Rumbling, Not Stumbling

There's a distant rumbling that Lou's Classic Ride may reconvene prior to the end of February. Personally, I am really excited to hear the faint rumbling of this. It has been nearly 3 months without a rehearsal or a clear sense of direction. With health issues and a job search consuming the attention of half of the band, it's been an epoch of uncertainty. I love playing with Joe, Matthew, and Brian Guitar so I'm cautiously optimistic that Lou will get the four of us into the rehearsal studio to make music together again.

It's somewhat ironic that these rumblings are being heard as the other band I'm playing drums in, Uncle Rico, is rehearsing on Tuesday night. It will be our second rehearsal and, without a doubt, I'm really excited about playing with Greg, Gary, and Scott. I've been spending time with the recording from our first rehearsal. It's rough and my playing is less than stellar. I like the vibe on some of the songs I'd never played previously as Everclear's "Santa Monica" and The Beatles' "I Saw her Standing There" stick out. I also liked the way we sounded on "Jet Airliner." I hear a lot of places where my drumming was rough mainly because I hadn't played the songs with them before. I think "Interstate Love Song" came together well and I think "Paranoid" sounded good too. So, before I continue listing every song and adding a "we sounded good" comment, what I'm trying to say is that I can sound better. I can be a better drummer than what was recorded.

Speaking of recordings, last week before, I turned on my "Smart Voice Recording" app and placed my phone under my drums. That produced a recording that is basically a drum solo because it picked up the drums much more loudly than the vocals or other instruments. It is a poor recording from a mix perspective.I experimented with my phone recorder at 5:15 Mass last night.  Last night, I turned on the same app but placed my phone in the back of church. There is a wooden stand with Mary the Virgin Mother of God on it and at the base of the stand, I put my phone with the app turned on. I wanted to get a 'room level' recording of what the music sounds like. I have listened to a couple of different spots and the recording is much better. What is interesting is I had always thought the drums were not going to be loud enough, but during the minutes I listened to, it appears as if they are, which is good.