Last Saturday, my band Goodnight Annabelle had the unique opportunity to play at a benefit show in Richfield, Utah. The show was to assist Jaren Barney, a young man who was recently diagnosed with a rare liver disease very shortly after receiving an LDS mission call.
This show was a very neat experience, as it allowed the band to revisit its roots, with Richfield being only minutes away from Annabelle, the small town from which the band got its name. Although I didn't know anybody down there, it was still nice to be a part of the reunion.
The band met up around 1pm to pack up to leave for the show. This show was to be different from others that we have played, namely because we would essentially be constructing the stage using our own PA equipment. We packed up everything that we had, including a tiny PA system that I had purchased over six years ago, which we were able to use as monitors for the stage.
It took several vehicles for us to make it down there, and I rode down with Jason--the band's keyboardist--and his wife Aubrey. It was a fun ride, with Jason and I being able to discuss several musical ideas and concepts along the way. Byron and Sam, who also rode together, had an equally productive journey, having brainstormed quite a bit about different logo and band image concepts that we were able to discuss after the show.
It took much longer than expected to prepare the stage, but had a lot of help from the other band that shared the stage with us, Chasing Chance. We combined equipment and were able to daisy-chain the amps to create a very full, dual-channel sound to fill the area...which was a good thing because we had to compete against a pretty strong wind.
First on the stage was Shay Markham, a seventeen-year-old musician from Provo. This was her first large gig, but she did amazing and everyone was extremely impressed. Even with the wind blowing in her face, she was able to do a wonderful job on all of her songs.
Next on stage was Chasing Chance, a band whose members were friends with members from my band. This band was just recently formed, all of its members having recently returned from LDS missions, but they blew me away at how talented they were. They put on a spectacular show and I was sad to see it end.
Finally our time had come and we were able to take the stage. We played a full set of about eight songs, beginning--as has been the recent tradition--with our new song "How To Control Me," which is always a fun song with which to begin a show, as it brings a lot of energy with it.
We also had the chance to invite Shay back on stage to sing our original "Fight What They Say" with us, which turned out great, as you can see in the currently-unreleased video below:
We ended our set with tow of our most popular songs, "Stay" and "Memorable," which can both be found on our newest EP called "Just a Memory" and had some great crowd participation. We love ending our sets with "Memorable," which has become another GNA tradition, and it definitely did not disappoint that night either.
Even though it was such a long drive to and from the event, and despite all of the heavy lifting and time that it took to set up and tear down the stage, it was still a very fun show and it was great to know that we were helping out and contributing to the best of our abilities to such a wonderful cause.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
The Guest Star
Well, in about ten minutes I will be leaving to play a show that is unlike any other that I've played: We will be traveling down to Richfield, UT, to play in a benefit show for Jaren Barney, a young man who was recently diagnosed with a rare liver disease very soon after receiving a mission call.
Although I've played several benefit shows, this will be the first in which we will have a guest performer singing with the band. This past Wednesday, we asked Shay Markham (who will also be performing that night) to join us at band practice so that she could sing along with Sam at the show during one of our songs.
Shay is extremely talented and I am very excited for tonight! It is going to be such a fun show, and for such a worthy cause!
Although I've played several benefit shows, this will be the first in which we will have a guest performer singing with the band. This past Wednesday, we asked Shay Markham (who will also be performing that night) to join us at band practice so that she could sing along with Sam at the show during one of our songs.
Shay is extremely talented and I am very excited for tonight! It is going to be such a fun show, and for such a worthy cause!
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Rocking the Riverwoods (Musical Rebound)
After my old band Formerly So broke up in early 2011, I wondered if I would ever have the chance to play in a music group again. Music has always been a huge part of my life, and I loved the time that I spent playing in bands. As I have mentioned several times before in past blog posts, I find that music and performing in shows is my "out," where I can completely be myself.
After the band broke up, my friend--and Formerly So's vocalist Brayden Green--and I got together with his cousin Andrew in an attempt to write some music and perhaps one day be able to perform again. Shortly after, Jason Stapleton, Formerly So's old keyboardist and one of my best friends, returned from an LDS mission to Romania and he joined us in music writing.
Unfortunately, the dream never came to fruition as schedules and other conflicts got in the way of being able to accomplish much in terms of music, and the project coasted to a stop.
I continued to play my bass and acoustic guitar to my iPod by myself, not wanting to give up the talent completely, and met together with Jason a few times after work (both of us working as web developers at a web hosting company in Orem). I even kept an eye on CraigsList, hoping to find another musical opportunity that I could join in on.
That day eventually came when I saw an ad for a band that I had heard of called Goodnight Annabelle, who was in need of a bassist. I contacted them via email, and immediately bought all three of their albums on iTunes and learned to play most of the songs.
I heard back from the band about a month later, and they asked me if I would like to audition with them. While speaking with Byron, the guitarist, he also asked if I knew anyone who knew how to play the keyboards, as they were looking to find a keyboardist as well. Lucky for him, I happened to be sitting in the cubicle next to Jason at the time, who was more than excited at the chance to practice with them. We auditioned together that very night, and became the newest members of the band.
I was so lucky to find such an awesome band, and one that is already so well established and has such a large fanbase. The members of the band are great people and so much fun to spend time with, and we have accomplished a lot together in the short time that Jason and I have been with them.
