Sunday

Today was my last church gig at St. Ann's. The budget was slashed, and most of the contracted musicians lost their gigs (myself included). Big question...will anybody notice we're gone?

Our pool was closed all day today due to the presence of "fecal matter"...a little dookie, if you will.

World of Plastic Coke Bottles

I had a corporate jazz gig last night at the World of Coke. If you haven't seen the new World of Coke, I'd say it's about the same as the old World of Coke, except in a different location. Last night's thing was an awards dinner.
It's a real drag to watch the people at the event filling the water glasses for 200 people with Dasani bottles. I mean, come on...shouldn't there be a Dasani fountain at the World of Coke? We were playing in the hub, where's there's a nice display about recycling plastic Coke bottles, and right below are ten waiters creating more empty plastic bottles. Even worse than that--in between my quartet and the recycling display was a bar station, and when I walked by there I noticed their garbage cans were full of trash, including glass and plastic bottles. No recycling going on there either.
The World of Coke needs to get their act together with the recycling. What occurred last night was an embarassment. Is it really too much for Coke to insist on recycling at events held in their building?

Swim with the Fishes

Greetings. It's been a week. You probably thought I was dead.

This week was marked by Jack's transformation into a fish. About a week ago he figured out that he could go under water and not die, and since then he's been in the pool, swimming, more or less constantly. I think he's down there once or twice a day for hours at a time. It's a lot more fun to go now because of that, so I've been trying to be there as much as I can, so I haven't been putting in much time on the horn.
This week's Yacht Rock was a bit of a pressure cooker for me due to the fact that I had to play keyboard on a few tunes to cover Brandon being out. I am not a good pianist, so I really had to put in the time to try and approximate what he would normally play with ease. The biggie that I was concerned about was the rhodes part on "I Keep Forgettin'." I did pretty well. Actually, I wish I was more comfortable, because when I am playing keyboards and getting it right, I enjoy it.
One thing I noticed (again) about my playing is how I get lazy about breathing. At times I find myself not taking in enough air, and then I can't make it through phrases. This happened to me last night in a couple of spots--the first one that comes to mind being the solo on "Heart of Rock and Roll." I was thinking about my stage movements and the solo, and I didn't get a good breath in the solo, so then I was trying to make up for it in every hole until the solo ended. I guess I just need to be more aware of it. It's kind of stupid, actually. If you're talking, you never stop to think about the fact that there's no air in your lungs. I need to slow down a little, I guess, and not be so sloppy.
Yesterday I did some recording at Metronome Studios for a band called Attractive Eighties Women. Tom Gibson and I played on a tune about zombies. I played bari sax and alto sax.
After that it was to the pool!
Tonight I'm playing a private function at the World of Coke--a little three hour hit. I'll be home before midnight!

Thursday (night)

Thursday night was the premiere of Reagan Rock (a continuation of Yacht Rock into the early 80s). Highlights: the oppressive heat of the 10 High made everyone uncomfortable. Gina Niespodziani made some awesome 80s compilation videos that played in the background. Lots of NBC News clips, Dallas and Dynasty, Miami Vice, Knight Rider. some early 80s movies. Funny stuff. I remember it all very well. Peter and Nick brought a ziploc bag of "cocaine", which they cut and snorted on a big mirror they had.
The Reagan Rock set was pretty pressurized. We all seemed to be concentrating on getting it right, and when we came back with a set of Yacht Rock, everybody seemed to go kind of mushy (the heat also wilted us).
Speaking of the heat! For the past several weeks I've been thinking my laptop was dying due to the heat. It seemed like it would start fine, and by two-thirds of the way through the set, it would get weird. I can't say more than it would react differently to me. Last night I finally figured out that it was NOT the laptop, but instead the EWI itself. When the heat and humidity go up, the little diaphram inside that measures breath pressure changes slightly, and it was causing notes to stay on. Just barely, but it was still transmitting data through the MIDI. So, when I would then change patches or turn the EWI and off, there would be an interuption of the data, and it would cause the computer to do weird stuff. Ah ha! The solution was to turn down the sensitivity to breath slightly, and it goes back to acting like my EWI rig. What a relief to know what was going on!

