Blog #13: Halloween Weekend

I told you all that the Halloween party shows would be different!

For those of you who aren't in the know yet, the big surprise was that I would be playing with a band for the first time since right before the pandemic - making it just under five years since our last public performance, and even longer since our last big headliner. I want to thank everyone who came out for making it such a meaningful experience and such a thrilling reunion. I felt five years younger, felt closer to old friends than I have in a while, and felt a really fulfilling sense of inspiration and encouragement from seeing the audience having such a good time rocking out with us.

Having not done a rock concert since 2019, I was definitely somewhat rusty, but from the looks of the moshing, dancing, crowd surfing and screams that didn't make a different to the folks who came out. It was so cool to see the OG fans rocking out the way they used to way back in the day, and to see that culture spreading to the newcomers. The Tapeworms days from like 2015-2019 were so much fun and had such a great sense of community, and even though the crowd sizes make the experience quite different, I felt some of that again.

And it was really cool to finally bring the new material to a full-band context! Because of the pandemic, I wasn't able to tour for The Normal Album, and because of a million factors, was never able to tour with a band or even do one-offs until now. I'm thrilled to finally be able to open a show with Suburbia Overture like I've always dreamt of, and it was really encouraging to see people rocking out to tunes from ICIMI too.

But  my rustiness wasn't helped by the fact that it was my first time using proper in-ear monitors onstage, which has a major impact on how the whole thing works. I'm used to hearing my mix onstage using speakers at the front of the stage generally referred to as "wedges," which can allow you to hear the whole room as well as your own mix, but brings with it a host of issues. Having speakers pointed at you onstage makes microphone feedback a possibility that requires all kinds of audio engineering considerations to have to come into play, which also limits the freedom of what kind of mix you can expect from them. It also competes with on-stage sound; the amp sounds, the drum kit, the horns, and of course all the noise coming in from the audience. It has to be fine tuned in a way that concert environments can make very difficult if you want to get a really good mix, and having a good mix for yourself as a performer makes all the difference in the world in terms of your performance. The main benefit of wedges is also the drawback - you get the real, in-person sound of the room and the audience.

In-ear monitors, or "IEMs" are often considered a game-changer by a lot of musicians. By putting sometimes customized earbuds sometimes pretty deep into your ear canals instead of having an on-stage mix, you can get your very own personalized mix without all of the problems that come from relying on wedges. The IEM system Kevin Antreassian (producer of SELF-iSH and mixing engineer for ICIMI and TNA '24) built for me and Simon Ficken (recording engineer for ICIMI) operated for the band and I allows each member to alter their mix as the show goes if they need to, by using an app on their phone. Good IEMs will also block out external noise, theoretically allowing you to really zero in on your personalized mix so that you can hear every detail. This is especially helpful for me as a vocalist, because I can see my piano but I can't see my vocal cords. The main simultaneous drawback and benefit are the opposite of those of using wedges - I can't hear the real in-person sound of the room. Plus I was struggling with the tech and getting the damn things to stay in.

For this weekend, I had a backup wedge mix as well, so by the end of both shows I was working with my left IEM in and my right ear exposed, because over the course of the show I felt myself struggling with my own mix more and more, and at the end I decided I needed to focus on hearing the room. Funny enough, at the end of the weekend, my right ear hurt and my left didn't. If for no other reason than to protect my hearing, I might stick with the IEMs even if I'm never able to find a satisfying way to use them. I expect they will eventually though. Some artists can't stand them, (I was amazed to notice Andrew Bird goes without them - his vocal intonation should not be that good with wedges! But then again being a violinist is much better for ear training than being a keyboardist and his band is smaller) but others swear by them. At the moment I'm torn, but we'll see!

From the looks of videos I've seen, my vocal intonation was far better this weekend than it ever has been at full-band shows in the past. Years of practice, better technique, actual vocal self-care, being able to hear myself clearly in my IEM mix, and transposing songs where beneficial all really paid off. But challenges with focus, errors in how I strategize my energy usage, and difficulties with the IEM system undid some of that. I feel like my keyboard technique has improved too, although lack of practice using a mic on a stand instead of a headset and the limitations of that, plus just rustiness on the songs and general challenges that all instrumentalists encounter sometimes, had me kind of sloppy there. I'm more satisfied with my work on Sunday than on Saturday, but not entirely satisfied with either of my performances this weekend. That's okay though - it's my first time back, first time doing a lot of things, and I have plenty of time between now and the next time I do it, so I'm feeling great about the whole thing.

My band absolutely fucking killed it, I was so grateful to be playing with such unbelievably tight players. I've always been thrilled with Mario, Mike, and Berger's playing, but they've kicked it up a notch over the years, and not only has their skill level improved but their ear for the nuances has too. I'm also thrilled to be playing with DJ Scully on bass. The man is a clock (Kevin calls him "the 8th Note King" because he's always perfectly on the click in studio) and puts on a hell of a show. Super professional and experienced, and luckily a good hang too. Great guys, all of them. Their performances made up for my flubs, and gave me a lot to fall back on when I needed to. I told the guys this a few times now and I meant it - the songs sounded the best they ever have this past weekend, and I can't wait to do it again.

I've probably explained this on here before, but something a lot of people don't know is that there wasn't an actual "Tapeworms" until after the two Tapeworms records were out. The lineup people know best came together in 2017, but even then has featured a lot of other folks. It was a revolving door for a long time, and always had an element of that when necessary. Will Wood and the Tapeworms was a sort of a moniker for my work as a singer-songwriter designed so I could market my full-band shows on the local circuit, and I stopped promising people a band when it stopped being feasible financially or logistically. The situation was always sort of that whoever I play with I call The Tapeworms, (but once a Tapeworm always a Tapeworm, and crew members/other personnel have always been honorary Tapeworms too) but as time has gone on that's made less sense and been harder for people to catch on to. It would feel weird to call a lineup with Mike, Mario, and Berger anything else, but I know future shows I won't be able to get all of them for, so I don't know what to do from there. I like giving the band a name to draw attention to them for their talents, and not using their name might make people think I'm taking credit away from them. But when you change lineups significantly people get the wrong idea if you don't change the name. But if you do change the name people think it's a new project... too much to juggle! I suppose we'll play it by ear for future shows.

Anyway, thank you all again for such a memorable weekend, and big shout out to the band, to Simon, to Jake and Gabe, and to Matt, Austin, and my girlfriend. And of course the crew at the venue (except that one guy, fuck him). They all worked so hard and did such a killer job. Last but certainly not least - thank you to everyone who came out and made it such a great time. Hope to see you all again soon.

Now it's time to try and switch gears back to performing Slouching Towards Branson. It's weird to go from playing rockstar to whiplashing back to my usual thing. While also preparing to take a flight out to the west coast for a month-long tour. I have to have a bunch of stuff ordered and shipped out there, get some things picked up there, and figure out what I can fly with. The upcoming run is huge, and it's driving me crazy to know that I am nowhere near the home stretch. Gotta refresh somehow, and I don't think this is how you do it... I'll make it work! Maybe taking some time away from it will have been good. They say taking breaks between big study sessions is better than repeat crams, so let's hope that principle applies here. The good news is I'm starting the west coast run with a couple 100 cap shows, so that'll give me a low-stakes chance to brush off any dust for the big theaters. See you out there folks!

Much love,

-ww