One of those accomplishments took place last Saturday, when we were able to participate in the Rock the River 2012 Battle of the Bands. The competition, which is still underway until the end of July, took place at the gazebo in front of the Tucanos restaurant in Provo, UT.
This was a competition unlike any that I have experienced. I have participated in several Battle of the Band competitions in the past few years, Formerly So even placing first in the College of Eastern Utah Battle of the Bands competition a few years ago, but this was the first contest that actually had a panel of celebrity judges that would watch and critique each band's performance.
The judges of our wave of the competition were Chunga from 101.9 The Edge, Amy from The Whits, and Ryan Innes as the guest judge. Hearing the rather blunt comments and critiques from the judges on the two bands that played previous to us, we were more than a bit nervous to hit the stage. However, when we took the stage and were greeted by so many cheers of fans that came from all over, our fear melted away and soon became one of the most memorable shows that I have ever played in my life.
We were utterly amazed at how many people came to see us...especially those that came for the band in general just as fans, having no connection to any one member of the band (i.e. family member, friend, etc.). In fact, we even had the opportunity to hang out with several of the fans before and after the show, which was a super cool experience.
After our set and some deliberation from the judges, we were shocked to find that we were announced the winners of this wave of the competition. While we were given some constructive criticism from the judges that we all took to heart, they were very impressed with our music and genuinely seemed to believe that we have a bright future with our band.
After the competition had ended for the night, we were actually able to hang out with the judges for a little while, and were given some great advice on how to improve as a band on many different levels. The advice was priceless, and we have been working on everything they told us from that point forward, and are very pleased with the changes. The judges were really great people.
This has been such an awesome experience for me to be playing in a band again, and especially to have found the perfect band for me: one in which each member has become one of my closest friends, where I am able to play in the same band as my pal Jason, where everyone is equally motivated in moving the band forward, and where I truly see myself going places musically.
I can't wait to see what my musical future has in store for me.
After the band broke up, my friend--and Formerly So's vocalist Brayden Green--and I got together with his cousin Andrew in an attempt to write some music and perhaps one day be able to perform again. Shortly after, Jason Stapleton, Formerly So's old keyboardist and one of my best friends, returned from an LDS mission to Romania and he joined us in music writing.
Unfortunately, the dream never came to fruition as schedules and other conflicts got in the way of being able to accomplish much in terms of music, and the project coasted to a stop.
I continued to play my bass and acoustic guitar to my iPod by myself, not wanting to give up the talent completely, and met together with Jason a few times after work (both of us working as web developers at a web hosting company in Orem). I even kept an eye on CraigsList, hoping to find another musical opportunity that I could join in on.
That day eventually came when I saw an ad for a band that I had heard of called Goodnight Annabelle, who was in need of a bassist. I contacted them via email, and immediately bought all three of their albums on iTunes and learned to play most of the songs.
I heard back from the band about a month later, and they asked me if I would like to audition with them. While speaking with Byron, the guitarist, he also asked if I knew anyone who knew how to play the keyboards, as they were looking to find a keyboardist as well. Lucky for him, I happened to be sitting in the cubicle next to Jason at the time, who was more than excited at the chance to practice with them. We auditioned together that very night, and became the newest members of the band.
I was so lucky to find such an awesome band, and one that is already so well established and has such a large fanbase. The members of the band are great people and so much fun to spend time with, and we have accomplished a lot together in the short time that Jason and I have been with them.
One of those accomplishments took place last Saturday, when we were able to participate in the Rock the River 2012 Battle of the Bands. The competition, which is still underway until the end of July, took place at the gazebo in front of the Tucanos restaurant in Provo, UT.
This was a competition unlike any that I have experienced. I have participated in several Battle of the Band competitions in the past few years, Formerly So even placing first in the College of Eastern Utah Battle of the Bands competition a few years ago, but this was the first contest that actually had a panel of celebrity judges that would watch and critique each band's performance.
The judges of our wave of the competition were Chunga from 101.9 The Edge, Amy from The Whits, and Ryan Innes as the guest judge. Hearing the rather blunt comments and critiques from the judges on the two bands that played previous to us, we were more than a bit nervous to hit the stage. However, when we took the stage and were greeted by so many cheers of fans that came from all over, our fear melted away and soon became one of the most memorable shows that I have ever played in my life.
We were utterly amazed at how many people came to see us...especially those that came for the band in general just as fans, having no connection to any one member of the band (i.e. family member, friend, etc.). In fact, we even had the opportunity to hang out with several of the fans before and after the show, which was a super cool experience.
After our set and some deliberation from the judges, we were shocked to find that we were announced the winners of this wave of the competition. While we were given some constructive criticism from the judges that we all took to heart, they were very impressed with our music and genuinely seemed to believe that we have a bright future with our band.
After the competition had ended for the night, we were actually able to hang out with the judges for a little while, and were given some great advice on how to improve as a band on many different levels. The advice was priceless, and we have been working on everything they told us from that point forward, and are very pleased with the changes. The judges were really great people.
This has been such an awesome experience for me to be playing in a band again, and especially to have found the perfect band for me: one in which each member has become one of my closest friends, where I am able to play in the same band as my pal Jason, where everyone is equally motivated in moving the band forward, and where I truly see myself going places musically.
I can't wait to see what my musical future has in store for me.
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