Cross Country Gigging

An unusual week last week:  two gigs on opposite corners of the country.  Wednesday night Yacht Rock played a gig in San Diego, and Friday night we played a gig in Niagara Falls.  Lots of time on airplanes in between.

Tuesday:  up super early to fly west.  We met up at 6:30 AM.  We were in San Diego by mid morning--cool because we had over twenty-four hours of down time before the gig, but...why the hell were we here so early?

10 AM in San Diego was lunch time for us, so we walked to a restaurant from our hotel.

Past the Top Gun/Great Balls of Fire restaurant

Refresher:



To a restaurant down by the water:

I guess San Diego's old jail was in the same complex?  We checked it out and took some pictures.

From there, I went to check out the USS Midway, which has been converted into a really cool naval museum.  Super cool!  I love this stuff.

I take this to mean they fished the astronauts from multiple Apollo missions out of the ocean?

Veterans who were sailors and airmen aboard the Midway give tours and talks.  Two great things I heard:

1.  The guy explaining how he launched airplanes on the catapults throughout the 70s showed us a 25 lb. tool that he used to lock the planes into the shuttle that would throw planes into the air.  "I used to pick this thing up all day, every day (launching approximately 105 airplanes a day).  You won't see me do it again today...twice is all I can do."  His precise explanation of every man's job in the launch process and every hand signal was pretty incredible, especially when he said that it was happening every forty-five seconds until all the planes were airborne.

2.  From the back seat guy (RIO) in an F-4, talking about landing on the Midway:  "The first time we landed, I thought we'd crashed.  When I looked out and realized we were fine, I thought 'So that's the way it's going to be.'"

Bob Hope statue.

Wednesday:

I went for a run around the city.  The weather was 70 degrees and just about perfect.

My favorite part of was the (maybe) homeless woman who saw me in the park and shouted at me, "PLEASE COME HOME!"  When I got closer, she said, "Oh...I thought you were my ex-boyfriend."

On to the gig.  Good crew, but the gear was less than perfect.

1.  They missed the updated gear list that specified that we needed a bass guitar.  We can't play a gig without it.  That was a little worrisome.

2.  Five microphone stands for a band of seven where everybody sings sometimes.  Their solution was to tape microphones to extra cymbal stands.  I guess it worked, but what the hell?  What if one of the five had broken?

3.  The Nord (bottom, red keyboard) was not our usual Electro, but the Nord Stage.  They're really nice, but a different animal from what we normally use.  On this one, I had several problems to sort out:

a.  The keyboard had not been put back to factory specs, so I had to find in the menu the place where somebody had altered the tuning.  The Nord was almost twenty cents sharper than everything else on stage.

b.  The sustain pedal was not in agreement with the keyboard--also resolved by fishing through the menu to find a solution.

c.  The volume pedal would not change the volume when playing organ.  This one was the most difficult, as nothing in the system menu would resolve the issue.  Finally I went around to the back of the keyboard.  Someone had used black tape (over the black part of the keyboard) to cover up the proper jack for the pedal.  Ah ha!  The solution.

This keyboard is cool, but it still did some weird stuff that I didn't understand during the gig--mostly of the variety of accidentally pushing a button then not being able to un-push it.

The gig was a mindless corporate event for a couple of hundred sales people.  Nothing of significance to report.  Easy stuff.

Thursday:  all day flying.  First we flew back to Atlanta from San Diego.  There we had a two hour layover.  Lots of time to look at our phones.

Our flight to Buffalo (closest airport to Niagara Falls) left around 9 PM.

Overhead space is more and more difficult to obtain.  Everybody's bringing their bags on board, presumably to avoid paying $25 to check it.  I wonder what's going in the cargo hold if all the suitcases are in the overhead bins?

The flights to and from San Diego made me nervous that there would be no room for my saxophones, and checking them is not an option.  After calling for first class, they called for silver medallion members, then sky priority members, and then everybody else they could think of, and then finally zone one.

My solution was to ask to pre-board with the elderly and the stroller-pushers.  Before I could even finish my question, the gate agent said yes.  Perfect!  Plenty of space.  I'll be using this strategy from now on.

We got to Niagara Falls around midnight.  Up to our rooms and off to bed.

Friday:  with plenty of time to kill, we all headed a couple of blocks over to see Niagara Falls and Canada.

Beautiful!  We had great weather, too.

One of the most interesting things about the falls:  when we got within one hundred yards of the river/falls, the temperature dropped ten to fifteen degrees.  Enough that one street corner was "no jacket" and the opposite side of the street was "jacket."

