Frustrations - Stuck in the pocket..

[Charangaman]

Greetings all,


I'm having fun playing with a few bands but none of the music is what I really want to play.. It's all Reggae, some Jazz and bluesy type stuff.. Fine but not inspirational...

All I think about is being part of a firing Latin ensemble, whether it's Salsa/Son, Timba whatever... I feel that only playing with musicians on the same vibe will elevate me and I will feel that magic onstage.. .

I was watching Fania in Africa and the camaraderie of the band and the way the rhythm section just explodes!

I need that..

[Jongo]

Hey Charangaman, I feel your pain. I play in a jazz group and sometimes they want to play some swing tunes and then some waltzes and I am thinking, "are you guys serious?" I want to play Watermelon Man, El Hijo de Obatala, Acid, and other cool tunes. The way I deal with it is I bide my time on the other tunes and then I follow some advice Johnny Congas posted on here one time. I wait until my chance to make my statement and then I make it.
That helps, but you are totally right, it would be great to be in a tight rhythm section like that and be crankin' it out. I love watching the Fania All Stars in Africa. They had the magic and man, you could feel it even just watching it on TV. To be a part of a band that has just a small part of that would be great. I am thinking maybe it is time to move to a new band.

[boogie]

man i know exactly how you feel i am a black man(african american) who plays percussion in washington dc but im never asked to play afrocuban/african/latin style music witch i love deeply!or better yet i can fit those rythms into the style of music we play..but i never get a chance to play latin style music.its always hip hop or neo soul where i can fit those rymths in ..but just once i would love to go into some straight latin jazz!...so i feel ya pain!

[JohnnyConga]

Well for u Brothers that want to get into the Latin music scene is "to hang" in it and introduce yourself as a "player" but make sure you know what your doing to insure a possible spot with a Latin band....language could be a barrier but if u can play that will take care of a language barrier....just my 3 congas...."JC" Johnny Conga...PS...a positive personality also helps....

[Charangaman]

Brothers thanks for the support and advice as always.. I'm going to start my own band and wer'e going to play "puro".. It's the only way..

[akdom]

THAT is the best..

If you cannot convince your band members that a percussionist is a REAL musician and that they HAVE to play "percussion" tunes, just start your band with more latin oriented musicians....

You will explode...

B

[Chuman]

The duo I was playing in just broke up because the guitar player/singer couldn't/wouldn't play anything other than his own mainstream latin flavored pop tunes
and while I don't pretend to be "Gio" I wanted to play music with more percussion push and complexity.
So Ihear what you're saying as well.....

[korman]

I totally with you guys! I too would like to play in latin band, a son cuarteto would be perfect for starters ... but my problem is, I only understand something about the percussion. Melody and harmony are a mystery for me!

I have not had any other music training, so it would be hard to start a band of my own and then explain to guitarist or pianist what exactly I want from them.

[deadhead]

Your local Craigslist is a great place to find people to play with. Believe me there are lots of musicians in other bands who are thinking the same thing you are. They're stuck in a band playing things they don't want to play, whether they are playing horns or guitar or keys or whatever. Make a post on the craigslist musicians page for your city and I garuntee you will find some like minded people to play with.