'Knackered Jack and the Resistors' UK 'Lollapaboozer' Tour 2015

hobbio

Alnico said:

@mcToot

Thanks man. It would be a pleasure to have you there.
The closest ones to you will be Cambridge in July or Chelmsford in August I think, unless you fancy North London In September ?

Another spin off idea that's kicking about at the moment is to run workshops in between the jams for those who like you and a lot of others, haven't played live in a long time or not at all. Jam night survival courses if you like. I'm not completely sure how this is going to pan out yet but the rough idea is to get 4 or 5 guitarists / bass players together with me and a drummer and work through how to jam, improvise and probably most importantly how to pick up on songs that you've never played quickly, while on stage and make a half decent job of it.

Once I've spoken to a few others and worked out the finer details of this I will post a separate thread about it and all the details people need.

Thanks for the offer of help. Same goes from me, if anyone needs help with getting the most out these sessions, just ask.

That bit in bold would be perfect for me!

speshul91

Alnico;674296" said:

@johnnybradford
Could you drop the bass off at Quad on your way to holidays and ask them to look after it for you until you get there ?
Or is there someone who is going to Leicester who can do this for John ?

Depends where he is

McToot

Alnico said:

@mcToot

Thanks man. It would be a pleasure to have you there.
The closest ones to you will be Cambridge in July or Chelmsford in August I think, unless you fancy North London In September ?

Another spin off idea that's kicking about at the moment is to run workshops in between the jams for those who like you and a lot of others, haven't played live in a long time or not at all. Jam night survival courses if you like. I'm not completely sure how this is going to pan out yet but the rough idea is to get 4 or 5 guitarists / bass players together with me and a drummer and work through how to jam, improvise and probably most importantly how to pick up on songs that you've never played quickly, while on stage and make a half decent job of it.

Once I've spoken to a few others and worked out the finer details of this I will post a separate thread about it and all the details people need.

Thanks for the offer of help. Same goes from me, if anyone needs help with getting the most out these sessions, just ask.

Cheers @Alnico - the Chelmsford one would be possible, but it's a bit of a drive (which would mean no beer  :-O ).  I'm also away in chunks of August so depends when it is.  The North London one is also a potential as I'm on the Luton to Brighton train line so I could train it as long as I didn't have to drag more than a guitar and pedalboard... Again very much depends on exact location...

But both are interesting as is the workshop...

Alnico

@mcToot
I live in Bedford. If you want to go to the London gig from Luton I can pick you up and drop you back.
PM me nearer the time and we can sort that out man.
No problem.

McToot

Alnico said:

@mcToot
I live in Bedford. If you want to go to the London gig from Luton I can pick you up and drop you back.
PM me nearer the time and we can sort that out man.
No problem.

Marvellous.  I'll look out for dates and venues. 

Fez

I like this workshop idea. In fact there is a a 12 bar workshop in Crawley which is great fun.

TTony

hobbio said:

Alnico said:

@mcToot

Thanks man. It would be a pleasure to have you there.
The closest ones to you will be Cambridge in July or Chelmsford in August I think, unless you fancy North London In September ?

Another spin off idea that's kicking about at the moment is to run workshops in between the jams for those who like you and a lot of others, haven't played live in a long time or not at all. Jam night survival courses if you like. I'm not completely sure how this is going to pan out yet but the rough idea is to get 4 or 5 guitarists / bass players together with me and a drummer and work through how to jam, improvise and probably most importantly how to pick up on songs that you've never played quickly, while on stage and make a half decent job of it.

Once I've spoken to a few others and worked out the finer details of this I will post a separate thread about it and all the details people need.

Thanks for the offer of help. Same goes from me, if anyone needs help with getting the most out these sessions, just ask.

That bit in bold would be perfect for me!

That is a brilliant idea @alnico

Alnico

Consider it in the pipeline.

Alnico

Given recent Medical Drama's i have now been 'Off the road' for around 6 weeks. It's given me a lot of time to think and while i may continue to drive lorries when i am fully recovered from the impending operation, i will not be going 'Back on the road' again in as much as i won't be going away and sleeping out in the cab all week - i will be winding down my driving career very soon so if i do get back behind the wheel it will only something like a supermarket truck on a normal 10-12 hour day shift and i'm going back to the agency so it's temp and i can choose how shifts i do, but ideally i am looking for a new career as of now. 

This means i now have time to run the jam sessions again, which i have missed doing REALLY badly. 

There are obstacles and a few lessons learned from last time so, while negotiating the temporary lack of mobility, hospitals, operation and recovery time afterwards, i will be planning the return of the jams as of now.

I need help, it's as simple as that. Anyone who was at the Guitar show in February will tell you it was a brilliant night and while i know everyone had made a huge effort to be there because of the show and not the jam-aftershow party, by the end of the night everyone just wanted to to do it again and so we did. The following month in Walsall and again it was a really brilliant, fun filled day and for those that could, a massive piss up.

