2015 Prom

The Park Tavern series has begun for the Yacht Rock Revue, our monthly local gig that continues from now until the fall.  The first one up is a thing we call the Reagan Rock Prom, which concentrates our setlist on the 80s side of things.  

A full crew for this one!  Kip on front of house (who mentioned to me afterwards that this was one of his best shows at this venue), Zac on monitors at the side of the stage (good for emergency adjustments), and Liz helping with set up and tear down.  They make it as painless as possible.

Due to our scattered schedules, our only rehearsal for this gig was a week ago;  I think it showed in some places.  I practiced a lot for this one, but I could have used more time hearing my parts in the context of the group.

No alto on this one, just tenor (on six in the first set), and I only played EWI on PYT and Africa.  The rest of it was keyboards.  Strange how that worked out--I could've packed those up on the break.

So, tune by tune...I had the solo on Head Over Heels;  I flipped the last little phrase and the middle phrase, and then made my way back to the end of it, so I played all the right notes, but maybe not in the original order...Maneater, Only the Good Die Young, and You Can Do Magic were fine...I had some stumbling fingers in Raspberry Beret--I'd skipped ahead on the set list, and jumped back to this at the last second...Who Can it Be Now was fine...Hello was solid, as were Everything She Wants, I Keep Forgetting (except that my string note was too damn loud)...I played some pads in Careless Whisper two octaves too high (where I'd set the keyboard for the previous song)...Let's Dance was pretty close (I only have a three possible things to play, I think I put them all in the correct spots...All I Need is a Miracle was good--I had another synth solo in this one (which I played correctly, but holding on tight)...I Want a New Drug, PYT, Africa, and I Wanna Dance were no big deal.

Second set...what the hell happened in the beginning of Let's Go Crazy?  I wasn't playing--just listening, but we were all over the place...later I skipped a section and crashed through the part right before the guitar solo...Power of Love was easy...Everybody Have Fun was good, though I'm not sure I could definitively say how to get to the end--our ending is still too new, but we did it (fairly successfully) anyway...Sledgehammer was fine, though I always think it's going to end eight measures before it does...You Make My Dreams and Call Me Al are fine...Things Can Only Get Better was pretty good, though I have my sounds on two presets, and I forgot to move to the second one for the first prechorus, so when I tried to play, there was no sound...stupid...Footloose is easy...Take On Me bit me in the ass--I swung and missed on too much of this one...Don't You Forget About Me was cool...we did no rehearsal for Any Way You Want It, but it still sounded really good...how'd that happen?

Some crazy routing this week, with a gig in San Diego and then a public show at a casino in Niagara Falls.  Robbie Dupree will be with us for that one.

Working from Home

This is not a busy week by any means--it's spring break for the Atlanta area, and so things are empty for everybody.  It's a good thing, I guess, because I need the extra time to play dad!  Other than a little bit of light practicing, not much has been accomplished.

Today's two big tasks:  1.  Create a horn arrangement for a Greg Lee original titled One Kind of Love.  I've played this one with him at Eddie's Attic, and my chart has the title and says "Clarence Clemmons."  My horn section is a little more complicated than that.  While on a run last night, I sang the song to myself and came up with my ideas for each section.  Today, I wrote them out on paper and recorded a version to submit to the Greg.

In spite of all the technological stuff (notation software, MIDI, iPad, etc), I still prefer to write out what I want to do on paper--it's easier to create and edit parts.  However, I'd rather not try and read a chart like this on a gig.  Right now I remember what all of this stuff is, but in a few weeks, things won't be as clear.

You can listen to the main chunk of the stuff I wrote (a chorus, verse, chorus, and bridge) here:



That was fun!  I'm happy with what I've written.  I used two tenors and bari.

My second task of the day was to add some permanent foam to my baritone sax case.  The case I have is made by Protec.  It's a nice case;  looks cool, seems fairly protective.  However, there about an inch of extra space in the cavity, and sometimes I can feel my bari shifting, which is not so great.  I cut a cantaloupe slice of foam and glued it in.  No more saxophone shaking.

All set for the next gig!

Charleston

Why is Charleston so weird for us?  It seems like every time the Yacht Rock Revue is in Charleston, things are weird.  Last Saturday's wedding reception was no exception.

We left really really early (7 AM) from Nick's in order to be all set at the reception early--the ceremony was also in the same location.  I slept all the way there.  We stopped in North Charleston for lunch at some hipster restaurant called Sesame Burgers and Beer.  It was really good!

From there, it was only about a twenty minute drive to reach our destination.  Load in was pretty easy--off the street and through an entrance into the courtyard of a historic house right on the main drag.

