I played a trio gig tonight with Tyrone Jackson (piano) and Kevin Smith (bass). Good stuff. The gig was supposed to be 7:30-10:30, but we found out at 6:30 that it had been changed to 7-9 (the money stayed the same, though). Uh, no problem!
We played pretty well, but the crowd was incredibly loud. Really…we could hardly hear ourselves! It was nuts. Fortunately my recorder is kind of directional, so the roar isn't too bad except for a couple of songs in the middle of the gig.
Audio:
More gigs this week…stay tuned!
davidfreemanmusic.net
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Weekend Wrap Up
First some odds and ends...
A few videos from the Turner Field show!
how about one where you can't hear me!
A few videos from last week's duo gig with Trey Wright!
On to the wrap up…
Friday night, Yacht Rock played our monthly show at the Park Tavern. Space Capone opened for us. Great stuff! The band sounded really solid, and their songs are really good. I guess they wanted to wear black suits for the show, but only the trumpet player actually owned a black suit. The rest of them wore…they did not look good.
Our set was really good. No problems other than a crappy tenor reed. I'm scared to death of my equipment right now (keyboard and EWI, I should say), but everything worked fine. That knob thing on my Fantom still comes and goes, and I'm betting that the SKB case has something to do with it. I'm going to cut some more of the foam away and see if that helps. My solution (when the keyboard asks me to save over and over) is to push the knobs into the board (a couple of them kind of pop into place) and up, and that seems like it fixes it, so I bet the foam is pushing them down towards the keys.
I worry a lot about my laptop overheating. The EWI also will play itself in hot, humid conditions, but I can adjust that with the settings. I kind of have to set it for the summer, and then reset it in the fall when conditions are cooler.
I guess it's just the nature of the Park Tavern tent and the lack of monitors, but when I jump up to play saxophone solos, it feels like my microphone isn't even on. I worry about soloing in vain. I guess somebody would push a vocal mic in front of me if mine was not working.
The crowd at the Park Tavern was huge, and for the most part very receptive. Lots of singing along!
Saturday night, Yacht Rock played a private party at the Golf Club of Georgia. My old friend Lee Shealy was working the show, setting up video screens. I hadn't seen him in probably ten years--probably back to the days when he played keyboards in Atlanta Beat. I was excited for him to see what we do.
The band played well for the first two sets. Kevin Spencer filled in for Nick (attending Gina's graduation from SCAD! Woohoo! Check out her website here.) We closed out the first set with Kiss You All Over…hadn't seen that one in a while! Bencuya's phased strings were right on the money.
Andrew Gold died Friday. I was hoping we'd hit Lonely Boy, but it didn't happen. I wish that song was more popular in our repertoire.
The third set was a drunken disaster. Pretty embarrassing--hopefully Lee didn't hear that part. The gig then went into overtime! Greeeaaaaaaaaaat…I guess they couldn't tell the difference.
The whole third set and overtime we had to fend off requests that we "pick it up." Some amazon woman came on stage and stood next to me for about two minutes during a song, then finally bent down to ask if we would play Let's Get it Started. Umm, no, and coming on stage to ask doesn't increase your chances. Rich people can be a real drag.
Sunday means church gigs. Church gig number one was ok. I used one earbud--it definitely helped hear the guitar and the bass (and the vocals), but the mix isn't very good, so I don't think I'll go to two earbuds. The leader played organ instead of piano, and it really threw the rest of the band off--we gotten pretty good about playing off what he's doing there. The organ's not even in the headphones. To top it off, we had a sub sound guy.
The band guy who asked for more money got his more money. He and the drummer are now making fifty percent more per gig than me.
Church gig number two was in the parish hall instead of the cathedral due to a deceased air conditioner. I think it sounded pretty good, but I (and the mixer) was buried in a corner behind the band. Once the service started, I couldn't get out in the middle of the room to hear the mix. I used headphones and hoped for the best.
The fingertip drummer did not use headphones and played way better. I suggested afterwards that he try it without next week too--he matches the volume, groove, and intensity of the piano much better without them. I guess he was trying to play to the headphone mix instead of playing with the band.
Another busy week awaits…
davidfreemanmusic.net
A few videos from the Turner Field show!
how about one where you can't hear me!
