Great story!
A lifelong friend, Paul Gurvitz from the Baker Gurvitz Army, is now enjoying a quieter life out in Arizona with some local musicians who enjoy playing his music. I turned their keyboard player onto Cantabile several years ago - he still uses C2.
They had a bass player (Paul prefers to play guitar these days) who wasn’t working out. Paul did exactly what you’ve done - click on one side, bass parts on the other. Drummer gets the click. Bass goes to a bass amp on stage so the ‘placement’ is still as per the full band. For the most part, people don’t even notice!
Not that I’m advocating for the retirement of all bass players but when you’re in a tight spot and need a player, this works!
3 Likes
Which user is Neil? Does he have a website? Ours is pretty shameful. Definitely GB. But, our guitarist is a retired
pharmacist who is our website guy.
I believe he is referring to Neil Durant. I will refer to Adrian as well 
1 Like
I tracked him down. Is he a famous musician, as well?
Absolutely. Especially in my eyes. Although it is time for my annual eye exam.
3 Likes
Mostly, I use the studio grand - fits great in a classic rock mix (I use some varations in EQ to adapt to songs). I’ve tried the upright in a couple of songs now, but was mostly dissatisfied with its very “middish” character; difficult to position in a classic rock mix, tends to get drowned by the guitars (same frequency range). May work nicely in a sparse ballad context, though
Cheers
Torsten
Thanks Torsten. The Grand 3 by Steinberg uses 30gb space. I play songs like Feelin Alright, but I also play songs like Easy by the Commodore. I may get both. We have a $2000 gig coming up. I tend to spend my money before I get it.
Corky…and here I thought I was unique. Seems I’m not the only one playing lean and mean. Agree with every reason stated in your post, though we are not as instrumentally versatile. Like @Howifeel, our story started pretty much the same way. No big show, just a bass player who had the usual problems of not showing up on time, expending needed effort to learn parts in a timely manner…the usual suspects. The remaining 3 of us (keys/guitar/drums) took the same approach and went with bass tracks played by the guitarist rather than disrupting the chemistry with another loser.
Unfortunately, our drummer’s wife developed a health condition that required him to be available for her pretty much all the time. So, faced with losing a drummer and a great dude, and replacing him with someone who could turn into the devil incarnate, he agreed to record all his parts (thankfully he had an electronic set that made it easier on us to record) so we could carry on without him. He still records for us when we add new material. He misses playing, but he’s needed at home. Recording for us keeps him “in the loop” and we jam as much as we can with him. So we then upgraded to drums and bass tracks and once again became a 4 piece group. I have added some filler on some of the tracks because I’m not an octopus and some of the songs require a bit more than I can play at any one time. We try to stick to the originals as much as possible. With my introduction to C3, it has opened up some new avenues to bring back that live feel by using looping. If either of us is feeling it solo wise, or the dance floor is full, we can keep it going. $ is the driving factor to operating this way. I’ve been in too many bands where there’s always one or two guys you really can’t stand, but you do it for the music and to get paid. We do it for the same reason, but I’m playing with a guy who’s a great dude, a great guitarist and there is zero drama. We carpool to the gigs from my house, both load and unload, both set up and break down. Give me this over drama any day. I’d sooner hang up my keys, than go that route again.
Yes, our band has a policy that the moment a member states an ultimatum, the remaining members get together and determine whether to get rid of him immediately or not. That is the benefit of tracks. If the ultimatum seems reasonable, the band member may remain. If not, they get the dreaded “lets meet at Starbucks. We need to talk” phone call. With this policy, we have reduced to a great bunch of guys. We understand that our band will experience awkward tension at times, so, as our guitarist always says, “Let the world spin around a few times before we do anything.” I also really liked the statement that Corky’s dad made. Not sure if it is in this discussion.
1 Like
@Howifeel
Been there…done that. Although I’m not much of a Starbucks fan, better to do it in public. Less chance of having a mic stand swung at your head when the dreaded news is delivered. I’m surprised @Corky hasn’t become the incredible one man band by now. He can just pick up a different instrument every song. He could probably go a set and a half before repeating instruments. I’m nowhere near that versatile, so my hat’s off to being accomplished on so many different instruments. Me thinks it’s just a sign of the times…we want to play and the club owners/venues don’t want to pay, so you end up working a lot more for a lot less. Now we work a lot more for a lot more. We’re cheaper and we sound just as good if not better.
1 Like
Yeah, we get the same. We get underbid all the time, and the venue hires the other guy. Sometimes I go to that gig, to see what they got. Sadly, they got someone just as good as us. @Corky has a great voice and is very talented, obviously. Tracks are always a passionate issue. I have seldom run across a musician that doesn’t have a strong opinion about them. We just love our little core band, right now. We have named our bass player DigiFitz because our guitarist’s last name is Fitzgerald and he dose all the programming. I am planning on including the laptop on our webpage with a bio talking in Microsoft voice. Should be funny.
Well, music is all about the feel. If you’re groovin and loving what you do, then keep on doing it. There will always be people who look down their noses at tracks, and I used to be one of them. But, I am actually playing with “my guys”. Nobody looks down on Todd Rundgren or Phil Collins along with many others who create an album and play every instrument and do all the vocals. If our bass player had been more responsible and our drummer wasn’t limited by his situation, we would be a 4 piece and nobody would care. I look at it this way, if I’m playing with my drummer and our guitarist who also happens to play bass, and they just happen to be a track in a C3 media player… then so be it. It’s really us playing all the parts, and we make it work. If you’re up there posing, then shame on you. There’s a band I run into on a fairly regular basis and their singer who’s really got some pipes, also happens to be a keyboard player. He chooses to play only about 25% of the time. The rest is track. Why? Who knows? But they work steady and nobody gives a rat’s behind. We all do this because it’s what we do. Are you a hobbyist or do you need to make a living? Either way is cool as long as it works for you
1 Like
@SteveK, @Howifeel You guys flatter me, thank you, but I don’t deserve it. 
