My first School of Rock live performance – Charjo

[charjo]

I took part in a School of Rock semester between Sep and Jan resulting in this live performance, Jan 28. It was a bit like a season of Survivor, we had two guitarists and two vocalists drop out and had no bass player for half the session. Our teacher had to fill in as rhythm guitarist. The holidays, vacations and illnesses disrupted some rehearsals. I think it was probably like being in a regular band. We certainly could have used just a few more rehearsals.
In spite of all obstacles, it was a great experience. We all formed a very special bond. I learned a lot of valuable things like how to stand up and play guitar, creating and changing tones, how to keep playing through mistakes (my own and other group members), learning complete songs and solos and managing my nerves.
I wasn’t thrilled with some of my over exuberant bends and made a few gaffes but, hey, I did it and the audience was quite forgiving. I had to give it a rest this semester due to family issues but I hope to do it again formally or informally with my new friends.
Hope it inspires you even a little bit to get out there and give it a shot.
John

[Sal]

A great show John!! All your hard work and practice are really showing in this performance!! Those bends sounded great John!! Again, great job!!

[charjo]

Thanks very much, Sal.
John

[sciencefiction]

Amazing, John. You nailed those lead parts, and that Crossroads lead was just outstanding!!! That whole band does ROCK, I must say. Lead singer is hot. Have you bought a motorcycle yet? Don’t forget to wear your helmet!!
Larry

[charjo]

Lisa’s a drama teacher for elementary students. I absolutely loved how she played both parts in “All Right Now”.
John

[sciencefiction]

Your tone and playing on “All Right Now” was amazing. Sounds just like the record! I agree, Lisa was great here and seems to pull the whole band together. Very impressive.
Larry

[charjo]

Lisa nearly lost her voice when we were just starting to get the songs together so we never got to polish our performance. I know Paul (bass) and I could have interacted more with her on stage. Next time. Sandra was such a happy presence on drums.
John

[AndréM]

Great experience John. that was fantastic.
Your tone in Mississippi Queen was awesome.
Nice to be playing in front of a crowd.
Great stuff, you are a very good student.
You pass the exam, lol.

AndréM

AndréM

[charjo]

Thanks, Andre, but did I pass the audition?
John

[Richard G]

Fabulous set John, I thought you performed exceptionally well given the limited rehearsals. With a keyboard player you were able enjoy a certain freedom as lead guitar however your solos pieces were so impressive. Lisa certainly looked at home as lead vocalist, a vibrant performance indeed.

You’ll go from strength to strength now that one’s under your belt and I’d be keen to hear more.

Richard

[charjo]

Thanks for listening and your kind words, Richard.
John

[John H]

John
Fantastic! This looks (and sounds) well worth the hard work and mishaps that went along the way. The band looks and sounds great. You get some serious Strat tones from that axe. Love your Crossroads too!! Great stuff.

JH

[charjo]

Thanks, John, it means a lot.
John

[Jean Luc G]

Super Show !
It’s not easy to play in front of an audience, you lose 50% of your resources…
For me it’s 75% ! LOL
You’re doing very well !
Bravo John.

jean luc G

[charjo]

So true, Jean Luc. Hope that decreases with repeated exposure.
John

[Alan K]

You nailed your moment in the big lights. The band sounded tight and you were front stage with your beautiful strat bringing the house down. I can appreciate how much time must of gone into this.

[charjo]

Thanks, Alan. You’re my role model for standing while playing. I actually didn’t find it too bad. I found I could maneuver the guitar to get better access up high.
John

[Dieter]

A real challenge, but with a fantastic result. This is sure to be an unforgettable experience for you. Really great.

Dieter

[charjo]

Thanks, Dieter, I can cross one off the bucket list.
John

[Manfred M]

Wow, John, you all have rocked the house. What a great performance and what a great setlist. And you shaped every song with your Strat. And the singer is a real, in Germany we say „Rampensau“. I don‘t know the english word for it. The literal translation is „Ramp Sow“-and this is really no Insult.
I’m happy with you about this great experience.

Take the chance to meet your AM friends on Zoom
The next Meetup will probably take place in the second half of August or beginning of September

There will be a detailed announcement here in the forum in good time.

