Photo of the Day

"No Notes"

I wish I'd thought to make t-shirts like this when I played in the Bud Greene Band. I rarely made demands on any bands I played in but I had one for that, and other bands. I stuck to my guns and went "Nah-ah" over the mic if someone in the band forgot and violated it, and after a few gigs it was standard policy. It was for the good of the band and the audience. The policy was called "no notes."
 A few bands out there, like the late Frank Zappa's band, play the entire show back-to-back, but we, like most bands tended to "noodle" a bit in between songs. We kept it to a minimum though, and to be fair on some nights we'd play 45 minutes without stopping...we might go from a Dead tune into a long jam (we were a "jam band" before it was hip) into a drum solo into "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck, back into another drum solo, another jam and finally back into the original tune.
 We did maybe 15-20% originals but basically we were a cover band. My main strengths in such bands are the ability to blend well and stay on pitch with harmony, and being able to pick interesting tunes to cover. I'd pick a Steely Dan album for instance, which was known for the hit, like "Reelin' in the Years" or "Do it Again," but I'd pick, say, "Any Major Dude" or whatever. The hit was burned in everyone's brains but Dan fans would've heard the whole album. We'd start the tune and they'd go "Oh, THAT tune...nice." Whatever song someone might suggest learning had to be voted on, but usually my suggestions made it through committee without much trouble. I once got a band to learn (and SMOKE) "Lark's Tongues in Aspic, Pt. 2" by King Crimson. I rest my case.
 The "no notes" deal comes from something I hate to see bands do, and I wasn't going to let us do it. It's completely natural and understandable, but when the band is about to play a song that most people know, someone (usually the guitar players) will play the first line of the melody before the song starts and completely give it away. It's almost a reflex action and they're only trying to get their sound right for that particular song, but by the time you do start the tune everybody already knows what it is and it loses impact. Maybe it's cheesy but you want that "punch," especially when you're playing a song that's been covered a billion times. It became a band joke. We'd be sitting around after a gig drinking or whatever and someone would say "No notes!" and we'd all crack up. Guess you had to be there. I'm glad I was.
 I'd still like to get one printed and give it to our keyboardist O'. He'd dig it. I can picture us back in the day if I'd had t-shirts made. We'd have all walked out onstage wearing them while the crowd would be scratching their heads. Instead all we had was the voice of the drummer saying "No notes" over the PA. I hated calling my buds out in public but it really made a difference and everybody got on board with it right away. BTW as a remedy I suggested they play a random melody if they needed to adjust their sound, or even play a "goof riff" from some dorky tune that nobody wanted to hear just to fuck with the crowd a bit, but then make them smile when we didn't actually play that tune. That was fun. I'll implement this policy for every band I ever play in. I think every band should implement it. It really makes a big difference. THIS HAS BEEN A PUBLIC-SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT. Have a nice day.