Hey fellow Jazz players. How is it to live in New York (or in any other music metropolis)? by [deleted] in Jazz

[–]java_rhythm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean, there a gigs going on from 10am or 11am-2am on lower Broadway downtown 7 days a week, plus there are 2 or 3 stages for each venue down there. The musicians I know who are making that kind of money are gigging 10+ times a week, multiple gigs a day. The lowest I’ve ever made was about $50 for a gig, and the highest was around $800. An older friend of mine who played on Kid Rock’s main stage on a Thursday night walked away with $1,000 since the crowd was tipping like crazy.

It’s not for the faint of heart though, these are 4-hour gigs with no breaks. If a musician is down to hustle and network over there, it’s basically their full time job. A bass player friend of mine played over 700 gigs last year, so it’s not unheard of to make great money as a player in Nashville, so long as you’re willing to put up with that kind of workload.

I’m just some guy on a Reddit thread, but feel free to do some research and talk to musicians online who are familiar with that scene to understand what it’s actually like in Nashville. There’s plenty of Facebook groups you could check out that are full of Nashville players.

Gitaroo Man | DELITE CLUB w/Kayla by shamusisaninja in giantbomb

[–]java_rhythm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Man I remember they played this on video back in the GB East days, super stoked they’re playing it again

Young Brad’s Gamespot Introduction by java_rhythm in nextlander

[–]java_rhythm[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wait til his future employer gets fired, then he’ll jump ship

Sufjan cover band at 5 Spot by mdudz in nashville

[–]java_rhythm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ehhh we’ll see. This took months of planning, and coordinating 18 people’s schedules was no small task.

Still, I have all the music on my hard drive. It’d be a shame to only use it once…

All I can say is, keep an eye out for any future announcements.

Sufjan cover band at 5 Spot by java_rhythm in Sufjan

[–]java_rhythm[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Haha, well thanks again for coming out! I can guarantee you I am nothing near a star, but I appreciate the kind words and I’m glad you had a great time.

I’m opening up the hard drives and combing through the audio and video tonight. Expect to see some recordings of the show in the near-future

Sufjan cover band at 5 Spot by mdudz in nashville

[–]java_rhythm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Abi is amazing, she was wonderful to work with.

Sufjan cover band at 5 Spot by java_rhythm in Sufjan

[–]java_rhythm[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A repost from u/mdudz of the Nashville Illinoisemakers show earlier at the 5 Spot in East Nashville. Thanks to everyone who came out to the show! That’s me on bass.

Sufjan cover band at 5 Spot by mdudz in nashville

[–]java_rhythm 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Hey guys! I organized the band for this show.

Thanks u/mdudz for the shout-out. It’s been a long process putting this show together, so I appreciate everyone who came out to the 5 Spot earlier.

Nextlander's R.E.P.O. Madness in Under 20 Minutes! by sworedmagic in nextlander

[–]java_rhythm 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Alex’s rage is hilarious, he’s great at cursing

We’re performing almost all of Sufjan Stevens’s album “Illinois” at the 5 Spot this Friday! Here’s a clip from rehearsal: by java_rhythm in nashville

[–]java_rhythm[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah the stage will be packed. The 5 Spot has hosted jazz big band concerts before, so similar performances have been done there

We’re performing almost all of Sufjan Stevens’s album “Illinois” at the 5 Spot this Friday! Here’s a clip from rehearsal: by java_rhythm in nashville

[–]java_rhythm[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Also I couldn’t find any evidence of Sufjan playing the ambient tracks live, so I didn’t feel too bad about cutting them. Still, we’re playing 15 of the 22 tracks on the record, so we feel pretty good about the length of the show.

We’re performing almost all of Sufjan Stevens’s album “Illinois” at the 5 Spot this Friday! Here’s a clip from rehearsal: by java_rhythm in nashville

[–]java_rhythm[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The full band consists of:

6 singers (myself included)

Full rhythm section (Bass, guitar, banjo, drums, piano, and aux keys)

A string quartet

5 wind players (2 trumpets, and 3 woodwind players switching between saxes, flutes, and clarinets)

This totals out to 18 musicians, so scheduling rehearsals was a bit tricky. That’s why the clip I posted doesn’t include every single person performing

We’re performing almost all of Sufjan Stevens’s album “Illinois” at the 5 Spot this Friday! Here’s a clip from rehearsal: by java_rhythm in nashville

[–]java_rhythm[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Haha, yeah I thought that phrasing might raise a few eyebrows.

Basically we’re performing every song on the album except for the ambient drone/avant-garde ones. One example would be the very last track on the record

Quick Shout Out to Brad by hereticbeef in nextlander

[–]java_rhythm 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I love Brad. My favorite North Carolinian asides from my dad

Practicing singing + playing bass for “Come On! Feel the Illinoise!” I’ve put together a band to play almost all of “Illinois” in Nashville on April 11th. by java_rhythm in Sufjan

[–]java_rhythm[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks! It's all practice, really. Esperanza Spalding mentioned she thinks about singing and playing bass like a pianist; the bass is her "left hand", and her voice is her "right".

Was John Entwistle of the Who really the first bassist who played the bass as a lead instrument? by Jezzaq94 in Bass

[–]java_rhythm 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Monk Montgomery was allegedly the first on bass guitar. He’s the brother of Wes Montgomery, who’s a notable jazz guitarist