BowieVision Rehearsal
On Tuesday 7/29 we held a full-band rehearsal in preparation for the upcoming BowieVision shows. When I recently upgraded my Fractal Audio AxeFX II XL to the most current firmware, I also updated the amp models in all of the presets I use for this show. It took me a bit of adjustment to get the tones back to where I wanted them, but it also meant I could do a bit of tweaking based on my experiences at the most recent shows.
For this rehearsal, I brought along my laptop so I could run Axe-Edit and make edits on the fly. It allowed me to dial in some quick changes for added punch and clarity. One new addition for the upcoming show is the song “Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)”, which has some wonderful guitar work by Robert Fripp. I put together a patch with multiple scenes for rehearsal, but in reviewing the playback afterward I decided my solo tone was not ominous enough. So I completely rebuilt the patch, making sure I have a sufficiently warped guitar tone for the solo sections.
This rehearsal also marked the debut of my expansion switch accessory for my MFC-101. It adds four additional switches to the board, and will allow me to call up some additional functions during our set.
Our rehearsal space is a big room with high ceilings and hard surfaces. The sound splatters around a lot, and that space could sure use some aggressive sound control. If we owned it, there would be corner traps, sound panels, and clouds. But it does have the benefit of being a live room, which lets us practice working in a challenging environment. If we can sound good, and play in time in that space, we can do it anywhere.
The next show will be Saturday 8/2 at Nectar Lounge in Fremont. I’m really looking forward to debuting some new material, and meeting fans in a new venue.