This post is written by a Flashband veteran (David Rothman) detailing his experience with Flashband. David is one of the top 5 contenders for 'Most-Flashband-Showcases,' starting with the 'From Scratch' show in October 2013.
I found out about Flashband via a bizarre route: an OKCupid date. The date itself didn’t go well (like, at all), but I was intrigued by how she pitched Flashband to me: you go to meet-ups with dozens of other musicians, you form temporary bands with whomever you like from said meetups, you practice for a month, write/perform 3-4 songs, and then play your set live in a packed, happening venue. Sold. After that date, I found love again with a different woman, but Flashband and I are also going steady.Now I’ve played guitar for just over a decade, and while I’ve formed a couple of bands over the years, none of them amounted to anything. In the last full band I formed, via Craigslist I should add, my singer stole cash and credit cards out of my drummer’s purse. Through our own investigation, she and I found out that this singer was wanted in 4 different states for the same crime. We auditioned a few other singers but none of them were nearly as talented as the singer-thief. Our enthusiasm dwindled, she moved to England and I started grad school whilst working full time, and so that band died without us ever playing a single show. Sufficed it say, that experience soured me to meeting musicians through Craigslist. I played a few open mic nights in Virginia, and while that was fun, I’m a subpar singer and I missed rocking out with a full band. The hardest rocking out I did was by myself playing along to recordings in my bedroom in my boxers (tmi?).
Enter Flashband: I signed up for the “From Scratch” showcase, in which each band that formed was tasked with coming up with 3-4 original songs (sidenote: covers are usually allowed in most Flashband showcases). The very first meetup I attended was at a giant house in Arlington. As I was looking for parking, I started getting nervous since it dawned on me that I knew absolutely nobody at this 40-50 person gathering. I had no friend/safety net going with me, I was a solo act venturing into new territory. I actually contemplated bailing before I even parked, but I conquered my brief social anxiety attack, found parking, and strolled up to the front porch while clutching my guitar/security blanket and the 6-pack of beer I planned to contribute to the potluck. I was welcomed with open arms by Caleb and Amanda (the residents of the giant house, and also Flashband admins). They gave me a nametag so I could write my name and instrument that I play, and then gave me a folder with all the attendees names and emails…so well organized!
The admins gave introductions and then divided us up into randomly assigned groups so we could jam. After about a half hour I was playing with a completely different set of musicians. It had been a while since I’ve jammed with multiple musicians, so I felt a bit rusty. That, combined with my awkwardness, made me come away with a feeling that I didn’t really click with anyone at the jam. At the end, the admins encouraged everyone to form bands. It was at this point I stumbled across a red-headed emcee named Eric who started freestyling fierce rhymes over some riffs I was playing. Instant chemistry. Also joining us was a singer-songwriter with a powerful, melodic voice. Via email we eventually rounded out the rest of our lineup, and so Caesar Raps was born.
While I was practicing and writing songs with Caesar Raps, I was recruited to form a second ‘Flashband’. To rewind a bit: I wore an extremely nerdy Star Trek t-shirt to the meetup, and that drew some attention from other Trekkie/musicians. With said musicians, we formed a Star Trek themed band dubbed Reginald Broccoli and the Final Frontier. All of the sudden I had a very full plate: with Caesar Raps, we wrote kick-ass songs with a hard rock bent to them, with some funk and folk influences thrown in. With Reginald Broccoli, we wrote songs that included a love letter to the Starship Enterprise and a hard-edged hip-hop song written from Khan (aka KHAAAAAAAAAAAN’s) point of view. I don’t know if I’ve ever had as much fun in my life writing music as I did during that month as 2 of my biggest passions, science-fiction and music, intersected in a strange fusion. My bandmates from both bands were such wonderful, kind, funny, and talented people. I was fortunate.
Fast forward to the day of the show, stardate: 10.12.2013. The venue is the Dunes, I’ll be damned if I ever heard of it (then again I don’t go out to DC as much as I should). This time I wasn’t going alone, I had a small contingent of my friends and my girlfriend in tow to support me. There wasn’t so much of a stage setup so much as a large corner with amps and a drum kit in it, but it was awesome. Reginald Broccoli was penciled in to go on first, and then Caesar Raps third (of COURSE I had to play first at my very first Flashband show). The crowd was amazing, we received loud cheers after the first two song. But we damn near brought the house down with “Khanflict”. I was supposed to be screaming “KHHAAAAANNNN!” during the chorus, but Cody (a very talented emcee and Flashband admin) got the crowd into it so much that they collectively screamed it instead. I couldn’t hear my own guitar because of how loud the crowd was screaming during the choruses. That’s the sort of feeling you wish you could capture and put it in a bottle. It’s fleeting, but you never forget it.
But then just 20 minutes later, I got right back on the horse with Caesar Raps. We took great delight in playing the heaviest song of the night as our opener, complete with a heavy metal bridge and an overly indulgent guitar solo I authored. Our diverse setlist then dove into folk-rock that included head-blasting vocals to open it and rap verses. Then we got funky for our last song, which started out as a chord progression based off of James Brown’s “Sex Machine”. We had no idea how to end the song, we decided as a group just to improvise it and just read off each other on the fly to see when we should end it. That plan terrified me, but we pulled it off perfectly. I shouldn’t have been so surprised, given how talented my bandmates were. Then there was loud applause, and I felt so grateful and humbled.
My bandmates (from both bands) and I were smothered in praise following our performances. I had never received that many compliments about my guitar playing in my life. And while my performing night was over, I had an incredible time watching the rest of the bands play. I couldn’t believe how much talent was at The Dunes that night, every band ranged from really, really good to absolutely amazing. I had to do this again.
