Been reminiscing about the LOA days recently. One thing that I miss about those days is the sense of camaraderie and connection that I got from a good jam session. LOA would begin each practice by recording about 15 to 20 minutes of completely spontaneous material, just bouncing off of each other, and feeling out different melodies, rhythms and grooves. Many of our best songs were written by listening back to these recordings, and expanding on the ideas captured. CE is rehearsing with the band tomorrow night for the shows coming up, and I would love to incorporate more improvisational jams into our practice sessions. I think it would really help the live band to get to know each other a little more on the improv tip. Everyone is so incredibly talented, and they play so well together, that just 10-20 minutes of floating off into a freestyle jam before jumping into the planned material can help us find more areas of the set that could be complimented by an improv groove...or more spots for someone to break into a solo because they are feeling it, not just because it is a spot we designate to fill space. Music is how we communicate, and to be able to pull out our instruments and actually express what's on our minds at the moment is crucial. To bring this feeling to a live show is very rewarding. Anyway, maybe I will post a couple clips of some old LOA practices...that is if I can muster the energy to get them out of the closet, dust them off, and digitize some.
I stumbled upon this slideshow/song someone posted on the tube, peace to the LOA fam:
Have you mustered up that energy yet? Some unheard LOA jams would be much appreciated while we wait for the CE tape to drop. :)
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