What my Dad told me was, "There is always someone better, but you are the greatest at doing YOU”.and he was right. Memphis has thousands of amazingly talented musicians that can play circles around me. I do tend to shy away many times, but I have to keep reminding myself, this is me, however good or bad. I could very easily do a one man show, but prefer to engage with other people on stage. BUT don’t think for a minute that there hasn’t been times when a backing bass track wouldn’t have made me happier. 
Hmm, to some extent, that’s why the market for live bands (and the money you can make from playing live) has shrunk so dramatically in the last 20 years - lots of people substituting drum computers, “personal arrangers”, midi files or backing tracks for real live musicians. Sure, if I do the gig alone singing with just a piano or guitar plus backing track, that’s probably the best I can do from a commercial point of view (nobody to split the money with) - and if you need to make a living from gigging, it’s probably worth considering.
But taking the approach of substituting musicians with backing tracks (even if you record them yourself), the logical conclusion (and I’m exaggerating just a little bit 
) is to end up with a full recording and just play the CD (after all, I recorded it myself). Sure makes setup and tear-down a lot easier 
But for a classic rock kind of gig, this is kind of an emotional contradiction to me - with all the over-produced stuff flooding the market, good old classic rock is the last bastion of hand-made “real” music.
For some time, (lost our drummer and bassist and hadn’t yet set up a new full band) I actually did perform in a 3-person band (keys, electric and acoustic guitar) with home-brew backing tracks (just drums and bass) - but I always felt shackled by the fixed playback; no freedom to play things just a little differently every night, no spontaneous interaction with the drummer and bassist on stage - I would not have called this “classic rock” (even though the songs were from that era); it would just have felt wrong to me. But it was still some fun; people liked what they were hearing, and had we had a purely a commercial focus, it probably would have been worth continuing.
In fact, I see a number of duos around the pub gig scene here with just a singer (usually female and good-looking) - plus a guitarist (usually male and less good-looking, but technically adept) running a whole evening on top of backing tracks. And they tend to make good money and get booked a lot more than my 5 person projects - but I despise them 
I admire projects like @Corky’s - small groups of obsessed musicians that re-create songs with a small group of musicians - I was recently blown away by a classic rock duo of just an acoustic and an electrig guitarist!
I’m happy that I have found two bands of great and inspiring musicians to perform fully live with - and yes, I don’t need to make a living from this, so I have the luxury not to have to think about how many ways we need to split the evening’s pay…
And now I’ll get off my soapbox and back into Cantabile tech support mode
Cheers,
Torsten
3 Likes
Personal performance karaoke for pay!! 
BTW…How good looking? I may be old but…
(old butt in reality)
Torsten, IMHO I think you’re putting the cart before the horse. I believe it’s actually the other way around. As drunk driving laws and the economy in general, plus DJ’s (that’s who you should really despise) have eroded the amount of patrons willing to go out and hoist a few for fear of winding up with a free night at the Jailhouse Inn, clubs and opportunities have disappeared and musicians have adapted. I remember the days when there was a bar on every corner and a band in every bar. As that pool of places has dried up, club owners who have survived now have bands beating down the door who are willing to play for peanuts. If I’m going to play for a few sheckles, I’ll stay home and do it here. Sure, there’s always a duo who are wiling to hit iTunes for some catchy Karaoke tracks, and they are just as you describe, a good looking woman and a less good looking man. There are plenty of those all over. There’s a woman locally who stands up on stage and sings Country with no instrument whatsoever. She works constantly. Why? I have no earthly idea.
If you’re in an area that supports a lot of clubs, therefore a lot of opportunities, great for you. Many places are not like that. That does not preclude one from pursuing opportunities to interact with a live audience, which is at least 50% of the reason we do this. Is there a sacrifice with the music…to an extent, absolutely. No argument. But finding a gig like that is rare these days. It’s an unfortunate sign of the times.
1 Like
Corky…you may try and downplay your skills, but to live in Memphis and be a working musician, with all the competition that must be around, is truly a testament to your skills and obviously your versatility.
2 Likes
Apparently, this is a growing trend around the world, and is getting worse by the day. I am seeing the big 5 and 6 piece great bands that normally charge $2500 for weddings playing the smaller venues for $300 and less. All I can do is try to be different and engaging, and hope that keeps me working. I don’t have to play for money. I do it because I love it, and it keeps my chops up…BUT, I’ll be damned if I will sell my soul to a venue for peanuts when they are making fists full of $.
This would be my 2 cents, but I don’t have it. Can I use an IOU ?
1 Like
BTW. I purchased Addictive Keys upright and grand because the files were pretty small compared to The Grand 3. I am at work, so I haven’t installed them yet. The upright, I bought solely for the Joe Cocker sound alone.
I am also a DJ, not a playlist runner from spotify (which is what many individuals who advertise as DJ’s call themselves). I know in a classic rock theme this is the devil’s brew. But I use beat matching, watch the floor (how people dance) which gives you a hint about loading the next song. Beatmatching is a live adaptation of music to keep familiar tunes running nonstop, and adjusting the tempo during crossfade to eventually get to the original tempo, introducing a loop while you address the crowd and crossfade to the next song. It is very fun, actually. I am pretty busy with charging $600 from 9pm to 1am toting minimal gear with about 13,000 watts. Chicks are hotter, too, but I’m too old. That is what is killing the full band. I indicated at a few venues that I would be happy to bring my band for a night instead of DJ’ing. The answer was no, people prefer a DJ. Go figure.
Depeche Mode is coming to my area in May! So excited!