Bagheera has a website now! Much toil went in to making this. I even learned a little bit about HTML. Here's the link.
What do you think?
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Friday, October 23, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
How Shows Go
Sometimes shows go well
Sometimes shows don't.
Where's the line? I don't know, but as the band gets tighter and tighter I expect to find out more on the subject.
Sometimes shows don't.
Where's the line? I don't know, but as the band gets tighter and tighter I expect to find out more on the subject.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Busy Busy Busy
Wow. The thing about working full time is that you can't get anything done. You work. You come home, try to relax, sleep, wake up and work again. Laundry piles up. Dishes pile up. My recycling bin has become a recycling pile. So when you get a day off, it becomes a day on. For the last four days I did nothing but work, punctuated by a show of brutal logistical proportions. Now I have two days to myself, to fill with all the stuff I used to do daily when I was unemployed. I emptied my recycling. I laid down vocal tracks for three songs and a bass track for one. I have four minutes to finish this blog post before my laundry is done and then it's off to work on my screenplay, which is shaping up beautifully, thank you for asking. Once I finish that, it's off to federal way to pick up all the equipment I left with Robert after the show, and record some more tracks, and hopefully rehearse for our next show.
Is this how real people live? I'm developing a tolerance to caffeine. And here I thought being a bard would be a relaxing lifestyle.
It might not be easy, but damned if it's not wildly exciting. I'll look forward to relaxing at work.
Is this how real people live? I'm developing a tolerance to caffeine. And here I thought being a bard would be a relaxing lifestyle.
It might not be easy, but damned if it's not wildly exciting. I'll look forward to relaxing at work.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Hack Work
So maybe I'm not really a professional photographer after all.
If I was a professional photographer, I'd know my camera inside out. I'd have my own printers. I probably wouldn't be able to sell my photos at the prices I do, but I'd know what it meant to be a professional photographer. As it stands, I am more of a hack.
But maybe I am a professional musician. Having been paid a cool five bucks by the Sunset Tavern, and with a check from the Cherry Street Coffee House coming down the pipes, it appears I have finally realized my dream of getting paid to make music. It's not much, obviously, but it boils down to less hack work than my real job. I think. Whatever. Still a long way to go.
If I was a professional photographer, I'd know my camera inside out. I'd have my own printers. I probably wouldn't be able to sell my photos at the prices I do, but I'd know what it meant to be a professional photographer. As it stands, I am more of a hack.
But maybe I am a professional musician. Having been paid a cool five bucks by the Sunset Tavern, and with a check from the Cherry Street Coffee House coming down the pipes, it appears I have finally realized my dream of getting paid to make music. It's not much, obviously, but it boils down to less hack work than my real job. I think. Whatever. Still a long way to go.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Geology
How to Rock:
1. Get a band. (Bagheera)
2. Practice the hell out of your songs. (16 hrs.)
3. No, seriously, practice until you bleed. (16+ hrs.)
4. Specifically, practice until your brain bleeds out through your ears. (24+)
5. Once you have mopped your brain up, find a venue. (Sunset Tavern is awesome!)
6. Practice some more. (Who's counting any more?)
7. Take a short break from practicing. (Good time to invite people to the show.)
8. Practice a lot more.
9. On the day of, get rid of the pre-show butterflies by practicing.
10. Get to the venue, set up early.
11. When it's time to rock, close your eyes. Imagine that you are rocking. When you open them, you probably already will be.
There you have it, Eleven Steps to nirvana like bliss. It's easier than it sounds.
Oh, and after the show, link people to your myspace.
1. Get a band. (Bagheera)
2. Practice the hell out of your songs. (16 hrs.)
3. No, seriously, practice until you bleed. (16+ hrs.)
4. Specifically, practice until your brain bleeds out through your ears. (24+)
5. Once you have mopped your brain up, find a venue. (Sunset Tavern is awesome!)
6. Practice some more. (Who's counting any more?)
7. Take a short break from practicing. (Good time to invite people to the show.)
8. Practice a lot more.
9. On the day of, get rid of the pre-show butterflies by practicing.
10. Get to the venue, set up early.
11. When it's time to rock, close your eyes. Imagine that you are rocking. When you open them, you probably already will be.
There you have it, Eleven Steps to nirvana like bliss. It's easier than it sounds.
Oh, and after the show, link people to your myspace.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
SRJO
A word about the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra. They are pros. No doubt about that. Know how I know? I'll tell you.
Every song has different sections. In Jazz, there's also a tendency to allow players to take solos over a certain part of the form. How long will a solo last? When do you move to the next part of the song? This could all be written down, but the important thing is communication. The band leader of the drummer can easily signal for a change at any time if everyone is paying attention. This is a mark of the pros: they are ready for anything.
For example:
On the evening I attended, their last song began with an elaborate and improvised piano solo. He began gracefully and beautifully, but as he played, one of his sheets of music started to fall from the stand. He caught it with scarcely a musical blip and was back to business. The sheet leaned forward again, and again he caught it. As his solo became more and more intense, however, the sheet finally fell fully off of the stand and drifted gracefully into the audience. Soon another sheet followed. Sheet after sheet of music peeled off of the stand until soon all of his music was scattered around and off the stage. The intrepid pianist played through to the end of his solo, and the rest of the band came in on cue. Calmly, the pianist left the stage, collected his music, and rejoined the band unobtrusively.
It was cooler to see than read about, let me assure you. You see the things you can miss out on if you don't scrounge around for free tickets once in a while?
On a side note, stuff like that always happens. Always. You want to see something cool happen? Play some music.
Every song has different sections. In Jazz, there's also a tendency to allow players to take solos over a certain part of the form. How long will a solo last? When do you move to the next part of the song? This could all be written down, but the important thing is communication. The band leader of the drummer can easily signal for a change at any time if everyone is paying attention. This is a mark of the pros: they are ready for anything.
For example:
On the evening I attended, their last song began with an elaborate and improvised piano solo. He began gracefully and beautifully, but as he played, one of his sheets of music started to fall from the stand. He caught it with scarcely a musical blip and was back to business. The sheet leaned forward again, and again he caught it. As his solo became more and more intense, however, the sheet finally fell fully off of the stand and drifted gracefully into the audience. Soon another sheet followed. Sheet after sheet of music peeled off of the stand until soon all of his music was scattered around and off the stage. The intrepid pianist played through to the end of his solo, and the rest of the band came in on cue. Calmly, the pianist left the stage, collected his music, and rejoined the band unobtrusively.
It was cooler to see than read about, let me assure you. You see the things you can miss out on if you don't scrounge around for free tickets once in a while?
On a side note, stuff like that always happens. Always. You want to see something cool happen? Play some music.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Blast from the Past
Uh Oh! Nerd quotient approaching maximum levels!
Maybe this will reverse the polarity.
Oh dear, now I'm stuck in a time loop.
Maybe this will reverse the polarity.
Oh dear, now I'm stuck in a time loop.
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