A few videos from last week's duo gig with Trey Wright!
On to the wrap up…
Friday night, Yacht Rock played our monthly show at the Park Tavern. Space Capone opened for us. Great stuff! The band sounded really solid, and their songs are really good. I guess they wanted to wear black suits for the show, but only the trumpet player actually owned a black suit. The rest of them wore…they did not look good.
Our set was really good. No problems other than a crappy tenor reed. I'm scared to death of my equipment right now (keyboard and EWI, I should say), but everything worked fine. That knob thing on my Fantom still comes and goes, and I'm betting that the SKB case has something to do with it. I'm going to cut some more of the foam away and see if that helps. My solution (when the keyboard asks me to save over and over) is to push the knobs into the board (a couple of them kind of pop into place) and up, and that seems like it fixes it, so I bet the foam is pushing them down towards the keys.
I worry a lot about my laptop overheating. The EWI also will play itself in hot, humid conditions, but I can adjust that with the settings. I kind of have to set it for the summer, and then reset it in the fall when conditions are cooler.
I guess it's just the nature of the Park Tavern tent and the lack of monitors, but when I jump up to play saxophone solos, it feels like my microphone isn't even on. I worry about soloing in vain. I guess somebody would push a vocal mic in front of me if mine was not working.
The crowd at the Park Tavern was huge, and for the most part very receptive. Lots of singing along!
Saturday night, Yacht Rock played a private party at the Golf Club of Georgia. My old friend Lee Shealy was working the show, setting up video screens. I hadn't seen him in probably ten years--probably back to the days when he played keyboards in Atlanta Beat. I was excited for him to see what we do.
The band played well for the first two sets. Kevin Spencer filled in for Nick (attending Gina's graduation from SCAD! Woohoo! Check out her website here.) We closed out the first set with Kiss You All Over…hadn't seen that one in a while! Bencuya's phased strings were right on the money.
Andrew Gold died Friday. I was hoping we'd hit Lonely Boy, but it didn't happen. I wish that song was more popular in our repertoire.
The third set was a drunken disaster. Pretty embarrassing--hopefully Lee didn't hear that part. The gig then went into overtime! Greeeaaaaaaaaaat…I guess they couldn't tell the difference.
The whole third set and overtime we had to fend off requests that we "pick it up." Some amazon woman came on stage and stood next to me for about two minutes during a song, then finally bent down to ask if we would play Let's Get it Started. Umm, no, and coming on stage to ask doesn't increase your chances. Rich people can be a real drag.
Sunday means church gigs. Church gig number one was ok. I used one earbud--it definitely helped hear the guitar and the bass (and the vocals), but the mix isn't very good, so I don't think I'll go to two earbuds. The leader played organ instead of piano, and it really threw the rest of the band off--we gotten pretty good about playing off what he's doing there. The organ's not even in the headphones. To top it off, we had a sub sound guy.
The band guy who asked for more money got his more money. He and the drummer are now making fifty percent more per gig than me.
Church gig number two was in the parish hall instead of the cathedral due to a deceased air conditioner. I think it sounded pretty good, but I (and the mixer) was buried in a corner behind the band. Once the service started, I couldn't get out in the middle of the room to hear the mix. I used headphones and hoped for the best.
The fingertip drummer did not use headphones and played way better. I suggested afterwards that he try it without next week too--he matches the volume, groove, and intensity of the piano much better without them. I guess he was trying to play to the headphone mix instead of playing with the band.
Another busy week awaits…
davidfreemanmusic.net
Friday, June 3, 2011
Both Sides of Thursday
I had two gigs on Thursday.
My first gig was a flute/guitar duo with Trey Wright. We played for the opening of a condo building in Marietta (very convenient that both of us live about fifteen minutes away!), providing mood-setting music for people exiting the elevator. Sounds romantic! It was fun--I never get jazz flute gigs, it was cool to play with Trey again, and nobody bothered us. The crowd got a little loud at some points (don't they know they're ruining my recording!), but we enjoyed ourselves. Easy gig, easy money.
Here's some audio!
I ran home, swapped gear and clothing, and headed out to the 10 High for the regular Yacht Rock gig. A very different playing environment.
