#i like to think flame plays both guitar/bass and switches depending on the song ^^!

[ariamcdoodle]

uu quartet band au where parrot is the main singer, spoke is guitarist, flame either guitarist too or bassist, and wemmbu is their drummer.

[frawleyonmusic]

Band Room; My Sanctuary of Sounds

Walking out into the cool and calm night air after studying for five straight hours makes me feel alive. Having finished the work that was daunting me all week, I check the time to find it's 10:30 p.m. So what do I do from here? I won’t head back to my off-campus apartment, not yet. I don’t try to find a party to go to. No. I head to the VPAC (Visual and Performing Arts Center). When approaching the VPAC the White panels reflect against the street lights outside of the building. The third floor lights up like a beacon, glowing through the glass wall. Canvas paintings loom behind the glass in various stages of completion. I watch the third floor as I approach but once I get under the building I make a beeline for the band room. While swiping my card to get in, I pause to listen for any signs of company behind the heavy wooden door. Nobody’s here. That’s okay. I like playing alone, too. Flipping the light switches on to reveal a row of big, beautiful amplifiers which sit on chairs. The knobs and brand designs shine despite being well-worn. Complementing the amps, rows of guitars hanging above on wall-mounts. Electric and acoustic guitars. On the opposing wall, the drum kit sits sturdily facing the amplifiers with the keyboard to the right. Setting down my bag on the floor I pick out my guitar case from the dozen or so cases that sit on the far sidewall. 

Every time I open my guitar case I get a feel of satisfaction. The blonde and tannish maple-flame top of my SC 77 never gets old. The body is solid mahogany. The back of the guitar is beautifully polished, to show off the warm-brown wooden body. Mother of pearl binding and fret inlays smile up at me, with blue, green, and silver shine. The neck is rosewood and has a black satin finish, which contrasts the mother of pearl inlays. The pickguard that rests against the pickups (the metal magnets that pick up sound on electric guitars) matches the black neck and tone knobs. The hardware (including the pickups, bridge, and tuners) is gold. I’m not one to name my guitars, but I’ve found that I do get attached to them. I found my guitar online, which is typically a bad idea for purchasing an instrument. Although, I can’t say I didn’t do my homework. A little shop in LA called AIO specializes in making beautiful affordable instruments. Like I’ve done a few hundred times before; I “pick up my guitar and play. Just like yesterday.” (Pete Townsend, The Who). 

Until this year there had never been a place that rivaled my own room in terms of finding tranquility. The band room has lots of people who seek its serenity, or its chaos, depending on who else is there. Part of the fun for me is not knowing exactly what, or who, I will find. There are plenty of times that I have to leave and come back later, but just as often I find musicians to jam with. I love stumbling across a fellow guitarist who is practicing with a backing track, (pre-recorded music to improvise over), it’s pretty much an invitation. *Come make music with me.* Just earlier today, I got out of class and headed to the band room spontaneously. What did I find? Joe and Cat getting ready to practice one of our songs. Cat and I started the jam trading guitar solos over a song she wrote. Within twenty minutes Will joined us, and then we really had a garage band. Drums, bass, and two guitars, that's heaven right there. A lot of the time we won’t have any song in mind whatsoever. We will mess around until one player inspires the others to chime in. I will be sitting there with my guitar, thinking of that song that was stuck in my head from that morning. I’ll try to use a piece of it to make something happen. When I start getting a rhythm going I’ll notice that I am not alone. The hodgepodge of screwing around has stopped. The players are listening. Will has stopped what he was doing and is adding accents to my rhythm. Joe is laying down a bass line that makes my foot tap along. Cat is laying into the beat with catchy hi-hats and snare. That’s how it happens. At least that’s one of the ways it happens.

The band room has a lot of toys. It's a playground to explore. As a guitarist, I’d say I have the most options. There are about five guitars in the room, but the greatest source of possibility comes from all the amps. You can really shake the place with a Fender Champion, and let me tell you, I really do. Switching between tones of metal, blues, jazz, rock, and southern twang is liberating. You can create so many sounds. There are also plenty of crazy effects to throw on top of all that. From crushing-crunchy gain that you hear in rock and metal to the psychedelic-spacial phaser, to punchy flanger which is like a slap of sound. Bow!

Being alone in the band room is totally different from a jam. Back when I couldn’t play very well, I used to get bored quickly. That is no longer the case. There are nights where I will leave the band room at 1 a.m. after spending five hours in the room. Sometimes I just want to see how long I can keep playing. There is just so much to do. I can recreate my favorite songs, spin them in new ways, or make music that is entirely my own. Typically, if I have the patience, I begin by practicing scales with my metronome. For many, scales are a chore, but I get satisfaction from perfectly timing each note with the beat. Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do, Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do. Coordinating both hands to have the string pressed, with my left-hand fingers, and plucked with the right. It is really satisfying to me. When you get it down, it is almost as if you become an observer watching your fingers dance up and down the strings, doing the work for you while you keep the beat. Moving on from scales is typically mood-dependent, but I always have songs that I am working on. Usually, I will practice a song that I am learning. Babe I am going to leave you by Led Zeppelin is one of my current projects. I play rock, folk, blues, and all kinds of stuff in between. I love playing Grateful Dead, Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, and lots of other tunes. As I expand my versatility I can adapt to different styles. Having so many options for sounds with the amps of the band room is a blessing. Someday I will be able to switch from rock to funk, to jazz with ease. Maybe I'll be able to play a fusion of all three.

I try to practice one particular thing for as long as I can focus. When I get bored, I pivot. A lot of the time I pivot from practicing set songs and exercises to improvisation. Now, soloing is a hard concept to wrap your brain around when you are getting started. Every note can sound good or bad depending on where you came from, and where you are going. There are limitless ways to phrase your playing. In soloing you create a sound and see where you can take it... or where it can take you. Most of the time for me personally (as a less experienced guitar player), I am concentrating to hit the notes compellingly. However, sometimes, when I am really feeling the groove of the music, it becomes effortless. Like a journey of exploration rather than a search. Playing alone can be liberating for me as I am less concerned with messing up in front of others and I can concentrate on experimenting. Sometimes I really feel like I'm performing at a concert. The room reverberates according to the touches of my fingertips. I get lost in my own world for a time. That’s real magic.

Whether I'm in a bad mood, a good mood, or just miss my guitar, the band room is there, full of possibility. There will be times in my life where I don’t have a space available to play as I do now… as loud and often as I want. I’ll always miss the band room in that way. A new standard for music space has been set for me. I know now that I will have to build a studio space of my own, someday.