For the Love of Practice

I got a ton of practicing in today.  It was wonderful.

Half of my students today were either sick or randomly absent, which left me a couple of hours open this afternoon.  While dealing with the ones who were there, I had this thought:

 if I could teach my students to love practicing the way that I love practicing, I bet I could love teaching.

www.davidfreemanmusic.net

Andrews Upstairs

 

Yacht Rock was back in Atlanta for a Friday night gig at Andrews Upstairs.

Andrews is transforming from a live music venue to a DJ, and they have done some remodeling to accommodate more people.  The stage has been radically transformed--the multiple levels and nooks and crannies have been removed.  It made for a tight fit for the seven of us!

We played well considering the stage setup.  I was all the way stage left;  then Bencuya, then Greg, then the Cobb with Nick and Pete directly in front of him, and then Dannells jammed in the opposite corner.  It was a tight fit, but we made it work ok.
Being next to Bencuya made me a bit apprehensive.  If there's one guy who would know when I was not playing something exactly right, it'd be him.
I think the next time we play Andrews (and maybe just in general), I'd like to split my sax line off from the rest of my stuff.  In general, I'm only playing saxophone when I'm soloing, and it'd be cool to be able to put some in front monitors without them having to listen to my keyboard and EWI parts all night long.  It feels like I'm playing into a pillow because there's no sax anywhere on stage (except my amp way over in the corner, and even that's pretty turned down).

I am not gigging tonight--I'm preparing for Beatles rehearsals next week.
www.davidfreemanmusic.net

Cabo San Lucas

Yacht Rock played in Cabo this week (February 2-4, 2010).  I had a gig Monday, February 1, so I stayed up a little later than usual and slipped out the door at 3:30 AM to pick up Nick and make our way to the airport.
We flew to Denver and then on to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where we landed to a light rain (and massive flash flooding!).  After dropping our stuff in our rooms, we went to lunch, and then spent the remainder of the day acting like rock stars on a day off in Cabo!  (mucho tequila).
The actual gig occurred the following day (Wednesday).  We played a private function for the Young Presidents Organization--I believe they were all young millionaires.  They were into it from the moment the doors opened and enjoyed every note.
The band played pretty well considering the circumstances.  The keyboards were not what we'd asked for, and we played standing up (I'd asked if they had piano benches or drum thrones, and I guy came back with a bar stool).  The sound guys (all ten of them!) were pretty inept, and the language barrier made for double the frustration.
I brought two saxes, flute, and EWI to the gig, so that part of my set up was normal.  I was unable to route my saxophone through the amp they supplied, so we ran it separately to the front of house, and the guys never quite turned it up enough.  The keyboards were a Yamaha Motif on the bottom and a Roland Juno on top.  Both were nice keyboards, but I was not familiar at all with navigating either one.  More importantly, I did not have a game plan for finding sounds and taking notes.  I fished around on both to find some things that might work, and they kind of did, but I wish that I was more adept at setting myself up in a situation like that.
I played pretty well.  Other than a poor choice for one of my keyboard patches, I made it through.
Thursday was a travel day.  We left the hotel around 10:30 AM local time, flew to Denver, and then flew back to Atlanta.  We landed just before midnight.  Another great adventure!
www.davidfreemanmusic.com

February 1 Trio

Tonight I had the pleasure of playing a trio gig with Tyrone Jackson and Kevin Smith.  It was a meeting of the minds...Tyrone's piano playing challenges me like no one else in town.  I usually come out of gigs with him feeling like my brain is mushy!
This gig was no different.  Right from the start, I was totally focused on what he was playing to me, and it stayed that way for the whole night.

www.davidfreemanmusic.com

Wild Wing Suwanee

Last night I played the Wild Wing Cafe in Suwanee with the Yacht Rock Schooner (the B band to the Yacht Rock Revue).

It's a strange feeling getting dressed for a Yacht Rock gig at home.  I have become "that guy" when I put on those clothes;  it's weird to put on my clothes and walk through through the house.
I pulled up to the Wild Wing across town--in a shopping center with a Wal Mart and a Dollar Tree, and I couldn't help but think that I was going to kick everybody's ass--in the band, in the audience, in Suwanee.  The environment definitely challenged me.  I was playing with a big chip on my shoulder.

The band played pretty well.  Some things, Peg, for instance, really grooved.  I think they're still trying to find bedrock on some of the other tunes.  I can't remember what it felt like when we started out, so I can't say that we didn't have the same struggles.  We've reached a point, musically, where we have our identity, and I don't think they have that yet.  It feels like eight guys trying to come together.  It's not a band yet.

Tonight's my regular church gig.  No biggie.  I need to get ready for next week's stuff (which starts TOMORROW!!!).  I have a trio gig Monday night with Tyrone Jackson, and I need to be good on that one.  Tuesday morning Yacht Rock leaves for a gig in Mexico, so I need to feel good about my playing for that too.
www.davidfreemanmusic.com

Karate Cobb

Mark Cobb!
Mark Cobb!
Mark Cobb!

Cobb was pretty on fire last night, especially in the first set.  At one point, he took some crazy fill, and kept flipping it over and playing a different way every eight measures.  So cool...I loved it (every version of it).  That stuff really makes the gig for me.

My first set went pretty well.  I actually got off a good solo on Takin' it to the Streets.  I never ran out of ideas.  Bencuya recorded last night (mostly for the banter, but maybe there will be something musically good, too).  The second set he will hopefully erase!  I kind of tripped and kept falling for a couple of songs.  In particular, I totally bit it on All Night Long (I have not mentioned today that I hate that song, so...I hate that song!).  I was pretty terrible.

Last night was judged by Wheat Williams.  Wheat is an amateur musician who knows a lot about the music we are playing, and most conversations with him are either inquisitions or trivia contests.  He and I spoke before the gig began, and he let it be known that really thinks we need to add a second keyboardist (that keyboardist being his old friend Eric Frampton).  His take on my situation was that I was probably fine as a player, but Eric Frampton is WORLD CLASS!!!  (he reminded me that Frampton had toured with Yani!  What's the matter Wheat?  What about the B-52s?  Did you forget about them?).  I agree--Frampton's ten times the keyboardist that I am.  Congratulations.  If you think you can take this gig from me, come and get it.
www.davidfreemanmusic.com

Enthusiasm Tempered with Indifference

I played a last minute trio gig tonight at the Westin Buckhead with David Ellington (piano), and Kevin Smith (bass).  It was some sort of awards dinner thing (my specialty!).  I don't have much to say about it other than the crowd ignored us and we ignored them.  They were really loud, and I couldn't always hear very well what we were doing.
We tried several of my tunes...some were more successful than others!

www.davidfreemanmusic.net