This gig was a three setter. First two sets, we played to a mostly empty room while everyone at the party was in the other room (around the bar). Finally in the third set, they came in and danced. Better late than never.
davidfreemanmusic.net
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Holiday Party #3
Yacht Rock played another holiday party, this time at King Plow. Another chance to practice before the big night at Variety Playhouse!
This gig was a three setter. First two sets, we played to a mostly empty room while everyone at the party was in the other room (around the bar). Finally in the third set, they came in and danced. Better late than never.
davidfreemanmusic.net
This gig was a three setter. First two sets, we played to a mostly empty room while everyone at the party was in the other room (around the bar). Finally in the third set, they came in and danced. Better late than never.
davidfreemanmusic.net
Friday, December 14, 2012
Holiday Party #2
Yacht Rock played another holiday party last night, this time at a showroom for a carpet manufacturing/sales company downtown. This party was populated by super hot women in six inch heels. They were everywhere! Fantastic.
For us, this is mostly a rehearsal for Saturday--a few extra reps before the big day. It was, for me, the chance to try playing some of these new songs without horns. Not too bad. I'd give myself a B on them.
davidfreemanmusic.net
For us, this is mostly a rehearsal for Saturday--a few extra reps before the big day. It was, for me, the chance to try playing some of these new songs without horns. Not too bad. I'd give myself a B on them.
davidfreemanmusic.net
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Trio Gig in Alpharetta
I played a nice little trio gig in Alpharetta this afternoon with Kevin Smith on bass and Nick Rosen on keyboard--a combined grand opening and holiday party for a company.
Other than the crazy screaming kids, it was a really good gig. I'd only done one gig previously with Nick--this one was quite a treat. I really dug it. Kevin was terrific, as usual. We played my originals, with the exception of a few Christmas tunes. I love playing with these guys.
Here's the audio:
Rehearsal for the big Yacht Rock show this coming Saturday went pretty well--all my horn charts had little issues, but everything worked. I spent last night and tonight editing and reprinting everything. I'm finally done!
davidfreemanmusic.net
Monday, December 10, 2012
Charts and Odd Meters
I was shut out of my AM church gig this week. Oh well…slept in…I would've liked to have made the money.
Most of my day was concentrated on finishing horn charts for next Saturday's big Yacht Rock Holiday Show at the Variety Playhouse. We're going to have a horn section, so I've been cranking out music. There are eighteen tunes all together; I have fourteen finished and printed out. That leaves four to put in Finale. At around three hours per tune (transcribing/arranging/inputing), that's a lot of work. The deadline/rehearsal is Tuesday morning.
My PM gig was not too bad. I've discovered that panning the acoustic guitar and piano opposite each other makes each more audible (since they are both playing in the same octave much of the time). The only other thing worth mentioning is that we had two songs with random odd meter measures thrown in. The first of the two was in six, but every fifth or sixth bar would be in seven (I think this was to satisfy a wandering melody). Naturally, I was given a solo, which unsuccessfully wandered in search of downbeats and a form. Thanks.
We had a new priest tonight. I wonder if the church could put the franchise tag on a good priest to keep them in the rotation, and maybe put the blabbermouths on waivers in the hope that some other church might pick them up? Throw in a deacon as trade bait?
davidfreemanmusic.net
Most of my day was concentrated on finishing horn charts for next Saturday's big Yacht Rock Holiday Show at the Variety Playhouse. We're going to have a horn section, so I've been cranking out music. There are eighteen tunes all together; I have fourteen finished and printed out. That leaves four to put in Finale. At around three hours per tune (transcribing/arranging/inputing), that's a lot of work. The deadline/rehearsal is Tuesday morning.
My PM gig was not too bad. I've discovered that panning the acoustic guitar and piano opposite each other makes each more audible (since they are both playing in the same octave much of the time). The only other thing worth mentioning is that we had two songs with random odd meter measures thrown in. The first of the two was in six, but every fifth or sixth bar would be in seven (I think this was to satisfy a wandering melody). Naturally, I was given a solo, which unsuccessfully wandered in search of downbeats and a form. Thanks.
We had a new priest tonight. I wonder if the church could put the franchise tag on a good priest to keep them in the rotation, and maybe put the blabbermouths on waivers in the hope that some other church might pick them up? Throw in a deacon as trade bait?
davidfreemanmusic.net
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Rob Henson!
 |
| talkin' to you, Darren Stanley |
What otherwise was a snoozer of a party was memorable for the presence of Rob Henson, subbing on bass (Greg Lee was subbing for Nick on the front line). Several of us have known Rob since college, and he still has the same intensity and aggressive playing that he was known for at I.U. It was super fun to share the stage with him again.
