Both sides of 5 AM

Man, what a crazy weekend!

Friday:  huge show in Athens at the Georgia Theatre.  Going into it, I wondered how were going to make out at the Theatre.  Our previous best gig in Athens was at the 40 Watt, where I think there were something like 400 people in attendance.  The Georgia Theatre is roughly equivalent to the Variety Playhouse here in Athens, and I thought if we had 400 people at the Variety, it would look really thin.

No problem:  we sold out the Georgia Theatre.  What an awesome venue!  Check it out:

green room 

The only problem was that I didn't play very well.  I guess the sound was kind of bugging me--I couldn't get comfortable.  It certainly didn't help that the guitar was over my right shoulder, but the bigger issue to me was that the stage sound was loud and washy, but I couldn't pinpoint what the particular sounds were--just a big wave is something that I had to play against.  Sometimes my amp was too loud;  sometimes it was too quiet.  I couldn't find a balance against everything else on stage.  On top of all that, I just had a bunch of brain farts--like I'd play the same part on every chorus of a song, but the third time through the chorus, I couldn't remember thing I'd played on the previous to choruses.  Why?

The entire gig was recorded to a 24 track Pro Tools rig (greeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaat), so I'll hear myself screw up with great frequency at some point down the road.

Mark Bencuya took an AWESOME solo on I Want to be Your Lover, and Mark Dannells ripped a really great solo on Easy Lover.

The crowd was awesome.  We played two encores.

We drove back after the show.  By the time I'd gotten home and emptied my equipment from my truck, packed for Saturday, and gotten into bed it was 5 AM.

Saturday afternoon:  I played a gig with a group in Stockbridge.  Going into it, I was pretty excited because it was a jazz gig with a different group of guys playing cool tunes--stuff like Snakes (Marcus Miller) and Hang Up Your Hang Ups (Herbie Hancock).  Monday night we slogged through a three hour rehearsal--only the drummer and myself were really prepared to play.  The guitarist was two and a half hours late to the rehearsal, and then didn't know the stuff at all.  Not impressive!

The gig was for a festival in Stockbridge--one of those portable stages in a park.  We were playing from 12:40-1:20 PM.  Most of the band got there around noon.

A word about the sound man:  INCOMPETENT.

When we were setting up, I showed the sound man my wired clip on mic (a Shure Beta 98 H/C, if you're wondering).  It plugs into an XLR cable.  It needs phantom power.  I told the sound man "I brought my mic.  It needs phantom power."  He said, "OK."

From his front of house mixing position, he had me play so he could set the level.  The gain kept coming up ("I'm not getting it" he said).  So then he opened up the monitor in front of me all the way ("Are you getting it?" he said).  Then he said, "Oh yeah!  The phantom power!" and he hit the phantom power button.  It sounded like a nuclear explosion and two trains colliding all at once.  Like, 180 decibels of ice picks into my ears, and it lasted a solid four or five seconds.  Wow.  That was really dumb.

The sound on stage was really bad (even after that, amazingly enough).  Everything coming out of the monitors sounded like a cell phone video of a rock concert.  Loud, brittle, distorted--you get the idea.

Aside from that…um.  Remember how I was saying that our set was from 12:40-1:20?  The guitarist finally showed up at 1:10 PM, walking to the stage like he was going into a convenience store.  So guess what we did from 12:40-1:10?  We stood on stage and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Thankfully there was no crowd, which limited the embarrassment.

waiting for the guitarist

Once the guitarist plugged in, we were off.  First tune (Hang Up Your Hang Ups) starts with the guitar riff.  Did he know it?  Did he know that he did not know it?  Did he care?  I would say NO to all three questions.  That was pretty lame.  We went on with it;  the rest of the band was fine.  The leader had laid out a plan of who was soloing on which tune;  that went out the window pretty quickly.

The rest of the gig followed in much the same fashion.  I probably wouldn't have been annoyed if we hadn't spent all that time at rehearsal working out the forms of the tunes.  It was kind of a free-for-all jam situation.