Thursday (day)

Here's a recap of Thursday (day), in case you weren't here for all of it...

I still worried about my alto mouthpiece not being quite right. All the little chirps and reed issues I've had made me concerned that there might be some sort of trouble lurking there. I couldn't stand it, so for my own mental health I drove to Suwanee Thursday morning to have Will Grizzle check out my mouthpiece. He measured it and flattened the table a little bit. Not really much of anything. However, now I'm confident that whatever problems I may encounter, they're not the fault of the mouthpiece. As soon as I finish typing this, I'm going to run over to Bryan Lopes' house and let him look over my alto, so then I can be sure my equipment is operating at its peak.

Jack and I returned and hit the pool. He made HUGE strides yesterday in swimming. At the beginning of our time there, he only wanted to kick across the shallow end with a kickboard. By the end of yesterday, he was running and jumping of the side of the pool (yelling "CANNONBALL!!!"), and kicking (face IN the water!!!!) back to the steps. How awesome is that?

Michael Brecker Masterclass

Here's a cool mp3 of Michael Brecker giving a masterclass at Berklee in 1987. Lots of interesting stuff (click here for a link to mp3). It's over an hour, so give yourself time (or download it). I ended up staying up waaaaaay too late listening to it.

One thing that jumped out at me is the awareness that great players have about their own playing (and those who came before them). I really think that if you want to improve, you have to be able to objectively study your own playing and know what needs improvement. Not in a general "I suck" sort of way, but in a "everytime I'm in this situation, I play this, and I should fix it" kind of way. The closer you get to pinpointing your problems, the quicker you can get to the business of attacking them. It seems obvious, but I think too many players hide behind the false humility of "I suck!" and never go after what they don't like about their playing.

Saturday hurt me

Saturday hurt me. I was up until at least 2:30 AM Friday night, and then I woke up at 6 AM so I could get my butt down to the Georgia International Convention Center by 7:15 AM. We (basically my church gig at St. Ann's with Kevin Wyglad) played for what looked like a jillion people for the Eucharistic Congress for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. We finished just after 11 AM. I took Beth to Peachtree City, and then went home and ate lunch. Then I loaded the truck with my Yacht Rock stuff and headed to the zoo for the Brew at the Zoo.

I played with Y.O.U. in their set. They were, of course, awesome. Then we reset and played a long Yacht Rock set. We did well, and the crowd responded in kind. I didn't have much sax playing in the Yacht Rock set--mostly EWI. I do wonder how much I contributed last night--I was pretty wiped out.

Mark Cobb taught me about funk drumming--it's much funkier when you play backbeat on the snare and do the accents with the kick drum.

I got home around 10:30 PM, and I bet I was alseep within an hour. I needed it. I woke up with the lights and TV still on...with just enough time to take a shower, swap out gear, and head out to my next gig--12:15 mass at St. Ann's.

Friday-Prince

Friday was a big driving day.

I got up as late as I could and headed out the door to a rehearsal for my Saturday gig. It was down at the International Convention Center (down by the airport). I was down there for a couple of hours in an enormous exhibit hall.

When that was finished, I raced home and finished getting my book of music ready for my sax sub for a gig Saturday night. I had a few charts I needed to write out on the computer. When that was finished, I ran and dropped the book off.

Late Friday night, I got dressed and ran down to Little 5 Points for the Prince Tribute at the Star Bar. I played on Head with Y.O.U., and a New Orleans/Meters version of A Love Bizarre with Edenrage and Chanda Leigh (I'd never met these people before we played! The guy texted me once we both got there and I found him by his decription. They'd asked through a friend if I would join them). Pretty cool stuff. I was glad that A Love Bizarre went with a different feel, so I could avoid playing more or less the same sort of solo I'd played on Head. Mark Bencuya played an awesome synth solo on a tune they played without me. I think it's the best solo I've ever heard him play.