The first set, I was Sloppy Joe Saxman. I had lots of little blips where I just couldn't quite get my stuff happening. I did hit on a really nice idea for my sax solo on Reminiscing, but I had a couple of hiccups in the duo thing right before that. The first few songs were like that…I think I was just trying to get accustomed to the sound of the stage that night. It took about half the set before I was completely comfortable.
The second set was irritating as hell. It felt like a couple of the guys phoned it in, and it made the second set take forever. I was not happy. Some of it, I'm sure, was because I was tired, but I couldn't put up with most of the bullshit last night. For instance, the pulling the rug out from under Dannells' solo on Baker Street has been done to death. It's not funny anymore, it's not surprising, he knows it's coming…stop. It hasn't been funny for a while. You're not Mark Cobb--stop telling his jokes.
I'm cool with everybody having a good time--I want to have fun, too--but take care of the music first. The 10 High gig DOES matter.
davidfreemanmusic.net
My first gig was a flute/guitar duo with Trey Wright. We played for the opening of a condo building in Marietta (very convenient that both of us live about fifteen minutes away!), providing mood-setting music for people exiting the elevator. Sounds romantic! It was fun--I never get jazz flute gigs, it was cool to play with Trey again, and nobody bothered us. The crowd got a little loud at some points (don't they know they're ruining my recording!), but we enjoyed ourselves. Easy gig, easy money.
Here's some audio!
I ran home, swapped gear and clothing, and headed out to the 10 High for the regular Yacht Rock gig. A very different playing environment.
The first set, I was Sloppy Joe Saxman. I had lots of little blips where I just couldn't quite get my stuff happening. I did hit on a really nice idea for my sax solo on Reminiscing, but I had a couple of hiccups in the duo thing right before that. The first few songs were like that…I think I was just trying to get accustomed to the sound of the stage that night. It took about half the set before I was completely comfortable.
The second set was irritating as hell. It felt like a couple of the guys phoned it in, and it made the second set take forever. I was not happy. Some of it, I'm sure, was because I was tired, but I couldn't put up with most of the bullshit last night. For instance, the pulling the rug out from under Dannells' solo on Baker Street has been done to death. It's not funny anymore, it's not surprising, he knows it's coming…stop. It hasn't been funny for a while. You're not Mark Cobb--stop telling his jokes.
I'm cool with everybody having a good time--I want to have fun, too--but take care of the music first. The 10 High gig DOES matter.
davidfreemanmusic.net
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
It's a Hot One: Athens and Turner Field
Yacht Rock continued our crazy string of gigs with a wedding Sunday night in Athens. Friend of the band Ben Allen (producer/engineer/studio guy) hired us to play the reception at his parents' home in Athens, GA. You (if you were a wedding band) couldn't have asked for an easier reception. We backed the trailer up to the back of the stage; loaded in; soundchecked; hung out/drank/eventually ate; played what we wanted, and ended at 11 PM. Easy easy easy gig, and some familiar faces that made it feel less like a job and more like a party with our friends. Yay Ben!
It was mostly the usual Yacht Rock stuff--some 70s, some 80s. We did throw in a few funkier songs for the dancers. Dig it:
Use Me (Athens) by David B Freeman
My alto was really out of tune. I don't think I like what I played, but the band sounded funky. And what a great time to play a couple of wrong notes right as I go into the solo. Hmm. Not too good there. Everybody else sounds good, though.
Kiss (Athens) by David B Freeman
On Kiss, I thought I would play tenor so that I didn't play the same solo twice. Then I thought that when it went to the four chord, I'd instead go up a half step from the one…so for me B9 to C9, instead of B9 to E9. Not a good call. Sounded gross. Now I know. Take it from me: don't do that.
Plus, holy crap. Dannells slaughtered me. Not a good time to experiment.
We learned You Are So Beautiful (Greg Lee sang the hell out of that) and Sleepwalk (Dannells played the hell out of that). Very cool. My contribution was some strings on You Are So Beautiful. I'd give my self an A- on that--I got most of it. I didn't play any wrong notes, but I wasn't terribly relaxed. I omitted a few things.
The band ended up staying at the Hotel Indigo in Athens. I highly recommend it. Very nice accommodations. We were pretty wiped out--I think everybody crashed hard. Good thing, too, because we were up at 7 AM to head back to Atlanta to play at the Braves game.
