Easter Sunday

Sunday was a killer.

If I were to guess, I'd say that I fell asleep on the couch Saturday night somewhere around 2 AM.  At 5 AM, I was up seeking caffination and a weather report.  It was Easter gig time!

My first Easter gig of the day was outside at 6:30 AM.  Here's a picture of the congregation in the parking lot.  This is some sort of strange Marietta ritual!  The past two years, the temperature at start time has been 36 and 38, so 60 degrees this morning felt wonderful.

Here's a picture of Graham Kuhn (piano/vocals).  I'm not sure why were taking pictures at a church service, but we did.

Tuning was a little sketchy, but over all it was way better than in years past.  I played sax and flute on this.

When that one was over, we packed up and moved into the church gym.  Kevin Wyglad, Graham, and myself were the band for the overflow mass from the church's 8:30 service.  We ended up with a couple of hundred people in there.  I had fiddled with the keyboard before we began, and Graham ended up starting the first song with a phased clav sound instead of acoustic piano.  Oops.  I played sax and flute on this one too.

The third service I played was the 10:30 mass in the parish hall.  I also ran sound for this one (and it sounded pretty good, if I do say so myself!).  This one had me on flute, Brian Cray on piano, and Chris Cromett (I think that's correct) on vocals.  Whereas the previous two services had been fun because we have played together enough to make changes on the fly, this one was fun because we'd never played together (and Chris was REALLY nervous).  We sailed through with no problems.

After a family gathering at our house I took a multiple hour nap before jumping in the truck to run down to Buckhead to play my regular Sunday night church gig.  Nothing new to report on that one.  I think they've changed up the amplifier settings, though.  The spot where I usually put the master fader was really honkin' loud.  Loud is good, though.

I came home and fell asleep on the couch, which is why I am awake at 5:30 AM!
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Schooning in Suwanee

Last night I played with the Yacht Rock Schooner in Suwanee (for the first set).

It was a tough situation;  the Wild Wind there had morphed into a sports bar for the purposes of the Final Four (R.I.P. Michigan State) with every TV on the game (they even had a screen over the stage with a projector TV going).  The soundman was about an hour late to setting up.  We were also asked to wait until halftime of the second game before going on.

The end result was that the band was flat.  I think it was safe to say that there was very little interest in playing music that night, and it felt like it.  There was no crowd and thus no energy from a crowd.  It was really bland.

As we trudged through the set, I was mentally diagnosing what was wrong.  My conclusion was this:  at this point in its existence, that group of musicians does not play for each other--the play for the gig.  By comparison, I would say that on any given night with Yacht Rock, I can be interested in what somebody's doing on stage, and I can play to that, whether I'm marveling at Bencuya's keyboard prowess or enjoying Mark Cobb's bubbling creativity (something he would tell you is his way of dealing with boredom on the gig), or how Pete's reacting to what Nick or Greg is doing.  We play for our own enjoyment as much as we do for the crowd's enjoyment.  And while it's true that we need the vibe from the crowd to really get off, I know that because we like playing together, we can still have fun when the crowd sucks.  Last night, the Schooner guys missed this part.
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8 Traxx

Friday night Yacht Rock played our monthly gig at the room formerly known as Andrews Upstairs, but now called 8 Traxx Disco.  In addition to changing the name, they also asked that we start an hour earlier than usual so that the DJ might commence spinning after midnight (and presumably "take it to the next level"?)

We were supposed to begin at 9:30, but there was no one there, so we waited until 9:45.  At that time, there were still very few people there (the main level of the room was completely empty).  People finally started trickling in somewhere around 10:30 (our usual start time!).  Nice move.  We played until 12:15 or so before giving way to the DJ.  The club had requested that we clear the stage in fifteen minutes so that the DJ might set up and get going, but fifteen is impossible for me--thirty minutes is possible if I'm flying, and forty-five minutes is my average.  When we started tearing down, our crowd dispersed, and by the time we were clear of the stage, the room was empty.  I'm not sure if the club had really thought this one through--not only did they mess up our gig by starting early, but trying to mash a set with the DJ on the end of the night killed her gig too!

Playing-wise, things were good.  We continued on the previous night's good playing--perhaps were even better since the great Mark Cobb was playing with us last night.  I had a couple of minor oops moments (Bb in the bass instead of C for the last chord of How Long and a really sad glissando in Steal Away that made Bencuya laugh).  Other than that, things were pretty good.  Saxophone-wise, I'm still overblowing a bit, and I had no good ideas for the second solo of Takin' it to the Streets, but I could hear myself pretty well and my reeds felt pretty good.

