Grateful Dead Music Forum

So my little band (http://myspace.com/wearejollies) has to play a show in about a week or so and we dont really have enough songs to fill up the time slot (short, only about an hour). The problem is we have no PA or other way to mic vocals, so all our tunes our instrumentals. We are covering Mike's Song by Phish and Third Stone by Hendrix and Dr. Funkenstein by Parliament, but we need some more tracks.

Any suggestions on covers that would be fun to jam out on instrumental style that would not get too boring without vocals?

some zappa would be sweet

How about some Allman Bros...Mountain Jam, Im Memory of Elizabeth Reed, Jessica, OR try to your hand at a MInd Left Body Jam or a Spanish Jam or try to playing So What, or other Jazz stuff, just my two cents.

*disclaimer* - most of these songs are very keyboard-driven, so hopefully you have a keys player!

Phish did a few instrumental covers, here are three off the top of my head:

2001 (Also Sprach Zarathustra)
Frankenstein
Peaches en Regalia

I also think that the suggestion to do the Allmans was great.

Jazz would be another excellent avenue to explore. I'd not only consider classic jazz such as "So What" but also some fusion, like "Chameleon" by Herbie Hancock or "You Know, You Know" by Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Maybe "The Gumbo Variations" by Zappa?

"Cissy Strut" by the Meters? (John Mayer covers it)
"Green Onions" by Booker T & the MG's?

What about "Watermelon Man" by Herbie Hancock? He does a super-funky version on the album Head Hunters, Mongo Santamaria did a cool version of it, and here's an interesting take on it (two ukuleles!):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If3VhZrj0Xs


Maybe even "Pick up the Pieces" by Average White Band...you could have the band chant "Pick up the pieces!" for the one section requiring vocals.

Just my two cents. Trying to come up with jams that are fun/funky!

The Pink Panther

Off the top of my head:

Birdland - Weather Report

School Days - Stanley Clarke

Freeway Jam - Jeff Beck
(actually anything off of Blow by Blow... She's a Woman, Constipated Duck and Cause We've Ended as Lovers are all killer tracks!)

Europa and/or Flor d'Luna (Moonflower) - Santana

i've heard an instrumental version of stella blue by zero and it really worked well, try that if you wanna throw some dead in there, just make sure the lead guitar is really feelin it.

Check out Grant Green's cover of Kool & the Gang's Let the Music Take Your Mind on Alive. Smokin'. Also the disc has real nice covers of Sookie Sookie and Down Here on the Ground.

this site might give you some ideas

http://tunecaster.com/charts/music/inst ... -10-2.html

SeanO

Surf tunes like Walk Don't Run?

Pipeline ! SRV version
Wipeout ! Jaco "version"
And
GhostRiders in the Sky !!!!
cant go wrong with Surf...

Hmmm, a week isn't really much time to work up a bunch of new stuff. I think you may be better off "de-vocalizing" songs you may already know and go from there. Play them as normal, but have either a guitarist or keyboard player if you have one play the sung melody line out in front.

Take Five - a great version by Jimmy Johnson.

Can you guys get the house to scrabble together a P.A. for you? Or rent one for the evening?

yeah i agree that chameleon, allmans, birdland, or take five would be sweet too

chameloen is probably one of my favorite instrumentals to cover, you could do a goodbye blue sky (pink floyd) cover, or any of the other ones people have listed

walk dont run would be really fun

also, yall sounded great on the mikes song on your myspace, good job!