This party was a huge production--multiple rooms, a DJ, karaoke, a blues band, and us. It was a huge and expensive event--I wonder how many of the attendees would rather have had a Christmas bonus instead of this lavish gala.
The sound company had some trouble with the audio--I played all of Lowdown without the flute microphone on (you'd think a forty-something guy would say, "Hmm, there's something missing in this song!"), and lots of things were coming and going in the monitors. I think they'd had enough of us by the end of the night--the crew wouldnt even talk to us. I packed up and hauled ass out of there.
Other than Rob Henson (woo!), my other exciting discovery was a passageway from the freight elevator to the parking garage, which saved me about a mile of walking inside the hotel and another trip to a stinky loading dock. Score one for Dave!
davidfreemanmusic.net
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Sea Island
One of the toughest things about this particular event was that we didn't spend the night, so it was drive five and a half hours, set up and play the gig, tear down, and drive five and a half hours back. Fortunately, Hans (our sound guy for the event) was willing to drive both ways and run sound.
The other complication at this show was the weather. We were outside on the edge of a marsh, on a stage with no covering (thankfully, no rain!). Upon arrival, we had to deal with sand gnats, which we were told were all wings and teeth! After the sun went down, the gnats went away, but we then had to deal with cool temperatures and high humidity, which meant that all of our gear was dripping with condensation. Not the best situation for electronics!
Bencuya was out for this gig, so we had Eric Frampton subbing for him. Cool! Because of sub, there were a couple of songs where I played Bencuya's parts (and Frampton played mine)--Reminiscing, Hey Nineteen, Somebody's Baby, and Doctor, My Eyes. I came through in good shape, except for the last one, where I came out of the guitar solo too early and train wrecked it. Agh!
We all made it home in one piece, thanks to Hans.
davidfreemanmusic.net
Monday, December 3, 2012
Sunday
No gig Saturday night made Sunday morning a little less painful!
My AM gig was pretty solid. We played two traditional hymns (flute) and two contemporary songs (tenor). Easy stuff--the worst of it was the twelve or so page turns in one of the latter. After the break, we played the closing song (clarinet) and that was it. No problems. I'm lovin' it.
My PM gig was also fine. Several of the regular songs become spoken responses during Advent, so this was a shorter gig, playing-wise. I panned the guitar away from the piano, and I think that helped with the sound--when they are right on top of each other, it can be difficult to tell them apart (right hand of the piano vs. the guitar). I think spacing them out helped the mix.
davidfreemanmusic.net
My AM gig was pretty solid. We played two traditional hymns (flute) and two contemporary songs (tenor). Easy stuff--the worst of it was the twelve or so page turns in one of the latter. After the break, we played the closing song (clarinet) and that was it. No problems. I'm lovin' it.
My PM gig was also fine. Several of the regular songs become spoken responses during Advent, so this was a shorter gig, playing-wise. I panned the guitar away from the piano, and I think that helped with the sound--when they are right on top of each other, it can be difficult to tell them apart (right hand of the piano vs. the guitar). I think spacing them out helped the mix.
davidfreemanmusic.net
Friday, November 30, 2012
The Gilligan Show
Yacht Rock played the corporate event for whom we had rerecorded the Gilligan's Island Theme (with their lyrics). Easy gig--we played one two hour set to close out their program. Early in the evening, we played the theme for them, and they couldn't have cared less. Uhhhhh…I don't get it.
The event was at the Evergreen Marriott in Stone Mountain Park. A half hour into setting up, we had to evacuate the building for a fire alarm. Not a good start!
I'd never seen a lighting/sound rig with a birdcage of trusses, especially for a corporate event in a hotel ballroom.
We set up and then waited for two hours while they ran their program. Eventually, we made it to hiding behind a curtain.
I played great. Damnit! Why couldn't I have been terrible tonight and good on Turkey Eve at Smith's, or some average for both?
davidfreemanmusic.net
The event was at the Evergreen Marriott in Stone Mountain Park. A half hour into setting up, we had to evacuate the building for a fire alarm. Not a good start!
I'd never seen a lighting/sound rig with a birdcage of trusses, especially for a corporate event in a hotel ballroom.
We set up and then waited for two hours while they ran their program. Eventually, we made it to hiding behind a curtain.
Finally, they introduced us and we could play. We had Ganesh Giri Jaya subbing on drums--great job!
davidfreemanmusic.net
Sunday, November 25, 2012
My Old Routine
Back to the church gigs!
My AM church gig is running out of money, and thus the horn section was disbanded (at least through the end of the year). I'm back to improvising parts and filling in the gaps, which is kind of nice. I liked the parts aspect of playing within the section, but there wasn't any freedom. I played a lot of soprano this morning, which was a nice change pace.
