Moment's Notice Practice of 11-25-2017

Our band had a practice yesterday, in preparation for a gig on December 3rd.  We are using Jay of "Ship of Fools" as our keys man, since our regular keys man, Raf, is out of town.

If you wish, have a listen at this link:  www.soundcloud.com/gwaltrip.

Musical Progress! Things Are Coming Together! A Musician's Growing Success.

I have noticed a growing success in my musical endeavors.  I am making new contacts and acquaintances who are musicians.  I recently quit the big band I was in -- the Cats' Jazz Band of Los Gatos, California.  I had been with them three years and did not feel they could provide me with more personal progress.  I needed the time practicing with my newer group, the Moment's Notice Jazz Band of San Jose, California.  I recently created a FaceBook page for MN Jazz at this link:

Meanwhile I made the acquaintance of Jay, lead singer and keys man for the band Ship of Fools. I met him through the guitar player, Gil DeLaRosa, who plays with Moment's Notice.  Jay has been wanting to do more jazz and invited Gil and Gil's bass player (me) to gig at a coffee shop in Big Basin, California,in an upscale business district near Saratoga, California.  We gigged with Jay on October 28, and Jay was happy with the result.  We will undoubtedly gig more with Jay in the future.  Jay is an important contact, and contacts are what a musician needs to find opportunities to gig.

I recorded the Big Basin gig (most of it anyway) and posted it at my SoundCloud page,  If you click on this link, the first song links you will see have a ship logo -- all of those are the gig with Jay (listen with headphones).  Scroll down and all the rest of the songs are of Moment's Notice practices.  Our singer Kelly Aynes does a nice job on vocals.  Most of these songs were played for the very first time in practice, yet still sound good.  Experienced musicians can do that.

Another contact I made recently is that of Wendy Starke, a piano teacher and pianist (who plays electronic keys) and who loves jazz.  I practiced with her once and will do so again soon.  We are doing a charity gig for disabled vets on December 22 in Salinas. We need a guitar player to join us for better results, and I will look for one.

Sucess as a musician involves (1) learning songs and expanding your repertoire, (2) jamming and gigging with other musicians, and (3) getting known in local music circles.

Great Names for Bands! Maybe. Ideas. Market Yourself!

In my prior post I discussed bad names for bands.  Avoid names with negative connotations or bad visual images. Now its time to discuss GOOD names for bands.

A good name shouldn't be overused, trite or hackneyed.  Ideally, it will create positive visual images that reinforce the types of gigs your band seeks, e.g., weddings, balls, corporate event or drunken orgies.   Well, if you are seeking the last of these, you are on your own.

It's a lot harder to come up with positive, good band names that have not already been done to death.  However, here is a small few.  I may add to the list as I discover other possibilities.  Suggestions are encouraged.  Consider:

Get the idea?

BAD NAMES FOR BANDS! (Avoid at All Costs!)

My jazz band recently selected "Moment's Notice" for the band name.  I hate it.  It is overused by many bands, isn't unique and conveys nothing positive.  However, I decided to live with it because it is a minor issue at this point in time.

While researching great names for bands, however, I came across worse names for bands.  Based on marketing research and psychological principles, there are some band names that you should NEVER use.  Here are some of them:

Bulbous Buttocks
Rusty Hinge
Ugly Woman
Halitosis
Toenail Fungus
Ingrown Toenail
Worms and Slugs
Bad Body Odor
Fingernails on a Blackboard
Full Spittoon
Rock In My Shoe
Festering Wound
Moldy Bread
Abscessed Tooth
Nosebleed
Compound Fracture
The Drunk Tank
On Parole
Highly Infectious
Ripe Cadaver
Dead Fish
Sour Notes
Purple Bruise

You have been warned:  these band names will not provide the public with a good impression of your band or your music.