After set up and soundcheck, we had several hours to kill in our green room.  No problem.  We watched most of American Gangster, a later, bits of the Final Four, and took turns stinking up the bathroom upstairs.

The gig was an easy, laid back affair, and the people were easy to deal with, though the guy with the cigar could have left that at home.  We had Ganesh Giri Jaya subbing for Mark Cobb on drums--a terrific job filling in.

After the gig ended and the party had departed, the venue became a free-for-all between the catering, the decor, and the band.  Kip took the worst of it, getting hit in the head twice by the pipe and drape guys, once by our lights, and once on the hand by the ratchet that straps the monitors to the top of a road case.  He also got yelled at (by the venue guy) for shoving a decor guy for planting his foot on Kip's gear while tying his shoe.

At the same time, the decor guys had backed their giant box truck up to the entrance, blocking our exit until they were able to leave with the dance floor and the stage.  Uhh...all of our cases are on the stage!  They relented and pulled a few feet forward, and we quickly massed all of our gear out on the sidewalk.

After a few hours in the hotel, we were up for breakfast and the long ride home.

Kip needed a nap.  It was a rough gig for him.

Demonstration Day, then more Dave and Dave Duo in Decatur

Long day...I was up early to demonstrate every woodwind I own as part of the Celebration of the Arts at a local elementary school.  I have no idea how it went over;  mentally, I didn't wake up until around halfway through.

A few things...

All clarinet demonstrations began with a discussion of Squidward (from Spongebob Squarepants).  Likewise, I did my best to explain that Kelpy G on Spongebob is a Kenny G joke.  Who is Kenny G? He owns part of Starbucks, he's a good golfer...I prefer to think of the soprano saxophone renaissance as coming from Branford Marsalis, another name that means nothing.

I played Baker Street a couple of times, prefaced by saying "You may hear this in Publix."

In speaking about tenor saxophone altissimo, I brought up Lenny Pickett from Saturday Night Live, only to realize that none of them are old enough to stay up and watch it, and if they could, they're probably not watching to see LP.

No, I'm not rich. No, I don't own a plane.

After a pretty solid nap, it was off to Decatur for another Dave and Dave Duo gig, this time at Sun in my Belly.  Good times were had!  Much more enjoyable gig than the Thursday night.

Check it out.

Back to the Duo

Good news!  My microphone stand bag (and stands) has been located at the Ritz at Lake Oconee.  Supposedly they are being loaded onto a truck that runs between the Ritzes in Atlanta and the one out there, so once it makes it back to town, I'll just run down and pick them up.  Stay tuned.

The Dave and Dave Duo landed back at JCT Kitchen, hoping to have a nice evening playing on the deck/patio for the hipsters.  Unfortunately, as soon as we finished setting up, the weather closed in on us, and we had to rush our gear inside to the bar (boo).  Ten minutes later it was pouring outside (for about ten minutes straight), so good thing we moved.

The bar is an unfavorable situation.  We played fine, but the crowd is really loud and largely oblivious to the fact that we're tucked in the corner.  Not my favorite.  I didn't bother to record it because all you'd hear is crowd noise.  Good warm up for Friday night, I guess.

In the mean time, nosh on some of last week's Sun in my Belly videos:

Trio at the Ritz

Kevin Smith (bass), David Ellington (rhodes), and I played a corporate background music gig Monday night at the Ritz at Lake Oconee.  Good stuff!  It was a nice and easy hit, and the crowd never got loud enough that we couldn't hear ourselves.  All three of us played well.  You can hear it:



Since we were in a large tent, it was requested that I provide a PA.  We never used it;  I set it up, but never turned it on.  I guess we were loud enough acoustically to cover the space.  The bad news is that my microphone stands and bag wandered off--when setting up, I took one stand out (for the sax microphone) and left the bag (with two other stands in it) on the floor while I built the PA.  When I was packing up after the gig, I realized it was missing--I'm guessing that someone moved it out of the way when the food/beverage and decor people were setting up, and then whoever moved it didn't bother to mention it to me or anyone (or didn't realize that it was mine), and then left for the night, so post-gig nobody knew where to find it.  Anyway, I'm out around $80 gear because of it.  Boo.

The ride home is boring as hell (105 miles each way), and then (after I ate, because god forbid the musicians should be allowed to eat from a buffet that you're going to throw out after the event) I stayed up late practicing for a Tuesday morning rehearsal's for the next big Yacht Rock show--the Reagan Rock Prom April 10.  All the new stuff sounds pretty damn good.

