J Simpson

SEEKING

Band to Join, Vocalist, Rhythm Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums, Keyboard.

ABOUT

(I've paused actively searching musicians while I woodshed and learn more songs to be ready for jamming...)

Former pro musician looking to build a 3 to 5 piece cover band that picks the best of,popular, songs from each decade (with opportunities for the audience to dance) while avoiding played-out covers (Mony, Mony, Summer of '69, etc.) to make things more interesting. I played professionally for a bit in the late 80's (Vegas hard rock cover band), love doing high harmonies, and can lead sing some material. I'm fairly picky about what I play so it's easier for me to build something from the ground up than to join a preexisting situation. If you'd like to see a list of songs that I'm working off email me at jimpics at dot com to see it.

I'm quite picky regarding material but there are plenty of songs and bands that I love so I'm hoping to find people with similar, wide-ranging interests who want to play "deeper" but still well-known songs. I've listed some of the bands I enjoy by decade at the bottom of this (it's incomplete) and I have a list of songs I'm building that I can share upon request; let me know if you'd like to see it. What I'm hoping for is to connect with good musicians with similar tastes so that we can build sets that make us all happy without anyone having to play something that snuffs out their enthusiasm for playing live. Playing "Breakdown," "Woman In Love," or "The Waiting" by Tom Petty instead of "American Girl" or "Remedy" by the Black Crowes instead of "Hard to Handle".
I'd love to play with other talented musicians who have the desire and chops to find the groove and play a song "right." In addition to hard rock/alt rock/indie/classic music, I appreciate good power pop (e.g. Cheap Trick) and would love to have versions of a few great old R&B/Motown songs to connect to a wide range of ages. At one point I was totally burnt on classic rock but they've become more interesting again. I personally can listen to some metal but we're losing a certain chunk of some crowds past a certain age if things get too hard, so I'll wait to hear Symptom of the Universe and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath driving home from the gig if I'm in the mood. ;-)

It would be great to have at least 3 voices in the band for harmonies (I can sing lead myself on some songs but love to add high harmonies). I'm open to a 3 piece with a singer but it would be great to have 4 players (keys/2nd guitar) if we could cover the singing among ourselves. We can fine tune the song list together and allow people vetoes for songs they don't want to play. Hopefully, you'll have the desire and ability to play out often ; I'm looking to generate some income from this,

I have some decent recording equipment so I'd be open to working on originals down the line.

Here are some of the bands included the early list;

60's - 1972: Neil Young, Hendrix, Beatles, Badfinger, Zep, Santana, Temptations...
'73 - '79: Cheap Trick, Chic, Ohio Players, Bob Seger, Earth, Wind, and Fire, Joe Walsh, Van Halen, Queen, Pink Floyd, Rufus/Chaka Kahn...
80's: Tom Petty, Bowie, Prince, The Cult, Psychedelic Furs, SRV, etc.
90's: U2, Black Crowes, Weezer, STP, RHCP,
2000's: Foo Fighters, The Killers, maybe a song each from Gorillaz, Smashing Pumpkins .etc.?

Screen name:: J Simpson
Member since:: Jul 10 2011; Active within 1 week
Level of commitment:: Very Committed
Years playing music:: 35
Gigs played:: 50 to 100
Tend to practice:: More than 3 times per week
Available to gig:: 2-3 nights a week

Influences

INFLUENCES:

Rock: Originally it was Zep, Aerosmith, Sabbath, The Stones, The Who, The Beatles, Cheap Trick, then The Band, B.B. King, Hendrix, etc. , and post-punk alt/indie later (The Replacements, Concrete Blonde). Later I got into Wilco, lots of Americana, Neko Case, etc.

Alternative/Indie: Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Alice in Chains, RHCP,The Jayhawks, Wilco, PJ Harvey, Neko Case, Feist, Jeff Buckley, Replacements, all of whom I wouldn't try to play at a gig). I can make useful sounds on mandolin, banjo, and keyboards when it's called for.