The Coyotes' gigs #2 & 3

[flintpunk]

Gig report for gigs 2 & 3...

Gig 2 was Friday night.

We had only had 1 practice since our last gig about 3
weeks ago and we were a little rusty. We did ok
though. The house was packed and people danced all
night. It was a pretty fun time. I was a bit nervous
because I had a friend there who is a REALLY good
guitarist. I have 2 friends like that, actually.
When either shows up and I'm playing, I tend to get
really nervous and sloppy. That was the case again,
but we did ok. At the end of the night, the bar owner
told us that we were the best band he's had in 4 years
and asked us to be the house band! He wants us there
at least 1 or 2 weekends a month! We were geeked!

Gig 3, Saturday night...

After knocking off the rust on Friday night, we
proceded to blow the house down on Saturday! I knew
we'd do better just on the basis that we got the
mistakes out of the way Friday night. We were tight
and having a LOT of fun on stage. The crowd felt it
and they were having a great time too! I can honestly
say it was the best time I've ever had on stage. We
saw a lot of boobs too! Even our female singer
remarked at the quality of one particular pair! The bar
owner kicked us an extra hundred and asked us to play
on New Years Eve! I love this band! The Coyotes were
howlin' again! Yee Haaaaa!

[flintpunk]

Oh yeah, here's our set lists (Sorry about the all caps, I just copied it from an email)...


Set 1

CALIFORNIA GIRLS/ GRETCHEN WILSON
WHAT A CRYIN SHAME/ MAVERICKS
JENNY/ TOMMY TUTONE
BLUE/ LEANN RIMES
MARY JANE'S LAST DANCE/ TOM PETTY
GUITARS & CADILLACS/ DWIGHT YOKUM
LONG WHITE CADILLAC/ DWIGHT YOKUM
DOWN IN MISSISSIPPI/ SUGARLAND
YOUR MAN/ JOSH TURNER
CAN'T YOU SEE/ MARSHALL TUCKER BAND


Set 2

BORN ON THE BAYOU/ CCR
NEEDLE & THE SPOON/ LYNYRD SKYNYRD
MEMPHIS/ JOHNNY RIVERS
RAINY DAY WOMAN/ WAYLON
WHERE AM I GONNA LIVE/ BILLY RAY CIRUS
GIMME ONE REASON/ TRACY CHAPMAN
BEFORE HE CHEATS/ CARRIE UNDERWOOD
SQUEEZE BOX/ THE WHO
FAMILY TRADITION/ HANK JR.
HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN/ THE ANIMALS


Set 3

MOVE IT ON OVER/ GEORGE THOROGOOD
DOMIS WALKER/ KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS
THE SHAKE/ NEAL McCOY
BROWN EYED GIRL/ VAN MORRISON
I HEAR YOU KNOCKIN'/ DAVE EDMUNDS
GONE COUNTRY/ ALAN JACKSON
FAST AS YOU/ DWIGHT YOKUM
FUNKY MUSIC/ WILD CHERRY
MY GIVE A DAMNS BUSTED/ JO DEE MESSINA


Set 4

KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF/ GEORGIA SATILITES
SWEET HOME ALABAMA/ LYNARD SKYNYRD
REAL MEAN BOTTLE/ SEGER/KID ROCK
HONKY TONK WOMAN/ THE STONES
PINK CADILLAC/ BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
MIDNIGHT RENDEZVOUS/ THE BABYS
SUMMER OF 69/ BRIAN ADAMS
BE MY LOVER/ ALICE COOPER
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT/ PAT B.
WONDERFUL TONIGHT/ ERIC CLAPTON
MUSTANG SALLY/ VARIOUS ARTISTS

[Offshore Angler]

Cool, but Wilson Pickett deserves better than 'Various Artists".

[boobtube21]

Seeing boobs is awesome.

Congrats!

[Plugger]

Cool, but Wilson Pickett deserves better than 'Various Artists".

Oh I dunno. I've always felt there were two distinct versions of MS... the Wilson Pickett version and the Various Artists version.

-Mark

[flintpunk]

Dang, my post didn't go through... I understand about the correct artists. Actually, Vince Gill wrote Real Mean Bottle too. The list was copied from an old email with the artist listed signifying the correct version for us to learn. On Mustang Sally, we are playing our own distinct version.

