Love For John Illsley

[ds1984]

I don' know the meaning of

^^ This ^^.

[Love Expresso]

I don' know the meaning of

^^ This ^^.

Chris is pointing out that he absolutely agrees with what he quoted from you and that you totally nailed it. 

LE

[ds1984]

Thank you 

[Chris W]

Arrows ^^ pointing up. 

[Matchstickman]

Still, whether Mark agreed on every note or not (he could hardly ask John to play slap bass anyway), people might not like it.

In theory, Mark approved Jack's solo in Wild West End, but it seems very unfitting to me. My guess is that he said that Jack could do whatever he liked for those bars.

[Chris W]

It's not really about every note. I think the point is that if Mark doesn't like something, or feels it isn't working, he will let you know immediately.
So if the bass in some of his solo shows is 'too busy' then he would have told Glenn to empty it out a bit, or suggested Glenn check out John's playing on some songs.
It only takes one rehearsal or one show to hear feedback from Mark about what he wants to hear and what he doesn't.

[Matchstickman]

It only takes one rehearsal or one show to hear feedback from Mark about what he wants to hear and what he doesn't.

I'm not surprised 

[Chris W]

Anyway, fair enough, they are his songs and he is the one criticised if they don't sound right, or good enough.

[fan no more]

The way you describe Mark, he seems to have the ear of a classical conductor, paying attention to the tiniest details.

[Chris W]

Probably.

[quizzaciously]

The way you describe Mark, he seems to have the ear of a classical conductor, paying attention to the tiniest details.

That's a good way to put it. I tried to fill these shoes once and was conducting a small orchestra, and this was pretty much exactly my job. Be knowledgeable, make sure every musician is doing what he is supposed to be doing, and explain it so everybody understands what to do and how to do it. It's funny how most of the conductor's job is done in rehearsals, and on the show itself, the conductor is working almost exclusively as a human metronome as everything is polished already. It doesn't matter whether it's classical, rock, metal, or reggae. It's music, and its inner workings are all the same. It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.

[Chris W]

On this level of gig you are required to be 90% there on day one of rehearsals. The extra 10% gets worked on before the first show.
And yeah, the band has to sound perfect several rehearsals before the first show. Things go wrong in the heat of battle, so you have to start out being perfect before a single show is played.

[ds1984]

On this level of gig you are required to be 90% there on day one of rehearsals. The extra 10% gets worked on before the first show.
And yeah, the band has to sound perfect several rehearsals before the first show. Things go wrong in the heat of battle, so you have to start out being perfect before a single show is played.

And the band get even better after a few shows.

But...

Sometimes the early version of one song had something special that they seem to loose. Beautiful  roughness.

[Chris W]

Repetition is the enemy when recording that's for sure.
But for the most part my experience has been that bands sound better after a few weeks on tour than right at the beginning.

[TJ]

Chris,

I'm straying far from the original topic here, but I recall, and you may be aware, that Chad Cromwell ditched Mark in the middle of the Sailing to Philadelphia tour back in 2001, and Mark had to fill his seat on short notice.  IIRC Guy sent Danny Cummings a recording of some shows and maybe the stuff they sent the band before the tour rehearsals, and Danny had just a few days to get it all down right.  Would this be challenging for someone on your (or Danny's) level, stepping in on short notice in the middle of a tour?