21 April, 2014: First Rehearsal at My House

I arranged this session to be held at my house from 13:00 for 2-3 hours. Kian had stayed over the night before and brought over an electric guitar, as his small amplifier was already at my house. We decided we'd start by running through all the group songs we've covered already and work on improving and developing those performances.

By 13:30 only half of the group was present - myself, Kian, Crystal and Serena - , by which point I did a brief vocal warm-up and invited others to do the same. Stefan arrived at 13:37. I tried numerous times to get the rehearsal started and under way but by 13:47 we still had not started and as Elica was very close to arriving we waited for her. Elica arrived at 13:51 and we FINALLY started rehearsal with Bob Marley's "Time Will Tell".

Here is the video I used to warm up:

 The video focuses on lip trills which are my favourite way to begin any singing session. When sung in scales, the excercise gently warms up the voice from bottom to top, giving me compelete access to my vocal range and also reducing a lot of tension and the risk of strain.

Progress was slower than previous rehearsals but we ran "Time Will Tell" and "Can You Get to That" before taking a break not long after 15:00. We attempted to run "Golden Brown" whilst Kian was saying goodbye to Crystal - who had to leave after 3 - but it's more of a solo by Kian with backing vocals from all of us so we moved on to "Kiss From a Rose" using a karoake track. I missed my solo cue in the first verse as well as in the first chorus as we have not rehearsed the song in months. I will most definately be more proactive in listening to all of the group songs to make sure I know them "inside out" for when we congregate to rehearse.

Here is the karoake track we used:

Kian returned and we continued to use the karoake track so that we could focus on developing our vocals. We also changed the arrangement slightly assigning the last verse to Stefan as he expressed interest in singing it solo. Also on the first and last chorus we decided to split the main melody/lead vocal line between myself and Kian so that he leads the first half of those choruses and I the second.

The arrangement is now as follows:

Key
Solo: Serena
Solo: Me
Solo: Kian
Solo: Dylan
Solo: Tamara
Solo: Stefan
Ensemble

LYRICS

Verse 1
There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea.
You became the light on the dark side of me.
Love remained a drug that's the high and not the pill.
But did you know,
That when it snows,
My eyes become large and
The light that you shine can be seen.

Chorus
Baby,
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray.
Ooh,
The more I get of you,
The stranger it feels, yeah.
And now that your rose is in bloom.
A light hits the gloom on the gray.

Verse 2
There is so much a man can tell you,
So much he can say.
You remain,
My power, my pleasure, my pain, baby
To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny.
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?
But did you know,
That when it snows,
My eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen.

Chorus
Baby,
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray.
Ooh, the more I get of you
The stranger it feels, yeah
Now that your rose is in bloom.
A light hits the gloom on the gray,

Bridge
I've been kissed by a rose on the gray,
I've been kissed by a rose
I've been kissed by a rose on the gray,
...And if I should fall along the way
I've been kissed by a rose
...been kissed by a rose on the gray.

Verse 3
There is so much a man can tell you,
So much he can say.
You remain
My power, my pleasure, my pain.
To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny, yeah
Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby.
But did you know,
That when it snows,
My eyes become large and the light that you shine can be seen.

Chorus
Baby,
I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray.
Ooh, the more I get of you
The stranger it feels, yeah
Now that your rose is in bloom,
A light hits the gloom on the gray.
Yes I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray
Ooh, the more I get of you
The stranger it feels, yeah
And now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the gray

Video of rehearsal highlights:

Upon editing, uploading and reviewing the rehearsal footage it is evident that we need to start working on the performance aspects just as much as the musical and vocal arrangements. Maybe some artistic direction in the form of light choreography will add some much-needed visual appeal to our performances.