Another cool thing about this morning was that I was positioned right smack in the middle of the band (piano across the front of us, drums behind me, bass to the left, acoustic guitar to the right), which meant that I could hear everything well. Matt was even generous enough to provide a monitor for me.
I think I played pretty well. Both my soprano and my tenor might have some leaks that need to be corrected. Maybe it's a mental issue, or a reed issue, or some combination of both.
After lunch, I took some time to investigate my new travel sax case, made by Battle Cases. The idea is that I would rather have a good case that I can put all my horns in and check (on a fly date) rather than try and carry three or four horns plus my laptop onto the plane. It's also a little more durable and roadworthy than the hardshell cases that come with new saxophones. Even on a road trip in the van/trailer, I think it's wise to have a good sturdy case. Pretty much any time someone other than you might be moving your gear.
I bought this case--it's a massive Pelican case with a custom foam interior. It holds alto, tenor, EWI, flute, a couple of sax stands, and accessories. The case has wheels. It's looks pretty huge, but I can still pick it up when it's fully loaded.
I have spoken to Delta on TWO different occasions, and they assure me that because it is an instrument, the size/weight restrictions are higher, and I will be able to check this just like it's another piece of luggage (no penalties). We shall see! I want to find something reassuring to print out and carry with me.
Anyway…
My PM church gig was OK. They seemed kind of surprised to see me. It felt like my soprano tuning was all over the place. Once again, is it the horn, the reed, or my head?
Lou Marini! How cool was that!
davidfreemanmusic.net
My AM church gig is running out of money, and thus the horn section was disbanded (at least through the end of the year). I'm back to improvising parts and filling in the gaps, which is kind of nice. I liked the parts aspect of playing within the section, but there wasn't any freedom. I played a lot of soprano this morning, which was a nice change pace.
Another cool thing about this morning was that I was positioned right smack in the middle of the band (piano across the front of us, drums behind me, bass to the left, acoustic guitar to the right), which meant that I could hear everything well. Matt was even generous enough to provide a monitor for me.
I think I played pretty well. Both my soprano and my tenor might have some leaks that need to be corrected. Maybe it's a mental issue, or a reed issue, or some combination of both.
After lunch, I took some time to investigate my new travel sax case, made by Battle Cases. The idea is that I would rather have a good case that I can put all my horns in and check (on a fly date) rather than try and carry three or four horns plus my laptop onto the plane. It's also a little more durable and roadworthy than the hardshell cases that come with new saxophones. Even on a road trip in the van/trailer, I think it's wise to have a good sturdy case. Pretty much any time someone other than you might be moving your gear.
I bought this case--it's a massive Pelican case with a custom foam interior. It holds alto, tenor, EWI, flute, a couple of sax stands, and accessories. The case has wheels. It's looks pretty huge, but I can still pick it up when it's fully loaded.
I have spoken to Delta on TWO different occasions, and they assure me that because it is an instrument, the size/weight restrictions are higher, and I will be able to check this just like it's another piece of luggage (no penalties). We shall see! I want to find something reassuring to print out and carry with me.
Anyway…
My PM church gig was OK. They seemed kind of surprised to see me. It felt like my soprano tuning was all over the place. Once again, is it the horn, the reed, or my head?
Lou Marini! How cool was that!
davidfreemanmusic.net
Blue Lou
I had a House Live gig last night as part of a wedding reception at the Ritz (Buckhead). Wayne, Jeremy, and myself were on this one, with a Studio 54 disco theme (I wore some of my Yacht Rock clothes).
Across the hall from us was Steve Tyrell (also part of the same reception). The band was all New York guys, and the two horn players happened to be Lew Soloff and Lou Marini! Wow! Quite a thrill to meet both of them.
Our gig was an easy two hours, most of which was played to an empty room. I played really well--I played like at any moment, Blue Lou might walk in and check me out!
davidfreemanmusic.net
Across the hall from us was Steve Tyrell (also part of the same reception). The band was all New York guys, and the two horn players happened to be Lew Soloff and Lou Marini! Wow! Quite a thrill to meet both of them.
 |
| with Lew Soloff |
 |
| with Lou Marini! |
Our gig was an easy two hours, most of which was played to an empty room. I played really well--I played like at any moment, Blue Lou might walk in and check me out!
davidfreemanmusic.net
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Turkey Eve
Agh! I was terrible! I should have thrown myself down the back stairs as punishment. The worst show I've played in quite a while. I deserved that load out.
davidfreemanmusic.net
davidfreemanmusic.net
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