David Freeman Music

Not much to report. Sunday was a day of digging out. I unloaded all my gear from the truck and put it away. I played my church gig that night (and took Jack with me). Jack puked in the parking lot before we went home. The only thing memorable about Monday was that I was teaching and my phone lit up because of an incoming call. It was the store--Music and Arts. But I was there (and had been there for two hours). So I called them back, and as we were talking, I walked out front to let them know just how dumb they were. While I was standing there talking on my cell phone to the guy four feet away from me on the store phone, my phone beeped--it was the other clerk calling me! The biggest news of the day is that Y.O.U. , my favorite local band, has decided to disband.

Yacht Rock was supposed to play a pair of gigs yesterday--the Sandy Springs Festival and Jazzoo at the zoo (duh). The Sandy Springs gig got rained out. We showed up and it was pouring. Then the rain stopped. It's on, we thought. As we were loading our stuff on to a golf cart to take into the festival, the golf cart driver got a message that the gig had been canceled. So...back in the truck! We walked over to the stage to see what we would be missing. Twas a nice little ampitheater in Sandy Springs. By the time we got back to our vehicles, the rain was coming again, so I drove home in the rain. It kept raining for a few more hours. Two nice things about that gig getting cancelled: 1. We still got paid. 2. The squeeze of trying to pack up, sprint to the zoo, and set up again was eliminated. Instead, I went home and ate supper, and then left around 6 PM. I loaded into the zoo around 6:30. It was still raining, but miraculously we were able to drive through the back of the tent and un...

Thursday was another day that didn't look too bad when I checked my calendar. I went by Music and Arts to buy a new saxophone stand. I have a couple of Hamilton stands that I've been using, but the bumpers at the bottom don't cradle my horns well, and I've tried to bend them and get them to work, but it's never been what I wanted. The older ones have a V shaped bumper--the newer ones are pretty flat, and they don't work that well in my opinion. It started to bug me, so I moved on. I had a Hercules stand that was holding an old saxophone up at home, and so I switched one of the Hamiltons out for that. I went and got another one so I'd have two in my bag. While I was buying my stand, I overheard the clerk working say that he is now the manager. If my memory is right, that's the fourth manager in four years. Ahh, retail! I'll have to get the scoop on what happened to the other guy. Anyway, when he got around to me he mentioned that they brought...

In case you're interested, I have added mp3s of a couple of songs from last night to my website --it's on the "sounds" page down at the bottom. You might also notice that when Dan is soloing, there's another guitar comping behind him. The beauty of technology! Dan ran his guitar through a Boomerang peda l , allowing him to record the chord changes during the first chorus. There are a couple of minor mishaps (when the form was too long for the pedal's memory!, or as in Jordu , when Dan said "I was sure you'd take more than two choruses!") but who cares...it's a really cool way to make the gig happen.

I played a flute/guitar gig with Dan Baraszu tonight. I'd bet I've known Dan now for about twelve or thirteen years. In that time, I don't think he's ever made a mistake! We had a good time--it was a relaxed gig, and they even insisted that we eat! I had some kind of spicy shrimp pasta. I recorded the affair (except for the first couple of tunes). Here's some 2 minute samples if you want to hear what we did .

This past weekend I had no gigs which made it a good weekend to go to Mississippi and visit my grandmother. She's doing well considering her age. While we were there, Jack and I fished (we caught a bunch of catfish and a couple of turtles, but I returned them all safely to their natural habitat). Jack also drove the golf cart all over the neighborhood (highly illegal, but in a town as small as Leland, MS, who's going to catch us?). Jack had fun and we all had a nice visit. Reggie got so excited chasing the geese in the back yard that he dove into the lake. I guess it's the lab in him. He can swim, though! He only did it once, so it's safe to say that he still does not like the water. My grandfather died January, 8, 2009, and left me his truck. There has been an issue with executing the will (the title was in his name, not my grandmother's), and since it has been nine months, she is now able to transfer the title to me. So, Reggie and I drove the truck back. ...

It's been pretty wild the past two days. Yesterday (Wednesday), I played a duo gig with Louis Heriveaux. It was a three hour gig, but we probably only played an hour's worth of music. If that. Super easy. The rest of the time, we just sat there and talked (while some guy gave a presentation). Super easy. Now for the bad news...in the process of opening the door to my truck and switching hands, I dropped me tenor. In the gig bag, but it got a little messed up--the right hand is not sealing and the bell got bent (easy enough--I bent it back). Nothing that can't be repaired. Mostly I'm just feeling like an ass for being casual and dropping my horn. Today was another two gig day. I played a trio gig with Tyrone Jackson and Tommy Sauter in Gwinnett from 6-9. The toughest part of that was the traffic (which was terrible with all the rain, and trying to be out there at 5 PM). After that, I jumped in my truck and boogied down 85 (again in the rain) to the 10 High fo...