The following bands were stacked up next to stage because we went so late (the guitarist for the next band arrived before the guitarist for our band--ouch!).  Some guy jumped up and began playing an acoustic set before I'd even gotten my horns off the stage.

I had enough time to drive back to home, grab my gear, eat lunch, and head out the door to my next gig.

Saturday night:  I played with the Yacht Rock Schooner (along with Mark Bencuya and Greg Lee).  We played the Vinings Jubilee--basically in the center of a shopping center/restaurant complex, there's a spot where the set up bands to play for weekend entertainment.

It was cold.  The wind was bad all day, but once the sun went down, it was even worse.  My hands hurt and my horns were ice cold.  Thankfully, I was wearing a suit.  One of the guys just had a short sleeve shirt on.

The sound man complained to me that my electronics were noisy.  Kind of confusing, since the same signal was going through my amp, and I wasn't hearing any of that.  He seemed pretty insistent that it wasn't HIS equipment with the problem.

The gig went well, though.  We were loved.  The 10:30 curfew was welcomed!

Sunday morning:  one day later, I got UP at 5 AM, this time to play the Brookhaven half-marathon with the Yacht Rock Revue.  Same cold, same wind.  It was tough.

We sang the National Anthem.  I think I messed up my part a little.

The announcer called us "the Yacht Club Revue."  Twice.  Even though it was on his script as "the Yacht Rock Revue."  Here's to stupidity!

The gig went well.  The sound on stage was really good.  My hands hurt and my horns were ice cold.  The synth buildup in Lido?  Couldn't do it.  My hands couldn't play that fast.

I went home and went straight to bed (around noon).  I got up at 2 PM, ate, and left for my next gig.

Sunday night:  Yacht Rock played a wedding reception at The Garden at Great Oaks in Roswell.  Pretty nice place, though not really set up well for loading in equipment and food  (and guests).  How about paving the driveway?

Right off the bat we confronted by the manager of the facility, an evil old woman named Joi.  She was not interested in helping us in any way--it seemed like we were in for a long night of hell with her.

Here's a review somebody found on Yelp (posted two weeks ago!):

Having worked in the Hospitality Industry for 15 years I tend to look the other way and keep my mouth shut. However, in this instance I cannot do so. Party Planners, Brides, Grooms, Guests BEWARE! While on the surface the Gardens At Great Oaks appears to be a beautiful place to host your event there is an evil and dark presence at this facility that will undoubtedly bring a dark cloud to your day. The presence goes by the name of Joi and she is the "manager" of the event facility. In my 15 years in the industry I have never encountered an individual with so much hate and ill will towards people in general. It was if just the thought of individuals having a good time was enough to throw this woman off the deep end. Aside from the fact that she looks like she has been sewn together with missing parts and her wardrobe is akin to an afghan throw she really is just a miserable human being. I witnessed this woman yell at guests, slap a young woman, and throw a case of wine at someone who worked for her. Her ability to "manage" an event does not exist. Every request that we had from when and where things were to be served, to when the bar would open was not met. On top of that, at the end of the evening the "facility" was to provide a limo for our guests back to the hotel and when the limo had not arrived for some 45 minutes Joi explained that we could "just take a cab". Really just take a cab? You are going to say that to a bride and groom? Top that with the fact that Joi would not allow us to keep the food in the fridge overnight, in fact her response to that was you can pick it up on Wednesday afternoon. Mind you this was a Saturday? Do not take any recommendations from this woman with respect to her caterer or any other recommendations for that matter. At the end of the evening we were to have a bunch of left over food which had all been pilfered by Joi, the caterer and the helpers. When we arrived in the kitchen to retrieve our food (since we did not want to leave it there till Wednesday) we were told that it was for the "crew". The nightmare that this woman brings to this place is enough for anyone to stay clear. I have received a warmer welcome at the DMV then this woman could provide. Shame on you Joi! Shame on you for what you did and what you do to people. You make celebrations "Joi-less"!

Wow!

Something changed between us and Joi, though.  She went from the wicked witch to our best buddy.  We'll know what triggered it, but all of the sudden she was there to hook us up with anything we needed.

