Whaddya know. Two and a half months later and our band has a name.

I don’t know if all bands have this challenge, but coming up with an identity was far from easy. Because our set is a mix of genres, styles, and tempos, our lone constant is our unpredictability!

As we packed away our instruments after rehearsal, we quickly shot off a few name suggestions around the group, but none really seemed to stick. Every band wants a perfect name, but everyone also has different opinions, so it’s definitely a process. And seeing as we were mere hours from our deadline, we didn’t have time for processes.

As we exited the Freight on Sunday, a few of us briefly stopped in the lobby for our usual minutes of awe towards the night’s performers. I forget who was on stage at the time, but they were technically flawless, energizing, and had folks dancing in the aisles.

I felt myself starting to dance a little, too, but it was getting late, and I needed to get home. As I exited, the ticket checker told me I could stay and watch the show if I’d like.

“Thanks,” I said. “But workweek responsibilities beckon.”

“Ah, too bad,” he said. “A true victim of circumstance.”

“Yeah,” I smiled.

THAT’S IT!

And that’s how our band name was born.

(If you’re reading, I dedicate this post to you, Mr. Ticket Taker.)

(Note from Hilary:  Since this blog was written the processes churned along a bit more and the band re-named itself Bound by Circumstance.)

Last weekly rehearsal
Even though last Sunday wasn’t the official end, it felt like it in a lot of ways. It marked the end of our weekly nighttime rehearsals full of arranging, fine-tuning, and artistic decisions. In a way it marked the end of our journey, at least the developmental aspect.

Now it’s up to us to execute. No more tweaking, no more editing. Just playing.

It’s kind of amazing that we could run through the set in our sleep now, when about a month ago we were far from polished. It’s even more amazing when two months ago we didn’t even have a set and were still playing songs for the first time.
Aside from teamwork, I think that’s a testament to our great coaching (thanks, Dave!).

Another home visit
We decided to meet again on Wednesday night for extra practice, this time at Daniel’s house in Berkeley. We even had the help and moral support of his furry canine friend.

After running through the set two or three times, we decided to once again tweak the vocal arrangement on the a cappella piece. While we had practiced it in a manner involving the stacking of vocals – each of us would come in on a different line – we noticed the volume of each line substantially decreased, and got a smidge confused with who came in when.

So, just to mix things up and experiment, we decided to cut the number of vocal lines by half and put two people on each part, both increasing volume and simplifying the overall coordination. Hypothetically.

It ended up working extremely well. I am rather shaky in coming in on anything other than a melody or octave, so Daniel is my new vocal buddy. The great thing is that he has a very low range while I have a high one, so we complement each other’s octaves quite nicely. Addy also added a little surprise embellishment at the end of the song, which I can very confidently compare to the cherry on top of a sundae.

Will we change it again? Maybe. But we’re running out of both time and options, so we’ll see what ends up sticking.

In my view, there are many legitimate arrangements we’ve put together for this song, and no single one is inherently better than another. Ultimately, it’s about sounding good, and if you have a flashy arrangement but botch it, all that fanciness kind of goes right out the window.

Sound class
WHEW!

It took me a full car ride home before my heart rate returned to normal levels. But we did it, we played on stage! And it was a fascinating process.

For starters, I am in awe of what the Freight’s amazing sound technicians do, so I’d like to take a moment to thank and recognize them. Props to you, audio folk!

While they were explaining the myriad equipment options to us and how it all worked, all I could do was nod and mutter an ‘Uh-huh.’ The quantity of variables to consider is mind-boggling, and considering that an erroneous quarter-turn of a knob can mean disaster is even more impressive.

Aside from getting a crash course in Audio 101, it was wonderful finally getting a chance to listen to our band brethren. For 2-3 months, we knew of these other bands, but never met our kindred TTS spirits. It was great to hear what they chose for their sets as well as why. I was really blown away (and to be honest, a wee bit intimidated) after hearing what they all brought to the table.

Sound class was also a test of how well we knew our set. We can fake it in practice (and have!), but unless you really know your stuff, you’ll go blank on stage. Thankfully, those instances were minimal, and we are aware of the nuances we need to polish before next week.

But the best lesson of the day?

Discovering that we can totally do this.

Take the Stage was founded in 2007 and is a project of Nell Robinson Music, in partnership with the California Bluegrass Association and the Freight & Salvage Coffeehouse.  For more information, please visit www.nellrobinsonmusic.com/tts.