One funny thing:  I was putting everything I had into Baker Street, and I was leaning way back, and the girl in the front row happened to lean way forward and she nearly headbutted me in the...groin!  Seriously, the combination of me bending my knees and leaning back and her (I presume) rocking it out caused her forehead to hit me high on the left thigh.  I kept playing, but it was a weird moment!

My denim suit looked fantastic, but was very hot.

Some idiot had spilled fog juice all over the carpet right where I was set up--it was like playing in an oil slick.  I'm sure all my gear has that stuff all over it, which now means the inside of my truck now has that stuff all over it.  Buy a funnel!

Kip Conner ran sound for us.  Even though he was there (with Zack, his assistant) all day fixing stuff and making everything way better, several people in the band still complained about the job he did.  I think that for some of these guys, it's just their way of discussing the sound post-gig--bitch about what the guy SHOULD have been doing.  I think Kip did a great job, and I'm way happier that he was there instead of that diabetic ogre we used to see.

What a night!  The crowd, in the end, was pretty solid, so we made our money and got out early.  Greg Lee and Bencuya and Co. helped load my gear out.  Thanks for that!

I'm playing with the Schooner tonight, and then my first church gig STARTS at 6:30 AM Sunday morning.  Somebody sleep for me!
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The Yacht Rock Weekend Begins!

Thursday night was a really good night of Yacht Rock at the 10 High.  It was much more crowded than it has been, and the band played really well.  All my equipment even worked!  Weird, huh?
Pete said that Dannells' and my dancing was a "swirling hurricane of physical friendship."

More tonight...we are at whatever used to be Andrews Upstairs (now 8 Track Disco?), beginning at 9:30.
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Please Pleaserock Me

Last night was Please Pleaserock Me at Smith's Olde Bar.  It went very well.  Most of my charts are almost right.
Back to Yacht Rock for the rest of the weekend, and then Easter church gigs.  Stay tuned!
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Baritone Saxophone

Here's a computer video of me screwing around with my bari sax.  I was demonstrating for a friend that I'd fixed a leak with made the low end unplayable.  Nothing great, musically speaking.  That's the beauty of the baritone saxophone!

You might want to turn down your speakers before the video starts.

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new Cobb!

Mark and Katy Cobb had a baby boy this morning!  Gadson Cobb is alive and well!  Congratulations!

Sunday in the Rain

Sunday night was a strange one.

I went to Buckhead and played my usual church gig.  No problems there, though a big pine tree had blocked one of the streets so I had to navigate around it.

The second gig was a Yacht Rock gig at Park Tavern for the Pamoja Penda Music and Art Festival.  Due to some crappy weather that blew threw Atlanta a few hours before (probably knocked down the pine tree), the crowd had dwindled from a few thousand to fewer than one hundred by the time we had arrived. A bummer, no doubt, but it did make the load in easier!

All of my equipment worked for a change.  I was sort of anticipating some sort of disaster (because that's the norm these days), but everything was fine.  The only thing I can think of is that I had to change batteries on a wireless pack in between songs.

This week should be pretty good.  We have another Beatles tribute gig at Smith's Olde Bar on Wednesday night, Yacht Rock Thursday and Friday, and the Yacht Rock Schooner (where I will attempt to not go flat) on Saturday.  It's manageable.

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Schooner Saturday

Tonight was a super easy gig with the Yacht Rock Schooner at the Wild Wing Cafe in Alpharetta.  No keyboards, no EWI...just saxes and flute.  All my stuff was in the first set, too, so I was home before they finished the gig (and I texted them to let them know).

I felt pretty good, playing-wise.  I recorded most of the first set (I missed the first couple of songs because I forgot to turn the thing on), and I'm kind of flat (speaking in terms of pitch), but the effort is good.  I didn't get much in the monitor because we (Mark Bencuya and Kevin Spencer) were sharing the wedge, and that's usually when I start to overblow and go flat.

You'd think with no keyboards and no EWI I'd be safe from technology's evil plans (or my stupidity), but I did have one small problem.  I left the transmitter on my tenor on while I was playing alto on I Can't Go for That, and a couple of times the tenor cancelled out the signal and I got no sound in the microphone (you can hear it in the solo--when there's no chorus effect it's because you're hearing acoustic sound only).  Way to go, Freeman!

