Today I thought I’d give you a quick glimpse behind the scenes of my last gig...where I performed with over 250 singers…
I also thought it would be fun to share the process of learning the songs and some exclusive video clips of me playing the songs from the show
On my birthday this year I decided to drive a 600 mile round trip to perform at a theatre in Halifax in the north of the UK.
Back in 2018 my good friend, band buddy and vocalist Nick moved to the North of England and ‘accidentally’ started a community choir called ‘The Voices of Yorkshire’.
He’s a gregarious, outgoing character and as result the choir has grown and grown.
To give the singers an experience they’ll never forget he booked a renowned theatre (The Halifax Grand) and also the Metropolis (our band) rhythm section.
Nick created all the vocal arrangements himself… so thought I’d share the process of how the band learned the songs.
Lean On Me | Lovely Day | Ain’t No Sunshine (Bill Withers)
Human (The Killers)
A few weeks before Nick sent through some demos of himself singing the all choir parts backed by a simple guitar part.
About a week before I thought I better start writing the songs out… just in case there was anything crazy and unexpected.
All I found was a guitar that wasn’t at concert pitch and very low in the mix… which made it very tricky to decide what key certain songs were in.
One tune I wrote out in the key of ‘Bb’ and the keys player Rick wrote out in ‘B’.
I took the form, structure and approximate key (haha!) from Nick’s demo.
I then cross referenced to the original recording to get an idea of a bass line or groove.
Can’t Fight This Feeling (REO Speedwagon)
Don’t Stop Me Now (Queen)
We had a rehearsal at 10 am on the day of the show with the choir.
This was the moment to check that everything held together… and most importantly nothing was going to ‘car crash’ either us or the choir.
Thankfully, most of the songs worked for the first time… which shows how important good preparation is.
There were still a few areas where more rehearsal time was needed… but we also knew where things could go wrong and where it was important to concentrate that extra little bit harder.
The Flood (Take That)
This Is Me (The Greatest Showman)
After a 2 hour rehearsal, we broke for lunch… and found a TGI Fridays restaurant and I had a birthday steak and generally ate far too much!
The show was relaxed because the 4 of us in the band had worked together many times before… but there was still that element of danger where anything could happen.
Thankfully the show went smoothly...
Enjoy!
James
