Melissa,
I think working in a church atmosphere, we are expected to handle these situations in a "Christian" like manor.
I'm the FIRST to admit, I don't fit the stereotypical Christian profile. I'm working on it, but I will act like something I'm not. I'll leave the religion aspect out of this as best I can.
The entire second part of your post I could pencil in BASS instead of electric guitar and I could have written it myself.
It is difficult to say the least. I play in a traditional Lutheran Church, and I'm amazed they even allowed electric lights in the place! I've been struggling for 4 years trying (at the bequest of the Pastor) to get some contemporary music into the church. It's been like pulling teeth. Three SALARIED praise team leaders later, it just isn't growing. Yes, the JOY has left long ago. It's more out of obligation than joy.
The REALLY hard thing is, a local "super church" has been asking me to join their church on Sunday mornings for months. We're members at the Lutheran church and I just don't feel it is right to pull my entire family out of our church for a "better gig" for lack of a better term. But playing with professionals is SO tempting, I could learn SO much from them. They know my abilities (or lack of for that matter) and they STILL want me! I mean, we're talking a BIG church and some VERY GOOD musicians!
I don't know, I've been referring this to my time "in the desert". I just am SO grateful that my PM service is the complete opposite. We ROCK the place pretty good and there is no agenda, no head cases, just praise music played NICE AND LOUD!
I was hoping to cover some more ground on this post, but I have to run.....I'd love to hear your thoughts and I'll come back to this tonight!
So, in closing, it seems like your move is for the better already!
Tempo in a Praise Band
"No balcony golf?"
Oh man Jdog, I told you THAT too?
Damn, I must have never shut up long enough for you to get a word in edgewise!
Charlie,
Yeah, I kind of feel the same way, we've NEVER done that before. I was in one curch in NY until I moved to FL.
There are a LOT more reasons involved, it runs kind of deep, TOO deep to get into here, but the church isn't a OUTREACH church. They do SO very little in the community and that freaks me out.
It's more like a country club than a church. Enough said.
Oh man Jdog, I told you THAT too?
Damn, I must have never shut up long enough for you to get a word in edgewise!
Charlie,
Yeah, I kind of feel the same way, we've NEVER done that before. I was in one curch in NY until I moved to FL.
There are a LOT more reasons involved, it runs kind of deep, TOO deep to get into here, but the church isn't a OUTREACH church. They do SO very little in the community and that freaks me out.
It's more like a country club than a church. Enough said.
"Freedom of expression is important, but I have learned that people want to know how much you care before they care how much you know."
The only time a bass player gets noticed is when he stops playing.
The only time a bass player gets noticed is when he stops playing.
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lyle_from_minneapolis
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What a bummer! Sounds like you all have the same gnarly issues in a worship setting that I've experienced with groups in a non-worship setting.
It's the neverending battle of the volume knob...
It's the neverending battle of the volume knob...
Here is where I hide my music:
http://www.soundclick.com/MarkKaufman
http://www.soundclick.com/MarkKaufman
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melibreits
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Yep, Tony, it sounds like our stories are similar in many ways....
To be honest, it was some of the issues at church that were the final deciding factor in our choosing to pack everything up, sell our house, and move.... Not so much because of the music issues, but some other things going on that are really frustrating, even more so for my husband than for me. We will be very cautious before we decide on a new church home.... The good thing is, there is a church just a few blocks from our new house in Duluth that is known for its outstanding contemporary praise services, and they regularly host open praise and Christian rock jams, so I am hoping to check it out, and at least see if I can find a few like-minded friends to come over and help me break in my new music room!
To be honest, it was some of the issues at church that were the final deciding factor in our choosing to pack everything up, sell our house, and move.... Not so much because of the music issues, but some other things going on that are really frustrating, even more so for my husband than for me. We will be very cautious before we decide on a new church home.... The good thing is, there is a church just a few blocks from our new house in Duluth that is known for its outstanding contemporary praise services, and they regularly host open praise and Christian rock jams, so I am hoping to check it out, and at least see if I can find a few like-minded friends to come over and help me break in my new music room!
"Once I've held and played the best, baby, I won't settle for less!"
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lyle_from_minneapolis
- Advanced Member
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Hey Melissa, there is always the old trick of keeping your volume knob low...during sound check, that is...
Here is where I hide my music:
http://www.soundclick.com/MarkKaufman
http://www.soundclick.com/MarkKaufman
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melibreits
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Oh I've tried that a few times.... 
I don't overdo it though--really, I've bent over backwards to try and accommodate everyone else in the group. Sometimes I have to turn the volume up on my amp just so I can HEAR my guitar. Oh, that's another frustrating thing, too. Right about the time the drummer left, the Powers That Be decided we didn't need the monitors any more, so now it is just about impossible to hear ourselves, let alone what is going on on the other side of the stage. The pianist and I are the only ones who complain about it, and nobody else seems to care.
I don't overdo it though--really, I've bent over backwards to try and accommodate everyone else in the group. Sometimes I have to turn the volume up on my amp just so I can HEAR my guitar. Oh, that's another frustrating thing, too. Right about the time the drummer left, the Powers That Be decided we didn't need the monitors any more, so now it is just about impossible to hear ourselves, let alone what is going on on the other side of the stage. The pianist and I are the only ones who complain about it, and nobody else seems to care.
