Good move, Edward - there's been very little content of any interest on UTGF for a long time!
As you so diplomatically point out, it's down to members to keep it alive and vibrant.
Your news about the new project prompted me to think about, and share, what I'm doing. Hopefully, it'll be of some interest to (some) members.
Firstly, a health warning: Country music is my thing (probably lost most of the audience now, but I'll carry on anyway).
Back in the day, I moved through a number of country bands, all of which received a reasonable degree of regional notoriety. As front-man, I had to juggle my career (as an accountant) with the time-consuming demands of 3 or 4 bookings a week (it's a young man's game!). Back then, in East Anglia, as well as the dedicated country music clubs, there were country music dances on a weekly basis at many different venues in Norfolk and Suffolk, plus a number of USAF air bases, so finding work was not a problem. The biggest headache was trying to keep up with pro musicians who wanted to work every night of the week, while I would have been happy with just weekends!
Most memorable gigs were opening for Tom Paul & the Glaser Brothers on a one-night theatre stand, and, working a USAF base with Sammi Smith.
Nowadays, I play at home mostly, developing a solo capability. I started using Pro-Tools about 10 years ago and set about producing backing tracks, using a drum machine, as well as a harmony machine. It has turned into a rewarding (and time-consuming) hobby. A few years ago, the onset of arthritis in my fingers resulted in my buying Band-in-a-Box, to generate backing tracks quickly - I don't know what it's like for other genres but it's good for country. The arthritis has restricted my playing but not stopped it, so I spend a lot of time setting up BiaB projects and then replacing some of the tracks with my own recordings.
I was wondering, Edward, if you plan to use backing tracks in your duo project? My first thoughts were that you might need a few additional instruments (bass, especially) to get the Rock vibe going!
Anyone else out there that does similar things to me, jump on board, maybe we can benefit from swapping info.
BTW I have 5 Taylors to help me with my recordings 3-12s, 1-14 and a GS Mini e. These are augmented by a tele, strat & precision bass.
Over to you!