Playing at the Braves game doesn't pay any money, but it is one of the coolest opportunities EVER. We were invited to not only play a concert ON THE FIELD!! after the game, but we also had the chance to sing the National Anthem. How cool is that? Very.
We set up on the humungous stage in the tunnel under the centerfield stands.
We went out on the field and practiced the Anthem.
 |
| it looks like Bobby Dews is trying to get away from Greg and me |
Back in the tunnel we went to finish setting up and soundchecking (and get out of the sunlight). At some point in setting up my equipment, I suffered a massive heart attack and died. Remember how my Fantom (top keyboard) was doing that thing where it wanted me to save over and over again? I was checking things out, and the sounds would sustain uncontrollably. NOT TODAY! NO!!! NOT TODAY?!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?!!!!!!!!!! (sounds that would be echoed by Mark Dannells in a few short hours). Also, my volume pedal was not working. It wouldn't change the volume.
After I finished dying, it dawned on me that the volume pedal was causing my Fantom to sustain. I flipped out again. WHY IS MY KEYBOARD SO SCREWED UP?! IT WORKED FINE LAST NIGHT!!!! WHY TODAY?!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought the "brain" of keyboard had completely failed. My Fantom was trashed.
Then…a light bulb. More like a flat foot in the…anyway, it turned out that I had the volume pedal plugged in where the sustain should be, and the sustain plugged into the volume jack. Flipped 'em around: problem solved; disaster averted; funeral postponed.
The view from our suite:
We went up to our suite and hung out/ate/hydrated. Right before 1 PM, we went down and sang the National Anthem. We went out and took our positions on the field. Somebody gave us some sort of cue, and we started singing…
Oh say can you see
and I'm thinking "Oh shit! They forgot to turn on our microphones!"
By the dawn's early light
"Shit! SHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTT!"
What so proudly we hailed
and then the PA announcer said something like, "And now, would you please rise as we salute or fallen soldiers with a moment of silence." Oops. We weren't supposed to sing yet. Maybe nobody heard us.
A couple of minutes later, we got the cue, sang the National Anthem with it reverberating around the stadium like a pinball. Cool. We sang well. Once we got back in the tunnel, there was lots of laughing and "What the hell happened?"
Up to the suite. I hung out with my family. Jack ate a bunch of chicken fingers, drank a Sprite, ate half a bag of cotton candy, and threw up. Big day!
In the eighth inning, we went back to the tunnel to check out stuff. I got my things set and sat down--I'd decided to ride the stage out to the field. It bounces quite a bit, and I wanted to make sure none of my stuff fell. We were waiting to go out, and the game went into extra innings. I practiced saxophone--trying in vain to keep my reeds somewhat hydrated.
 |
| tip money from the audio crew |
The rest of the band came out and we played our set. We had some technical difficulties. Dannells had a bad cable that silenced his entire rig for about a song or two (fortunately we had an extra amp on stage). Bencuya and I could barely see the screens on the keyboards--all the crystals in the LCDs came to the top and blacked out the screens. Yikes! It was fun, though, and once we got rolling, I think it sounded pretty good. Here's the first tune (you can hear Hans dialing stuff in as the song progresses). That's me on synth and strings, my man Bencuya on piano. Check out how loud I am in the mix. You can hear my parts! Totally awesome.
What a Fool Believes (Turner Field) by David B Freeman
Some time later on in the set we did Taking it to the Streets. A diarrhea-of-the-tenor-saxophone kind of solo. Not my best work. The camera was on me and I couldn't convince myself to leave any space in my solo, and I just kind of pentatonically spewed BS. I tried to sell it with body language, but as far as ideas, not really happening.
My parents saw Yacht Rock for the first time ever. I could see them up in the suite watching us. I bet my dad thought, "We paid out of state tuition for your degree in woodwind performance, and you picked up a saxophone twice during the entire show!"
Did I mention it was very easily hotter than hell? Wow. Super hot. Not a good day to wear a wig. Or a plastic shirt. Or pants.
 |
| likes it? |
 |
| nobody in the stands, but the Vistalites look awesome! |
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| Oops. Jumbotron camera man got me. |
My home team (one for the road):
davidbfreemanmusic.net
Sunday, May 29, 2011
The Wreck of the SS Mike Key
Yacht Rock played an event at Sunset Cove on Lake Lanier yesterday evening. It was an event sponsored/disorganized by Rock 100.5 and our old buddy Mike Key, who it appears was singlehandedly charged with every part of the event: running sound, managing the stage, moving gear, MC'ing the event, finding food for the band. Methinks it was too much.
