Saturday morning, Peter, Bencuya, and I met at Mark Cobb's house (at the insane hour of 6:30 AM) to gather our equipment and ride to Amelia Island for a wedding reception. We scooped up Nick at the Jacksonville airport. Good thing we had some down time before the gig--we napped HARD.
The wedding reception was very easy. We were playing under the name Constantly Awesome, with myself added on as an extra player. I more or less functioned as lead guitar, which meant that by the end of the night I'd taken saxophone solos over songs like I Love Rock and Roll, Talking in Your Sleep, and Highway to Hell! Here are some pictures from outside the venue.
Sunday morning we piled into the van and drove the six hours back to Atlanta so we could play the Sandy Springs Festival. It was awesome! Probably three thousand people showed up to a really nice outdoor venue and soaked up every note. The weather was perfect, and the sound was right on the money. You can see a cool set of pictures here. Here's a picture of Jack and me after the gig.
This week I have to solve two equipment problems. On Thursday night I discovered that my wireless MIDI unit for the EWI was not functioning. I'm not sure what is happening--both sides (receiver and transmitter) have power, and the lights are flashing like the signal is good, but nothing is happening. Yesterday my effects pedal for my saxophone was not putting out any signal. It powered up fine, but the outputs were dead. God only knows what's wrong with that thing! I played the gig yesterday with the sax going direct and a long MIDI cable. No big deal. Right now, issues like this are never ending.
It's been a week since my last post, faithful reader(s?), so please accept my apologies. I have been super busy.
Here are the highlights:
Monday, April 26, I did a four hour trio gig with Louis Heriveaux (keyboard) and Kevin Smith (bass). We were on the patio outside of Opera (DJ was inside). Unfortunately for us, that meant that we played the smoking section of the gig under and open-sided tent! Yuck. It was also a cool spring evening in Atlanta, so I had some pitch problems and Louis' hands got cold. Here's the audio evidence:
Forty-five minutes from the end of the gig, the client came by and extended us another hour. Ouch! We were on fumes by then. Listening back, there's some good playing, though. Other than pitch, the other problem we had was that the crowd liked to talk to us, sometimes during songs. We were appreciative of the fact that they were listening (and loved what they heard), but come on!
Tuesday, April 27, Yacht Rock played a Roller Disco Party at Masquerade. We pulled out all the BeeGees stuff and a few other disco-oriented gems. We played and all the twenty-somethings rollerskated in tight shorts and high tube socks. It was pretty cool. I liked this gig a lot. Some pictures:
Wednesday, April 28, Please Pleaserock Me played at Smith's Olde Bar. We had an ok turn out. I'm not sure why this one hasn't taken off quicker. People who hear us love it and they know it's the Yacht Rock guys, but the massive crowds have not shown themselves as of yet. We played pretty well.
Thursday, April 29 through Monday, May 3, Yacht Rock was on the Kid Rock "Chillin' the Most" cruise. Similar to the Rock Boat, it was lots of hanging out and drinking. We played two one hour sets over those five days. The destination was supposed to be Grand Cayman, but we ended up going to Nassau, Bahamas, instead due to weather.
I can't say that I really dug any of the bands on the boat. It was a mix of heavy metal and rap/rock--not my thing. The crowd was a mix of older biker chicks (dark tans, lots of tattoos), strippers, a few confirmed porn stars, and men to match. Not my crowd, either.
Here are some pictures:
It's worth watching the video made by all bands on board to thank Kid Rock and Sixth Man (the organizers of the cruise). We're the last thing on there. It's worth watching. Do it for me.
Monday, May 3, Yacht Rock and Please Pleaserock Me played 500 Songs for Kids at Smith's Olde Bar. For the Beatles, we played Hard Days Night. I contributed cowbell on the bridge, and played it very well if I do say so myself. For Yacht Rock, we ended up selecting November Rain. I was given the task of playing the string part. I was terrible. Do you hear me? TERRIBLE. Easily my worst performance with Yacht Rock in well over a year. I severely embarrassed myself, so when the gig was over, I threw my keyboard in the case and ran out the back door. I really hated myself that night.
Tuesday, May 4, Yacht Rock played a private party at Peachtree Tavern. I redeemed myself. Everything went well. Ganesh Giri Jaya subbed for Nick. We were all very smooth. Pete, Dannells, and Cobb helped me load out. Dannells said something like "We don't want to leave you here!"
Wednesday, May 5, I played a trio gig with Louis Heriveaux (keyboard) and Kevin Smith (bass). Kevin showed up really late--five minutes before the doors were to open (instead of the hour before like I'd asked). I can't believe that he continues to screw up this much. Pretty soon I will be at the point where I can't use him anymore and it won't be because of his playing--it'll be because he can't get his ass out the door at the right time. I don't think he realizes that when the client is standing there asking me if we're ready to go, he's making me look really bad.
Anyway, mp3s will follow in a forthcoming blog post. I have yet to edit them.