Still plenty of ice making its way downstream.

The American falls.

The Canadian falls.

American...

Canadian...

The Border agents were pretty stern.  Their first line of defense was to charge us fifty cents to come back in to the U.S.  Exact change deters those pesky terrorists!

Canada is right over there.

The gig itself was very kind of cool.  Unlike other casino gigs that we have done, this one was not a stage out in the middle of the slot machines.  Instead, it was a room off from the gambling floor, with pretty good acoustics and very snug seating.   In a room that held five hundred, we were probably two-thirds full.

The crowd never got rowdy, but instead listened intently.  They even clapped for solos and instrumental interludes--very different from our normal crowds, but in a good way!

Robbie Dupree came over from Woodstock (N.Y.) to join us for a few songs and hang out.

More adventures with the Nord.  The keyboard itself was fine--worked well, felt great, had good sounds in it.  However, about a quarter of the way through the show, the sustain pedal died.  I spent the next couple of songs trying to simultaneously manage the gig and diagnose the problem.  I couldn't see anyone from the crew to flag down for help, so I eventually gave up and resorted to sharing the one good sustain pedal between the two keyboard decks, unplugging it from one and plugging it into the other depending on the next song.  Fun!?  Extra brain power was diverted away from the gig in order to keep it straight.  I did ok with it.

Saturday:  we flew home (at a reasonable hour) from Buffalo.  I asked if I could pre-board on this flight, and the counter agent said, "For your cello, yes."  I'm not sure which saxophone looks like a cello.

I was home long enough to unpack and regroup before heading out to a jazz gig with two of my oldest musical friends in Atlanta--Dan Baraszu (guitar), and Joseph Patrick Moore (bass).

Originally, we were set to play outside, but passing rain moved us inside.  As soon as we began playing inside, the client came running over and told us to move outside.  Naturally, she picked a spot on the lawn with no electricity--"Can't you play without it?"

JPM and I played duo for twenty minutes while the staff ran two hundred feet of extension cord out to Dan's guitar amp.  Eventually he joined us.  Mostly we just laughed about the whole thing.

From there, I went to catch up with my old college friend Ryan Brown, now drumming with Zappa Plays Zappa.  Incredible playing!  It's really cool to see him doing so well.  Go Big Ry!

The night ended with an I.U. reunion of sorts...me, Kevin Leahy, Ryan Brown, Mark Cobb, and Chris Yearian.  

2015 Prom

The Park Tavern series has begun for the Yacht Rock Revue, our monthly local gig that continues from now until the fall.  The first one up is a thing we call the Reagan Rock Prom, which concentrates our setlist on the 80s side of things.  

A full crew for this one!  Kip on front of house (who mentioned to me afterwards that this was one of his best shows at this venue), Zac on monitors at the side of the stage (good for emergency adjustments), and Liz helping with set up and tear down.  They make it as painless as possible.

Due to our scattered schedules, our only rehearsal for this gig was a week ago;  I think it showed in some places.  I practiced a lot for this one, but I could have used more time hearing my parts in the context of the group.

No alto on this one, just tenor (on six in the first set), and I only played EWI on PYT and Africa.  The rest of it was keyboards.  Strange how that worked out--I could've packed those up on the break.

So, tune by tune...I had the solo on Head Over Heels;  I flipped the last little phrase and the middle phrase, and then made my way back to the end of it, so I played all the right notes, but maybe not in the original order...Maneater, Only the Good Die Young, and You Can Do Magic were fine...I had some stumbling fingers in Raspberry Beret--I'd skipped ahead on the set list, and jumped back to this at the last second...Who Can it Be Now was fine...Hello was solid, as were Everything She Wants, I Keep Forgetting (except that my string note was too damn loud)...I played some pads in Careless Whisper two octaves too high (where I'd set the keyboard for the previous song)...Let's Dance was pretty close (I only have a three possible things to play, I think I put them all in the correct spots...All I Need is a Miracle was good--I had another synth solo in this one (which I played correctly, but holding on tight)...I Want a New Drug, PYT, Africa, and I Wanna Dance were no big deal.

