David Freeman Music

This weekend turned out to be a bit busier than I had originally anticipated it being.  Thursday night, I stayed up late/normal checking out the stuff David Ellington and I had played on our duo gig.  After that, I packed every woodwind instrument I own into my truck and went to bed. Friday:  I was up really really early (for me) to participate in the Celebration of the Arts day at Kincaid Elementary in Marietta.  I think we were celebrating the torture of artists.  Maybe some of these people really do get up and do productive things at 7:30 in the morning, but I'd bet you'd find that I am much more coherent/pleasant at 7:30 PM. Anyway...forty-five minutes of me rambling about piccolo, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, four saxophones, and the EWI.   Interesting moments such as... Me:  "Who knows why flutes have holes in the keys." Second graders respond with lots of random answers. Me:  "It's trick question.  I have no idea why ...

David Ellington and I played another sax/organ duo, this time at the westside restaurant JCT Kitchen and Bar.  We're still working on our list of Blue Note tunes, and this being our third gig, things are beginning to come together. Unlike January where we were jammed into a tiny corner of the bar, this time we were outside.  It was a bit windy in the early part of the gig, but the weather calmed after sunset.  We (mostly me) were under a propane heater, so things never got too chilly.  We're already guessing that if we do this gig again in a couple of months, it'll be really nice (late May), and then the one after that will be miserably hot (late July)!  Something to look forward to, I guess.  I'd rather be hot than cold. So anyway...the gig was really fun, and flew by quicker than either of the previous ones did.  I think, for the most part, we're both getting better at the duo, better at understanding what the other guy is doing and thinking. ...

Aha!  I picked up a mid day church gig for the next few weeks playing with a couple of old friends.  Totally fun and easy. My evening church gig went pretty well, too.  I noticed that on soprano I just can't play whisper soft and still be in tune--I think it's an air support thing.  At a comfortable volume, intonation is much better.  Perhaps I should just play flute on this gig. David Ellington and I will be at JCT Kitchen this Thursday evening between 6-9 PM playing a bunch of cool Blue Note tunes.  Here's the first tune from a private gig we did last week: Also, my quartet (with Tyrone Jackson, Kevin Smith, and Marlon Patton) will be at Elliott Street Pub Monday, April 14 at 10 PM performing my original tunes.

So...private event...aircraft hanger...hot women...terrible lasagna...Kip vs. Active...three sets...nothing to report.

Yacht Rock was invited to play a short (45 minute) concert after the Hawks game last night at Philip's Arena.  Pretty cool, huh?  Our second arena performance (the first being in Vegas last week). Due to the logistics of the event, we loaded in and set up on the loading dock in the early afternoon (1:30 PM).  Everything was on rolling stage pieces so that it could all be plugged in and we could begin. Once we'd sound checked, there were several hours to kill before the game began. The Hawks provided us with a suite from which to watch the game.  The game went quickly.  The Hawks eventually lost to the Pelicans. Our gear rolled out, and Kip and Zach (expertly running sound for us this evening) made sure everything was up and running.  Unfortunately, the crowd had dwindled down to a couple of hundred by the time the show began.  Nevertheless, it sounded good out there, and we enjoyed the experience!

David Ellington and I played a duo gig tonight at a law firm in Buckhead.  I swear I've played a gig there before--something about the layout of the office was really familiar.   Anyway...we were glad to have this gig as a nice tune up before our next JCT Kitchen show (next Thursday evening).  I, for one, had not touched these tunes since the last JCT gig, and it sounded like it!  Lots of wrong notes.  My apologies.  Next week I'll be better! Here's the audio.  Check it out:

This trip was literally all over the map.  We began in Nashville and finished in Costa Rica.  In between were stops in Indianapolis, Chicago, Las Vegas, and New York.  We hit all four time zones and temperature changes between 22 and 87 degrees, loading gear in snow and ice one day, sound checking on a beach just a week later.  Van rides, plane rides, rickshaw--somehow, we made it. Thursday, March 6 (Atlanta to Nashville):  We hit the road and played the Mercy Lounge on a Thursday night.  Not the most insane crowd--just under 300 in attendance.  Not bad for a Thursday!  soundcheck Before the gig, we had pizza at Desano.  I kid you not--I ate an entire pizza.  Totally worth it. This gig was a good first night.  I'm not bummed about the numbers at all--the room felt really full, and we were all really surprised that count didn't reflect that.  Nashville was happy to see us, and we them.  It...