Rocking with the band

Last night was the monthly open mic evening that I have helped to organise as part of the Arlesey Musicians. It's just a matter of turning up to get on the list to play. We had loads of musicians there of all levels. Some amazing performers and singers.

I'd been asked by singer/guitarst Steve to play some electric guitar on some cover songs he wanted to do. He also roped in bassist Jon of Lanterne Rouge to play some fretless bass. We had a brief rehearsal at my place a couple of weeks ago. On the night Jon brought his neighbour Tony along to play drums. The set went pretty well although I know I made a few mistakes and I wasn't totally happy with my guitar sound. It's all in the moment, so it doesn't matter too much.

I was using my Benford Telecaster and Roland Cube amplifier. I think I may need a better amp if I'm to do this more often. I don't start playing until after the bass solo. We didn't have a chance for a real sound check, so it's hard to get the levels right.

These are some recordings we did of the songs before the gig. This was done by swapping audio files across the internet as we just don't have time to meet up.

After all that excitement I did some acoustic songs. I started by covering a song by my friend Glenn. You'll see him come and give me a hug afterwards. He said it made him cry, in a good way, as he's not used to others playing his songs. This is a big local favourite and you will hear people singing along.

I got to play some more as Jon suggested we do a few more covers that we both knew. This was totally unrehearsed, but went pretty well. We did Ziggy Stardust with Glenn on vocals and Jon sang Hard to Handle. I'm not aware of any video of these, but maybe we will play them again. People were too busy enjoying themselves to capture every moment.

It was a great night. The audience was mostly the people performing, but we really don't mind. We just love making music.

Rock on!