The wedding reception was outdoors for us.  Very cold, though not as windy.  Usual stuff for me:  hands hurt, horns cold.  I played ok.

I got home just before midnight.  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

davidfreemanmusic.net

No Sub Night

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 wasn't fixed.  Once I'd sort of given up on that (I used the headphone jack for sound as temporary fix), I moved on to finishing learning Lady (You Bring Me Up) by the Commodores.  My responsibility was strings and horns.  It turned out to be really really really complicated.  Damn you Lionel Richie!

I got in bed at 5 AM.  My alarm went off at 8:30 AM.  I was at the rehearsal space by 9:45 AM.  We played  through our Lady, our two completed originals, Take Me with You  and Baby Be Mine (for the upcoming Purple Rain/Thriller gig).  I was hanging on to Lady by my fingertips.  The mono jack on the Nord was still not working.

When I got home, I ate lunch and got Jack off the bus.  Then I set up my stuff and practiced Lady for a couple of hours--slowly, just trying to get the flow of the parts.  I also discovered that the Nord problem was a bad cable--because I was using a TRS to XLR cable, I was able to hear sound sometimes because of the ring (the R in TRS), and that's why I could use the stereo output of the headphone jack successfully.  Duh!

So yeah,  Lady for like three hours straight.  I finally got the hang of it.  Still on three hours sleep.

I got the gig and couldn't wait to go home and go to bed.  Once we got started, though, I was having fun and was wide awake.  In fact, most of the first set was about the best I've ever played!  After each of the first few songs, I thought "Wow, I haven't messed up yet!"

Without any notice, we played our two originals on the gig, and they both went over really well.  What a coup!  The second song, Good Thing, got a particularly good response.  Pretty cool!

Lady went well, but I was again holding on for dear life.  I need about eight or ten more gigs with it before it will be comfortable.

At the end of the gig, it dawned on me that I'd set up my tenor but never played it.  I only played alto on three songs, and flute on one.  I don't mind though, because we did some different songs than we've been playing with the subs.

Great gig!

Tonight we're playing the Georgia Theatre in Athens.  How cool is that?!

davidfreemanmusic.net

Sweetwater Brewery

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

Math Problem

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

Sea Island

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, 7 PM guests arrive?

It turned out that it was 6:45 all quiet, 7 PM guests.  So…no soundcheck, which I guess is no big deal.

my view from the stage

We ate and changed and then someone came and got us--"They're expecting y'all now."  We got out there and stood around for 10-15 minutes.  Again, no big deal, but we went racing out there for nothing.  Indigestion?

The first set was a drag--low energy blahs from the crowd and (therefore) the band.  Did I mention we were forbidden to drink during the first set?  

The second set was better, but still only marginally more exciting than the van ride. 

After the gig we were issued keys and directions for our accommodations.  The client/agent/somebody had reserved rooms for us at the Queens Court Motel, which is a bug infested shit hole on St. Simons Island.  At one point, I think this place was maybe a quaint little place where your parents stayed when they were dating in the 60s, but now it's a bug infested shit hole.  Mold on the walls, dead cockroaches on the floor, bugs crawling across the beds.  Let's put it this way:  we took one look at it and started talking about driving through the night back to Atlanta (five hours away).  

used to look like this

now looks like this

We lucked out and found a Quality Inn right next to I-95 in Brunswick. 

The drive back was pretty entertaining.  We played musical trivia.  Lots of screaming, lots of obscenities.  Lunch was had at Hooters in Macon.

I got home with just enough time to unload all my stuff and head out to my church gig.  Not much happening there.  It sounded ok.  I didn't play particularly well.

Big week ahead.

davidfreemanmusic.net

For the Love of Mark Dannells

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 had competing keyboard sound effects bouncing back and forth for a few songs (lots of telephones, a car engine, laughter, and a train) between myself and Bencuya.  Hans (sound guy) even got into the action with his pitch shifter on Escape (Pina Colada).

Pretty good gig!  We had to hang out because it was pouring, but the rain let up enough later on that I could get all my stuff out to my truck.

davidfreemanmusic.net

Four in Twenty-Six!