We showed up to the scene…as far as the eye could see, enormous boats, sand, sun, skin. I was turned on and repulsed at the same time. It was, as Nick described, a giant frat party. Goodie! Some guy had his ski boat right next to the stage blasting music; distracting not only because of the competing sound (most of the boats on the water had comparable sound systems) but also for the escort he hired to dance for him all afternoon.
There was a miniature riverboat moored behind the stage, so we hung out on there (in the air conditioning!) while our gear made its way from the top of the hill down to the stage. Once the opening band finished, we set up, line checked and changed.
The first song was a disaster. The PA started making a strange howling sound and everybody looked at Mike behind the soundboard (positioned perfectly in the back corner of the stage so that he could never hear what the PA sounded like). Mike, you hear that? Uh, no. The system kept feeding back until it became unbearable and we had to stop in the middle of the first song. Not good!
While they were trying to sort it out, some dude walked out to the stage and got Pete's attention. This may not be the exact exchange, but this is how I remember it (also, I was laughing so much it was hard to hear):
Dude: "Hey guys--y'all sound terrible."
Pete: "They're working on it."
Dude: "Everybody said y'all were awesome, but it sounds terrible."
Pete: "We're aware of it. They're trying to fix it."
Somehow (luck, I think) the problem with the monitors feeding back was rectified to the point that we were able to continue. Unfortunately, it probably never got any better out front. Let's put it this way: when your sound man calls people on the beach with his cell phone to try and gauge what the people are hearing, things are probably not good!
In spite of all that, I think the gig went OK. If nothing else, it was a good tune up for the gigs we are playing tonight (wedding in Athens) and tomorrow (concert at Turner Field). I could hear myself pretty well and I pretty well. I fumbled through a few measures of Greatest American Hero, but other than that, things were cool. My solo on Takin' it to the Streets got a good reaction.
We packed up in record time and got the hell out of there. I kidnapped Mike Key's watermelon. Ample payment for the time I will spend getting the sand out of my gear.
Getting out of Lake Lanier in the dark was difficult to say the least. I set some kind of record for the number of U turns.
davidfreemanmusic.net
We showed up to the scene…as far as the eye could see, enormous boats, sand, sun, skin. I was turned on and repulsed at the same time. It was, as Nick described, a giant frat party. Goodie! Some guy had his ski boat right next to the stage blasting music; distracting not only because of the competing sound (most of the boats on the water had comparable sound systems) but also for the escort he hired to dance for him all afternoon.
There was a miniature riverboat moored behind the stage, so we hung out on there (in the air conditioning!) while our gear made its way from the top of the hill down to the stage. Once the opening band finished, we set up, line checked and changed.
The first song was a disaster. The PA started making a strange howling sound and everybody looked at Mike behind the soundboard (positioned perfectly in the back corner of the stage so that he could never hear what the PA sounded like). Mike, you hear that? Uh, no. The system kept feeding back until it became unbearable and we had to stop in the middle of the first song. Not good!
While they were trying to sort it out, some dude walked out to the stage and got Pete's attention. This may not be the exact exchange, but this is how I remember it (also, I was laughing so much it was hard to hear):
Dude: "Hey guys--y'all sound terrible."
Pete: "They're working on it."
Dude: "Everybody said y'all were awesome, but it sounds terrible."
Pete: "We're aware of it. They're trying to fix it."
Somehow (luck, I think) the problem with the monitors feeding back was rectified to the point that we were able to continue. Unfortunately, it probably never got any better out front. Let's put it this way: when your sound man calls people on the beach with his cell phone to try and gauge what the people are hearing, things are probably not good!
In spite of all that, I think the gig went OK. If nothing else, it was a good tune up for the gigs we are playing tonight (wedding in Athens) and tomorrow (concert at Turner Field). I could hear myself pretty well and I pretty well. I fumbled through a few measures of Greatest American Hero, but other than that, things were cool. My solo on Takin' it to the Streets got a good reaction.
