Hey, as the title says-Damn Yankees has opened. Last week we were in tech.
It was a bit odd, our sitzprobe was also the first orchestra rehearsal. It worked out well enough.
The cast is great, the people are nice, and they are truly great at their craft. I'm looking forward to playing this run and getting to know the cast members. It's hip being around people that are pursuing similar dreams to me. Granted, they're actors, singers, dancers, and techs, but it's still pursuing a career in theater.
The orchestra is fun. It's a 5 piece group. Piano, Bass, Drums, Reeds, Brass. The Reed player plays Sax, Flute, and Clarinet. The Brass player plays euphonium and trombone. Danny Singer did an amazing job at orchestrating this show. He went through and redid the 30+ original orchestration for 5 pieces! Only 2 of which are horns. It sounds amazing. Strangest thing for me, is being the youngster. Granted, my sub is even younger than me, but as far as the normal "core" players go.....i'm the youngest by 7 years. The oldest members are old enough to at least be my parents if not grandparents. Nothing against them, but that struck me as a 'wow" moment. The great part about having more experienced members is that they have stories and wisdom that you can only acquire by having time in the field.
I'm subbing out of October 1st and October 26th.
Here's our first review.
First Review
Since the start of Damn Yankees, I am reevaluating my needs equipment wise. The biggest thing is i'm realizing that I've got great gear now and that any upgrades are solely wants vs. needs. Yeah, it'd be nice to have another bass so that I could have one at home to practice on, but that's an awfully expensive want. E.g. $12k....I don't plan on buying another ply bass, so i'd be looking into a carved one. Bow wise-I don't use it a whole lot, and I can get a nice sound with this one. So playing my $150 Brazilwood bow is working out nicely-especially after a rehair [to black] by Mark Sonksen. Amps-If I continue to get calls for upright only gigs, getting a new amp is very much just a NICE thing. I'll probably end up getting a new amp first anyway.....lighter weight, more versatility, and all that stuff is always a good thing.
Time for more studying.
The nice thing about doing online classes is-I can schedule them whenever I want as long as I get the assignments done by the due date/time.
all the best.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
More Gigs!
Hello everyone.
Today, I'm playing my last gig with the Shout Section Big Band before taking a hiatus to play a few theater shows.
Shout Section has been a blast. If we can get the schedule worked out, I'll still rehearse and record with this group until they find someone to take over for me. However, I've agreed to play 2 theater shows-so the prime gig dates are now occupied.
The shows. The first show that I've signed on to play is 'Damn Yankees' at the Metropolis Centre for Performing Arts in Arlington Heights, IL. This show will run from mid September thru the start of November. I was recommended for this show by Ryan Brewster, who will be playing piano and directing the band. The music director is Danny Singer. I am excited to join this theater production. It's a 32 show run and I am playing 29 or so of the shows. I am subbing out 2 dates due to work commitments and 1 date due to a previous gig committment.
The second show, I've agreed to do is 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' at the Circle Theater in Forest Park. I am signed onto this show pending any sudden changes on their end. The music director is Allison Kane. The director is Kevin Bellie. This show will run from mid November thru early Februrary. At this point, I plan on subbing out of 4-5 of the shows [early January] because I have a vacation scheduled. After playing shows from September through January while working 30 hours a week and excelling in my online courses-I think a week off will feel great...especially in the Bahamas.
The Previous Gig Commitment I referenced earlier is this. I've been contacted/agreed to sub in with The Weird Sisters for their performance at the Uptown Poetry Slam hosted at the Green Mill on October 26th. The event starts at 7PM and runs till about 10PM. We perform as the Featured Guest at 8PM. It shall be fun.
Gear wise all the shows I mentioned above [minus Shout Section] will be played on my Double Bass. I would love to make enough from music where I could afford to buy another Double bass. This would let me leave one at whatever theater I'm playing at and still have one at home for practicing/gigs that i'm subbing on. It would take playing roughly 250 shows in order for me to afford a bass like what i'm most inclined towards...
This would be a fully carved bass in the $12,000 range. Naturally, I'm most interested in a New Standard Cleveland Fully Carved Bass. I believe these are special order. My reasoning is-I've loved the sound of my Cleveland ply and I think that the fully carved version would only be that much better. Add into that each bass would be as close to identical in feel/dimensions as you can get between 2 basses, and that's that much more of a bonus. I wouldn't have to get used to playing on basses with different scale lengths.