[flintpunk]

We've got 4 & 5 coming up tomorrow and Saturday. We added the following...

Be My Lover, Alice Cooper
Black Velvet, Allana Miles
Leave The Pieces, The Wreckers

And to celebrate Halloween for the next 2 weeks, we'll be doing a medley of Sweet Home Alabama and Werewolves in London (waooooo!)

I can't wait!

[Kap'n]

Be My Lover, Alice Cooper

Gotta play that dee-troit sound! Next up, some Iggy and some Rama-lama-fa-fa-fa!

[flintpunk]

I'd love to do Iggy (I am Flintpunk!) But this is a country band and we have to do music that crosses over or at least sounds like southern rock. I know some of the songs on our list are questionable, but we do 'em with a certain amount of twang factor. You should hear how our singer twangs up Play That Funky Music!

[melody]

Cool sound's like you and your band are having fun!

[flintpunk]

Last night was more of a paid practice than a gig... Small crowd and they really weren't into it. Oh well, we'll knock 'em dead tonight! Here's a pic from last night's gig (I'm on the far right)...

http://server4.pictiger.com/img/1477...r-10-19-07.jpg

[melody]

Hey Al,


What guitar are you playing? Looks like a strat whith a tele neck...

[flintpunk]

Yeah, here's another pic...

http://server4.pictiger.com/img/1484...g/ol-betsy.jpg

Here's one from last night...

http://server4.pictiger.com/img/1484...-10--20-07.jpg

Make sure you click on the images for a full size view.

[flintpunk]

Bad day today...During our teardown today, our singer quit. She and the bass player had a knock-down, drag-out spat last night and she's really upset. She says there's absolutely no way she's coming back. Quite a bummer considering she's not going to help us out next weekend for our next scheduled gig. I've been posting ads all over the net today and at the local Guitar Center. I have a friend who is singing in another band and she's offered to get us through the next gig. Hopefully we can find someone soon so we can still make our gigs on the 9th and 10th of November. Our old singer and I were very close and although I understand where she's coming from, I'm VERY sad about the whole thing. The other guys aren't quite as understanding and they're quite pissed (also understandable). The good news is that the others want to keep going. We'll see where this goes I guess. Keep The Coyotes in your thoughts (and prayers, if applicable). Thanks guys!

[boobtube21]

That's a bummer flintpunk, hopefully you guys can find a replacement before your next gig. I'm sure it will all work out.

[Plugger]

If the singer is any good, and it's just a personality conflict thing, I'd lose the bass player (all other things being equal). A bass player is much easier to replace than a singer, and at a pinch, a guitarist can step in to fill the spot temporarily.

Or even play without a bass for a few gigs. Much better than playing without a singer...

-Mark

[flintpunk]

It's a little more complicated. The singer is VERY good, but so is the bass player. The bass player is a very close friend of the other guitar player. To boot the bass player at this point would probably end this project. The good news is that one of my closest friends has agreed to have his band fill in for us until we get back on our feet. They were taking a bit of a break, but are more than happy to help us out. So far, the club owners are cool with it.

[flintpunk]

That's a bummer flintpunk, hopefully you guys can find a replacement before your next gig. I'm sure it will all work out.

Thanks, man! I sure hope so. I'm still pretty down about this whole thing. I never saw it coming!

The singer is still interested in doing an old school country duet thing with me... Just her and me on a couple of acoustics with a tiny PA. I've always got that in my back pocket, but I really liked this band.

[boobtube21]

Whatever brings you the most joy is what you should do. Just remember that no matter which road you take you'll still have to work at it and put up with a lot of crap, but if it's what you want to do the reward is much sweeter...

[flintpunk]

I'd tell the bass player to STFU, apologize, and then again to STFU...

And your pix site wants to dump a bunch of crap on my comp. Get another one.

He apologized profusely in front of the whole band, but she's totally over the whole thing. I think this has been festering for a while and we just now got to see it come to the top. I talked to her brother today (he was the original guitarist when I joined, but he was looking to do something on a much smaller scale). He tried to get her to finish up the next gig and she refused him! I'm pretty sure it's over and we've just got to move on now. At least everyone else is still in it at this point.