We packed up in record time and got the hell out of there. I kidnapped Mike Key's watermelon. Ample payment for the time I will spend getting the sand out of my gear.
Getting out of Lake Lanier in the dark was difficult to say the least. I set some kind of record for the number of U turns.
davidfreemanmusic.net
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Thursday into Friday
It's felt like one long Yacht Rock gig…
Thursday night, The Yacht Rock Revue and the Yacht Rock Schooner combined Thursday night to bring the smooth 70s sound to the 10 High. It was Mark Bencuya (YRR), Tom Young (YRS), Daniel Morrison (YRS), Mark Dannells (YRR), me (both!), Greg Lee (YRR), and Kevin Spencer (YRS). Two bass players, right? Greg sang on the front line and Tom played bass.
It could have been a big mess--at the very least, is it a Revue gig or is a Schooner gig? Sometimes we do different endings to the same song, and so there was a little confusion. Even just knowing who we were on the microphone was subject to interpretation. The gig turned out to be really cool, though. It was a really good change of pace to have Greg up front, and Daniel really played great. He's come a long way in getting comfortable with the music.
For me, the gig was a little nerve wracking. I was late due to some downed trees and a pretty good thunderstorm that evening. I showed up late and had to set up quickly. Then, my bottom keyboard (the new Nord!) had a buzz in the cable. I wonder if there's some kind of crap in the jack--when I moved the cable to the right side of the stereo output, everything was fine. No noise. I tried putting the cable in my top keyboard, and there was no noise. Then I put it back in the Nord, and it was fine. What the hell? It never does this anywhere but at the 10 High (it's done it twice now, but with different cables and different Nords, which is even weirder).
Once that finally died down, I noticed that my top keyboard (the Fantom) was doing the "save" thing again. I guess blowing the dust out of it didn't fix it after all. It's definitely something going on with the four knobs that control attack, resonance, release, and whatever the fourth thing is. I was thinking that maybe the stems are touching the outer body of the keyboard, because they don't move until the thing starts bouncing around when I play it. I ended up gently pushing them up, and two of them felt like they popped into place--kind of clicked--and then the "save" thing went away. Let's hope that solves it once and for all.
We added Rikki Don't Lose That Number for this gig (as far as the Revue is concerned--Schooner already plays it). I sure hope we keep it. The only people who don't know it are Nick and Pete, and if Greg can sing and play bass, there's almost nothing for them to do. I like that song even though my only part is the gurgly marimba part that nobody notices.
The major disaster of the night was 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover. Dannells said he couldn't remember it. I couldn't tell who was screwing up. It was terrible, though. They should have just dropped out and played the verses with drums only.
We played Lonely Boy. That was fun--I hadn't seen that one in a while. I nearly tanked the piano breakdown because I started thinking about it and got the "I'm gonna faint" adrenaline rush.
We loaded out in the rain again. Boo.
Friday morning, we were up on a couple of hours of sleep to play on the radio. The Yacht Rock Revue had to be there at 7:15--super early when you go to bed at 3:30! We played Thunder Island and My Life to promote the show at Lake Lanier that we're playing Saturday. It should be super weird--we're on a floating stage. I couldn't hear myself at all in the headphones. All I could do is watch my hands and hope for the best.
I went home and slept most of the day. Those radio things really mess up my sleep schedule.
Friday night, I got to play with the Yacht Rock Schooner at 37 Main in Buford. It was a fun little bar gig, but holy crap! was it loud. Super loud on stage, and I could see people out in the audience plugging their ears (halfway back in the room, too, so you know on the dance floor it must have been painful). I was jammed in the corner of the stage--I guess that's what you get when you show up after sound check! I didn't play particularly well, though I got off a pretty good flute solo. My sax stuff was not too good, though.
The Schooner guys sounded great--Daniel really sounded good, and Shannon's played some outstanding guitar solos. He's really taking off right now! Greg sang on the front line for Ganesh. Danni was on bass, sporting a new shirt!
One of my favorite parts about playing with the Schooner guys is NOT playing and watching Eric Frampton. I tried to steal anything I could from his performance, especially when he's playing parts I play. Anything I can learn from him…hope I can learn something by being in his presence!
