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Bobby G
Member
I thought my mojo had gone a bit dormant at the start of the year, I was seriously thinking about giving up the sax completely and going back to the bass, but suddenly it seemed to return when I got offered a gig - ok, there was no money involved, it was essentially a loose unrehearsed set of old 60's r'n'b and blues classics so fairly easy to knock something together, but mainly it was a chance to have a blow with people in front of an audience, and when it came to it I really enjoyed it and it made me feel like getting back into it properly.
Since then, I've been practising properly in a rehearsal studio to backing tracks (and got an offer of doing some recording with a band at the same studio) and I feel, without being at all regimented about it that my playing is definitely improving.
Friday just gone I did another gig with the same guitarist as before but with a different rhythm section (there were a couple of no shows, it was meant to be a horn section but I was it) and I had the freedom to riff, do fills and take a few solos - there was even a bloke in the audience calling out "more sax, lets hear more sax" a few times, all very gratifying and I had a total ball. It wasn't til later that the guys who had been introduced to me as Chris, and Paul, and Alan, all of whom were a bit unassuming and not far short of nondescript turned out to all have been pro players for years backing various names at different times, and I had done ok playing with them.
Now, I'm not saying I will ever make a living playing my horns, but it's definitely given me the impetus to stay in touch with people and try and get myself out there more, and who knows where it might go. At worst you might blow a few bum notes or take a duff solo, but at best it can be just about the most uplifting, joyous thing and I can see how that feeling might become addictive.
I am 57 now, been playing various instruments in front of people on and off for 40 years, but at the moment it really feels like something good, however small, is about to happen.
Basically I think what I saying is this: practise, but keep it fun, get out there and play with other people, and above all have fun, the odd mistake or bum note doesn't really matter if the feeling is right.
Since then, I've been practising properly in a rehearsal studio to backing tracks (and got an offer of doing some recording with a band at the same studio) and I feel, without being at all regimented about it that my playing is definitely improving.
Friday just gone I did another gig with the same guitarist as before but with a different rhythm section (there were a couple of no shows, it was meant to be a horn section but I was it) and I had the freedom to riff, do fills and take a few solos - there was even a bloke in the audience calling out "more sax, lets hear more sax" a few times, all very gratifying and I had a total ball. It wasn't til later that the guys who had been introduced to me as Chris, and Paul, and Alan, all of whom were a bit unassuming and not far short of nondescript turned out to all have been pro players for years backing various names at different times, and I had done ok playing with them.
Now, I'm not saying I will ever make a living playing my horns, but it's definitely given me the impetus to stay in touch with people and try and get myself out there more, and who knows where it might go. At worst you might blow a few bum notes or take a duff solo, but at best it can be just about the most uplifting, joyous thing and I can see how that feeling might become addictive.
I am 57 now, been playing various instruments in front of people on and off for 40 years, but at the moment it really feels like something good, however small, is about to happen.
Basically I think what I saying is this: practise, but keep it fun, get out there and play with other people, and above all have fun, the odd mistake or bum note doesn't really matter if the feeling is right.
