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<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>bigdjindustriez wrote on Sat, 24 March 2007 00&#58;10</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
Hmm.. seems quite repetative and lacking in form.  good for a first try though.  If it isn't your first try...you might want to read up on song writing formula.
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hey hey!

checked out your website and myspace... didn't find any original music of any kind. i'm with roger; sure would like to see and/or hear some of your compositions...

peace, slim.

hey hey!

howdy from the great midwest! i've spent a lot of my 52

years here on the iowa missouri border, but i've been all over the world as a sailor and a gypsy. started as a classic country bar band drummer when i was 15. picked up guitar, bass and keyboards along the way. play bass now in a top 40 country/rock combo. life is good!

peace, slim.

hey hey!

if you enjoy the eastern european and gypsy type scales check out dick dale he is one of the true masters of this kind of scale.

peace, slim

hey hey!

i've had lots of acoustics...the 2 that have stayed with me are a washburn oscar scmidt cutaway and a hohner hw300. i bought a takamine 12 string in a glasgow music store new in 1980...it's the only one i sold that i rally wish i could get back. my bandmate has 2 alvarez acoustics that play nice, but i bought a cutaway acoustic-electric alvarez a couple years ago that was a real dog. don't remember the model as i didn't have it very long. i've never had an ovation but i've played on several and never saw a bad one.

peace, slim.

hey hey!

sounds like you are off to a great start! i've been in a bunch of bands off and on since the late 60's. some were pretty good, some were mediocre, a couple were god-awful, and a couple were top shelf. i'm now the bass player in a 3 piece top 40 country band, but we pride ourselves on trying to be able to cover any artist that people request. we may not do the song they want, but we try to do something by the artist, no matter who it is. the key is to play together as much as possible. we played 2 hour sessions, 3 days a week, for almost 2 years before we started looking for jobs. originality is great- we do several originals- but if you are looking for serious extra income you'll probably have to start out doing at least 80% covers. find out what's popular in your area- try to listen to other local bands as much as possible. when you feel you're ready to go to work, be professional at all times! looking nice, having a buisness card, a briefcase with a bio ( photos help) of the band, a complete song/artist list, and simple contracts will do wonders getting even underage bands a foot in the door at lots of clubs. decide in advance how far you are willing to travel, and what is the lowest amount you'll play for. always do buisness in person. use the phone only to find out who books the entertainment and when they are available for a meeting. be flexible with your rates. a tiny hole in the wall place that 40 people will pack won't likely be able to pay the same as a club that holds 500. one last thing to consider... we always play a new venue one time for free. club owners really dig this, and if you are good, they'll gladly pay you to come back. sorry i've rambled on, but i hope some of this helps. good luck!!

peace, slim.

hey hey!

Django Rienhardt, Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson,

Skip James, and my grandma's brother Lemuel.

peace, slim.

hey hey!

speaking of cats, our fat lump will

lay on the bed and pay attention if i sing "Your A Mean One, Mr, Grinch",

but bolts in a flash if i do anything

else. so i played mr. grinch and profanely insulted him with such ex

Navy gusto it cannot be repeated here. he left. it was a great idea, and fun. thanks, James!

peace, slim.

hey hey!

read. read everything you can get your hands on...

newspapers, magazines, novels, short stories, calanders,

cracker boxes, soup cans, shampoo bottles, etc. etc.

keep a notebook handy and jot down words and phrases

that leap out at you. sift once a month or so...

arrange and rearrange ( sort of like doing a puzzle!)

it's great fun and you can sometimes come up with a real gem.

peace, slim.

hey hey!

maybe it's just me, but i seem to hear echos and whispers of Marc Bolan in most of the "old school"

punk music. just my opinion, but i think T Rex laid

the foundation. Planet Queen, Mambo Sun, and Lean

Woman Blues are still amoung my all time favorites.

peace, slim.

hey hey!

Ken has an awesome list. work up more than one set for different types of venues. a house full of 80 year olds warrants a different style than, say, a biker hangout. also learn a boatload of songs. it pays to have backups and do requests. comedy never hurts. an opening line that has worked great for me through the years is this one... " i had lots of requests before the show, but i'm gonna stay and play anyway." this is a set from a mixed crowd, small town, community-center show i did last month:

the monkey and the engineer

pretty peggy-o

brother can you spare a dime

girl from the north country

legend in my time

route 66

dark as a dungeon

empty saddles

barbara allen

it takes a lot to laugh but it takes a train to cry

pistol packin mama

rawhide

the cowboys dance

wild side of life

dead flowers

goin down the road feelin bad

insrumental- rakes of mallow(old fiddle tune)

hope this helps

peace, slim.

hey hey!

  i have a very limited range... at home i'll play and sing in whaterver key i learned the song in, but i play bass in a bar band. i've been told it's harder to sing while playing bass and i would have to agree with that.

i do all my bar songs in Bb.. i didn't play for several years as i got tired of listenin to guitar players whine about having to transpose. i thought if they were gonna play for pay they should be willing to put some effort into it. also i played drums for years and could NEVER sing on key while drumming. then i worked at a very noisy place and had to wear ear plugs.

they actually allow you to "hear" yourself much better.

now i do new songs with ear plugs try it sometime. it works well for me.

peace, slim

hey hey!

if you notice, the two bottom strings (E and A) have open circles next to them... meaning all 6 strings are played for this chord. the bottom E is added to the chord. usually a slash followed by a note means add that note to the chord. for example, Am/G is an A minor chord with a G note added. hope this helps...

peace, slim.