gig report

[Brian Krashpad]

So Saturday night one of my side bands, Pedagogy, played. It was a fill-in gig for a cancellation. We opened.

This is the band that does the originals of the keyboard player, Joel, who I know from and play with in church. He's a really talented musician who can play keys, bass, gauitar, and drums, and a very good singer too. In his mid 20's I guess. Reads and all that good serious muso stuff. The drummer Nickel, is a couple weeks shy of 21, Joel and I both know him from church as well. It was the debut of our new bassist, Mark, who I nicked from the hippie band I recently was let go from, Cinnamon Hill (which appears to have subsequently folded; at a minimum they haven't been gigging, or for that matter even practising). He is hands down the best bassist I've played with in 30 years of local gigging. He used to do the USO circuit flying all over the world.

Set went OK, but I wasn't entirely happy with my volume levels. Had to back my guitar off a bit to get them right. I used the same rig I use for this band and most times when I gig with the church praise band outside church, my Super Champ XD as controller/effects box/close monitor, lined out to my vintage Sunn 200S 60W head into a DIY 2x12 (gutted combo box w/silverback Celestions), with the Sunn rig mic'd. It's here on the left:



I used the Dano Hodad throughout for this'un. The DeArmond Jet Star and Fender Telecaster Special were there for backup. Though it seems marginally excessive, I have been known to go through 3 guitars in a set, and frankly I'd rather have them and not need them than the other way round.

We'd been practising up a bunch of covers in order to eventually be able to eventually do a whole night's worth of music, so we had to shift gears pretty radically in order to work up a set for this venue, which focuses on originals. In addition to Joel's originals, we also do one of mine, a Crash Pad song (slowed down a bit) called "Make Haste Slowly" (Joel sings it though, which puts a totally different feel to it from my Johnny Rotten/Jello Biafra "vocal stylings"). We still ended up with a couple covers in the set, but were running long and cut one. Closed with Jason Mraz's "Butterfly," which has me basically jazz comping (lots of minor and major 7th's, though nothing difficult) throughout.

Yes, Krashpad not only playing clean but comping. You read it here first.

Due to the last-minute shift in the setlist, I used a book and stand, but set it side stage to try and keep it as inconspicuous as possible, and set it as low as it would go. Lighting was not particularly good, making seeing it a bit of a struggle, but managed to mask any fluffs relatively well. No real trainwrecks.

Here's a few shots from sound check, will post some from the set in subsequent posts. I usually say that comments on my poseritude are welcome, but this is Joel's band, playing pop music rather than the more aggressive stuff in Crash Pad (or for that matter the roots rock of my other side band, the Hotheads) so there's really no wacky stage antics here. Still any comments or questions welcome, of course.

[marnold***]

Yes, Krashpad not only playing clean but comping. You read it here first. . . . I usually say that comments on my poseritude are welcome, but this is Joel's band, playing pop music rather than the more aggressive stuff in Crash Pad (or for that matter the roots rock of my other side band, the Hotheads) so there's really no wacky stage antics here. Still any comments or questions welcome, of course.

I thought I felt a disturbance in the Force.

Hmm, jazz comping, no poseritude, hmmm. Sure this isn't Bizarro Krashpad?

[Brian Krashpad]

I thought I felt a disturbance in the Force.

Hmm, jazz comping, no poseritude, hmmm. Sure this isn't Bizarro Krashpad?

Haha, true dat. But if we ever get 3 sets worked up, it might also be Krashpad who actually makes a small amount of real dosh gigging. Besides, I've already been in the hippie band for a year and a half playing mandolin and guitar (sometimes acoustic and sometimes acoustic 12-string!) so my punk cred is already shot.

Here's some shots with stage lighting, from actual set:

[Ch0jin]

Clearly the moral of the story is that you need to hire me to shoot your gigs

Seriously though. First time I've heard the word "Comping" used in guitar world. I have heard it as slang for giving something away for free, or complimentary (we had to comp those guys to get them to come).

What's it all mean in Jazz terms?

I also had a giggle at the "LIVE" part of the backdrop. I thought that seemed a little redundant in the context of a band backdrop.