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 the butt later in life.  My lack of enthusiasm for networking will eventually lead to my employment at some place like Office Max.

Heaven Davis (vocals)--played on her CD and the subsequent CD release party at 800 East (incidentally I was introduced to Mark Cobb by Clay Cook at this gig).

George Price (guitar)--used to teach guitar in the studio next to me at Ken Stanton Music.  We jammed one time out in front of the store on Blue Bossa and a blues.  How could he NOT remember me?

Steve Mays (bass)--subbed on some of my church gigs at St. Ann.  I bet he would recognize the back of my head better than the front.

Reese Harris (drums)--played a few latin jazz gigs in a band called Wild Rice.  I must not have played anything memorable.  He has also seen me with the Schooner.

The band sounded really good--the blues stuff is not my thing, but they were solid.  No self-indulgent half hour guitar solos or anything.

They came off the stage and we went on.  They "had heard a lot about us" and we "couldn't wait to hear us."  We played one song and then they "got in their cars and left."

Our sets were good.  It was the regular band minus Mark Dannells, who was on vacation.  Shannon Pengelly subbed for him.  We had a good time, everything felt good, and the sound was good.  Cobb had on a new suit.  Nice.

We finished right around 8 PM.  I loaded up and drove to the Dixie Tavern.

Gig Two:  I played with the Yacht Rock Schooner at the Dixie Tavern.  I'd been looking forward to this gig for a couple of weeks because I got to play keyboard on the gig, too.  Big deal, you say?  Yeah, because it was a chance to play some of the other (Bencuya) keyboard parts, like rhodes on Peg and Hey Nineteen.  Fun!  We did this a year ago (me and Frampton), and I like the challenge.

I was super pumped.  It was really exciting for me, even though there were only a handful of big parts (Hey Nineteen, Peg, Doctor My Eyes, and Lido Shuffle).  I even took a solo (yikes!) on the end of Hey Nineteen--nothing chopsy at all, but correct notes played in time.  Heck yeah!  I had so much adrenaline going by the end of it, I could have picked up a car.

 Hey Nineteen solo by David B Freeman

It's probably good that Ganesh didn't let me go any longer.

After we played Lido, some guy told me my playing was fascinating to watch.

Frampton!

T.Y.

The Schooner sounded great.  Everything felt great.  It was a ton of fun!  I really like doing the sax/keyboard thing with them--it's harder to get into it when it's just saxophone.  I was sandwiched between Daniel Morrison and Delicious Tom Young--the groove was really solid.

The Dixie Tavern let us stop at 2 AM.  I was in bed by 4.  Owww.

Gig Three:  also known as church gig number one.  Not much of a gig for me--I played a little bit of saxophone, but mostly flute doubling the melody.  I messed around with using headphones again, but the mix is not good to me.  The bassist is the guy who's most interested in what's in it, so it's really bass and piano heavy.  I'm better off hearing everything (except the damn V drums) acoustically.

The organist made some Kenny G crack at rehearsal which I ignored.  You shouldn't curse on a church gig.

I was home by 11 AM, and asleep shortly thereafter.

I woke up around 5:30 and got dressed.

Gig Four:  church gig number two.  This one sounded pretty good!  No guitar and no drums, so the mix was pretty easy.

Funny thing about this gig--the last note hasn't finished ringing in the cathedral before the vocalists and the pianist/leader are telling each other what they did wrong.  This week they were all ganging up on one person--lots of on the spot analysis about why she was dragging.  Mildly amusing stuff.

Yay for football.  I fell asleep on the couch.

davidfreemanmusic.net

Two Gigs!

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 Yacht Rock gig.

This was the best 10 High gig I've played in a long time.  Everybody played well and the energy was good.  We were being silly, too, but musically things felt great.  I wish they were all like this!

I got a couple of good solos in…I was really loose from the earlier gig.  My sax was way up in my monitor--abusively loud.  Ha!

We went on break after I'd really torn it up on Takin' it to the Streets, and some girl told me that the band was great and I was a really awesome singer.  Must not have been tearing it up like I thought.