In other news, there are two Dave and Dave Duo gigs this week:  Thursday at JCT Kitchen and Bar on the west side (6-9 PM), and Friday at Sun in my Belly (7-9).  Here's a video from last week:

Keepin' On

Yacht Rock had a Sunday afternoon gig, a benefit for the Songs for Kids Foundation.  In the past, we've participated in a week long event at Smith's Olde Bar called 500 Songs for Kids--lots of local bands (famous or not) jump on stage and play a song they've been assigned.  It's pretty cool, though because of our size and need for accuracy, we end up dragging some gear up those back stairs to play one song.  I think our performance at this gig is a better option, and hopefully raised gobs of money!

Front of House footwear

You can see what they do in this video:



So...the event was at Monday Night Brewing, which is more or less a warehouse, which is to say that it is not acoustically friendly!  Nonetheless, it was a very easy gig, with a pretty easy load in/out, and it was finished at 5 PM!  Can't beat it.  It even left me time to go play the ol' church gig.

Corporate Stuff

Yacht Rock played a corporate fundraiser last night in Roswell, GA.  No big deal.

Kip got a new mixer.  It's a Midas 32 (if you care).

I ate half a bag of Skittles before the gig, and approximately the same amount of trail mix after the gig.

Easy, no-brainer event.  We finished at 10 PM.  I was home at 11, and in bed before midnight.

Duo Tour!

David Ellington and I, by fortune of having gigs at the end of this month and the beginning of the next, have embarked on a Dave and Dave Tour.  Last night we played at Sun in my Belly in Decatur;  Monday night, we are playing a private event (with Kevin Smith on bass);  Thursday, we are at JCT Kitchen on the West Side;  Friday, we are back at Sun in my Belly!

Last night's duo was a nice change of pace from the other things I've been doing.  The room got loud, though.  There was more of a crowd, particularly of people gathered right around us as they waited on their reservations.

Check out the sounds...

Two Versions of Hollywood

Yacht Rock played a really easy corporate gig in Hollywood, FL at the beginning of the week, and got back to Atlanta just in time to play a movie premier at the Atlanta Film Festival.  Dig:

Sunday:  Up early for our flight to Miami.  Ouch.  The good news is that we were met at the airport by Kip and Hans with all of our gear--they'd driven down the day before with the van and trailer.  After the short trip up I-95, we pulled into the Westin, where a whole crew of stage hands dragged our gear into the ballroom for set up.  After set up, lunch, and soundcheck, we had a little time to hang out in our rooms before the show.  Nice place!

our driver/assistant audio engineer Hans, all decked out for the gig

The first night was great--by the end of the first set, a few people were in the mood to get out and dance, and by early in the second set, it seemed like everybody was up.  Very cool!

Even with the encore, we were still finished by 10 PM.

chief audio engineer and gig manager Kip

The best news of all was that because we were playing the same gig on Monday night, we could leave all of our gear set up.

Monday:  We were all free to do whatever until 5 PM.  I slept late, went for a run, read my book, waded in the ocean, swam in the pool...pretty good for a Monday!

Same gig with more or less the same results.  We had 'em by the end of the night!

photo by Hans

photo by Hans

This one had a quick load out.  The same crew that brought our gear in was anxious to pack our gear up, and we had to hurry to take care of our stuff before they began grabbing stuff.

Tuesday:  another early (for me) flight, back to Atlanta.  Enough time to eat lunch and unpack my suitcase before it was off to another gig.

This one was quick and easy.  We were invited to play for the premier of Imba Means Sing! at the Atlanta Film Festival.



Since it was just a couple of songs, we used our "radio set up"--hand percussion, acoustic guitars, woodwinds, bass, and one keyboard.  We played Summer Breeze, Afternoon Delight, and then the choir from the Atlanta Music Project joined us for Africa.  I was a little bit nervous about this one--I've always played the parts on EWI, so would I be able to do it on flute a whole step lower?  I made it through just fine, trying not to think about the notes very much and just concentrating on hearing the melody clearly.

A couple of guys stayed to watch the movie, but I bailed because my brain was FRIED.

Death by Salsa

I picked up a salsa gig in the middle of this past week, playing tonight at the tapas restaurant Eclipse di Luna in Miami Circle.  It was sort of two gigs in one:

1.  The first two sets were a quartet (guitar, bongos/vocals, congas/vocals, and saxes/flutes).  We played latin jazz, bossa novas, and a couple of Buena Vista Social Club tunes.  I fared very well in these circumstances, playing the melody and taking a solo.

2.  In the second two sets, we swapped the guitar for a keyboardist.  We also changed to much more authentic salsa and merengue, and it was here that I had my ass handed to me time and time again, as I vainly attempted to read handwritten, dog-eared charts, at 250 BPM.  In fact, I was surprised that I didn't get fired in between sets (which I would have welcomed because I was so embarrassed).

I'm pretty sure I won't be getting called for this one again!