Practice at Skeyton

Nigel has got emphysema! He has to give up smoking and is waiting some further discussion with medics, but is hopeful that it can be arrested and controlled. Slow start to practice but finally got going with run throughs of:

• I Feel Fine – OK, a bit more attention to avoiding unison clash at verse phrase end.
• Hotel California – went fine, ready for play!
• Seasons of Gold – agreed some changes to Sherry riff, words and backing vocals. Still doesn’t sound quite right so I will review key and vocal arrangement.
• Crazy Little Thing Called Love - sorted out harmonies on answer backs sounded good.
• Love Is All Around – sorted out B7 but harmonies still sound a bit odd to me, happy to persist for the time beigng
• Peaceful Easy Feelin – went well and is ready to rock.
• Only You - “do do wah” phrasing issue, Adrian to write it out.
• Do It Again – went well, bit more whimsy on middle 8
• Somewhere under the Sun – Adrian to revise arrangement
• End of the Line – Took a bit of effort but we raised the harmony base and it started to work well.
• Walk Don't Wipe Out – went well.

Tried a bit of new with: Somebody Help Me and Keep on Running. Concensus is these are rockier pieces that need to find a home in the second half of the show.

Had a discussion about how to go down well and secure repeat bookings. The issues discussed were:

1. Band Uniform - with hindsight it was a strategic error to stick with the Foot Tapper waistcoats as long as we have. We do need to fix this quickly. Dave has been given the OK to see if he can buy something locally.
2. Repertoire - we think we have this cracked by learning a wide repertoire.
3. Entertainment – we do OK but we are working on improving this
4. Sound – We have a good reputation for playing at lowish volumes, but some gigs do demand a more solid sound to grab attention. We are still having trouble with the PA sound and the issue of Bose came up again. Nigel would bring his Bose gear along to the next gig and would contact the Bose UK rep to see what might be available.
5. Slowies versus Fasties – some bands just do the latter. But some audiences do enjoy the former. The Foot Tappers experience has been that Nights in White Satin, I Believe, Can’t Help Fallin, No Matter, Love is all Around, Unchained Melody and the Elvis American Trilogy pieces have always got a very good reception and come across as high points in the show. The ability to do these big ballads is a big differentiator against much of our competition.

In my opinion it amounts to versatility. If we apply that principle to what we play, how we look, entertainment and sound; then by adapting what we do on the night to meet the needs of different audiences we are maximising our potential to go down well and get repeat gigs.