Donkey.
I am thinking seriously about starting my own band. We'd play (and cover) songs I write (and arrange), and others in the band can contribute too. Mainly, we'll play in the funk/hiphop/fusion style, but that's just kind of a starting point. I don't want to play straight jazz, or any other style just 'straight'. Even the funk/fusion/hip hop stuff is going to be tweaked and left-of center. What I want is a style and songbook that nobody else really plays, but lots of people can dig. I have lots of ideas floating in my my head, many of which may be contradictory. Here are a few thoughts:
- I want it to be approachable. I don't want to just play complex shit for the sake of complexity. Sophisticated, yeah, but not to the point that an audience would be lost.
- I want it to be danceable. That's where the funk/fusion/hip hop comes in. A good, strong groove is essential for the kind of stuff I want to write.
- I want it to be fun for everyone, listeners and players alike.
- I want it to be musically sophisticated, but not "prog."
- I want it to sound like a tight ensemble, rather than a jazz combo. In my theoretical group, the focus would be on the writing and arranging, and the theoretically awesome musicianship. This would be in contrast to the highly solo-centric style of most jazz combos these days. I mean, I don't want us to just play a melody, then have everyone solo, then play the melody again. That format is overused and boring to many listeners. Solos will be an important part of the music, but they won't be as frequent.
- I want to put on a good show. By now I bet you realize that it's really important to me that we entertain the audience. That's my main concern, because the audience needs to want to come back with all their friends after seeing how awesome we were. I want to excite people, really show them a good time.
- However, it's also just about as important that the music we play isn't watered down because it's too complex. I want to write stuff that people will like, even if they don't quite understand all the things that are going on. There's music like that out there, and people love it! I think, again, this is where a solid groove comes in. To oversimplify, the idea is to set up a killer groove that gets people moving, and then graft entertaining sophistication on top of that groove.
- Some adjectives for what I want to write: unpredictable, twisted, tongue-in-cheek, campy, compelling, animated, caricatured, whimsical... uh, cool...
I want to utilize the rhythm section to its fullest potential. Keep them busy, and give them equal focus to the horns.
Speaking of instrumentation, it'd be something like this:
Trumpet/Flugelhorn
Soprano and Tenor Saxophones/Flute
Trombone and Bass Trombone
Guitar (with ample pedals and effects)
Synthesizer/piano (with awesome patches)
Electric Bass (with awesome groove)
Drums (with digital pads for sample-based beats, and awesome groove)
On top of that, maybe an eighth member would be nice, either in the horns, or maybe as an aux percussionist, but I don't want too many people in the group, and there are a number of reasons for that. First, the more people in the band, the more expensive it is to pay us, meaning we'll get fewer gigs, or we'll get less money per person. Second, more people mean more busy schedules to sync up for gigs and rehearsals. Third, more people playing means more possibility for musical mistakes. Fourth, smaller groups sound tighter and more together, and are easier to rehearse. Finally, fewer band members means that the spotlight doesn't have to be shared as much. Still, I don't want to limit our orchestrations too much with the instrumentation, so it's gotta be bigger than something like a quintet.
I have a list of songs or so that I've written or covered with FL Studio, that would work well with this lineup, and represent where I'm coming from, musically. I plan to arrange these for the above instrumentation, and then look for people one by one.
Below are links to the songs I'm thinking about. Especially check out the two arrangements/remixes. I think we could have fun with those. And keep in mind that these would change quite a bit for the live group, but at least it gives an idea for the general feel.
Original Tunes:
Jacques' Rock
http://earmeister.com/MarkDeSimone/Listen_files/jacques%27srock.mp3
Chaconne
http://earmeister.com/MarkDeSimone/Listen_files/chaconne.mp3
Artie's Earwax
http://earmeister.com/MarkDeSimone/Listen_files/artie%27searwax.mp3
Abtract
http://earmeister.com/MarkDeSimone/Listen_files/abtract.mp3
Divibe
http://earmeister.com/MarkDeSimone/Listen_files/divibe.mp3
Venice Beach
http://www.earmeister.com/Venice%20Beach.mp3
Lament
http://earmeister.com/MarkDeSimone/Listen_files/lament.mp3
Arrangements (these are video game tunes, but that's not all I'd want to do):
Bowser's Castle
http://www.earmeister.com/bowser_s%20castle.wma
Gradius 3
http://www.earmeister.com/gradius%203.wma
- I want it to be approachable. I don't want to just play complex shit for the sake of complexity. Sophisticated, yeah, but not to the point that an audience would be lost.
