I started a band in 2007 with two friends that were fond of surf music and had alike thoughts on what to play and where to go and generally common mentality. We started as a hobby project for ourselves - but somehow in a year or so became one of the surf movement headliners in Ukraine, row of concerts in and out of Ukraine, demo album... it was cool, fun, and highly motivating)))I just got married and had a several month daughter and it all inspired me so much!!!)

However in 2010 bass guitar player left for a blues project and drum player moved to another country.

I found new rhythm section - not the surf addicts but some guys that were more or less ok with surf - but it turned out to be completely not ok for me as I stopped enjoying the process, the magic was gone, It was really difficult to lead the project alone, having just an "accompanying guys" but I tried hard and we managed to do a new program, not as good as before - but decent as for me.

It all halted as my wife was diagnosed with cancer and we spend two years struggling on and on...but we lost. As she was gone I spend several months gathering pieces of me and my family and taking care of my daughter and we did it - life goes on!

In some time I met a woman and we fell in love an now we've got generally 4 children, two from previous marriages and newborn twin girls)

This year I managed to find other guys that wanted to play surf - nice and enthusiastic, but 15 years younger and with tastes really different from mine. And they are not drinking alcohol at all (and its not fully a joke, really). After half of a year of struggling I stopped it - surf band its not a business for me, where you just need a result. I want to enjoy the process of creation - and it's not the case again(

In Kiev it's difficult to find decent bass and drums players generally (if you do not play death metal or alike))) - and to find the ones that's "yours" you really need a lucky strike

Sorry for the long intro - but I guess I just needed it..

The question is - compromise or not? Play with anybody anything and keep searching? Write new material at home in hope that "someone will show" (or may be my first drummer will return?)
Make a one-man band? May be, but I like playing with a live people on live events so much....

I will really appreciate any advice cause I am completely lost and frustrated in my musical state, got no band, business is down because of war and crisis and only my family and friends keep me up.

Thank you in advance)

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

New Single is out!

https://waikikimakaki.bandcamp.com/album/rhino-blues-full-contact-surf-single

Waikiki Makaki

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

What he said. It may be that it is meant for you to stretch in directions outside your comfort zone. I was recently in a band who had a very different approach than I was used to. In short, I was used to practicing 1 or two sets to perfection and they had five sets worth of material which we never had time to get to perfection. It was mostly "good enough" and they weren't shy about throwing in extra solos and and choruses on the fly. Needless to say, I had little choice but to be as prepared as I could and to just relax and enjoy the situation for what it was. It certainly helped me grow as a musician and a person.

If your options are limited, then you need to look into the mirror and ask why you have that guitar in your hand? I believe the film director Casavetes was once asked if his career got to the point where the only films he could make would be the commercial ones or none at all, he said he would make the commercial films.

As musicians, ours is mostly a collaborative effort - which usually entails compromise, but the answer may not be the same for you.

Good luck!

mj

mj
bent playing for benter results
Do not attempt to adjust your TV set.
https://www.facebook.com/Bass-VI-Explorers-Club-179437279151035/
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There's no door into the past. All you can do is carry what you can salvage with you as you move on. Try to make some more good memories. Good luck!

Last edited: Dec 01, 2014 11:51:01

I must echo what Don & Tuck said. You've already shown that you know - in the biggest way possible - to move on with your life. Keep to your desires and be flexible while sharpening everything else. Who knows when that moment may come along, but it only comes along if you're open to it & still moving. Someday you may be the one leaving a group because you found a situation, true to your dreams, that you couldn't pass up.

Thank you for sharing an inspiration.

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

Thinking about what you've had to leave behind made me realize I was failing to do that in certain areas myself. I'm going to try to take my own advice. I've spent too much time trying to recapture things or mourning their loss when I knew I couldn't recapture them. Not even big, real things like what you've had to deal with.

By all means go back to the roots, though. But don't exhaust yourself trying to find people who want to re-enact something. You always have to go forward with a thing to make it interesting. There are many ways forward though. You don't have to recapitulate the route rock took with hard rock/metal. Ukrain must be a complex and interesting place musically, since it is almost by definition a border between places. Find an Ukrainian path. Or carry some Ukrainian songs down the well trodden one.

I came up with a surf version of the Russian Anthem, with original intro and coda and some reharmonization. I think Sov nostalgia is a goldmine for instro – try to cover the theme from Ну Погади! I did and I found out I need an orchestra! We need to get beyond "The Cossack" & "Dark Eyes" to the deep repertoire of Eastern Slavic tunes.
Trey Spruance said he played with his band in Krasnoyarsk, with the local Balalaika orchestra and worked out arrangements of traditional tunes as well as his own with the Sov-style balalaika orchestra.

When Ian Gillian of Deep Purple ("deepurplebi" in Georgian!) visited Georgia, and got married in the Sov wedding chapel in Tbilisi some decades ago, he spoke with Georgian press, encouraging local rockers to look to the exceedingly rich heritage of their own music, which he said was sufficient to create an entire repertoire of indigenous rock music. I have only heard of one Georgian band, though that seemed to take him up on the challenge. Maybe lately there has been development but most rockers there mimic American metal
I read somewhere that music-making in Kievan Rus' was a very eclectic affair and drew heavily on musics from all the people the Rus' were in contact with, including Turks, Persians, Georgians, Jews and Mongols. This created a rich soup from which grew a national style.

Squink Out!

Sorry for your loss. Been through that myself and yes, life goes on! One thing I'd like to add to what everyone else has said.. For me personally, playing different types of music I believe has made me a better guitar player. At times when I kept playing the same tunes over and over, I completely switched to something new. And when I came back around to that genre of music again, I noticed I had picked up techniques or improved on them from the previous. Not saying to join a death metal band, but maybe to be a little more open to other styles and sounds. You might be surprised what you pick up along the way and use when you come back to surf. Best of luck either way!

Thank you for sharing this wonderful photograph of your family. There's so much love in this scene. It's very heartwarming to see. I wish you all every happiness. May all your dreams come true!

This is Noel. Reverb's at maximum an' I'm givin' 'er all she's got.

What a lovely family portrait. Honored that you are sharing that with us.

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

Don't give up searching for new musicians to jam with. Check all the local music stores regularly and local web sites for guys wanting to jam. Take it lightly by jamming with new people and be in no hurry to force them into a band or writing. I have a group of guys thaw we just call ourselves Surf Party and we were 2 guitars and drums. Then one day, an aquantince came up to me and asked me if we needed a bass player. I didn't even know he played bass. Now we jam a few times per month and are having a blast. No pressure to do anything but have fun. New songs are beginning to emerge, but they are coming organically.

Craig Skelly

Little Kahuna
www.littlekahunamusic.com
The Breakaways
The Curl Riders