All good stuff though dude. For all the drama's you come across playing in multiple bands, there are likely more of us who wish we had the chance to have those kind of problems

[Brian Krashpad]

Clearly the moral of the story is that you need to hire me to shoot your gigs

Yeah the drummer's gf and a cell phone; unfortunately my camera got brought but someone had taken the memory card out. At any rate it looks like she couldn't be bothered to get off her arse and come up relatively close to get some decent shots. My 14-year old did a better job at a Crash Pad show a few months back.

Beggars can't be choosers though.

Seriously though. First time I've heard the word "Comping" used in guitar world. I have heard it as slang for giving something away for free, or complimentary (we had to comp those guys to get them to come).

What's it all mean in Jazz terms?

In it's broadest sense, it's just short for accompanying. Typically it's just a rhythmic accompaniment during a solo (by someone else), but in the above case with the song we were doing it's the same sort of rhythmic chording during the singer's melody. Here's a portion of the wikipedia definition:

Comping (an abbreviation of accompanying) is a term used in jazz music to describe the chords, rhythms, and countermelodies that keyboard players (piano or organ) or guitar players use to support a jazz musician's improvised solo or melody lines.

Types of comping

In a standard jazz combo, the pianist or guitarist typically comps during the horn and double bass solos by improvising chords and improvised countermelodies.

The chordal accompaniment used in jazz is different from the chordal accompaniment style used in many types of popular music, such as rock and folk.

* In a rock or folk band, a guitarist or piano player will accompany by playing primarily root-position triads consisting of the root, 3rd, and 5th note of a chord. In the key of C, the G chord would include the notes G, B, and D (the root, 3rd, and 5th of the chord).
* In a jazz band a guitarist or pianist will comp by playing a variety of chords that include the 3rd, 7th, 9th, and 13th notes of a chord (the bassist usually plays the root). In the key of C, the G chord might be performed by playing the notes B, E, F, and A (the 3rd, 13th, flat 7th, and 9th notes of the chord). As well, jazz compers may use altered chords that contain flattened or sharpened 5ths, 9ths, and 13ths for some songs or soloists. For example, an altered G7 chord might be played with the notes Ab, A#, C#, and Eb (b9, #9, #11, b13).

In combos with a guitar player, the guitar player usually comps for soloists.

I wasn't improvising anything though, that's way beyond me. There were lots of 7ths, minor 7ths, and major 7th chords in there though.

I also had a giggle at the "LIVE" part of the backdrop. I thought that seemed a little redundant in the context of a band backdrop.

That's actually part of the name of the club, it's full name is the Double Down Live, though I'm sure locals will (it just opened a month or so ago in the space of another longstanding club) probably refer to it as merely the Double Down, or maybe even truncate it further to "the Double" or "the Down." That seems to be the local usage, we had a club called the Hardback Cafe that everyone called the Hardback, and one called Eddie C's which often got called Ed's, and there's currently one called the Backstage Lounge which gets called just Backstage.

All good stuff though dude. For all the drama's you come across playing in multiple bands, there are likely more of us who wish we had the chance to have those kind of problems

Actually there's very little drama, though the occasional unforeseen headache. At this point I tend to gravitate toward drama-free musos like myself. No big scenes or ultimatums or knock-down dragouts over "direction" in Krash's world. There was a little of that in the hippie band I was in for a year and half or so, but I was the "new guy" and for the most part was oblivious to it. Even when they let me go, there was no drama, they even asked if their other guitarist was ever out of town and they needed one for a gig , could they ask me to sit in. Que sera sera. Sh*t will work out if you take a step back and wait. I love being in bands even though I don't make any money at it; it's especially nice when I get to play with better players where I have to raise my game to hang.

[Ch0jin]

Thanks Krash!

I assumed (always an issue) that backdrop was the band name. Makes much more sense now As far as abbreviations go, my mind went straight for "Double D's" hehe.

[Brian Krashpad]

Thanks Krash!

I assumed (always an issue) that backdrop was the band name. Makes much more sense now As far as abbreviations go, my mind went straight for "Double D's" hehe.

Haha, you're not the first to have noted the possibility of a boob joke there. I think they should make t-shirts with a life-size print of a bra over the chest that says "The Double D" on it!