Dave2112
Level of Cherry Feather
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2001
- Messages
- 10,294
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Greetings all! Been pretty busy for the last ten days or so, but it was well worth it. In the middle of last week, I got a call from a friend of mine who plays drums for a band called "Escape", the North Country's premier Journey tribute band. Seems thier keyboardist broke his arm screwing around on an ATV and they had some pretty big gigs lined up for the rest of the summer. So, my friend called and asked how my chops were and if I was busy for awhile.
Luckily, there are a lot of Journey tunes in my personal repertiore. I drove over to Burlington, VT. to jam with the band and it went pretty well. There were a few tunes I didn't know, but I got the general jist of them. After jamming, the band asked if I could do the gigs they have booked through the beginning of September with them. I agreed and spent most of last week rehearsing my ass off! I had to learn several of the older Journey tunes they do, plus make sure I was in the right place for harmony vocals. Also, since they are a live band, I had to drill on all of the song endings and such. They do the live version ending of "Don't Stop Believin'", complete with the audience participation bit and the Spencer Davis "Gimme Some Lovin'" Hammond organ ending. Shit like that.
I did my first gig with them this past Saturday in Vermont and it went well. A couple of rough patches, but I've been playing long enough to know how to fake my way through things if I screw up. I gotta tell you, it was a complete freakin' rush to play these old tunes again with such a talented and tight band. The lead singer, Scott, sounds exactly like Steve Perry...it's almost spooky onstage. I haven't been used to playing with a band that pounds out 10,000 watts in the really big clubs in a few years, so it was pretty cool to get under the big lights again.
This weekend, we're doing a double, a Friday/Saturday night gig at a very large club north of Lacolle, Quebec and it should be a rippin' night!
Wish me luck, folks!
Luckily, there are a lot of Journey tunes in my personal repertiore. I drove over to Burlington, VT. to jam with the band and it went pretty well. There were a few tunes I didn't know, but I got the general jist of them. After jamming, the band asked if I could do the gigs they have booked through the beginning of September with them. I agreed and spent most of last week rehearsing my ass off! I had to learn several of the older Journey tunes they do, plus make sure I was in the right place for harmony vocals. Also, since they are a live band, I had to drill on all of the song endings and such. They do the live version ending of "Don't Stop Believin'", complete with the audience participation bit and the Spencer Davis "Gimme Some Lovin'" Hammond organ ending. Shit like that.
I did my first gig with them this past Saturday in Vermont and it went well. A couple of rough patches, but I've been playing long enough to know how to fake my way through things if I screw up. I gotta tell you, it was a complete freakin' rush to play these old tunes again with such a talented and tight band. The lead singer, Scott, sounds exactly like Steve Perry...it's almost spooky onstage. I haven't been used to playing with a band that pounds out 10,000 watts in the really big clubs in a few years, so it was pretty cool to get under the big lights again.
This weekend, we're doing a double, a Friday/Saturday night gig at a very large club north of Lacolle, Quebec and it should be a rippin' night!
Wish me luck, folks!