And so I did...like I said earlier, Flashband and I are going steady. I’ve played at 10 Flashband shows since that first one, all of which included different themes such as funk, hip-hop, the 90’s. And therein lies the beauty of Flashband, it’s diverse. You get to wear a totally different hat for each band you form, depending on the theme. It’s been the best thing for me as a musician, I’ve been forced out of my hard-rock, Rage Against the Machine/Muse inspired box (although I still had a tendency to sneak heavy riffage in where I can), all while playing with a myriad of talented musicians and singers. More recently, I played another “From Scratch” show, my band included two female vocalists, a ukelele, and a fiddle; that wouldn’t have been possible without Flashband.
Eric, the aforementioned emcee and I have been jamming and writing songs ever since we formed Caesar Raps at the first Flashband show. We also joined forces with a fellow Flashbander who happens to play bass, and a drummer - that band, now called Cosmic Romp - has been playing for a year now. I also formed a second band called The Anti-Social Collective (we’re actually pretty social dudes, despite what the name may suggest) after the Plymouth Rock Showcase at Jammin Java last Fall. They’re all such amazing musicians, and it’s all thanks to Flashband.
The admins gave introductions and then divided us up into randomly assigned groups so we could jam. After about a half hour I was playing with a completely different set of musicians. It had been a while since I’ve jammed with multiple musicians, so I felt a bit rusty. That, combined with my awkwardness, made me come away with a feeling that I didn’t really click with anyone at the jam. At the end, the admins encouraged everyone to form bands. It was at this point I stumbled across a red-headed emcee named Eric who started freestyling fierce rhymes over some riffs I was playing. Instant chemistry. Also joining us was a singer-songwriter with a powerful, melodic voice. Via email we eventually rounded out the rest of our lineup, and so Caesar Raps was born.
While I was practicing and writing songs with Caesar Raps, I was recruited to form a second ‘Flashband’. To rewind a bit: I wore an extremely nerdy Star Trek t-shirt to the meetup, and that drew some attention from other Trekkie/musicians. With said musicians, we formed a Star Trek themed band dubbed Reginald Broccoli and the Final Frontier. All of the sudden I had a very full plate: with Caesar Raps, we wrote kick-ass songs with a hard rock bent to them, with some funk and folk influences thrown in. With Reginald Broccoli, we wrote songs that included a love letter to the Starship Enterprise and a hard-edged hip-hop song written from Khan (aka KHAAAAAAAAAAAN’s) point of view. I don’t know if I’ve ever had as much fun in my life writing music as I did during that month as 2 of my biggest passions, science-fiction and music, intersected in a strange fusion. My bandmates from both bands were such wonderful, kind, funny, and talented people. I was fortunate.
Fast forward to the day of the show, stardate: 10.12.2013. The venue is the Dunes, I’ll be damned if I ever heard of it (then again I don’t go out to DC as much as I should). This time I wasn’t going alone, I had a small contingent of my friends and my girlfriend in tow to support me. There wasn’t so much of a stage setup so much as a large corner with amps and a drum kit in it, but it was awesome. Reginald Broccoli was penciled in to go on first, and then Caesar Raps third (of COURSE I had to play first at my very first Flashband show). The crowd was amazing, we received loud cheers after the first two song. But we damn near brought the house down with “Khanflict”. I was supposed to be screaming “KHHAAAAANNNN!” during the chorus, but Cody (a very talented emcee and Flashband admin) got the crowd into it so much that they collectively screamed it instead. I couldn’t hear my own guitar because of how loud the crowd was screaming during the choruses. That’s the sort of feeling you wish you could capture and put it in a bottle. It’s fleeting, but you never forget it.
But then just 20 minutes later, I got right back on the horse with Caesar Raps. We took great delight in playing the heaviest song of the night as our opener, complete with a heavy metal bridge and an overly indulgent guitar solo I authored. Our diverse setlist then dove into folk-rock that included head-blasting vocals to open it and rap verses. Then we got funky for our last song, which started out as a chord progression based off of James Brown’s “Sex Machine”. We had no idea how to end the song, we decided as a group just to improvise it and just read off each other on the fly to see when we should end it. That plan terrified me, but we pulled it off perfectly. I shouldn’t have been so surprised, given how talented my bandmates were. Then there was loud applause, and I felt so grateful and humbled.
My bandmates (from both bands) and I were smothered in praise following our performances. I had never received that many compliments about my guitar playing in my life. And while my performing night was over, I had an incredible time watching the rest of the bands play. I couldn’t believe how much talent was at The Dunes that night, every band ranged from really, really good to absolutely amazing. I had to do this again.
And so I did...like I said earlier, Flashband and I are going steady. I’ve played at 10 Flashband shows since that first one, all of which included different themes such as funk, hip-hop, the 90’s. And therein lies the beauty of Flashband, it’s diverse. You get to wear a totally different hat for each band you form, depending on the theme. It’s been the best thing for me as a musician, I’ve been forced out of my hard-rock, Rage Against the Machine/Muse inspired box (although I still had a tendency to sneak heavy riffage in where I can), all while playing with a myriad of talented musicians and singers. More recently, I played another “From Scratch” show, my band included two female vocalists, a ukelele, and a fiddle; that wouldn’t have been possible without Flashband.
Eric, the aforementioned emcee and I have been jamming and writing songs ever since we formed Caesar Raps at the first Flashband show. We also joined forces with a fellow Flashbander who happens to play bass, and a drummer - that band, now called Cosmic Romp - has been playing for a year now. I also formed a second band called The Anti-Social Collective (we’re actually pretty social dudes, despite what the name may suggest) after the Plymouth Rock Showcase at Jammin Java last Fall. They’re all such amazing musicians, and it’s all thanks to Flashband.
No comments:
Post a Comment