David Freeman Music

Last night I began the Yacht Rock festivities by ordering a Newcastle and declaring the possibility that I might get rip-roarin' drunk (to which Nick replied, "Like last night?")  I'm really not that bad.  I in fact did not get drunk, but I was buzzed for the entire night.  It was that kind of night--I hate to say it, but I didn't care. The crowd was good (and good lookin'--wow!), and pretty appreciative of what we were giving them.  I was surprised at the end of the night that the final count was so high--in front of me there were times when it was thin.  The room must have turned over more than usual. I was on a pair of great reeds last night and I could hear my monitor really well, so I just went for it.  Things like Baker Street got a little extra sauce;  maybe it was the beer?  I just had to do it.  Kind of givin' it all the finger. On the other hand, my laptop (the old one) gave me the finger a couple of times!  Something ha...

Last night was Please Pleaserock Me at Smith's Olde Bar. It was a low energy kind of night.  We've got to figure out a way to get more people to come through the door, I guess.  The crowd last night was ok, but they didn't give us much--it was almost like they were stunned by what they were seeing.   At no point did it feel like they were all the way with us.  I wish there had been a little more unabashed enthusiasm. The first set I was not busy, so I spent most of my time focused on the awesomeness of Mark Cobb (who is awesome).  He was killin' it.  I haven't seen much of him because he's been out of town and Yacht Rock has been kind of slow at the moment, but he really kicked ass.   Paul Poovey played trumpet with us last night (Jason Pellett is on vacation).  Paul was outstanding!  He walked in and played the gig with no rehearsals or anything.   Greg Lee played alto last night, and I think it made the tunes we did last night soun...

I played a really easy solo sax/quartet gig in Chattanooga last night--a private party for a couple of hundred lawyers at the Hunter Museum. The gig included Trey Wright (guitar), Louis Heriveaux (piano), and Kevin Smith (bass).   Dan Baraszu was originally on the gig, but he ended up playing with Will Scruggs for a CC Booker III gig (cool organ/sax stuff with David Ellington and Marlon Patton). So the gig...I played solo saxophone for an hour in one part of the museum and the trio played in another.  After a break, we played the remainder of the time as a quartet. These people were LOUD.  While the four of us were eating, the question was posed--why hire us?  I mean, these people didn't need background music.  They couldn't have cared less!  All we did was contribute to the volume.  I don't get it.  Anyway, we had fun in spite of them.  At the end of the night, one of the bartenders came up to sing "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia ...

Yacht Rock played our usual Thursday night at the 10 High.  I have nothing more to say...it was business as usual.  I had good reeds on both saxophones, and I integrated a better fingering for a piano part.  I wore one of my new shirts. See--I told you I had nothing. davidfreemanmusic.net

We had 38 paid attendees at the Yacht Rock Roller Disco.  Ouch.  After my personal triumph the night before, I came crashing back to earth. What else can I say...I drank multiple beers before we began, and so I assume that the sound was only weird to me.   Ganesh filled in for Mark Cobb (!) on drums, and it felt like the gig was him and me playing in the Bat Cave.  The sound didn't get any better as I gradually returned to sobriety, though, so I think that's just the way it is. Let's talk equipment problems, shall we? 1.  My effects pedal for my saxophone croaked.  Really, it was only the power supply that died.  It's an easy fix, and I think I only played saxophone on three songs, so it was no biggie, but it does mean a trip to the music store. 2.  My brass sound in my EWI rig (computer!) has gotten all out of wack.  I'm not sure how, but it just sounded terrible and splatty and distorted.  Fortunately I am days away from hav...

I played a really cool with drummer Chris Burroughs at the only jazz club in Atlanta, Churchill Grounds .  I thought it was going to be a public gig, but it turns out it was a private event--somebody had rented out the room and hired us. It's funny going into Churchill again.  Back when it started out, I used to go and sit in with a couple of friends (Dan Furman and Joseph Patrick Moore), back when the stage was in the front window.  Later on, I used to play at the jam session just about every week.  For a while, I was playing some gigs there as a leader.  At some point, I fell out of favor with management and they stopped hiring me. Once they opened "The Whisper Room," I went to one last jam session there.  A few years after that, I stopped by one night and sat in with Joe Gransden.  Since then, I have not been in the room. This being my third time, I would say it was charmed.  The gig also included Tyrone Jackson and Joel Powell (bass). ...

Here's an audience video of us playing Steely Dan's Peg  in Charlotte last Thursday. davidfreemanmusic.net