"Once I've held and played the best, baby, I won't settle for less!"
Nope, but I'm a rocker disguised as a praise band member!!! I once used a Geezer "phrase" in a praise tune!! I have never actually heard the original bass lines to most of the tunes I do. It's not like covers, where you have to nail it perfectly, the way the original was.
Call it a new arrangement, styling, whatever....
There is one tune we do, that sounds quite a bit like "Like a Rolling Stone". So, I use that groove.
Call it a new arrangement, styling, whatever....
There is one tune we do, that sounds quite a bit like "Like a Rolling Stone". So, I use that groove.
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lyle_from_minneapolis
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melibreits
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Charly, that is what I love about praise music: there is no one "right" way to play it, as long as your heart is right so that you are free to truly worship as you play.
I think playing in a cover band would be way too stressful, although I have done a few cover songs in my performances with Billy D.... But we kind of do covers as ourselves, adding our own personal styles to the songs, and on many we change the key so that we can sing them better. The main thing is, we have fun playing together, and the songs are still recognizable, LOL!
In my personal repertoire of songs, I do covers from Christian bands and artists such as Sixpence None the Richer, Third Day, and Glenn Kaiser....and I also do songs by John Denver and Celine Dion. There are a few ABBA songs I would just love to learn, too, when I have some time!
However, I think I am better at writing and performing my own songs than I am at doing other people's music....some of my songs are praise songs, and nearly all of them were written as I have tried to sort out and deal with different issues in my life....
I think playing in a cover band would be way too stressful, although I have done a few cover songs in my performances with Billy D.... But we kind of do covers as ourselves, adding our own personal styles to the songs, and on many we change the key so that we can sing them better. The main thing is, we have fun playing together, and the songs are still recognizable, LOL!
In my personal repertoire of songs, I do covers from Christian bands and artists such as Sixpence None the Richer, Third Day, and Glenn Kaiser....and I also do songs by John Denver and Celine Dion. There are a few ABBA songs I would just love to learn, too, when I have some time!
However, I think I am better at writing and performing my own songs than I am at doing other people's music....some of my songs are praise songs, and nearly all of them were written as I have tried to sort out and deal with different issues in my life....
"Once I've held and played the best, baby, I won't settle for less!"
There are two things about my bass playing "career" I am proud of. One is taking a few lessons from Carole Kaye! The other has to do with one of my bandmates, who is breaking into the Christian songwriting biz. He has a tune called "The Last Noel" that may break this Christmas. Some of the top record people in Nashville are very high on this tune.
Anyways, to make a short story long, I got to play on his "pre-demo" demos. I think we did between 6 and 10 tunes over the course of the last two years. He would then send them to Nashville, and if they liked them, they would hire session folks to come in and record the demo for the publishers and artists to listen to. When he got the demos back, he would have me listen to them in his truck outside of church. It was the coolest! They used ALL of my bass lines in those tunes! The writer just gave me the vibe he was after and the rest was up to me. They embellished, of course, technically I'm not that good! What I take from that is I understand what a bass part should be. I was never too busy, or too sparse.
Now that I am getting the theory thing down, I just have to transfer all this head knowledge down to the fingers, although it already has been having a huge effect on my playing! I'm just talking a note or two thrown in here or there, but when done right, is very tasty.
So what's the point of all this yammering? I don't know, I guess I just felt like yammering! The thing about being free while playing dredged it up I guess!
Anyways, to make a short story long, I got to play on his "pre-demo" demos. I think we did between 6 and 10 tunes over the course of the last two years. He would then send them to Nashville, and if they liked them, they would hire session folks to come in and record the demo for the publishers and artists to listen to. When he got the demos back, he would have me listen to them in his truck outside of church. It was the coolest! They used ALL of my bass lines in those tunes! The writer just gave me the vibe he was after and the rest was up to me. They embellished, of course, technically I'm not that good! What I take from that is I understand what a bass part should be. I was never too busy, or too sparse.
Now that I am getting the theory thing down, I just have to transfer all this head knowledge down to the fingers, although it already has been having a huge effect on my playing! I'm just talking a note or two thrown in here or there, but when done right, is very tasty.
So what's the point of all this yammering? I don't know, I guess I just felt like yammering! The thing about being free while playing dredged it up I guess!
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squirefan01
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Carole Kaye? That is too cool Charly!
Interesting thread you guys. When I travel, it seems that churches with your types of bands are pretty common. In the Northeast I have never seen one. Of course the churches are pretty traditional here. The UU church that I go to (occassionally) is about 2 blocks from Plymouth Rock (yes, THE Plymouth Rock, which is not really all that impressive. Alot of "that's it?" comments can be heard when visitng it). It was built in 1620!
Interesting thread you guys. When I travel, it seems that churches with your types of bands are pretty common. In the Northeast I have never seen one. Of course the churches are pretty traditional here. The UU church that I go to (occassionally) is about 2 blocks from Plymouth Rock (yes, THE Plymouth Rock, which is not really all that impressive. Alot of "that's it?" comments can be heard when visitng it). It was built in 1620!