Haley's picking out her band!

[Tusk]

Bummer...hopefully she wasn't getting negative feedback from Haley fans. It seems we've been very positive about her addition to Haley's band

[Miguel]

...hopefully she wasn't getting negative feedback from Haley fans. It seems we've been very positive about her addition to Haley's band

I never saw a negative comment from a Haley fan directed to her. And I doubt the odd comment on a YouTube video would weigh seriously on her. So I'm assuming she's referring to some feedback she received on a professional basis.

In her 2010 Berklee interview it was stated she was studying composition and not songwriting. She was asked the difference:

Fairly night and day. In composition, we are being informed by Bach chorales. Our particular department is very open to other influences, but still it comes from a tradition of concert music. The notes are written down. In songwriting, they draw more from the contemporary tradition—Great American Songbook, anything that would work well on the radio. I've enjoyed drawing from both of them, though I am definitely loyal to my composition major...Recording my pop songs, I think of the piano arrangement of every single note I'm going to play.

Allow me to conjecture...because she's focused on the composition and arrangement she's sometimes not as in the moment as the other band members. She might be technically perfect in her performance but the chemistry is a little off. This is pure conjecture, I know nothing about music. But I can't imagine another reason for the change if it wasn't her decision.

[midnightblues]

Is it possible Neara didn't want to leave the band?





Prior to those tweets she had tweeted:

GIRL sometimes you have to take a little risk if you want to be successful in life,. After all everything is not done by the book there comes a point when you have to step out of the boat and get your feet wet and experiment with new things but this is your call it sure would've been nice to seeing you continue on with Haley. Your a educated and talented pianist, and you bring something to the group.

[Tusk]

Well I wish her luck, like Haley-Holic posted on IDF, Neara is a front woman type personality, IMO, not someone that stays in the background. Sounds like she has the right attitude re: the criticism.

satchvai posed that they might have a back up keyboard player ready (Keyes?), but aparantly it was news to him too when satchvai tweeted him.

[BrandHaley]

Well I wish her luck, like Haley-Holic posted on IDF, Neara is a front woman type personality, IMO, not someone that stays in the background. Sounds like she has the right attitude re: the criticism.

satchvai posed that they might have a back up keyboard player ready (Keyes?), but aparantly it was news to him too when satchvai tweeted him.

There's so much we don't know...whose choice was it? Neara's? Haley's? Courtney's?
Timing is interesting...right after their first gig together (with Courtney and Breezy)...What's it like to follow Courtney's leadership? I find myself wondering about the chemistry.
I agree with Haley-Holic/Tusk about Neara being a 'front woman' personality. She also has musical credibility...4.0 Berklee in composition!...which she has said influences every note she plays...how hard would it be to now submit every note you will play to the taste and whim of your bass player? And we'll probably never know.

[My Alter Ego]

Well I wish her luck, like Haley-Holic posted on IDF, Neara is a front woman type personality, IMO, not someone that stays in the background. Sounds like she has the right attitude re: the criticism.

satchvai posed that they might have a back up keyboard player ready (Keyes?), but aparantly it was news to him too when satchvai tweeted him.

There's so much we don't know...whose choice was it? Neara's? Haley's? Courtney's?
Timing is interesting...right after their first gig together (with Courtney and Breezy)...What's it like to follow Courtney's leadership? I find myself wondering about the chemistry.
I agree with Haley-Holic/Tusk about Neara being a 'front woman' personality. She also has musical credibility...4.0 Berklee in composition!...which she has said influences every note she plays...how hard would it be to now submit every note you will play to the taste and whim of your bass player? And we'll probably never know.

You make several interesting points: what we don't know; timing. There is also the element of someone with Neara's music credentials and aspirations taking a back seat for awhile (given that she seems quite driven). That thought/question had actually crossed my mind before this came down.

The bass player is the music director, correct?

[Shela]

Is it possible Neara didn't want to leave the band?





Prior to those tweets she had tweeted:

Finally another approach. It was really odd to me that she was planning to leave the band after a short period of promotion....

Something must have happened in Vegas or after the MD (Courtney Leonard?) took control of the band. Maybe artistic differences....Probably we´ll never know.

I´m sorry to see her leave because she is a very talented musician and actually it was very cool to have a girl in the band adding to the dynamics.

[My Alter Ego]

Is it possible Neara didn't want to leave the band?





Prior to those tweets she had tweeted:

Finally another approach. It was really odd to me that she was planning to leave the band after a short period of promotion....

Something must have happened in Vegas or after the MD (Courtney Leonard?) took control of the band. Maybe artistic differences....Probably we´ll never know.

I´m sorry to see her leave because she is a very talented musician and actually it was very cool to have a girl in the band adding to the dynamics.

Shela, you're right -- we'll probably never know. But you mentioned a point that I had forgotten from my days of playing an instrument (trumpet) that wasn't considered an "acceptable" instrument for a woman to play (it's still pretty rare): musicians were the worst sexist folks I'd ever encountered. And, especially given where I was truly recognized the extent of it (a recently opened, uber liberal college -- albeit many years ago), I was stunned!

Let's hope that it's artistic differences, rather than either jealousy (also a possibility given Neara's Berklee education) or the more uncomfortable, but never discussed aspect that I just mentioned.

[Miguel]

Neara didn't have a lot of "jam band" experience. Reviewing videos on YouTube, she has often performed solo. At Berklee, the group numbers she participated in were not playing pop music and sometimes she performed as the vocalist only. A classically trained pianist "who experiments with various genres of music," she might be at a disadvantage compared to the other band members when it comes to jazz improvisation.

Jazz improvisation is the process of spontaneously creating fresh melodies over the continuously repeating cycle of chord changes of a tune.

...The musicians are actually spontaneously creating a very intricate form of theme and variation; they all know the tune and the role of their instrument. The guitar, piano, bass and drums, while all able to solo, basically provide the rhythm and harmony over which the soloist will create improvised variations. The structure is flexible so that the soloist may venture in various directions depending on the inspiration of the moment. A Jazz musician is creating spontaneous art every time he or she plays music.

---

"Ahhh - those Jazz guys are just makin' that stuff up!" - Homer Simpson

[My Alter Ego]

Neara didn't have a lot of "jam band" experience. Reviewing videos on YouTube, she has often performed solo. At Berklee, the group numbers she participated in were not playing pop music and sometimes she performed as the vocalist only. A classically trained pianist "who experiments with various genres of music," she might be at a disadvantage compared to the other band members when it comes to jazz improvisation.

Jazz improvisation is the process of spontaneously creating fresh melodies over the continuously repeating cycle of chord changes of a tune.

...The musicians are actually spontaneously creating a very intricate form of theme and variation; they all know the tune and the role of their instrument. The guitar, piano, bass and drums, while all able to solo, basically provide the rhythm and harmony over which the soloist will create improvised variations. The structure is flexible so that the soloist may venture in various directions depending on the inspiration of the moment. A Jazz musician is creating spontaneous art every time he or she plays music.

Excellent point, Miguel. Although, given her interest in singer/songwriter ambitions one, at least I, would assume a certain amount of flexibility/spontaneity.

Again, we don't know.