Thursday, May 6 was the return of Yacht Rock to the 10 High. We had a terrific crowd which inspired me. I played a couple of really good solos, probably because I got a chance to play that afternoon. It really makes a difference! Kevin Spencer subbed for Nick and Ganesh subbed for Cobb. This was one of the best gigs I've ever heard Ganesh play. He was on all night. davidfreemanmusic.net
Yacht Rock played the Atlanta Steeplechase (which was located in Rome, GA!). I woke up super early (for me) and drove down I-75 into town to meet up with the rest of the band. We drove back up I-75 to Rome to play the gig.
The event was in a private tent at the Steeplechase event. Unfortunately, the weather was terrible--rain and lightning throughout the event. The band played well and the food was ok (BBQ sandwich with bottled BBQ sauce). We rumbled through, stopping for each of the races. Evidently horses don't like music.
First came the "release the hounds!", and then the race horses came through.
It is with great sadness that I must report that my aviators were retired today. The left lens has popped out a couple of times, and I think it's time that they be recycled. A sad day for Yacht Rock.
Afterwards, we loaded up (in the rain) and then spent an hour on a farm road inching our way back to the interstate. We rode down I-75 to the Piedmont Driving Club, where we loaded in and set up for an event that night. I had time, so when we finished setting up I drove back up I-75 to my house so I could get out of my wet shoes and socks. I rummaged through the fridge. I even had time to practice a little!
At 10 PM, I headed back down I-75, back to the Piedmont Driving Club for the gig. It was ok. We were obviously very tired at that point (we started around 11:30 PM), so we staggered through it. The gig ended at 1 AM. We loaded out and I headed back up I-75. 215 miles all together.
Good things are happening for me lately. I've been focusing on a few areas of my performance, and I think each is improving. First, I've been trying to get my time a little better on the keyboard stuff. I want everything to sit on the beat a little better. I am also guilty of rushing within the beat, so my goal there is to keep it all relaxed and smooth, right where Cobb's putting the time. Second, I've been thinking about my articulation on alto. That seems to have been corrected just by my being aware of it. My third goal has been to not tighten up on my tenor altissimo--chomping down on the mouthpiece has choked off some stuff, especially when I start overblowing, so I've been reminding myself to keep my mouth and throat open and let the air go through. Yesterday was the first time in a while where I didn't miss any high F#'s in Who Can it be Now?. My fourth area is in the chorus of Rosanna, where I've been only playing EWI on the horn part. I want to help the chorus to be bigger, so instead of only playing the horn part every few measures, I've kept the organ part going and then used the upper keyboard to supply the brass. I just started this week doing that, so it's still a little shaky. In another week or two I should be much more comfortable. davidfreemanmusic.net
Yacht Rock last night at the 10 High was a thin one. We couldn't have asked for better weather (which lately has meant better crowds), but last night was slim picking. I was outside on the break, and there was nobody even walking on North Highland. The entire area was a ghost town.
We played pretty well, particularly in the first set. The second set descended into boredom, which for us means that we started twisting and pulling on the ends of songs, making them into strange concoctions of noise. It was a relief to finally get to the end of the set and be done with it.
All of my stuff worked well. My new laptop gave me no problems--it did exactly what I expected it to do. I did have a few moments of terror, though. Fifteen minutes before I left home, I set it all up to double check that it would work perfectly, and that's when I found out that my MIDI to USB convertor was not talking to the computer. AAHHHHHH! I downloaded a driver from MAudio's website and things were fine (though they didn't have the driver for my OS, but the most recent one they had seems to do the job). The only other hiccup I've had/am having is that Logic doesn't shut down all the way--I have to force quit it to get it to completely stop. My feeling is that the program is maybe five years old and the OS is brand new, and they're not totally in sync. I definitely need to upgrade Logic and get it happening. For now, I think it'll be fine.
Yacht Rock has a big day tomorrow--a gig in Rome, GA around noon and then a gig back in Atlanta later on that night. Lots of driving and lots of playing. There will be lots of sleeping on Sunday. davidfreemanmusic.net
Yesterday I bit the bullet and purchased a new laptop--a Macbook Pro. I put my old version of Logic on it and brought my "Yacht Rock" sounds into it, and it works. Success!
My plan is to upgrade Logic later this year to the most current version (with Mainstage). I am currently using Logic 7 (which predates Mainstage). What I'll do is get it all set up on my desktop, and then transfer it over once I'm satisfied that it will work on the gig.
Hopefully this means I can breathe easier for the next couple of years! This year has been a tense one for EWI playing! davidfreemanmusic.net
David Ellington (piano), Kevin Smith (bass) and I played a trio for the Robotics convention last night. It was a very easy hit.
After a string of gigs with really poor saxophone playing (both at my own things and Yacht Rock gigs), I think I was better on this one. My articulation had gotten very heavy, and it made everything I played sound laborious and slightly out of sync. Maybe I got lucky, but I tried to be lighter with my tonguing, and that seemed to make it all flow better. I hope it will translate to my alto playing, which has been the main offender.