Afterwards, Mark Cobb hipped me to some really cool stuff I'd never heard--a band from the 70s called Cymande and the Headhunters album without Herbie Hancock. Gritty 70s funk. Awesome! We got into a discussion about whether it's better to approach a tribute situation like the Prince tribute by playing exactly like the record, or it's better to do your own thing with the song. I can see it either way, as long as the musical decisions are legit (i.e. don't decide to skip the bridge because you can't remember it).

I got home around 2 AM. Not good--I have to be at my next gig at 7:15 AM!

Thursday night

I've had plenty to blog about, but very little time to do it. Here we go:

Thursday was generally uneventful. I taught a little, ate, and boogied down to Yacht Rock. Nothing new in terms of songs...we're gearing up for next Thursday's official premier of "Reagan Rock" (Yacht Rock as it slipped into the 80s).

Y.O.U., who form the core of Yacht Rock, are releasing a new record July 25 at Smith's Olde Bar. I will be performing that night, and we've recruited trombonist Eric Alexander to help out. It should be a very cool night--the new Y.O.U. stuff sounds AWESOME!!!!

Back to Yacht Rock...it was pretty packed, which is always cool. I heard there was a line out on the sidewalk. Musically, I think we were pretty good. Mark Cobb is sooooooooo good, it makes everybody else sound better.

Something new we'd never talked about: the "Baker Street Phenomenon." Gerry Rafferty released the song Baker Street in 1978, and the popularity of the tune made it necessary for every other band of the time to have a saxophone player and saxophone solos. And thus begat David Freeman!

A Lotta Notes

Yesterday was great.  I went to the pool with everybody (I even brought Reggie and tied him to the fence).  Then I came home and practiced flute for a couple of hours.  Then I went and taught for a couple of hours (in there was a half hour of bass clarinet practice).  Then I came home and played with Jack and put him to bed.  Then I practiced for a few more hours.  I gave up at 1:30 this morning.  My hands are sore, but it was worth it.  Awesome, awesome day!

Messing Up

Bryan Lopes fixed my tenor. It's funny that I took it to him thinking that there were only a couple of leaks, and he went through and found a bunch of bad pads. How was I able to get the thing to play at all? I guess all those things happen so gradually, you don't feel them going bad. Lopes does an awesome job, and the horn plays really well.

One of the most common comments I hear from students and fellow band members is "You never mess up!" The truth is, I mess up all the time! I think the reason most mistakes go by without any notice is because I play them with the same conviction that I play the correct stuff, and I correct my mistakes quickly! Remember how your band director said to make loud mistakes? The idea was not that you would screw up at high volume...he's talking about playing all your notes (right and wrong) with the same confidence, so that even the bad notes sound like you meant them.

A Wild Friday

Yacht Rock set sail from Andrews Upstairs last night.  We did well.  A good cruise.  A few highlights...

I used my new reeds (the ones I'd frantically worked on yesterday) on both alto and tenor.  Both worked well.  Actually, I may have softened the tenor too much, because I choked off the high note in the riff for Who Can it Be Now.  Oops.  Got a little excited.  What can I say--I was going for it.

I'd like to hear what I played on the solo for Little Jeannie.  Jim Horn played the original, but he basically just plays the melody.  Sometimes I do that, but last night I augmented it a little more, and it felt good.  Hopefully it stands up on the recording!

In May, my EWI ran out of batteries in the middle of the gig.  This month, I made it almost to the end.  They're lasting almost exactly a month.  I've got to be sure to switch them out before the next gig, so my rig doesn't die in the middle of the Rosanna solo or something like that.

It was packed.  Insanely packed.  I have a feeling this is what Ruperts went through about twenty years ago. 

There was a chick fight right in front of us, but I missed it because I had my eyes closed during a solo.  When I finished, guys were pulling them apart and one had a cut on the bridge of her nose.  How crazy is that?

No encore last night.  Maybe we've peaked?