Sorry about the pic site! Dude, I can't tell you how technologically impaired I am. All I've got to say is Thank God that tube amps sound so damn good because if I ever had to figure out Line 6 stuff, I'd have to hang it up. Ever wonder why I don't post any songs? Anyway, if you've got suggestions to pic sites, I'm open!

Later,
Al

[Plugger]

The singer is still interested in doing an old school country duet thing with me... Just her and me on a couple of acoustics with a tiny PA. I've always got that in my back pocket, but I really liked this band.

Why not do both? Maybe you can even build the duet up into a full band later, if that's the way you want to go...

-Mark

[flintpunk]

Whatever brings you the most joy is what you should do. Just remember that no matter which road you take you'll still have to work at it and put up with a lot of crap, but if it's what you want to do the reward is much sweeter...

Yeah, I'm pretty laid back and I don't let little stuff like band quibbles get to me. Girls on the other hand can be really sensitive and the bass player can be a little abrasive. There are really 2 sides to this one and I'm square in the middle. The singer was my closest friend in the band but at this point, I feel like I've put so much into the band that I'd be taking a huge step backwards starting completely over. So I think it's truly in my best interest to try to keep the wheels on this thing.

[flintpunk]

Why not do both? Maybe you can even build the duet up into a full band later, if that's the way you want to go...

-Mark

The duet WILL happen. I'm just not sure that now is the best time. This band is just getting some momentum. When we get really comfortable with our material and we've been gigging for a while, when the band becomes a mindless activity for me, I'll revisit the duet.

[boobtube21]

Yeah, old school country is bad ass.

I've been kicking around the idea of forming a little old school combo myself. Small drum kit, doghouse bass, acoustic guitar, maybe a Tele, and my crappy pedal steel skills Play some old Buck Owens/George Jones type stuff.

Definitely stay in touch with her though, like Plugger said a good singer is not easy to find.

[flintpunk]

For sure. She's a really good friend too. That's why I'm surprised she's not playing next Saturday.

[Plugger]

The duet WILL happen. I'm just not sure that now is the best time. This band is just getting some momentum.

Well, OK, you know best -- I'm not your mother! But... consider that the singer may not stay on the sidelines forever waiting for you... particularly if she's good. And then that door may be closed, at least for a while.

And a quick review of band physics 101 might be in order: When the front person walks, momentum drops instantly to zero.

Or another way of looking at it, as of last night, there _are_ no wheels on the band. If you can't accept a booking, the wheels are well and truly off. A band without a singer is just a bunch of guys jamming on tunes (without a singer).

OTOH, a duet could be a going concern in terms of bookings as soon as you've worked up a basic set list.

Anyway, best of luck however things go. And I will refrain from further gratuitous advice -- I promise.

-Mark

[flintpunk]

Thanks Mark, I appreciate it. I'm sorry if I'm not of my usual humor. The surviving Coyotes have a meeting (it was supposed to be rehearsal) tonight. I think that will be telling. I keep you cyber-buds posted. Thanks to all for the encouragement!

[121064]

We've got 4 & 5 coming up tomorrow and Saturday. We added the following...

Be My Lover, Alice Cooper
Black Velvet, Allana Miles
Leave The Pieces, The Wreckers

And to celebrate Halloween for the next 2 weeks, we'll be doing a medley of Sweet Home Alabama and Werewolves in London (waooooo!)

I can't wait!

There's a verse to "Werewolves" that wasn't on the studio version but WZ always did it live, and it's perfect for halloween...

I saw a Werewolf try to buy a used car in Del Mar
It was a bloody-red Coupe de Ville
He said he was a-drivin' it to Mex-i-co
Goin down to Tijuana, gonna kill somebody in a film or sumthin'...

He did it right before the "Hair was perfect" verse, without a chorus, just went from one verse to the next.

If you want to hear it, buy the live version from iTunes (from an album called "Stand in the Fire"), it's on there. Hilarious.

[flintpunk]

The saga continues...

