A Day at Chuck Levin's

Chuck Levin's is the biggest music store in the DC metro, and has been an icon in the area for decades. Partnering with them was a clear choice, and they've been an enthusiastic supporter of Flashband since the beginning. They have a gigantic selection and awesome tools (my favorites are a mic room and monitor room where you can do side-by-side comparisons of options). Check them out next time you need gear for your next Flashband show!

Earlier this year, they launched a new web store, making it easier to get your gear delivered (although their store is still just one block from the Wheaton Metro stop). Flashband musicians get 5% off all orders, in store or online; just log in to your account and head to your "Settings" page to get the code.

Deborah recently stopped by their store and got a chance to see some of the behind-the-scenes workings and put together this awesome photo essay - check it out!

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Meet the Musician: JR Denson, Saxophone Player and Vocalist

This post profiles JR Denson, a Flashband member who plays all five saxophones (but only owns an alto) and sings lead and/or back-up vocals. He’s not currently in a band, but has participated in six Showcases. 

In a work hard-play hard city like DC, it’s important for me to have hobbies that help “recharge my batteries," get some temporary reprieve from the stresses of life and have some fun. 

That’s where Flashband comes in. It connects me with amazing musicians when I want to play a show, but I don't have to commit to a full band.

My first Flashband was great. We don’t play together full-time, but two years later we’re still hanging out at happy hours and such. With Flashband, I found exactly what I was looking for: A low-pressure opportunity to play fun music and meet cool people. Flashband is perfect for my fear of commitment!

Take it from me, the guy who’s played in six Showcases: Don’t be too hard on yourself or worry that your set wasn’t perfect. I know that sounds super cliché, but it’s real. The Flashband community is incredibly supportive. If you flub a note (or two, if you’re me), the other musicians and the crowds that come to hang are very forgiving. 

There are so many fun places to play and a crazy amount of talented people in this city. What’s not to love about being a musician in DC?

The first Flashband event I did; November, 2013

Winning the Battle Against Feedback

This post is by Adam Levin, part of the team at Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center. We're proud to have Chuck Levin's as one of our great partners!

In addition to their huge store in Wheaton, Chuck Levin's also recently launched an online store so you can get all your gear shipped straight to you. As a special bonus for Flashband membership, use the code FLASH5 to get 5% off any order, any time. 

Feedback. We’ve all heard it, even if you didn’t know what it was called. Feedback is when a single frequency builds up in a sound system to the point of taking over the sound. Ever heard a really high-pitched squeal come through a sound system that made everyone’s ears want to bleed? Or bass that drowns out the entire room and fills it with one solid tone? That’s feedback.

Feedback is a purely physical phenomenon. It is most commonly a relationship between microphones and the speakers that their signals are put through. 

I like to think of it like this: Microphones have a pickup pattern. You may have heard the terms “cardioid” or “omnidirectional” or “hypercardioid” -- these all describe the shape in which a microphone “hears” sound. Think of this shape like a cloud. Speaking generally, whatever is inside this cloud, the microphone hears clearly. Everything outside this cloud will be rejected by the microphone or not picked up.

This is cardioid pickup pattern. This microphone is picking up sound inside the cloud, and rejecting sound straight down the body of the microphone (where there is no cloud).

All microphones have a pickup pattern, and different pickup patterns can be used in different situations on stage.

Speakers put out sound in a pattern as well. In most instances, this is straight out the front of the speaker (where the grill is located) in a 75 to 120 degree pattern when you are looking straight down on the speaker. 

QSC K series speakers, for example. 

Feedback occurs when a microphone can hear itself in one of the speakers. In other words, when the speaker’s cloud crosses the microphone’s cloud and one frequency builds up. 

Here in this illustration we see the feedback occurring right near 2k Hz.

How can you combat feedback? Here are a few tips and pieces of gear that help deal with this beast:

1. Know your microphone. After understanding that feedback is directly related to what your microphone “hears,” it’s important to know what that is. A microphone with a tighter pattern, or a very directional microphone, will help pick up your intended source and block out sound from speakers, monitors, other band members, and rowdy attendees.

The AKG D5 Dynamic Microphone is my go-to mic for tricky situations. It sounds like mics twice the price, with a really tight pattern to make stage life easy and a lifetime warranty. With a price tag under $100, this is a worthwhile investment.

Feel like being cool and pointing your microphone toward the crowd? Or walking into the crowd? Be careful not to point your microphone where a speaker is blasting back at you! This will make you very uncool when everyone’s ears are bleeding due to excessive feedback!

Position your monitors (or move your mic stand) to a position where your microphone is not picking up audio from the monitors (or not in the “cloud”). You can see these points when referencing your microphone’s pickup pattern; these will be the points where there is no “cloud.”

