We are up and running, as the title would suggest. The journey travelled on this project has thus far been an extremely long one. Any moments of note have been subtle and certainly spread pretty far apart. The latest update therefore represents something of a significant milestone. It is the first palpable collaboration with outside parties since the whole thing was conceived. Very exciting.
Just yesterday was the first jam session with an assembled group of musicians - the first I hope of many (specifically 11). Without revealing too much about the song to take this opening accolade, I can at least give it's name (Nightdrive) and a rough genre (prog rock). Enter Tom (bass), Marcus (drums) and Sanj (lead guitar). Never before have I and these three individuals occupied the same room together and yet, perhaps through some sort of universal musical magic, I think everyone hit it off well! Added to that we managed to get some passable music going and we are now poised to get the track down and recorded as had been the plan all along.
The day kicked off with a general chat through the track and some initial chatter. Sanj and Marcus bonded over some mutual appreciation of thrash metal and Tom brought along a ridiculous pedal board that lit up in many beautiful ways. Then we got down to learning and developing the song. Considering it was the first time any of us had really played it (including me having pieced it together into a demo bit by bit) I think we did rather well. A short break and a beer, during which we put the musical world to rights, pointed out some choice opinions on the local music college and discussed the pros and cons of life as a session musician. Then back to the music.
Throughout the course of the afternoon, it was noted how, seemingly for the style of music on display, there seemed to be some patterns emerging. Firstly, a propensity for physics and data analysis amongst us. Indeed, between us there were 2 physics degrees and one for electro-acoustic engineering. Secondly and more to the point, three out of four of us had long hair - something surely of statistical significance. I would argue that, if a straightener were taken to Tom's curls, we could easily make that four out of four.
Anyway, satisfied that good progress had been made (and me safe now in the knowledge that I think this project is going to work!) we headed to the pub for some well earned beers. Amongst some fairly deep musical philosophising, we mused over the best decade for music. If you're interested, the 80s won.
So far then, off to a good start. Keep your eyes peeled for updates on this trick and others as we begin to pick up speed.
W
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