A New Gig

Whoa, man it has been a while since I have been here! Is anyone out there reading this?!? A couple days ago I successfully got the part as the guitar player in the long-running Rush tribute band. I am so looking forward to it! It will be a challenge to really nail it all down. The band is really a stickler for the details (you really have to be in a tribute band like this). The guitar stuff I really don't concern myself with, many of the songs that they do I have at least jammed to (in my room) in the past. Getting the sounds down, well, that is something to work on! What is going to be cool is finally getting down to using a lot of the software out there. I plan on using a lot of samples, synth sounds, and loops throughout the show. I will be getting the Roland PK5a MIDI controller which resembles the old Moog Taurus pedals. It will control the stuff that i will be using on Reason within the laptop. I think that it will be time to invest in a Mac to run all that. I really don't trust the PC with all the music.

One other great byproduct is how it will help my job as an Arts Director within the tech area. I have never been intimidated or dismissed a lot of the software out there - I just never got to it! Now, this kind of forces me to enter that world. I think that, as time moves on, one will see tremendous advances out at the Romeoville campus - at least in terms of the music production. The band also provides me for a great diversion. Learning and reviewing the 12 songs I needed to get during the Easter season actually helped me! It is amazing how you can get your mind off of your job once in a while and actually do better at it! I would be in my practice room for hours jamming on Rush songs. Then I come back fresh to everything I have to encounter at CCC. It is great. I find myself working much more efficiently and clear-headed as a Director. It also doesn't hurt that both guys know Christ: Jim even drums at Shorewood and just got baptized on Easter! It was a good test for me to see how things will be in the future with them. They only do about 5 gigs a year - perfect for me. So there are a lot of benefits for me in all aspects of my life. When I think of more I will post them!

Right now we are picking the songs for when I play with them in late fall: probably in mid-November. Meanwhile, I have to get working on the material. They are finishing the last gig with the guitarist who is leaving in late June: opening for Heart at Milwaukee's Summerfest. That is a great sendoff for him. He sounds like a cool dude (he is even willing to help me out with all the samples/sequences I need to get to - an offer I am definitely taking up on).

More updates later...