Then, last night at Festy Hall, as Papa V. Pretty (dreadfully downplayed support for Incubus, PVP’s mix was awful! Sack the sound guy!) played one of their tunes. (Wrecking Ball, the verse bit) Click, all of a sudden, all I could hear was my bassline over PVP’s beat. Immediate text to Alex

Kick Hat Kick Snare
Kick Hat Kick Snare and swing it.

Update: then Alex found a version of the old line up playing it. Problem solved. Rockin’ little number!

UPDATE: Still waiting, hopefully it will arrive today (Feb 8)

UPDATE: The gig is confirmed, The Collectables are headlining a fantastic 3 band show at Noise Bar (Railway Hotel), Brunswick, on Friday, 24 February. Be there or be a right, regular trapezoid.

The Collectables
The Divine Fluxus
Third band TBA

Not every rehearsal makes us feel good, but we become better players just as much from the bad ones as the good. That is all.

So, for years I’ve had this bug bear. Because of SOTW’s school holiday music shop shred reputation. I’ve never got to play it, properly with a band. Nobody wants to do it justice and play it right because they’re afraid of everybody thinking “awful high school kid in a music shop.” Eff off! Played properly, it sounds NOTHING like that kid.

Well, at a social jam on Friday night, a bunch of old farts like me, including a guitarist veritably CHANNELLING Ritchie Blackmore at his peak, cracked it out old school. Tick that one off the bucket list, I can rest easy now, I’ve finally played in an awesome session with awesome musos and the coolest vocals by a great singer.

I think the lovely Linda recorded it, too, but we’ve got to clean up the hard disk before we can capture it off the camera.

Onscreen instruments are better suited to iPad, I think, but still quite usable for sketching a melody or bass line. The Automatic Instruments seem at first play to be a little “samey” but I think there’s a knack to how you you use them which will come with experience. It’s certainly better than having a favourite drum loop and using it over and over in the same song, though. (Guilty as charging myself…)

The interfaces for tracks are familiar, too. The effects are done in a typically iOS way, but make sense in a GarageBand way. There guitar amps (shown), effects pedals (shown), loops and recording tools are are all really nice simplifications for use on a smaller screen than your usual music DAW.

Like I say, familiar in evry way. Also, I’m told 4S has full USB classes, so I’ll be getting a camera adapter kit soon to try out my iMic, Singstars and GuitarLink. GarageBand for iPhone, worth every cent of its $5:49 price tag.

But do the punters really know the songs they hear? In one band I formed with long time friend, Deadman Turner, punters sometimes asked about the, “Midnight Oil song we played.” The song was an original of mine, arranged by Deadman and me, and was one of many originals peppered through a setlist that was a mix of original and cover. We played across rural northern Tasmania for about 6 months and in towns we were told originals would never be accepted, the originals were what the punters talked to us about, and it was always favourable.

Then there’s the vice versa. I’ve had people suggest that, “You guys should do <insert song here! It's awesome and would fit you guys so well!" Guess what? We do, it was the last song in that set, we finished 2 minutes ago. No, we didn't do a strange arrangement, we've been told it sounds like the record. This everyguy loves the song, is always front and centre on the dance floor, and doesn't know his "favourite" song while we play it "like the record."

Basically, a musician is not a juke box. A musician is a passionate artist and music fan. Why waste your talent promoting the work of others who are already famous enough, to people who aren't there for you, but for somebody else they'd rather was playing. The punters who appreciate the music, who hear what YOU create and value the new and different, they are your fans. The knob who wants you to, "Do Enter Sandman!" or "Do Mustang Sally!" isn't after music, they're after a party and might as well go home and throw one. Do Mustang Sally? Not even with your dick, mate.

If you write songs, don't play covers. Stand proud of your work and fight for its right to party with you and the audience. Admire your favourite artists, by all means, but don't hide your light behind their's. Stand out front, loud and proud, and give voice to your muse. The audience you attract will be better than any cover hunter punter.

The front pickup is warm and woody, with thump and thunder, bring on the back pickup and she becomes solid and funky, while the back pickup on its own has such crisp, post-punk/new punk tones as to be dangerous This axe rocks. I think light guage Rotosounds are back on my biannual shopping list again, despite the cost. Worth every penny.

Candyapple red,
Deep rolling basso thunder,
Music is found here.