Ganesh Giri Jaya played drums tonight.  I think it's the best set I've ever heard him play.  He nailed everything.
Bencuya played some awesome organ stuff on Biggest Part of Me.  He did this perfect palm slide that made my knees buckle.

Check out the HORRIBLE wrong note I sat on at the end of the bridge/beginning of the last verse of Summer Breeze!  More evidence that I could not hear what I was playing.  Ouch.


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Double Thursday

Yesterday was another double gig Thursday for me.  House Live did another gig at Ventanas downtown.  As you can see, it was another cool looking gig, and we had a good time.  My new shirt performed well.

When that gig ended, I drove like a wild man to the 10 High for the Yacht Rock gig.  I'm beginning to think that the crowd will never catch on to the fact that we start at 9:30--everybody turns up in the middle of the first set (10 PM!).  

This installment of Yacht Rock was invaded by the Schooner!  We had Ganesh Giri Jaya on drums, Kevin Spencer on vocals and Vanessa Olivarez on vocals.  We played lots of tunes we haven't touched in a while, which was cool, and then kind of frightening!  Lots of "I wish I'd played through that this afternoon" moments.  Overall, I think things went pretty well.  The second set kind of steamrolled me, though--a few too many in a row where I didn't get a chance to think them through before we got on stage.  The giant Newcastle on the break was also involved.

The Great Mark Cobb came through around 10:30 and stayed and played in the second set.  He even sang Brandy, which hasn't happened in quite some time.  

Now...the equipment problem of the night!  This gig's weirdness occurred either in my little mixer or my DI to the house.  Hans (sound guy) says that my levels would be either really hot or barely there at all.  Things were fine on stage, so I'm thinking that the aux send on my mixer is messed up.  I would rather it was the DI, but I doubt it.  A few months back Hans mentioned that my level was much lower than the previous week (even though I hadn't adjusted anything on my board).  I suppose it could be his line, too.  I guess we'll troubleshoot over the next month and see where the problem is.  The fun never ends!

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Tuesday at Opera

We did a House Live gig at Opera in midtown last night.  It was an "industry event", so it was a mixer for a bunch of event planners.  Steven Walker (drums/percussion), Jeff Burnisky (DJ), and myself were set up in a tent outside.  When we began, the thing was like a greenhouse.  It was probably 10 degrees hotter in the tent than outside.  Once the sun went down, it was chilly everywhere.  Playing in the cold weather makes my hands feel terrible.

Not much to report...I messed around with my effects pedal a good bit--a dialed in a nice slapback delay, a la Sanborn's effect on Young American!  I still haven't quite let my obsession with that go.

 I also made some HORRIBLE sounds!  You can set the effect up for a parallel interval, and I tried the following (just to bother Steven):  half step (painful!), whole step (very comfortable!), fourth above (weird), and an octave plus a half step (back to painful!).  You can investigate these intervals on a gig like this.  A fourth and a fifth below actually sound cool.  A third below if weird, but in a good way.

We were hoping to get some food out of it, but all they had were homemade pop tarts and some really funky (as in really gross) Chinese food.  Those parallel fourths were for you.

There were lots of strange fashion choices by our audience.  The boots/skirts thing is either sublime or hideous.  Here in Atlanta, it's been cowboy boots and mini skirts (of which I am generally not a fan), but there were also mini skirts and UGGs (of which I am definitely not a fan).  Not to be outdone, there was some weird MC guy (in the final two pictures!) wearing a pinstriped fedora, "Oakley/blades" type sunglasses, an Ed Hardy style shirt, and furry black and white (rabbit skin?) boots.

Here are some great moments:

1.  Girl asks if she can play my flute.  "No."  She says she plays flute.  "Bring your own."  "We could duet."  I decline.  Girl says, "I think I still have my flute."  End of story.

2.  Good looking woman who could be Robin Roberts' stunt double asks me if I "go out in the audience."  Like work the crowd?  Yes, she says.  I'm playing into a microphone on a stand, so no.  Do I do it at other events?  It costs extra, I say.  Antoine (or whatever her favorite sax player's name is), does this, and people go crazy.  My reply:  I'm not saying it's not effective, I'm saying it's really cheesy.   She should probably hire Sergio for that.

3.  The soap in the restroom smelled like Raid, and my hands thus smelled like Raid until I could get home and wash them.

Once I got home, I got back to work finishing out the new charts for the next Please Pleaserock Me gig (March 31, Smith's Olde Bar).  I'm down to the final chart.  It should put Greg Lee's mind at ease;  he's getting uptight about preparing his bari sax parts.
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