Second set...what the hell happened in the beginning of Let's Go Crazy?  I wasn't playing--just listening, but we were all over the place...later I skipped a section and crashed through the part right before the guitar solo...Power of Love was easy...Everybody Have Fun was good, though I'm not sure I could definitively say how to get to the end--our ending is still too new, but we did it (fairly successfully) anyway...Sledgehammer was fine, though I always think it's going to end eight measures before it does...You Make My Dreams and Call Me Al are fine...Things Can Only Get Better was pretty good, though I have my sounds on two presets, and I forgot to move to the second one for the first prechorus, so when I tried to play, there was no sound...stupid...Footloose is easy...Take On Me bit me in the ass--I swung and missed on too much of this one...Don't You Forget About Me was cool...we did no rehearsal for Any Way You Want It, but it still sounded really good...how'd that happen?

Some crazy routing this week, with a gig in San Diego and then a public show at a casino in Niagara Falls.  Robbie Dupree will be with us for that one.

Working from Home

This is not a busy week by any means--it's spring break for the Atlanta area, and so things are empty for everybody.  It's a good thing, I guess, because I need the extra time to play dad!  Other than a little bit of light practicing, not much has been accomplished.

Today's two big tasks:  1.  Create a horn arrangement for a Greg Lee original titled One Kind of Love.  I've played this one with him at Eddie's Attic, and my chart has the title and says "Clarence Clemmons."  My horn section is a little more complicated than that.  While on a run last night, I sang the song to myself and came up with my ideas for each section.  Today, I wrote them out on paper and recorded a version to submit to the Greg.

In spite of all the technological stuff (notation software, MIDI, iPad, etc), I still prefer to write out what I want to do on paper--it's easier to create and edit parts.  However, I'd rather not try and read a chart like this on a gig.  Right now I remember what all of this stuff is, but in a few weeks, things won't be as clear.

You can listen to the main chunk of the stuff I wrote (a chorus, verse, chorus, and bridge) here:



That was fun!  I'm happy with what I've written.  I used two tenors and bari.

My second task of the day was to add some permanent foam to my baritone sax case.  The case I have is made by Protec.  It's a nice case;  looks cool, seems fairly protective.  However, there about an inch of extra space in the cavity, and sometimes I can feel my bari shifting, which is not so great.  I cut a cantaloupe slice of foam and glued it in.  No more saxophone shaking.

All set for the next gig!

Charleston

Why is Charleston so weird for us?  It seems like every time the Yacht Rock Revue is in Charleston, things are weird.  Last Saturday's wedding reception was no exception.

We left really really early (7 AM) from Nick's in order to be all set at the reception early--the ceremony was also in the same location.  I slept all the way there.  We stopped in North Charleston for lunch at some hipster restaurant called Sesame Burgers and Beer.  It was really good!

From there, it was only about a twenty minute drive to reach our destination.  Load in was pretty easy--off the street and through an entrance into the courtyard of a historic house right on the main drag.

After set up and soundcheck, we had several hours to kill in our green room.  No problem.  We watched most of American Gangster, a later, bits of the Final Four, and took turns stinking up the bathroom upstairs.

The gig was an easy, laid back affair, and the people were easy to deal with, though the guy with the cigar could have left that at home.  We had Ganesh Giri Jaya subbing for Mark Cobb on drums--a terrific job filling in.

After the gig ended and the party had departed, the venue became a free-for-all between the catering, the decor, and the band.  Kip took the worst of it, getting hit in the head twice by the pipe and drape guys, once by our lights, and once on the hand by the ratchet that straps the monitors to the top of a road case.  He also got yelled at (by the venue guy) for shoving a decor guy for planting his foot on Kip's gear while tying his shoe.

At the same time, the decor guys had backed their giant box truck up to the entrance, blocking our exit until they were able to leave with the dance floor and the stage.  Uhh...all of our cases are on the stage!  They relented and pulled a few feet forward, and we quickly massed all of our gear out on the sidewalk.

After a few hours in the hotel, we were up for breakfast and the long ride home.

Kip needed a nap.  It was a rough gig for him.

Demonstration Day, then more Dave and Dave Duo in Decatur

Long day...I was up early to demonstrate every woodwind I own as part of the Celebration of the Arts at a local elementary school.  I have no idea how it went over;  mentally, I didn't wake up until around halfway through.

A few things...

All clarinet demonstrations began with a discussion of Squidward (from Spongebob Squarepants).  Likewise, I did my best to explain that Kelpy G on Spongebob is a Kenny G joke.  Who is Kenny G? He owns part of Starbucks, he's a good golfer...I prefer to think of the soprano saxophone renaissance as coming from Branford Marsalis, another name that means nothing.

I played Baker Street a couple of times, prefaced by saying "You may hear this in Publix."

