First off, we ditched the backing tracks. After playing a few shows as a three-piece, supplemented by pre-recorded tracks, we realized that we had lost the freedom and organic element of live performance that comes so naturally when musicians play to each other. When playing to backing tracks, the songs become rigid, unwavering from the strictly regimented tempo of the metronome. In addition, the actual performances had become less interesting and did not connect as well with audiences, since a portion of the music came from an unseen source. These factors became obvious negatives very quickly, so we began the search for a bassist yet again.
We found Thom Collins through craigslist, but we have actually known him for some time. Thom works at the college Kyle and I took audio engineering classes from, so we were fortunate to skip the whole "getting acquainted" process and jump right into playing. The original thought was that Thom would play bass, but after hearing what he could do on a piano, we started to rethink things. It seemed like a crazy idea at the time, but we moved people around a bit to find the best combination. We ended up with me, Matt, playing bass, Thom on keys, Kyle on vocals, guitar, and percussion, and Brian on drums. After lots of practice in a relatively short amount of time, things started to feel solid.
We just played our first show with this lineup last night at Bob's Java Jive in Tacoma and I must say, it went really well. We felt confident and tight as a band, which allowed us to let go and just have fun on stage. Having a good crowd and other supportive bands on the bill also helped (check out The Echo Echo Echoes and Seacats).
Next on the agenda, we'll be playing the Triple Door Musiquarium tonight with our friends ViaSound. The show starts at 8PM and won't cost you a dime to get in! Hope to have another great turnout tonight!
