David Freeman Music

The Dave and Dave Duo rolls on!  Ellington says that since we have two gigs this month (Sun in my Belly and JCT Kitchen) and two next month (same places), we are officially on tour. JCT is cool, though in the winter we are in the bar, and it gets loud.  The gig is still a fun workout for both us, though, and the burger and fries are still delicious (I had made my food decision 24 hours in advance). The new tune for this gig was Stanley Turrentine's Let it Roll .  It sounds kind of like Sugar (also by Stanley), but without the melodic curlicues.  I dig it. Check us out! We're at JCT Kitchen again February 19 (6-9 PM, and I'll have the burger, medium), and Sun in my Belly February 27 (7-9 PM). In between now and then, I'll be playing at Smith's Olde Bar tomorrow night, guiding the horn section for Sazerac's second performance.  We play at 10 PM.  We load in at 4 PM, in case you want to carry my bari sax up the stairs for me. Friday, Febr...

Yacht Rock played one of our favorite gigs of the year--the Team Hidi benefit, hosted by The Giving Kitchen.  It's a charity event put on by multiple local restaurants--everybody has a table and they let you taste their best stuff.  Good food everywhere you look.  It's a little hipster-y, but tolerable. This year the event was in the Georgia Freight Depot downtown.  Nice looking converted warehouse with an easy load in and out.  I wonder why I haven't done more gigs here--I bet the last time I played here was in the 90s. No Nick, but we had Ganesh (from the Yacht Rock Schooner) subbing for him--he did a fabulous job. Mark Cobb, fresh off the plane from Los Angeles and NAMM (the big trade show for the National Association of Music Merchants), played some fiercely good shit. No Yacht Rock stuff happening this week, but the Dave and Dave Duo (with David Ellington) will be at JCT Kitchen and Bar this Thursday, 6-9 PM.  Here's one from las...

The Dave and Dave Duo (my sax/organ duo with David Ellington) had its first gig of the year at Sun in my Belly last night.  It's been a while since I've played in an improvisational situation--probably since the previous duo gig!--and since my practice time has been dominated by cranking out charts, I was worried about some rust.  No problems, though.  I felt totally comfortable.  Check it out!

Last week was difficult, to say the least, with multiple rehearsals, lots of homework, a big show at Variety Playhouse.  All the while I managed sleep deprivation and a weird cold. The big monkey wrench of the week was an hour's worth of Beatles songs on which I would be required to play the melody.  Like most of western civilization, I am a casual Beatles fan, so I thought it best to write out lead sheets of the songs.  It was determined that twenty-four was a safe number of songs to prepare.  At about twenty minutes per lead sheet, that's eight hours of homework.  Sounds manageable, right?  I should mention that I am a master procrastinator. Monday:  With the conclusion of our northeastern tour, Yacht Rock flew home from Baltimore.  I went home, did some housework, and played the Bumpin' the Mango gig.  I did one lead sheet when I got home. Tuesday:   Dark Side of the Moon and new Beatles tunes ( She Came in Through the Bathro...

Yacht Rock flew home from Baltimore Monday morning, and I got home around 1:30 PM.  That left me a few hours to reset and get ready for another gig!  I was given the opportunity to sub on bari sax with Bumpin' the Mango (a Tower of Power style horn band) at Cafe 290. Fun!  I love the music, and I love the chance to connect with other horn players.  The Yacht Rock gig keeps me kind of isolated from playing and hanging out with local guys.  In particular, this gig was great because I stood next to John Sandfort (playing tenor on the gig).  His playing is really wonderful--I love it!  At one point, we traded back and forth--kind of a saxophone battle.  I got killed.  Not my best playing!  John had great ideas;  I had musical diarrhea.   Oh well...great hang!  I hope to have more things like this come up!  So cool!

2015 is off to a great start!  Yacht Rock did a short, successful run in the Northeast, with gigs in Boston, Long Island, New York City, and Washington, DC.  A terrific way to begin the new year. Thursday:   We flew to Boston (the seven of us plus our sound engineer Kip) to meet the van, trailer, and gear (driven up by Hans).  The day began like this: Get on the plane! I haven't seen pay phones in a long time.  Boston's airport has the remaining supply. This hat, direct from Russia, kept Pete's head warm. Our first show was at The Sinclair in Cambridge.  Nice venue!  It holds 525 people, so not a huge room, but pretty nice size, with good food and a good crew (they helped us load in and out--I'm a big fan). Mark Cobb demonstrates his new, mightier wind chimes.  So powerful that they require two hands (and two sticks). First gig of the run was a terrific success!  It was only our se...