2. Consider a Feedback Suppressor/Destroyer. There is a whole world of products and devices out there that will “squash” the feedback for you, or at least help you detect it. Think of these as automatic EQs that hunt out the trouble frequency and turn only that frequency down. Higher-end models will turn down only that specific trouble frequency. Less expensive models will grab a wider set of frequencies that might make an an audible difference in your tone, but at least the feedback will be gone.

The Behringer FBQ100 is the easiest stand-alone solution. Plug your mic straight into the back, and plug another XLR cable out and into the soundboard. This little guy will squash the feedback for you and give you some other useful little tools that every vocalist might find useful. At under $100, this is a valuable and portable tool to keep on hand.

3. And Some In-Ear Monitors. This is a little more advanced and is not for everyone, but one of the key culprits of feedback are those stage monitors that lay in front of you. Remove the stage monitor and put it in your ear, and you have the basic workings of an In-Ear monitor system… and have significantly cut back on feedback sources! There are wired and wireless versions depending on your budget and your needs.

The Shure PSM300 brings top-of-the-line technology down to a moderately affordable price point. If you want to know more about In-Ears and if they are for you, give us a call and we’ll guide you in the right direction.

Don’t "cup" your microphone!! We’ve seen all the pros and stars do it...

But when you hold the microphone like this, you are actually changing the pickup pattern! This mic technique will change the pattern from directional (picking up in the front) to omnidirectional (picking up sound EVERYWHERE: no rejection points). This will lead to feedback in most situations. It may look cool for a photo, but it’s never cool to feedback!

If you’re ever having problems with sound and are not sure how to figure it out, give us a call! We’re more than a store at Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center; we are a resource and we’re here to help you get the best sound you can at every gig.

Meet the Musician: Steve Mead, Keyboardist for The Muddy Crows

This post profiles Steve Mead, who currently plays with the Muddy Crows (voted Best Original Band in Washington City Paper) and who played in the Flashband Thanksgiving showcase in November 2014.

I discovered Flashband when a friend of mine told met about a group that set up fun, temporary band gigs. I was curious as to the process and the types of musicians, and wanted to see what it was like.

In Flashband, you see some incredible talent, as well as musicians just starting out (i.e. testing the waters). After my first meet-up, I was incredibly impressed with the musicians, enthusiasm and hard work of everybody I met, and had a lot of fun putting together songs, creating an original, and performing (and recording) it.

I really liked the mixture of people, backgrounds and interest involved with Flashband. When you go from playing "known" material to new material, it really makes you think about how you approach music. This to me is fascinating, as your own perceptions of what music is can be constantly challenged when you see how others approach it.

I still consider myself a novice, as I am constantly learning new material, techniques, and improving my own ability to perform and entertain an audience. My music career started when I took piano lessons from ages four to ten. I did percussion in marching band and choir in high school, and then didn't do anything musical until about eight years ago. Since then, I’ve worked through multiple cover bands and four original bands until I started performing with my current band, The Muddy Crows, which was voted "Best Local Original Band in DC” and performs regularly around the city.

I enjoy playing keys, but also love the warmth and sound of the acoustic guitar and the raw power of the electric guitar. Frequently, I also pick up hand percussion, and provide extensive background vocals for all the original material my band puts together. I have worked with multiple artists in the studio and provided piano, keys, organ and other synth parts for multiple albums. The most recent album I worked on was with The Muddy Crows was released in October of 2014 (available on Itunes). 

I’ve heard the expression, “Don't just learn the material so that you can play it right; learn the material so you can't play it wrong.” But I didn't really know what it meant until I worked with others on the Flashband project. Then I understood the difference between just learning something and being able to fully work with the material and incorporate all the various nuances of the performance into your own version of it. 

I would absolutely love to be a full-time musician, but in order to get there is going to take a lot more work, time, and effort, so I'll get back to you in a couple of years!

What We’re Up To

There’s a lot to keep up with this month! Rep your Flashband pride at one (or all) of these events, and make sure you’re on the mailing list to be the first to know about new ones!

Tinner Hill Blues Festival - Saturday, June 13

Stop by Falls Church to see the team at the Blues Festival this weekend! We’ll be hanging out in the vendor area at Cherry Hill Park. Come soak it all in and enjoy a farmer’s market, guitar workshop, instrument petting zoo, history exhibit, BBQ, and lots of blues, blues, blues.

Public Domain Showcase - Sunday, June 14

Our musicians were challenged to pay homage to some of the mainstays of American music from a bygone era and breathe new life into them. Gypsy Sally’s is the perfect setting to showcase some of these foundational musical works. Playing music from the Public Domain gives us the chance to highlight endless country, bluegrass, jazz, and folk standards, and hear some original work by DC artists.

