The Nuclear Family has been released on Hancock Street Records! Ask for it at your local independent record store or buy it here!

09 November 2009

Future of AMA

As the readers here know, I'm playing bass for a Portland band, Against Musical Advice (AMA).

First of all, we had a really good gig at the Sellwood Public House last Saturday evening. Things went really well, there were people that we didn't drag in who seemed to like us, and there were only a couple of "obvious" mistakes.

However, over the past couple of weeks, the band has been debating future direction. We've been doing OK playing a mix of covers and original material, but the drummer (and one of our main songwriters) seems to be in a more acoustic mode these days. I want to push into a more "punk-pop" realm, while the guitarist, although interested in moving in a "hard rocking" direction is seeming to "not feel the magic" and is wanting to get out entirely (even admitting that he's been phoning it in during the last couple of gigs). Put this together with a female singer who doesn't want to become the front person and just wants to sing a third of the songs and this isn't a good formula for longevity. As such, the December 4 performance of AMA at Macadam's Bar and Grill is likely to be the last. This is disappointing on a variety of levels. First, AMA was coming together as a band and playing good stuff. Second, as the band that got me playing live again (at least in the Portland area) I feel a debt to the guys. Finally, as I've gotten to know the folks, they've become friends.

I'm going to talk to Dave about whether or not we go on without Anil. If so, I may take over guitar and we'll look for a bass player. I don't know if we can bridge the punk/acoustic chasm, though. We might be able to do a hybrid - open hard, take a break for slow material, work in Chrissy's stuff, and finish strong. I doubt we'll continue under the name AMA, though - I think that "Love Jack" is a good name for a band.

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