We've got a lot more stuff going on in the next couple of days. Stay tuned for more updates.
davidfreemanmusic.net
Thursday night, The Yacht Rock Revue and the Yacht Rock Schooner combined Thursday night to bring the smooth 70s sound to the 10 High. It was Mark Bencuya (YRR), Tom Young (YRS), Daniel Morrison (YRS), Mark Dannells (YRR), me (both!), Greg Lee (YRR), and Kevin Spencer (YRS). Two bass players, right? Greg sang on the front line and Tom played bass.
It could have been a big mess--at the very least, is it a Revue gig or is a Schooner gig? Sometimes we do different endings to the same song, and so there was a little confusion. Even just knowing who we were on the microphone was subject to interpretation. The gig turned out to be really cool, though. It was a really good change of pace to have Greg up front, and Daniel really played great. He's come a long way in getting comfortable with the music.
For me, the gig was a little nerve wracking. I was late due to some downed trees and a pretty good thunderstorm that evening. I showed up late and had to set up quickly. Then, my bottom keyboard (the new Nord!) had a buzz in the cable. I wonder if there's some kind of crap in the jack--when I moved the cable to the right side of the stereo output, everything was fine. No noise. I tried putting the cable in my top keyboard, and there was no noise. Then I put it back in the Nord, and it was fine. What the hell? It never does this anywhere but at the 10 High (it's done it twice now, but with different cables and different Nords, which is even weirder).
Once that finally died down, I noticed that my top keyboard (the Fantom) was doing the "save" thing again. I guess blowing the dust out of it didn't fix it after all. It's definitely something going on with the four knobs that control attack, resonance, release, and whatever the fourth thing is. I was thinking that maybe the stems are touching the outer body of the keyboard, because they don't move until the thing starts bouncing around when I play it. I ended up gently pushing them up, and two of them felt like they popped into place--kind of clicked--and then the "save" thing went away. Let's hope that solves it once and for all.
We added Rikki Don't Lose That Number for this gig (as far as the Revue is concerned--Schooner already plays it). I sure hope we keep it. The only people who don't know it are Nick and Pete, and if Greg can sing and play bass, there's almost nothing for them to do. I like that song even though my only part is the gurgly marimba part that nobody notices.
The major disaster of the night was 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover. Dannells said he couldn't remember it. I couldn't tell who was screwing up. It was terrible, though. They should have just dropped out and played the verses with drums only.
We played Lonely Boy. That was fun--I hadn't seen that one in a while. I nearly tanked the piano breakdown because I started thinking about it and got the "I'm gonna faint" adrenaline rush.
We loaded out in the rain again. Boo.
Friday morning, we were up on a couple of hours of sleep to play on the radio. The Yacht Rock Revue had to be there at 7:15--super early when you go to bed at 3:30! We played Thunder Island and My Life to promote the show at Lake Lanier that we're playing Saturday. It should be super weird--we're on a floating stage. I couldn't hear myself at all in the headphones. All I could do is watch my hands and hope for the best.
I went home and slept most of the day. Those radio things really mess up my sleep schedule.
Friday night, I got to play with the Yacht Rock Schooner at 37 Main in Buford. It was a fun little bar gig, but holy crap! was it loud. Super loud on stage, and I could see people out in the audience plugging their ears (halfway back in the room, too, so you know on the dance floor it must have been painful). I was jammed in the corner of the stage--I guess that's what you get when you show up after sound check! I didn't play particularly well, though I got off a pretty good flute solo. My sax stuff was not too good, though.
The Schooner guys sounded great--Daniel really sounded good, and Shannon's played some outstanding guitar solos. He's really taking off right now! Greg sang on the front line for Ganesh. Danni was on bass, sporting a new shirt!
One of my favorite parts about playing with the Schooner guys is NOT playing and watching Eric Frampton. I tried to steal anything I could from his performance, especially when he's playing parts I play. Anything I can learn from him…hope I can learn something by being in his presence!
We've got a lot more stuff going on in the next couple of days. Stay tuned for more updates.
davidfreemanmusic.net
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Love of Leland
The Yacht Rock Revue played a benefit show in Kennesaw last night for Leland Erickson, a three year old with a acute myeloid leukemia. He's currently in remission, but his family has incurred huge medical bills. Glad we could help!
Here's his website if you would like to make a donation.
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