I've got another two gigs tomorrow…when it rains, it pours, I guess.

davidfreemanmusic.net

Trio at Ventanas

I played a trio gig tonight with two of my favorite musicans:  Tyrone Jackson and Kevin Smith.  We had a background music gig at Ventanas.  Great gig!

I feel really out shape, jazz-wise.  Too many Yacht Rock keyboard parts!  I need more time on the horn…sure wish I had more gigs with these guys.

Everybody thought we were playing somebody else's stuff ("Is that a Bob James song?").  That's a compliment, right?  My stuff's not total BS!



davidfreemanmusic.net

On the Move

Friday night, it was late…I played the first set with the Yacht Rock Schooner at 37 Main in Buford.  That place gives me the impression that there is NOTHING ELSE to do in Buford--it's always packed.  The crowd was good, the band was really good.

I couldn't hear anything that I was playing.  I guess that's what you get when you don't show up to soundcheck.  I tried the old trick of playing a few notes in between songs--not very reassuring!  I think I could hear myself in the mains;  maybe not.  My position was an arm's length away from the speaker and I couldn't tell.  I had no monitor of my own, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't in any of the monitors on stage.  I think I was more or less inaudible.  Ugh.

The band was really solid--they really had a good groove going.

There were several beer bottles on the lip of the stage in front of me, and I noticed when we started Baker Street that I nudged one when I bent my knees, so then every time the hook came around, I tried to knock the other ones down.  I think I hit five.

Saturday, the Yacht Rock Revue played a wedding reception in Columbus.  Some guy heard about us and hired us sight unseen!  He also had something to do with hooking up the gig in Washington DC.

This was a fun gig to me, mostly because Mark Cobb really felt like playing--he gave the whole band energy.

We had Kevin Spencer subbing for Nick (on vacation).  He did a great job filling in.

First dance was Just the Way You Are.  I'm getting closer on the solo, but I sound a little sharp.

 Just the Way You Are sax solo by David B Freeman

Lately I've been coming up with some new stuff to play on Reminiscing.  It's funny how that kind of thing comes and goes.  I feel pretty good about that song, but (for instance) on Taking it to the Streets, I have nothing to play.  I just play bullshit through the entire end.

We played Break My Stride for the first time in a year and a half (I think).  I was sure the chorus started on G.  I insisted!  and I was wrong.  It starts on F.

Another oldie that came back was I'd Really Love to See You Tonight.  I was a little shaky in some spots.  That's almost the norm for me on that one.  I try and play it casually and then I screw up.

Other than those, I played well the entire night, and then we did Taking it to the Streets for the encore.  For some reason, I was pedaling on C instead of G.  My embarrassment kind of crushed my good feeling about the night.  Damnit!  How long have I been playing that wrong?

Church gig number one got the day off.  The "orchestra" (the church concert band) is playing.  I slept in.  It was great.

Big week this week…a couple of jazz gigs and a couple of Yacht Rock gigs.  Stay tuned.

davidfeemanmusic.net

Too Many Dudes

We (Yacht Rock) played at the 10 High last night.  It was pretty obvious that we were shut out by the football game.  The crowd never showed up, and the gig was lost to indifference pretty quickly.

I played well.  We had Ganesh on drums, K Spence on vocals (in for Nick), and Shannon on guitar, so the set list was all really safe stuff--things we've been playing forever.  There were some strange guitar chords in the middle of Sister Golden Hair and the intro of Hey 19, and we did the radio edit version of My Life…speaking of which, that was a game of musical chicken--the vocals went one way and the band went the other, and at some point we (the band) had to jump when it was finally obvious that the vocals were not coming back to us.  Thankfully, we'd heard that mistake before--almost predicted it.

Lido needed more bass in the intro.

Everything in the second set was pretty normal and pretty plain.  Shannon got a fiery solo off on How Long, and I thought for a second we were going to pick up the energy, but it was just a flicker!  I stumbled a little bit in the Africa solo, but nothing catastrophic.

Anyway…it was the 10 High.  Too many dudes--always a sign that we're going to make no money.

There's always next week!

davidfreemanmusic.net