What i'm saying is that when it really works and everyone works together, it REALLY comes together and it's the best day / night out ever, especially when you consider that a lot of us don't see a lot of each other so it's also a great chance to see old friends that you havn't seen for ages.

I need a full time, regular Drummer and Bass Player. Now, a simple solution would be the two guys who started it all in February,  @IanSavage and @Johnnybradford for the simple reason that we all roughly know what each other is likely to do next having jammed a few times before. I know you both have really busy lives and we all have to be realistic about costs/ spending so it's not always possible for you to get there. We do want and need other drummers and bass players to turn up, if nothing else to give these guys a break when they are there. In Walsall, Ian ended up playing the drums for around 6 hours in total throughout the day and Johnny was playing bass for that long at least. We also could use a little help from these 'More' people on a more long term basis, again to back up the other guys for when they simply can't get to that particular Jam.

So, there it is. I will have the time (fragmented at first while i'm short term ill) and i am fully willing to do this all again but this time the organisation and the planning needs to be a bit tighter and for that i need co-conspirators.

Serious offers of help to my PM Inbox please and we will work it out from there. I believe there is a way to have a private conversation with more than one person so once we establish who is definitely in the 'House Band' if you like, i think i can create a conversation that goes to everyone concerned all at once and all replies should do the same............I think.

To reiterate, more than one drummer or bass player would be a blessing. Keyboards would be a miracle and brass / strings will be given a red carpet ! As many of these players as possible are needed to make this work really well. 

I would rather run fewer jam sessions that are better planned, recruited and attended than run one a month as i was doing and finding that sometimes, the key parts of the complete band sound were missing.

While we're on it, i am also planning the Jam Session Workshops to maybe get off the ground between the Guitar Show in February and Easter. That is something that i think is more down to me to plan because it really is just a group lesson, of sorts and while there will be a need for the bass player and drummer there, the structure of the whole thing will be very different and i might even consider charging a small fee for the day (Usually a workshop would be around 6 hours, maybe more) and then offering to give some of that to the drummer and bass player, to ensure that the day goes off without hitch. I'm not 100% on this part of it yet. I'm talking to a few people much more wise than myself and maybe a few of you will get requests for advice and your opinion as we go - any suggestions here in public are also very welcome. Without critique, how can you ever know what's wrong and what's not ?

So what does everyone think then ?

bigjon

Sounds fantastic. I'll be up for providing that sort of assistance at a Cambs event, although further afield is unlikely. My appeal is to try and fix dates 3 months in advance, to maximise chance of being able to make it.

Alnico

bigjon;842975" said:

Sounds fantastic. I'll be up for providing that sort of assistance at a Cambs event, although further afield is unlikely. My appeal is to try and fix dates 3 months in advance, to maximise chance of being able to make it.

Thanks Jon that's great. I would assume from the amount you play live and having seen you and played alongside you at a jam session, that playing bass here and there wouldn't be a problem ?

TTony

@Alnico

Good to hear that you're getting through the various health problems, to the stage that you're ready to think about this again.

As @bigjon has implied, what might work well is for you to be the central organiser, working with someone else local to each location.  They'll know the possible venues and may also know the local members & musicians (who may or may not be members) who'd be interested in turning up.

You've then got a bit more time to "copy & paste" the process, structure, setlist, etc from venue to venue.  Splits the workload and brings in the local expertise?

Very - VERY - happy to use the forum here as a platform to publicise this and (hopefully) generate interest and involvement.  The Leicester experience probably demonstrates that we need to get more commitment from those who say they'll turn up (but don't/can't), so I'd suggest taking some ££s up front so that you know you've got the costs covered at least.

Alnico said:

While we're on it, i am also planning the Jam Session Workshops to maybe get off the ground between the Guitar Show in February and Easter. That is something that i think is more down to me to plan because it really is just a group lesson, of sorts and while there will be a need for the bass player and drummer there, the structure of the whole thing will be very different and i might even consider charging a small fee for the day (Usually a workshop would be around 6 hours, maybe more) and then offering to give some of that to the drummer and bass player, to ensure that the day goes off without hitch.

I think I commented on one of your other threads to say that I think this is a really good idea.

It should definitely be chargeable because (a) you'll have costs to cover and (b) you've got a lot of knowledge and experience to share.

A combination of "how to play in  group" explanation, plus an opportunity to actually "play in a group" in a jamming session would give a lot of (us) primarily bedroom players the confidence to get up on stage in other environments and start playing more.

vasselmeyer

Hey, Al. Glad to see you're on the mend.

I'm happy to help out with any event in the North West. There are enough members across the North to make a jam worthwhile.

Alnico

Thanks @Ttony , @bigjon , @vasselmeyer

As the ideas come i will throw a few around and see who thinks what.