- I want it to be danceable. That's where the funk/fusion/hip hop comes in. A good, strong groove is essential for the kind of stuff I want to write.
- I want it to be fun for everyone, listeners and players alike.
- I want it to be musically sophisticated, but not "prog."
- I want it to sound like a tight ensemble, rather than a jazz combo. In my theoretical group, the focus would be on the writing and arranging, and the theoretically awesome musicianship. This would be in contrast to the highly solo-centric style of most jazz combos these days. I mean, I don't want us to just play a melody, then have everyone solo, then play the melody again. That format is overused and boring to many listeners. Solos will be an important part of the music, but they won't be as frequent.
- I want to put on a good show. By now I bet you realize that it's really important to me that we entertain the audience. That's my main concern, because the audience needs to want to come back with all their friends after seeing how awesome we were. I want to excite people, really show them a good time.
- However, it's also just about as important that the music we play isn't watered down because it's too complex. I want to write stuff that people will like, even if they don't quite understand all the things that are going on. There's music like that out there, and people love it! I think, again, this is where a solid groove comes in. To oversimplify, the idea is to set up a killer groove that gets people moving, and then graft entertaining sophistication on top of that groove.
- Some adjectives for what I want to write: unpredictable, twisted, tongue-in-cheek, campy, compelling, animated, caricatured, whimsical... uh, cool...
I want to utilize the rhythm section to its fullest potential. Keep them busy, and give them equal focus to the horns.
Speaking of instrumentation, it'd be something like this:
Trumpet/Flugelhorn
Soprano and Tenor Saxophones/Flute
Trombone and Bass Trombone
Guitar (with ample pedals and effects)
Synthesizer/piano (with awesome patches)
Electric Bass (with awesome groove)
Drums (with digital pads for sample-based beats, and awesome groove)
On top of that, maybe an eighth member would be nice, either in the horns, or maybe as an aux percussionist, but I don't want too many people in the group, and there are a number of reasons for that. First, the more people in the band, the more expensive it is to pay us, meaning we'll get fewer gigs, or we'll get less money per person. Second, more people mean more busy schedules to sync up for gigs and rehearsals. Third, more people playing means more possibility for musical mistakes. Fourth, smaller groups sound tighter and more together, and are easier to rehearse. Finally, fewer band members means that the spotlight doesn't have to be shared as much. Still, I don't want to limit our orchestrations too much with the instrumentation, so it's gotta be bigger than something like a quintet.
I have a list of songs or so that I've written or covered with FL Studio, that would work well with this lineup, and represent where I'm coming from, musically. I plan to arrange these for the above instrumentation, and then look for people one by one.
Below are links to the songs I'm thinking about. Especially check out the two arrangements/remixes. I think we could have fun with those. And keep in mind that these would change quite a bit for the live group, but at least it gives an idea for the general feel.
Original Tunes:
Jacques' Rock
http://earmeister.com/MarkDeSimone/Listen_files/jacques%27srock.mp3
Chaconne
http://earmeister.com/MarkDeSimone/Listen_files/chaconne.mp3
Artie's Earwax
http://earmeister.com/MarkDeSimone/Listen_files/artie%27searwax.mp3
Abtract
http://earmeister.com/MarkDeSimone/Listen_files/abtract.mp3
Divibe
http://earmeister.com/MarkDeSimone/Listen_files/divibe.mp3
Venice Beach
http://www.earmeister.com/Venice%20Beach.mp3
Lament
http://earmeister.com/MarkDeSimone/Listen_files/lament.mp3
Arrangements (these are video game tunes, but that's not all I'd want to do):
Bowser's Castle
http://www.earmeister.com/bowser_s%20castle.wma
Gradius 3
http://www.earmeister.com/gradius%203.wma