Amps
The next gear related purchase for me will be a lighter weight amp & a different switching system. The amp that I want is an Acoustic Image Focus [thinking single channel]. The Focus would be 800 watts at 4 ohms in a 5 pound package. Switching system-I'm thinking a SansAmp Bass DI Deluxe-this would eliminate my need to bring along my RPM...and it'd fit in a pocket of my gig bag. Cab-I'm thinking an Epifani UL series cab, more than likely the UL110, but I have considered the UL112.
This combination of gear would allow me to do quick switches on doubling gigs while having dedicated EQs for each bass. With the SansAmp, if I needed to switch between 2 bass guitars and my double bass-there's enough EQ banks where I could program them in. Add in my Morley ABY box for the BGs & I'd have the ability to switch between 3 basses and have enough EQs where I could cover them all. All this with only 2 pedals that fit into gig bag pockets. No more 6 cables to do 2 basses.
After that-a nicer bow. I don't have a clue what I want in a bow besides a French one-even that is up for debate. I'd like to try a German bow before I committ to playing French [committ via paying more than $600 for a bow].
I need to get ready for Shout Section.
All the best.
Today, I'm playing my last gig with the Shout Section Big Band before taking a hiatus to play a few theater shows.
Shout Section has been a blast. If we can get the schedule worked out, I'll still rehearse and record with this group until they find someone to take over for me. However, I've agreed to play 2 theater shows-so the prime gig dates are now occupied.
The shows. The first show that I've signed on to play is 'Damn Yankees' at the Metropolis Centre for Performing Arts in Arlington Heights, IL. This show will run from mid September thru the start of November. I was recommended for this show by Ryan Brewster, who will be playing piano and directing the band. The music director is Danny Singer. I am excited to join this theater production. It's a 32 show run and I am playing 29 or so of the shows. I am subbing out 2 dates due to work commitments and 1 date due to a previous gig committment.
The second show, I've agreed to do is 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' at the Circle Theater in Forest Park. I am signed onto this show pending any sudden changes on their end. The music director is Allison Kane. The director is Kevin Bellie. This show will run from mid November thru early Februrary. At this point, I plan on subbing out of 4-5 of the shows [early January] because I have a vacation scheduled. After playing shows from September through January while working 30 hours a week and excelling in my online courses-I think a week off will feel great...especially in the Bahamas.
The Previous Gig Commitment I referenced earlier is this. I've been contacted/agreed to sub in with The Weird Sisters for their performance at the Uptown Poetry Slam hosted at the Green Mill on October 26th. The event starts at 7PM and runs till about 10PM. We perform as the Featured Guest at 8PM. It shall be fun.
Gear wise all the shows I mentioned above [minus Shout Section] will be played on my Double Bass. I would love to make enough from music where I could afford to buy another Double bass. This would let me leave one at whatever theater I'm playing at and still have one at home for practicing/gigs that i'm subbing on. It would take playing roughly 250 shows in order for me to afford a bass like what i'm most inclined towards...
This would be a fully carved bass in the $12,000 range. Naturally, I'm most interested in a New Standard Cleveland Fully Carved Bass. I believe these are special order. My reasoning is-I've loved the sound of my Cleveland ply and I think that the fully carved version would only be that much better. Add into that each bass would be as close to identical in feel/dimensions as you can get between 2 basses, and that's that much more of a bonus. I wouldn't have to get used to playing on basses with different scale lengths.
Amps
The next gear related purchase for me will be a lighter weight amp & a different switching system. The amp that I want is an Acoustic Image Focus [thinking single channel]. The Focus would be 800 watts at 4 ohms in a 5 pound package. Switching system-I'm thinking a SansAmp Bass DI Deluxe-this would eliminate my need to bring along my RPM...and it'd fit in a pocket of my gig bag. Cab-I'm thinking an Epifani UL series cab, more than likely the UL110, but I have considered the UL112.
This combination of gear would allow me to do quick switches on doubling gigs while having dedicated EQs for each bass. With the SansAmp, if I needed to switch between 2 bass guitars and my double bass-there's enough EQ banks where I could program them in. Add in my Morley ABY box for the BGs & I'd have the ability to switch between 3 basses and have enough EQs where I could cover them all. All this with only 2 pedals that fit into gig bag pockets. No more 6 cables to do 2 basses.
After that-a nicer bow. I don't have a clue what I want in a bow besides a French one-even that is up for debate. I'd like to try a German bow before I committ to playing French [committ via paying more than $600 for a bow].
I need to get ready for Shout Section.
All the best.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