The biggest swing and roundabout i can see is the PA. When we are fortunate enough to have someone who can definitely attend and has their own PA, we're all set and we can use a function room, like we did in Walsall. If we don't have that, we kind of have to use a studio, which costs way more so right from the start it needs to be clear that it will cost a little more if we use a studio, especially somewhere as awesome as Quad is - i'm sorry but i would happily pay the extra to be somewhere like that !

The Function Room works well in it's own right and will feel less claustrophobic and more sociable, which is why the right pub with the right room is a really good thing but they won't always have a PA so going that route is more gear dependent on us / me.

What do people think of that ? 

Is maybe hiring a PA and using a function room, the way to go ? We usually seem to get pub rooms for more or less free if we put some money over the bar so it's the PA hire cost that would need to split between everyone who attends - the more who go, the less it costs everyone !

I would really like to hear from as many as who would seriously consider going, which way around would you like to see it happen and what do YOU think are the pro's and cons of each. If you were in the same position, i am literally asking, what would you do. If i can come to the best decision between all the responses, hopefully everyone who does come along will be as happy as possible.

Go.....................

TTony

It should be reasonably easy to source a dedicated KJ&tR PA system - there are enough people here who'll have bits & pieces lying around in garages, etc.

The problem would then be transportation & storage between KJ appearances - you'll not fit a lot in a Fiesta.

Are you thinking PA for the vocals only, or something with enough channels for all the instruments (and then mics, stands, cables, etc)?  A vocals-only PA system would be a lot easier ...

Alnico

TTony said:

It should be reasonably easy to source a dedicated KJ&tR PA system - there are enough people here who'll have bits & pieces lying around in garages, etc.

The problem would then be transportation & storage between KJ appearances - you'll not fit a lot in a Fiesta.

Are you thinking PA for the vocals only, or something with enough channels for all the instruments (and then mics, stands, cables, etc)?  A vocals-only PA system would be a lot easier ...

It's a 'KA' i will have you know !!!

It's more of a struggle to fit musical equipment in it which offsets the fact that it's a girls car and as has transpired that my real name appears to actually be 'Debbie', i need all the offset i can get now !

You're right of course, not a lot will go in there on top of my own kit so this brings us back to the 'Regular people' thing. I would rather have only 3 jams throughout they year that were fully attended and went down a storm, than lots of hits and misses. Based on that theory if we could cobble together a vocal PA (which i'm sure is all that's needed), then between the regulars we could each take a piece of it home. One takes the amp, one take a speaker, one take the other speaker, there will be room for monitors somewhere...............

That 'People' part is the key to it all working. We only need to be a 3 piece band because we will always have more guitarists come and want to play and if we get really lucky, other instruments but that 3 piece needs to be the back bone of what happens and then the rest will fall into place. Done it before this way and it's so much easier that when each session happens, it just gets better and better and the songs get tighter until you're basically making the same quality of noise as a decent band does.

I found that most who attended the previous jams were new to it, so the experience needs to be exciting as nerves will be present anyway. This is one reason i personally prefer using a function room / music pub. Walsall was the perfect example of the perfect pub to do this in. Space, beer and friendly atmosphere that liked what they heard us playing, according to landlord. Those experiences are what will keep newcomers coming back and it's important now to make sure that it's properly supported and organised, for everyone's sake who attends. It's a bit bad when people have made all that effort to get there and because there's key parts of the band missing, it ends up difficult to make a sound that has any structure.

bigjon

Alnico;843007" said:

[quote="bigjon;842975"]Sounds fantastic. I'll be up for providing that sort of assistance at a Cambs event, although further afield is unlikely. My appeal is to try and fix dates 3 months in advance, to maximise chance of being able to make it.

Thanks Jon that's great. I would assume from the amount you play live and having seen you and played alongside you at a jam session, that playing bass here and there wouldn't be a problem ?[/quote]
Bass, drums, keys.

Also have local players I could approach. I reckon they should be paid, however.

Alnico

bigjon said:

Alnico;843007" said:

[quote="bigjon;842975"]Sounds fantastic. I'll be up for providing that sort of assistance at a Cambs event, although further afield is unlikely. My appeal is to try and fix dates 3 months in advance, to maximise chance of being able to make it.

Thanks Jon that's great. I would assume from the amount you play live and having seen you and played alongside you at a jam session, that playing bass here and there wouldn't be a problem ?[/quote]
Bass, drums, keys.

Also have local players I could approach. I reckon they should be paid, however.

Ok, thanks Jon, i will bear that in mind. Drums and Bass would definitely be required on a paid basis when it comes to the jam session workshops.

bigjon

A vocals-only PA is surely adequate, even a keyboard amp plus mic& stand should be enough, especially if you're facing in toward each other rather than out to an audience. You should be well covered for Cambridge, Viz and I both have our own PAs.

Alnico

bigjon said:

A vocals-only PA is surely adequate, even a keyboard amp plus mic& stand should be enough, especially if you're facing in toward each other rather than out to an audience. You should be well covered for Cambridge, Viz and I both have our own PAs.

That's fantastic Jon, thank you.