So 3 months ago, I posted about our extremely inconsiderate egomaniac frontman/rhythm guitarist quitting the Country Band he and I founded about 13 months ago, 8 days before our Debut gig at a local watering hole (gotta start somewhere, and I'd rather pack a small room like a sardine can than have a big empty room). Here's the link to that one... https://www.reddit.com/r/bandmembers/comments/tz6cmf/an_intentionally_vague_semirant_about_being/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

A month later, I posted about finding his replacement. Here's that link... https://www.reddit.com/r/bandmembers/comments/u21nd5/let_me_know_what_you_think_of_this_audition/i7l3xmq?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3

Well, 2 months later, new guy has been working out fantastically. Learned 38 songs to a very high level of proficiency in a short amount of time. We have had some minor disagreements here and there, and a slight attempt at a power struggle, but everything is now perfect with regards to personality dynamics in the band. We are a 4 piece country band in a non-country market in Southern New England, so it was a gamble to go with country as our primary genre, as most of the "country" bands around here are also doing pop country, rock, and some pop added in.

We had our rescheduled debut (at the same bar we were scheduled at in April but had to cancel) on Saturday night, and what a debut it was! The venue is around 1400 sq. ft., with a 12x12x16 triangular area for the band to set up in the corner by the front door. We had over 150 people there all night! It was so packed there were people in the parking lot drinking because they couldn't get in. On top of that, the AC for the small building just couldn't keep up, during the longest heatwave of this summer so far. We played 3 sets, 12-13 songs each, and took 2 15 minute breaks. The feedback we heard was excellent, remarking on how tight and together we sounded, how perfect the vocal harmonies were, the proficiency of each of us as musicians.... the only negative critiques we received were "you guys are way to good for this place", and "there's so many people here that the vocals are being absorbed by them and are difficult to hear in back over the instruments". Now, the solution to the first complaint is an easy one: book bigger venues. And admittedly, I knew we were going to pack the place, just not to the level we did. It was so packed, the bar SOLD OUT of food, Coors Light, Corona, Modelo, Bud Heavy, Michelob Ultra, Milagro and Cabo Wabo tequila, and Captain Morgan. They had only scheduled 1 bartender despite my warnings that we were going to bring a crowd, and by the end of the first set had 4 behind the bar, and it still took 8-10 minutes for people to get drinks. The solution to the second complaint is also easy, and I was worried about it before the gig. We were using my Column Array systems (Bose L1 Pro x2), with my bassists 15" Active PA speakers as monitors, as only me and the bassist have dedicated monitors (he has a behringer 12" 150w wedge and I have a Turbosound TFX115), so it was the only thing we could come up with in a jam. The Bose L1s work great for acoustic or practice situations, but obviously struggled to push through the crowd when it counted. We should be using the Yamahas my bassist owns as Mains, up on stands to get over heads. So Now, I have to convince the other 3 members to go with the Turbosounds for wedges. My bassist is fine with buying one, even though he already has the behringer, and remarked that he doesn't like the sound quality of the behinger. The other 2 are putting up an issue about spending $450 each to get a monitor each (I get a discount). I'm almost tempted to purchase them and eat the cost, as I am the BL and a bit of a gear junkie, but part of me thinks they should be putting some in the kitty too as an investment in the band.

Other than that, the gig went remarkably well for a first time out, and I'm excited to see where this leads us. The connection I feel with these guys, musically, is unexplainable. We click better than any other group I've ever played with, and we all have a solid way of dealing with how we choose songs, arrange setlists, etc. It's a great feeling