a memorial gig for a friend in about six weeks' time with several other bands, and wants to be able to get up and do something himself too, so I've said I'll do this on a temporary basis to sort out the gig, though probably not long term. Blues drumming is hardly a speciality of mine and I'm not quite sure I'm up to the job but I'm on the spot and it seems I'll do. I think that was the first time I've ever drummed a four hour practice, though, which made my shoulders complain, and combined with it being very hot and sweaty in there and holding my sticks rather too tight at the start (probably out of nerves and general unfamiliarity) I've knackered the skin on my fingers in a couple of places. It made operating grip shift bike gears kind of awkward today, I'll tell you that.

Haha, the band over the street have started up again! Somewhat quieter than they would have been otherwise, at least. Shame they're not much cop, really...

Comments

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

If they go on to sell a million records, you'll forever be "the one who told them to turn it down"!!