David Freeman Music

The Yacht Rock Revue played our usual Thursday night extravaganza at the 10 High.  This week featured the regular band!  No subs. On some of our gigs, having the regular band there can be a hindrance--we're comfortable enough with each other that the silly jokes come early and often.  The 10 High is the worst place for this--there's not enough of an incentive to behave.  We were really good last night.  Not to say we weren't messing around, but the funny stuff didn't overshadow the music making. Going into the gig, I was really tired.  Beth and I went to see Wilco Wednesday night;  when I got home, I took my Nord apart in an attempt to fix what I thought was a problem with the mono output jack--I got the whole thing in pieces, couldn't find anything, put it back together, and then only the bottom third of the keyboard worked, so I had to take it apart again and find the ribbon cable that had come unplugged.  Put it back together but it still...

Yacht Rock played a party at Sweetwater Brewery for some lawyer.  It was a snoozer of a gig. I never understand this plan:  food and the bar inside, band outside.  Nobody goes outside (see the above picture from our first set)!  Oh well, the weather was nice, and we ended at 9:30.  Can't beat that!  That power for the entire street went out shortly after that, ensuring that there would be no overtime.  It did make the load out a real pain in the butt, though. The next couple of days are so busy, I may fall over dead.  Stay tuned.  You'll be the first to know. davidfreemanmusic.net

Here's a math problem: Freeman drives 50 minutes to a three hour rehearsal in the drummer's garage, then back home again in 50 minutes, all for a forty minute gig an hour from home on Saturday afternoon. The gig pays $75.  What the hell? davidfreemanmusic.net

Mark Dannells on the run Yacht Rock played a wedding on Sea Island on the Georgia coast. We drove all afternoon and showed up on time (5:30 PM).  In the midst of setting up, we were informed that the guests were due to arrive shortly.  Evidently no one had bothered to fill us in on all of the wedding details, so we were left to interpret things like this (copied from the itinerary): 745pm:  All Quiet 8pm:  Guests Arrive (ceremony off site at St. Simons Presbyterian Church at 630pm) Father of the Bride will do a welcome when wedding party & bride/groom arrive Bride and Groom will be introduced 730pm - 1 st  Dance: Love Will Keep Us Together (2min on ipod) Father/Daughter and Mother/Son:  Dancing in the Moonlight (2min on ipod) (play 90 min set) Impressive?  Dancing to the first dance before you arrive at the venue?  Or is that supposed to 8:30 first dance?  Or is that supposed to be 6:45 all quiet,...

Mark Dannells returned to Yacht Rock last night.  It's good to have him back.  He was complaining that his hands felt stiff after not having touched a guitar in over a week, but I thought he played really well…a couple of rippin' solos on Peg and How Long .  He also angled a fan so it would blow his hair back.  They teach you stuff like that at Berklee. The band was half Schooner and half Revue , with Dani on bass.  We had Ganesh and K Spence up front and Daniel on drums.  Bencuya, Dannells, and myself occupied the other positions. In spite of the rain passing through town, we had a really good crowd.  It felt kind of packed!  Not much turnover, so we didn't make REALLY big money, but it was solid, and fairly good looking. We got a little crazy in there towards the end…one song ended with Dannells going into Black Magic Woman , and then I started playing Hava Nagila in a different key over the top of it.  We also h...

I played four gigs in twenty-six hours.  The first two were really good, and the second two were pretty foggy.  I wish I could have worked sleep in a little better. Gig One:  the Yacht Rock Revue played the Taste of Chamblee .  When I pulled up to the gig, I had my doubts--it looked like we were going to play a bland gig in direct sunlight.  By the time we went on, though, the crowd had grown and the sun had gone down enough to get behind the trees.  It turned out to be a picture perfect outdoor gig. We were fortunate to be able to pull up right behind the stage to load gear (and leave our vehicles there).  Sweet!  The band before us was the Heaven Davis Blues Implosion.  I knew everybody in that band except the keyboard player, and not one of them recognized me.  I probably should have networked better--a little "Hey asshole, remember me?" to jog their memories, but I didn't.  I guess there's a chance this will bite me in ...

I had two gigs yesterday. The first gig was an awards night for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.  I've played this event for the past four years--I'm getting the hang of it!  We played an hour an a half dinner set, and then walk-ups for the awards ceremony, and then one song to send 'em out the door.  Easy!  Everything was great about this one:  we played my tunes with no volume restrictions, we were fed (chicken, green beans, and something…orzo?), they validated our parking, the gig ended early…yes!  It's was great. The band was Tyrone Jackson , Kevin Smith, and Justin Chesarek on drums.  This was the first gig Justin and I have ever done together.  Success!  Everybody played well. Coolest moment…Tyrone picked up on the end of my solo on Beth Ann at the last chord change.  I don't know how to describe it--it was just awesome. Here's the audio: After this gig ended, I raced over to the 10 High and played the Ya...