We had an Elton John impersonator play two songs in our set. He was outstanding. Unfortunately, none of the robo-dorks was around to see him. He played for us and his handlers!
This recording is definitely better than the past. I found a group of presets in Waveburner that really works well. Further evidence that I don't know what I'm doing. There's some weird distortion that doesn't turn up in the program. Somewhere in converting it to mp3s it's making a mess. Ahh, technology. Dig it:
Last night the Yacht Rock Revue kicked off a summer concert series at the Park Tavern. My laptop felt like this would be a great time to freak out and not work. I spent an hour and forty-five minutes opening and shutting it, turning it on and off, and popping the battery out and holding down the power button, and praying to Steve Jobs. Eventually I gave up and started lining up sounds with the thought that I would MIDI into my top keyboard (Korg Triton). I even borrowed Nick's laptop (with a newer version of Logic) to try and see if I could work with that.
No luck. I'd given up on it, and as I was packing it up and bitching to another musician, I turned my laptop on one more time and it worked perfectly. I set it up with the EWI and played the gig with no problems.
The one and only Mark Cobb came back to the 10 High last night. He's been on hiatus with the birth of his son. His playing was inspired. I love what he brings to the gig.
Greg Lee was out due to the birth of his daughter this week, so Greg Partridge filled in on bass and did a terrific job. His playing was super smooth--it was like he'd been playing with us for a while. Ganesh Giri Jaya came by and contributed Greg Lee's vocals. It never ceases to amaze me how Nick, Pete, Greg (and Ganesh when he's there) are able to reassign harmonies at soundcheck and then remember them at the gig. Very impessive!
No problems last night. I fiddled with my alto mouthpiece earlier in the week--it turns out the table was not flat! That's why the thing would feel different as the reed dried out. The altissimo, for instance, would be great at the beginning of the gig, but later on it would be really tricky. I thought I was moving back on the mouthpiece, but I think when I would put a little more in my mouth I was probably helping the reed seal against the table. Aha! Anyway, I used a sheet of glass and some sandpaper to try and flatten the table and I think the results are very good. It's much more consistent. I sent my backup mouthpiece to Mojobari to have it refaced, and I may send this one next just to have it tweaked.
The band played well last night. It was a pretty safe night musically, since we didn't want to put any pressure on Partridge while he was helping us out. Mark Cobb stopped mid-song at the beginning of the second set and had some idiot thrown out. He was mad because he was not chosen for the "Most Yachtily Dressed" contest so he was booing us. For a second I thought Cobb was going to go Axl Rose on him.
Greg Lee is back tonight--we're putting the band back together! davidfreemanmusic.net
Tuesday night Yacht Rock played a private party for the Georgia Young Republicans at 8 Traxx Disco (formerly Andrews Upstairs). It was the most boring party we've ever played. I have no idea how many people were expected to show, but my guess would be that there were maybe 150 people there. It was brutal. Too bad, too, because we were actually playing well (until we got bored). Mark Cobb played with us again (he is officially back) and he was on fire for that first set. It was everything I've been missing.
The massive embarrassment of the night goes to me for forgetting to play the sax part on Careless Whisper. I think it was in the third set and I just spaced out...I was mentally plotting out what I needed to play on keyboard and got caught not paying attention. From the laughter onstage, Nick must have given me some kind of big lead in, but I never heard a word of it. Good thing there was no one there to witness it. All night I'd been checking off songs that I'd screwed up the last time we were here--I was doing so well, but my brain just picked a fine time to leave me (Lucille).
This is no surprise to us, but everything was just the way we left it ten days earlier...my fog juice soaked setlist was still on the stage (see the picture), the mostly empty bottle of vodka and a few of Mark Dannells' guitar picks. Hell, the bottle of Crown Royal that we opened at the Please PleaseRock Me show March 31 and brought to Andrews--I mean 8 Traxx--was still there (and Dannells took it home!). I hope that the roaches will help me load out the next time we play there.
Last night I played a quartet gig with Tyrone Jackson, Kevin Smith, and Marlon Patton. It took me well into the second set before I finally got comfortable--I'm not really sure why. I warmed up before I left home, but I just had a really difficult time getting my head and hands in sync. I think that at least part of it was that I was (once again) overblowing, and I got handcuffed by trying to play full-bore from the first note, which left me nowhere to go. Once we got into the second set, I felt like things calmed down for me and I played a little better (though my reed at that point was indicating its intent to die on me!). The first set was rough...lots of dumb mistakes. I tried to read charts that I didn't really need to look at (Song for Bilbao, Turnaround), and I guessed wrong on the endings of a couple (Naima, Punjab). By the time we stopped for a break, I was beat from my reading miscues, but I'd made so many mistakes I kept looking to the lead sheets for help!
Here are the mp3s...
This gig featured really good banana pudding. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of it, but here's some other visual highlights: is it soup or a dirty pot?, ten golden sliders, part of the dessert layout, and a few pictures of chairs!