Reunion Happy Hour & Whiplash Screening - Tuesday, June 16

The bonds you form with your one-month band are unbreakable. Relive the fun and meet your Flashband heroes at our Reunion Happy Hour, and don’t forget to a bring a friend you’d like to introduce to the Flashband family. We're taking over the top floor of The Black Squirrel, renowned for craft beer and delicious eats. 

Afterwards, we’ll head to Adam's Morgan Movie Night, outdoors at Marie Reed Elementary School just a couple blocks from the bar. That night they're screening Whiplash, an acclaimed movie about a jazz drummer and his ruthless teacher.

7th Annual Silver Spring Jazz Festival - Saturday, June 20, 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Flashband will be jamming at this all-day blues block party, so bring your instrument and come with us! We’ll have TWO tents at the festival, one just for you to come jam, with acoustic instruments available. Soak in music on two stages, vendors, crafts, and plenty of places to eat and enjoy beverages while sitting outside enjoying the music! Festivities begin at 10am, live performances on the Fountain Plaza Stage start at 3pm.

Want to spread the word about Flashband at our next event? Join the Flashband Street Team!

Even the Pros Make Mistakes (So Don't Stress Too Much about Your Recording)

It's happened to everyone: You just finished your fifth take of the song that features a really cool part you wrote, and the rest of the band is really jazzed about how well it turned out. You go to the control room, and right when you hit the chorus... bam. Flubbed the note.

Now, every time you listen to that recording, you won't hear how amazing the rest of the band sounds. You'll only hear that one note you missed, and it will haunt you for the rest of your days. You consider hanging up the instrument for good. You vow to practice more, to never miss that change again. You sacrifice instruments to the music gods. Still, that missed note sticks with you.

Sure, there's studio magic that can fix it, but fixing every mistake can get costly, and more often than not the resulting product sounds overproduced. It doesn't have that nice, in the pocket, "playing with my buddies" feel. Luckily, you can take solace in the fact that even some of the greatest bands of all time have made mistakes. You probably haven't heard them on the songs because the band and producer made the decision to leave it in, for the good of the song.

Here are a few examples:

The Police - Roxanne: Only eight seconds into the song, Sting accidentally leaned on to the piano in the recording studio, and then laughed. That sound and subsequent laugher is preserved on the recording. Maybe Sting was laughing to himself about his plan to keep all of the royalties from Puff Daddy's recording of Every Breath You Take without sharing it with the rest of the band, even though Andy Summers wrote the part of the song that is primarily featured in the remix. (No, this isn't a conspiracy theory. Look it up.)

REM - The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite: At the end of the third verse, singer Michael Stipe laughs his way into the chorus. Apparently there's something really funny about Dr. Seuss. The laugh can be heard at 2:33 in this clip.

James Blunt - You're Beautiful and The Kingsmen - Louie Louie: Both singers miss their cues and come in too early. James Blunt's mistake is before the first verse. (I'm not going to post that video. I'm sorry for even reminding you that song existed. Please forgive me.) For The Kingsmen, Jack Ely's excitement just can't be contained, as he comes in too early after the guitar solo (1:58 in the video).

The Beatles - Let It Be: I love this one. 2:59 into the song, John Lennon just hits the wrong chord. It's not even close to right, but it still sounds better than everything Yoko touched, so at least there's that.

Happy recording, and don't stress your mistakes. It might make your song even better.

Meet the Musician: Jenny Thomas

This post profiles Jenny Thomas, one of the Flashband musicians. She's performed in 5 showcases, and her band Ménage À Garage (formed through Flashband) is having their first post-Flashband show at Velvet Lounge on Thursday June 4. 

I work in the arts and entertainment industry, so music is central to my work. I'm very lucky. (My career crush is NPR's Bob Boilen.) Playing music is a hobby, a social and creative outlet.

I’m a California native via New Orleans. A lifelong fan of live music, I’ve had seminal experiences seeing bands like Roxy Music and Suicidal Tendencies (not on the same bill) in my teens and many other bands "before they got big."

 I’ve been in two bands, Echo Seven and Sugarpants, while living in Salt Lake City. Both were primarily local, but with Echo Seven we had a manager and traveled once to a tiny college in Idaho to perform. We were paid $1,000 and treated like rock stars. That counts as touring, right?

 My favorite style of music to play is loud and fast. My origins are in indie rock and punk music. However, I don't discriminate. I listen to a little bit of everything: world music, jazz, Zydeco, you name it.

 In Flashband, I play bass guitar, backing vox, and (apparently) the drums. I’m also classically trained in flute. I performed in my first Flashband last summer, and now I’m hooked. It's a commitment to put on a great show without the commitment of a long-term band relationship. The camaraderie, the built-in community, the beauty of gelling with people musically… it's never a dull moment.

