bandproj.com Blog

    We are on track with our goals of an original tune for early 2008.  In fact, we are actually a bit ahead of the game with not just one, but three originals in progress.  Derek laid the instrumental groundwork for these songs (one called “Open Road” the other two are, as yet, nameless) at our last rehearsal. He had a page full of ideas and we narrowed them down to three.  It does not stop there though as he had a page full so there are even more waiting in the wings.
    It’s going to be very interesting to see how this process goes from here.  The plan is for Derek to record the ideas and the n pass them to Keith and me.  We will work out our parts and get together again to see what the other has come up with.  In the meantime, Derek- with a narrowed focus on these three songs- will continue to flesh out the music and lyrics.  Quite a few friends have been after us to get on some originals and this marks the first step in that direction!

Keeter is hard at work designing drum set version 4.0.  Always evolving and striving to build a better foundation for our house of cards, Keeter is scouring internet product reviews, ebay and music stores on search of the right pieces and parts to bring kit V.40 to life.  Kinda reminds of one of those movie mad scientist in with that driven slightly off gleam in the eye proclaiming “It’s alive… ALIVE!!”  But there is a serious method to his madness and hearing what he has planned, I can’t help but get excited about it too.  He picked up a piccolo snare and stand last and will debut that piece this weekend.  The high pitch of this new snare will really put the pop in 311 and Police tunes and is the center piece of the upgrades of V4.0.  Not spilling anymore on it now, but if you know Keeter, you know its going to be something to see!

-Logan

We’ve been hard at play bringing new material into our mix.  Kind of a combination of things that challenge us, move us, or are demanded of us (so long as the we are challenged and or moved by the demand).  We’ve been focusing on a couple more 311 tunes along with Foo Fighters, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Goo Goo Dolls and The Police.  Some awesome stuff coming!

So Derek buys a Taylor T5 and Boss amp modeling processor. We took it for a test drive this weekend at our first full weekend at Shimmer’s in Traverse City, and the results were nothing short of amazing.  We managed to squeeze in a couple of rehearsals with it before taking it out live. It was time well spent.  With it’s ability to go from strumming acoustic to a variety of electric guitars, the T5 threatens to push the boundaries of our versatility even further.  We feel the T5 is a perfect fit to our instrumentation and sound that still allows us to remain acoustic semi-electric.

  What is that??  Is it the crowd singing?  Well sometimes it is but, no, that’s not it.  Holy Crap! Its Keeter!!!  Keith has been warming up to the mic in his contribution to our ongoing quest for a fuller sound.  From his audio vantage point, he knows where some of our songs are a bit thin.  With the addition of his vocals and modifications, not only to his already impressive percussive ability - but to his drum kit as well, the project has benefited greatly and our overall sound is wearing thick.
  Not a complete stranger to vocals, Keith draws from experience in Nashville to add his vocals to our mix.  With just three of us, every bit counts.  Keeters efforts have already made the sum of our whole even greater.  And this is just the beginning!  As he gets more comfortable with it, audiences will hear a fuller sound as well as richer harmonies.  It’s still very much a surprise to us as Derek and I keep finding ourselves looking around to see where those additional vocals are coming from.
  Keith has delved deeper into the world of Carter Beauford and is altering his style accordingly.  His ability to meet that challenge has kicked our Dave Matthews Band covers to another level.  I was aware of the changes immediately and saw Derek looking back over in shoulder in surprise more than a couple of times.  He has acquired a wood block additional toms and will add more Sabian HHX cymbals to his kit.  He also plans to alter the set up over all to accommodate the demands of emulating Beauford and The Police’s Stewart Copeland.  You can see his current set up on our bio page under Keith’s gear tab.  Watch for continuing changes.

    Our West Branch debut at Loggers Depot was awesome!  Thanks Karen & Bill for having us and Laurie and Angie for making feel so at home.  They are looking to start live entertainment about twice a month and we are certainly looking forward to playing there again!  Can’t forget to thank Darrin Hunter from REVOLVER for passing our contact info to Loggers (bands working together?  that happens?!?).

    Loggers has a secret weapon that goes by the name of Eric “the soup Nazi” this cat has left a serious impression on my taste buds so if you have the means, I highly recommend getting in there for lunch to sample his wares.  The word on the street is that he has recently branched into the pizza realm as well - this I gotta taste!

Logan

B-Day Bash!!

Just a little note to all that watch Logan, Derek and Keith at the Tin Fish…………… I’m from TC as most of you know and my sister Michelle works there where the famous (No Namers-we need to work on that) Perform. I’ve been through alot this last year, living in Roscommon for a few months was part of that year. With the influence of my sister I met Logan, when he was playin’ with Less. Just a common bond of true DMB lovers. So, on the night of January 13th, 14th was my 29th birthday, (which is also Logan’s) I planned an outing at the ”Fish”. Good times and great people filled those walls along with the STELLAR entertainment by the No-Namers! Of course the guys played a good mix of Bare Naked Ladies, Hootie, Matchbox 20, Maroon 5 and OF COURSE Dave Matthews Band. For 3 guys, they can really get a crowd moving! I had a great time and will follow the project…………maybe get them to TC……..You can see the talent, passion in music and absolute heart in this band……….for now………..lets get them a name. Catch up with them if you can its certainly worth it…….

Have you got pics of us in action?  We would love to get some for our upcoming gallery pages.  We have been so busy rockin that we forgot to snap pics along the way.  Crowd shots, shots of us, whatever you have, we’d love to post them (even if its of a marquee with our name on it!).  Just e-mail them to info@bandproj.com. 

-Logan

We do in fact have a fourth and fifth members in our project, the Bose towers.  Audiences tell us things like ”your sound is so incredibly clear and tight, unlike any ‘bar band’ I have ever heard.”  So far we have used the system at The Fish and the Knights of Columbus Hall and, with a few small exceptions, the Towers and subs have been equal to the task.
    As a result of one exception, I have started carrying my Ampeg rig to gigs as I am not altogether happy with the tone I am getting for the bass.  I see this as a short term fix, until I can afford the Pack Light system to extend my bass range or until I acquire a smaller bass combo amp.  The Pack Light system seems the ideal choice in terms of a smaller foot print and keeping it all in the Bose family.
    A second exception is that we are being told to turn up the guitar (imagine being in a band where the guitarist is not too loud!) especially during Derek’s solos.  Derek has been using a Fishman Aura to boost his levels when soloing.  This is not a shortcoming of the Bose however, and we have some tweaking to do to get a good balance.
    A third exception is the occasional feed back that we get from the system.  My theory is that we are needing to crank up our vocals to ensure that we project clearly over the drums but may not be getting the optimum 8 feet distance from the towers.  I have made adjustments to the EQ settings of course, but may try getting more distance where venues allow.