I look forward to meet you.
Manfred

[charjo]

Thanks, Manfred, I’ll let Lisa know her talent was appreciated in Germany and I’ll let her worry about the translation.
John

[Martin W]

A fantastic experience John , you really took command of your role and looked comfortable with it , the band sound great with a nice variety of tunes , which must have taken an age to learn all the parts .
Enjoyed it , look forward to more videos .

Martin

[charjo]

Thank you, Martin.
John

[San Luis Rey]

Wow John! You guys just got better the more you played. Your stand up playing nailed the lead parts and the solos. My favorites were Clapton, Bad Co. and Mountain but all were great. Congrats on controlling the nerves and sounding good up there!

Mike

[charjo]

Thanks, Mike.
John

[Helen Lazaridou]

Dear John!!!can I just say how jealous I am of you???😜😜😜Something like this can happen only in my dreams!!!🤣🤣🤣and I really admire how you played so many songs carrying alone the “burden” of the lead guitar!!!I can’ttell which one I liked best! Maybe “all right now”💖❤️Hats off to you and the band!!!and of course I was also impressed with the 2 women of the band!!
You must be feeling sooooooooooo proud,right???

[charjo]

Helen,
Thank you, Helen, I can certainly picture you as the vocalist and guitarist in your own band.
John

[Helen Lazaridou]

Well !maybe in a Greek band yes!I can imagine this!But in one like yours absolutely not!!!Besides,there are very few here anyway!

[” Slappy”]

Great Job!! Nothing better then playing live. enjoyed it!

[charjo]

Thanks, Slappy.
John

[Andy N]

Hell! This is rock and roll! Bends should be exuberant, it’s the law! Fantastic effort from the whole band. Lisa was a natural as a front lady, great vocals and energy. You looked and sounded more relaxed in the later songs and the solos on crossroads and final number where superb. Above all, standing ovation to everyone for getting out there and playing live. It’s only since trying to learn to play a guitar that I think I truly have an understanding of what it takes to do that. 👏👏👏🎉🎉

[charjo]

Thanks, Andy.
John

[MrO]

Impressive performance by the whole band. Everybody worked well together and sounded great. Your lead and fill parts were solid and very well played. Your hard work is rewarding you 🙂

[charjo]

Thanks, Mr O.
John

[JoeD1]

Very well done John! All Right Now was great as were the others too. It takes a lot of guts to get on a stage especially when it’s a group but it seemed to have paid off. I think you passed the audition.

Joe

The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge

[charjo]

Thanks, Joe. If I passed the audition I’m happy to give it a rest for now. That process wasn’t without some stress.
John

[Tremelow]

Hi John, my hat’s off to you for making such a great performance. Absolutely solid guitar work. Th preparation period sounded quite adventurous, but it didn’t show. You and the band was so cool!
Thanks for this inspirational video, I sure hope to see more of those going forward, maybe from other AMer’s courageous enough to follow in your footsteps…

[charjo]

Thanks, Trem, it’s much appreciated.
John

[Jonathan Amos]

Lucky sod, no Ishi no gakko around here! All the classics, great vocals and lead guitar, bet you can’t wait for the next gig.

Jonathan Amos, Matsuyama, Japan

The farther one travels the less one knows.

[charjo]

Couldn’t find a translation for that one, Jonathan. Is it something like without the hard work there’s no learning? Thanks for watching.
John

[Jean-Michel G]

Does anyone know who’s the guy playing lead in that band?
I’ll definitely go to the show when they come over to Europe!

[charjo]

Never heard of the guy. I don’t think they venture farther than 10 km from home.
Thanks, J-M.
John

[James B]

Congrats, John. You guys worked up some great old songs. Loved your leads and your band mates kept it tight.

James

[charjo]

Thanks for dropping in, James.
John

[Ron B]

Well done John, I could see you were nervous… but still you did it. I once played live somewhere in the 90’s, had headaches 1 week before and after the gig, so it’s not for me :). I enjoyed your show very much!
cheers,
ron

[charjo]

I get it, Ron, I obsessed a little. Thanks for watching and your kind comments.
John

[Richard W]

Awesome, John! Congrats to you all for getting out there and going for it. Sounded great. That’s quite a handful of tunes to learn. You especially rocked on Crossroads and Mississippi Queen. Classic blues rock tone and playing. I definitely hope we see more of the Adjacents down the road!

[Author]

Posts