From Flashband to Real Band: How to turn your ragtag bunch of new musicians into a functioning group

I formed a band in DC’s first ever Flashband showcase.  That small house party started one of the most interesting journeys of my life, where not only did I find a great group of musicians, but I also went on to co-found with Neal the Flashband you see today.  This post isn't about the business, though.  This is about the band, and how we stuck it out.

At the showcase, we performed as a 5-piece hip-hop group with drums, bass, guitar, a rapper and a piano player. (Notice that I didn’t say we had a keyboard player: This guy literally rolled in with an 80-lb. weighted key digital piano.) Although we didn’t sound nearly as pulled together and professional as many of the bands playing in today’s showcases, I still felt drawn to the drive and musicianship of these players. At the time of that first showcase, I was playing in a Top 40 cover band, so the thought of being able to write some original music intrigued me. The rest of the members agreed, and we began performing under the name allthebestkids.

Three years later, the core of the band is still together; we’ve had to replace players, but we have kept the basic style of instrumental alternative hip-hop. We’ve replaced our guitarist, singer, and drummer, and added a horn section. The piano player ditched his goliath for a much more portable keyboard and synthesizer. We’re about to release a full-length album, and have played almost every venue in DC – from the small, cramped house show to the Howard Theatre.  

Finding bandmates that mesh with your playing style and abilities can be tough, but we’ve navigated those challenges quite successfully. Here are the 5 lessons I’ve learned in this process that can hopefully speak to the longevity of our band.

1. Don’t worry about style; your sound will come through. Everyone in the band may agree that they want to be a rock/funk band like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine, but then they’ll throw out any song ideas that don’t fit the mold of that sound. Every musician has a unique style that contributes to the overall sound of the band, so embrace that and let it direct the songwriting. You may end up with a better, more original style than you could have imagined.
2. Maintain momentum. As amateur musicians, we all have lives outside of our band. If you can dedicate even a few hours a week to practice, you will keep your band tight and focused. And, given that most amateur bands can only practice once a week, having an agenda can really help you feel like you’re being more productive in less time.
   
   Allthebestkids starts and ends our practice sessions with things we know we play well, because really nailing a song is a great motivator. It’s why we never finish a practice with a songwriting session. Instead, we always play a song that we play well, as a sort of “pick me up.”
3. The best musician may not be the best musician for the band. Having a band is like having a relationship. Ever date that super hot guy who never texts back? Think of him as the flashy guitarist who whips out a face-melting solo but is always late to practice and demands to be louder than the singer. I’d postulate that those behaviors are the leading cause of band breakups, so consider that when looking for musicians for your group.
   
   When auditioning new members for the band, we avoid people whose sole positive characteristic is that they were the most talented musician. Instead, we choose a talented person who we know we’ll enjoy spending time with. When you build a friendship with your bandmates, you’ll be less likely to bicker over the music, and the chemistry that forms based on this friendship will transfer to the shows.
4. For the majority of the audience, there are only 2 instruments; the vocals, and everything else. Unless you’re Dream Theatre or some other crazy prog rock or jazz band, the majority of fans who come see you don’t care if you have huge fills every 4 bars or complicated, lightning-fast guitar licks. For the most part, people want a catchy melody and a good beat, and it’s often easier to accomplish this by simplifying what you’re playing.
   
   As a bass player, I know the only people who are intently listening to my bass lines are other bass players and perhaps my mom. Everyone else just cares about the overall feel of the song, and, if it sounds cluttered, the average listener will pick up on that.  Simplicity is your friend.
5. There are no bad ideas. Writing music is a creative and inherently subjective venture.  Don’t take ideas off the table just because you don’t like them, or you don’t think they’re cool. Some of my favorite songs that allthebestkids have written started out as ideas that I didn’t like, but I still took the opportunity to write a bass line that I thought turned the song into something I’d really want to listen to.
   
   In another example, I randomly suggested one evening that we play the theme song from the Serial podcast. While practicing it, our singer, who had missed practice that evening, called and heard what we were doing. She asked to be put up to the microphone and freestyled over our Serial jam, and it turned out more awesome than anyone could have expected.  

Finally, remember that creating and performing music is supposed to be fun, and shared with people you care about. Yes, for many it’s a job. But for the serious hobbyist, there is nothing more exciting than playing a show in front of a group of hardcore fans, or recording an album, or just hanging out with the people you enjoy playing music with. So go have fun, and turn your Flashbands into the next big thing in your local scene!

If you’re a musician in DC, don’t wait: Sign up for the next monthly Showcase!

~Caleb