The first load of gear to go out the door witnessed two guys being held in handcuffs for the cops.  One tried to steal a bottle of vodka from the bar, and the second guy punched the bartender in pursuit of the bottle.

After I loaded out, a bouncer body slammed a guy right at the front door and held him to the ground be the throat.  Excessive force?  Jaco Pastorius, anyone?  Brandon (one of our keyboardists) was sort of confused about what to do, as they were almost up against the side of his car.

Whatever that street is...the cross street with East Andrews...is always clogged with cabs and cars, but last night was really bad.  I sat for four of five minutes in dead gridlock (at 2:30 in the morning!), watching in my rearview mirror with strange detachment as a county hoss and a frat boy tried to kill each other on the sidewalk.  Another fight!  Lots of wrestling involved in this one, but not many punches landed.  

I'm off to Calloway Gardens tonight for a wedding reception.   Hopefully there will no fighting!

Reed Crisis!

I spent the bulk of yesterday dealing with a reed crisis.  By Wednesday night I'd lost faith in my alto set up, and I was worried that maybe mouthpiece had a flaw which made it incompatible with 90 percent of my reeds.  The one good reed would feel AWESOME, but the other nine reeds in the box would be really terrible.  So yesterday I went to work sanding, carving, and praying to the reed gods and we got it sorted out.  What a relief!  I don't want to drop a ton of money on another mouthpiece to replace it (especially if it was just a bad box of reeds).

Yacht Rock last night was unaffected by the weather.  On the way to the gig, I had to stop at a gas station and move all my stuff out of the back of my truck and into the cab due to a furious downpour.  For sure I thought we'd be playing to an empty room last night.  I guess it cleared off, though, because we had a good night, crowd-wise.  My only complaint would be the guy that stood front and center and whistled super-loud to show his approval.  I'm glad he enjoyed it, but every time I came out for a solo, and pretty much had to wait until he ran out of air before I could begin.  Not very smooth, dude.

On the end of Takin' it to the Streets,  I got into a cool thing where I was swinging back and forth between a high A (on tenor), and a flat A, sort of a Stevie Ray Vaughan thing (in my head). 

Tonight we're at Andrews Upstairs.  The weather's nice, so I'm hoping for a great crowd and great show.  We're bringing Regulate in over I Keep Forgettin'.  That crowd is gonna fall out when they hear it.  I guarantee.

Rickie Lee Jones (and some Gadd)

The usual Monday stuff...laundry, vacuuming.

I got a CD in the mail that I haven't heard in a while--the self-titled album Rickie Lee Jones from around 1979.  You probably know it by the first track-Chuck E.'s in Love.  Interesting how much this stuff I hear in the female singer/songwriters of Decatur, not to mention someone like Norah Jones.  I love it, though.  Some of my favorite late 70s stuff, including some great horn stuff by Tom Scott, Ernie Watts, and Chuck Findley.  Anything where the saxes are playing in unison really gets me excited (Steely Dan does this alot, and I thank them for every note of it).  Love that sound.  Steve Gadd is also on this one (ahh that fill in the middle of Chuck E.'s!!!!!!!), and I'm in love with everything from the 70s that has him on it, so this one does me good.  (Here's a great Steve Gadd clip from YouTube from some clinic--he seems pissed about having to demonstrate something yet again, so he starts off like he wants to die, but about 2 and half minutes into it, he's lost in it and going nuts!)

Rickie Lee Jones has some cool things in her blog.  I can relate to the idea of bringing the music to life at the gig, and how sometimes you want to share it with the audience, and sometimes it's more of your own thing.  I think it's safe to say that most non musicians think that you show up to the gig and the magic happens, when in fact some nights you just can't get it there.  The notes are right and nobody's messing up, but it just isn't happening.  I bet on half my gigs I drive there worried about it not happening...what if I can't summon the spirit?  What if I try as hard a as I can, but the notes just don't connect?  I dread those rides.  It's a kind of fear of failure, but not failure like I'll play wrong notes;  more like the failure that I'll play the right notes, but it still won't be right.  What do you do then?