In speaking about tenor saxophone altissimo, I brought up Lenny Pickett from Saturday Night Live, only to realize that none of them are old enough to stay up and watch it, and if they could, they're probably not watching to see LP.

No, I'm not rich. No, I don't own a plane.

After a pretty solid nap, it was off to Decatur for another Dave and Dave Duo gig, this time at Sun in my Belly.  Good times were had!  Much more enjoyable gig than the Thursday night.

Check it out.

Back to the Duo

Good news!  My microphone stand bag (and stands) has been located at the Ritz at Lake Oconee.  Supposedly they are being loaded onto a truck that runs between the Ritzes in Atlanta and the one out there, so once it makes it back to town, I'll just run down and pick them up.  Stay tuned.

The Dave and Dave Duo landed back at JCT Kitchen, hoping to have a nice evening playing on the deck/patio for the hipsters.  Unfortunately, as soon as we finished setting up, the weather closed in on us, and we had to rush our gear inside to the bar (boo).  Ten minutes later it was pouring outside (for about ten minutes straight), so good thing we moved.

The bar is an unfavorable situation.  We played fine, but the crowd is really loud and largely oblivious to the fact that we're tucked in the corner.  Not my favorite.  I didn't bother to record it because all you'd hear is crowd noise.  Good warm up for Friday night, I guess.

In the mean time, nosh on some of last week's Sun in my Belly videos:

Trio at the Ritz

Kevin Smith (bass), David Ellington (rhodes), and I played a corporate background music gig Monday night at the Ritz at Lake Oconee.  Good stuff!  It was a nice and easy hit, and the crowd never got loud enough that we couldn't hear ourselves.  All three of us played well.  You can hear it:



Since we were in a large tent, it was requested that I provide a PA.  We never used it;  I set it up, but never turned it on.  I guess we were loud enough acoustically to cover the space.  The bad news is that my microphone stands and bag wandered off--when setting up, I took one stand out (for the sax microphone) and left the bag (with two other stands in it) on the floor while I built the PA.  When I was packing up after the gig, I realized it was missing--I'm guessing that someone moved it out of the way when the food/beverage and decor people were setting up, and then whoever moved it didn't bother to mention it to me or anyone (or didn't realize that it was mine), and then left for the night, so post-gig nobody knew where to find it.  Anyway, I'm out around $80 gear because of it.  Boo.

The ride home is boring as hell (105 miles each way), and then (after I ate, because god forbid the musicians should be allowed to eat from a buffet that you're going to throw out after the event) I stayed up late practicing for a Tuesday morning rehearsal's for the next big Yacht Rock show--the Reagan Rock Prom April 10.  All the new stuff sounds pretty damn good.

In other news, there are two Dave and Dave Duo gigs this week:  Thursday at JCT Kitchen and Bar on the west side (6-9 PM), and Friday at Sun in my Belly (7-9).  Here's a video from last week:

Keepin' On

Yacht Rock had a Sunday afternoon gig, a benefit for the Songs for Kids Foundation.  In the past, we've participated in a week long event at Smith's Olde Bar called 500 Songs for Kids--lots of local bands (famous or not) jump on stage and play a song they've been assigned.  It's pretty cool, though because of our size and need for accuracy, we end up dragging some gear up those back stairs to play one song.  I think our performance at this gig is a better option, and hopefully raised gobs of money!

Front of House footwear

You can see what they do in this video:



So...the event was at Monday Night Brewing, which is more or less a warehouse, which is to say that it is not acoustically friendly!  Nonetheless, it was a very easy gig, with a pretty easy load in/out, and it was finished at 5 PM!  Can't beat it.  It even left me time to go play the ol' church gig.

Corporate Stuff

Yacht Rock played a corporate fundraiser last night in Roswell, GA.  No big deal.

Kip got a new mixer.  It's a Midas 32 (if you care).

I ate half a bag of Skittles before the gig, and approximately the same amount of trail mix after the gig.

Easy, no-brainer event.  We finished at 10 PM.  I was home at 11, and in bed before midnight.

Duo Tour!

David Ellington and I, by fortune of having gigs at the end of this month and the beginning of the next, have embarked on a Dave and Dave Tour.  Last night we played at Sun in my Belly in Decatur;  Monday night, we are playing a private event (with Kevin Smith on bass);  Thursday, we are at JCT Kitchen on the West Side;  Friday, we are back at Sun in my Belly!

Last night's duo was a nice change of pace from the other things I've been doing.  The room got loud, though.  There was more of a crowd, particularly of people gathered right around us as they waited on their reservations.

Check out the sounds...