One-man band/full band comparisons.

[Daktari]

Hi there,

Just wondering how many out there may have had the experience of both playing in a full band but also doing the soloist thing.

Ok, I started off playing in bands way back at high school when all the guitar players eventually find each other and from that beginning various bands are started. In my case we had seven guys who all had guitars but only three of us could play well enough to start a band. We then realized we would need a drummer and bass. I ended getting a bass for my next birthday along with an old Marshall combo which I always had a problem with. The two big valves were mounted upside down and would fall out usually. I made a 'bra' on a spring to hold them in, worked fine.One of the guys who couldn't play guitar too well became the drummer and eventually ended up with Nick Kershaw and then All About Eve and later, Del Amitri.

After several versions of these school bands we got pretty good by the age of 18 and were playing local bars and pubs once a week or more sometimes. We were called Femme Fatale, (it was glam rock times...).

I then played bass in my dad's jazz band on and off for the next 20 years as well as having my own reggae band called Daktari and played in another one called Red Snapper. When I moved from Lancashire to the west coast of Scotland I soon met up with a lot of the local musicians but none of them were that into reggae which I was dead keen by that time. So, I started playing on my own in bars and restaurants, anywhere that would pay for some live music.

At this point I developed my own sound. I guess this came from one guy trying to play reggae music with one guitar and no backing tracks. After living in Scotland for nine years We then moved over to Georgia here in the States. By this time, technology had moved on and I discovered looping which is a great tool for the one man performer. Also, I use a Digitech harmoniser gadget which again, is good to give a solo set up a little more variation.

I have now been doing this for around eight years and more recently been getting into some home recording.

Ok, there is one side of me that really misses playing in a band, especially the jazz thing where all the musicians actually listen to each other and play off each other all the time. To get round this I join in on local jam sessions and that takes the place of being in a band.

What I love about the one man set up is the freedom to do whatever I like. I know from years of playing in bands that it's real hard to get a bunch of folks playing together without every practice session turning into a mass argument. There's always gonna be a compromise which is sometimes good but often not so good. Now I can be selfish and play whatever I feel like playing. This means I have a real odd-ball mixture of stuff. It varies from reggae, African, a little blues, some blue grass picking, even a few reggae Elvis songs...

Now, I'm pretty sure I would find it hard to be part of a band because I've got so used to making all the desicions, what to play, where to play, who to play to, etc,etc...

I'm loving it and I was hoping to hear from any others who may have gone through a similar experience.

Cheers, Gordon.