Last night the drummer and I talked and realized that we could cover most of the singers songs except for 10. 10 songs short is a whole set, so we knew we couldn't play next Saturday. We agreed that I would call my buddy's band and see if they would cover the gig. We would take the club owner my buddy's demo CD today. I set it all up with my buddy and he called the other 4 members of his band and got them on board. We were all set.

Got a call this morning from the singer... She feels terrible for me and the drummer (her 2 good friends) and wants to do the gig on Saturday. I'm ready to tell her no, we've got it covered and she tells me that she talked to the drummer and he said ok! I was so friggin' ticked!!! I hung up with her and called the drummer! He already called the other guys and ok'd the arrangement with them and never told them that I had set my buddy's band up! I called my buddy and took him to lunch at a Japanese steak house. I appologized with every ounce of my soul. I made him call his band members so I could personally appologize to each of them! At rehearsal tonight, I walked in the door and told the boys how it's gonna be from here on out if they still want me around. They understood and were a bunch of sorry looking sheep! We came to an understanding and here's what's going on...

1. We finish our obligitory gig with Lisa next Saturday
2. We audition the respondees to the ads I've placed. I've got 3 so far.
3. We develop the band as a 4 piece and each pick up some of the singing. Then if we run into this again, we won't be so hosed.

We rehearsed as a 4 piece today and it sounded pretty damn good. It was a LOT easier with just 4 of us for some reason and the communication between us was much better. I could really see this working. We're still going to audition singers, but we agreed that we will be HIGHLY selective.

The drummer has got his head in the sand because he thinks the gig is going to go great and the singer is going to come back. I told the band even if she does, I'll never trust her again and we need to work our material in such a way that if she bolts again, we won't miss a beat. I'd really rather she not come back. The drummer must have never had his heart broken by a woman before!

The one club wants us back on November 9 and 10. I'm pretty sure the 4 of us can cover it if we get busy now and do our homework. We got through a bunch of her material tonight and I'm really pleased. Our voices aren't too bad!

Wish us luck! The Coyotes may live to howl another day!

[boobtube21]

Nice job laying down the law! Sometimes people don't realize they're making somebody else the bad guy, but I'm sure your pal in the other band was understanding about the gig. Gigs come and gigs go.

Good idea to get everybody singing too. Even if the perfect singer did come along, having b/u vocals is HUGE. It can only add to the Coyote's game.

[flintpunk]

My buddy in the other band is one of my closest friends. We are actually in a harder rock/dirty blues band with more of an original focus together, but we are on hiatus so we can do these other things. We still get together and play quite a bit...especially when one of us is having trouble in our other band! He was super-cool about the whole thing.

In The Coyotes, we always backed Lisa up. We also each have a few of our own songs that we do. I'm pretty sure that we have enough ability among the 4 of us to carry a band. The only thing is, we're all tenors. We don't have a big, booming baritone country voice. We've got Dwight Yokum and Vince Gill covered though!

[Offshore Angler]

OK,now that he dust has settled here's my take.

Ditch the girl who quit and don't look back. Unless there was some really unprofessional behavior by other bandmates - harrasment, fighting, drugs or someting like that involved - anybody who walks out on me with gigs scheduled never works with me again.

If you like the bass player - sit him down and explain you won't tolerate any unpressional behavior.

If people dipslay behaviors in the band that you wouldn't accept in a casual setting with people from your job, then they don't belong in your band.

I have quit bands because of things going on I don't like, but unless there was circumstances that I felt I needed to separate myself from immediately, I gave notice. But that means things like drugs or criminal behavior. Not a personality conflict. Those I just gave notice and promised to fulfill my obligations until a certain date or until a replacement was ready.

No-one in a band is irreplaceable. If you VH can replace David Lee Roth, or the Stones their bass player, than you can replace somebody too.

flitpunk - sounds like you have assumed a leadership role in the band. You have an opportunity to gain great experience that will come in handy later in life regardless of what vocation you choose. Leadership is not simply making a decision and giving orders. It's about how you conduct yourself and the example you set for others.

Besides, getting a diverse group of people all on the same page is a skill that needs to be learned. Most bands fail because of a lack of

a) Leadership
b) discipline

If you want to lead, have a vision, a gameplan, and learn to motivate your bandmates. Going around apologizing and begging is not leadership. That's OK, because you are young and inexperienced and, just like all us geezers did, will make mistakes. Just take everything that's happening now as gaining experience.

