I was indeed surprised about Evil. That kind of over-simple one-chord stuff require so much of the performer. They depend very much on findig a groove and sticking to it. It happens all the time, the song sound okay on the acoustic guitar at home but lousy with the band in the rehearsal. If the others don't see potential in it, pracicing only becomes very boring. Then suddenly after practicing at home it works in the rehearsal too. Had it the same way with Fairy tales, I thought it might become an extra song if I'd need to fill out the repertoire with one and a half extra minute, but it's become a favorite of ours.

Great machine is the opposite, it plays itself as soon as one has managed to play in that tempo.

Personally I think the fiddle drags the rest of the performance down. The bowing has improved a lot but intonation is a horror and there's a lot of bow noise thanks to my violent right hand technique. That can actually be heard with some real fiddlers too who were raised in a time without amplification, like Dennis McGee. But modern listeners are probably not very forgiving about that kind of errors.

Having unamplified string instruments be heard over drums is always a problem.

Guitar is the main problem even if the fiddle doesn't really match drum volume. If the guitar is played harder, the fiddle won't appear so weak. Me I can play the rythm guitar that way but most people can't and I don't really know how to teach them... Just strike harder, I think, and get the strokes right upon the kick or a nano-second before, not after.

Having the drummer hold back can never be a permanent solution. Brushes maybe, but it's the kick more than anything else drowning the guitar.

For bassplayers and rythm guitarists it's usually a good thing learning to play on your own tapping the foot. Learn to find the right expression without support from drums.

Playing a melody instrument, the best practicing for me has been jamming alone with a drummer. When there's no bass register and very little mid, bad timing becomes very appearant. Funny thing is, as soon as the timing works, I can turn the distortion and the lows down - without the overall sound feeling weak. I'd actually say, the only thing that's evolved my playing has been those jams alone with a drummer. Before that part works I'll be extremely dependant on the bass player or rythm guitarist, but when I'm synchronised with the drummer, nothing can make things fall apart completely.

When the unit falls apart, the highs sound very thin and the lack of lows becomes very obvious. The lows work as glue, it seems. Things can go wrong without falling apart, but the result will still be somewhat powerless.

Dennis McGee performed solo with his fiddle and occupied 200 dancers. When one manages that, there's probably a solid ground to build melodic playing on.

I've held the bow that way all the years I've been playing fiddle. The advantage is that I get a very firm grip even with a relaxed hand. 

I looked at pictures trying to figure out whom I'd be like, and Canray Fontenot held that way and I believe Leo Soileau did too. Dennis McGee had a similar grip but on the stick rather than the frog. In many ways I'd prefer that, but the bow becomes slightly shorter.