If your goal is to be in a great band jsut view this as one step in the process of getting there.

And - if you're ever in the situation where the band is together and two members start arguing - STEP IN AND STOP IT- NOW!

I've seen people argue themselves into a position where the only way they could save face was by quitting, when a simple "Hey, let's put this aside and move on" by the leader when it started would have mede the whole issue go away.

Chuck

[flintpunk]

Hey OSA, thanks!

Couple things...It's FLINT punk as in Flint, Michigan (former auto capital of the world and now mostly a ghost town) not "flit" (flitpunk sounds, well dirty!).

No drugs or anything going on, just friction between personalities. The singer couldn't find her cheat sheet for one song and the bass player basicly told her to get her act together. She didn't dig that and encouraged him to partake in some self-gratifying penetration. I did stop the fight, but the singer being a woman of the female persuasion is more thin-skinned than a male, and the bass player being a butt head (like all in our gender can be) was pushing it. She is just so sensitive that she quit. It was just like you said, she argued past the point of no return and had to quit.

We're going to use her for this gig and that's it as far as I'm concerned. I haven't thought far enough in advance about what I'll do if she decides she wants to come back and the rest of the band wants her. I guess I'll figure it out if it happens, but I don't anticipate her coming back.

Next, I wasn't apologizing or begging the boneheads in my band (The Coyotes). I asked my friend's band (Nevaeh) to fill in for us (The Coyotes) this weekend after talking to the drummer in my band (The Coyotes) and realizing we couldn't get the job done without our singer. Then the bonehead drummer in my band (The Coyotes) tells the singer she can come back and sing with us on Saturday after she offers. At that point, I had to go back to my friend's band (Nevaeh) and tell them nevermind. That's where the appologizing came in. I felt like a total idiot because of my drummer and I let him know that that won't happen again!

Last, I'm young looking, but I'm no spring chicken! I'm 40 and need both hips replaced! I've been doing this on and off since college and I'm somewhat used to it. This isn't my first rodeo though and it does seem like there is always more drama when you add a diva to the mix. I really don't expect much more trouble from the guys after last night. We're all grown ups (the drummer is my age, the bass player is 45 and the other guitar player is 55) with families and good jobs (the singer was the poverty case). I think I got them set last night. If they get stupid again, I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Right now, I feel like I've got a lot of time invested in learning the material. Starting all over always is a pain in the rear. I hadn't played out for 3 years prior to this band coming together and I'm interested in preserving the ability to do so.

Please don't take this wrong, I'm not being critical of you! I really do appreciate all of the advice! I'm just trying to clear up some misconceptions that I perceive you may have. Thanks again man and have a great day!

[Plugger]

Hey Flintpunk,

You have to realise that once you get to be as old and crotchety as OSA, 40 _is_ young and inexperienced!

-Mark

[flintpunk]

[Offshore Angler]

Hey Flintpunk,

You have to realise that once you get to be as old and crotchety as OSA, 40 _is_ young and inexperienced!

-Mark

Get off my lawn Plugger!

[Plugger]

Get off my lawn Plugger!

:

[DravenX]

Man, band drama is always a bummer sorry to hear about your current situation. As you probably have know for a long time and I am just starting to understand, It seems to be just a part of the deal with bands. In any case stick with the four piece, my band just went through something similar with the other guitar player a few months back and we decided to just change into a four piece ourselves. The end result has been fans telling us we never sounded better. If you want to hear another one of those crazy situations, the guy we fired is my best friend and lives in my house and I consider part of my family, and we have our band practices there

On another note I've played the club in your pictures and really enjoyed that place. From the town to the people. We actually had the local law decide to stop in because they said the music was great. Small town clubs are fun!!!

[flintpunk]

You've been to Durand and played The Club Car? That's cool! Durand is a great town! Bill, the club owner and Janice, the bartender are cool too! Did you guys get to see a bunch of young chicks flashing ya? That's why I'm in it! Rock and roll!

[melody]

Did you guys get to see a bunch of young chicks flashing ya? That's why I'm in it! Rock and roll![/QUOTE]



Me Too!!....