Hello everyone,
Damn Yankees has it's final performance this Saturday November 1st at 7PM. 2 for 1 tickets are available through the box office. This production has been a blast. I thank the cast and crew for the time they've put in.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes starts rehearsals a week later, Nov 8th is our tentative sitzprobe rehearsal. It shall be fun. From what the music director has said, I'll be reading chord charts for the show-so I get to make up my own walking lines. GPB is running at the Cirlce Theatre in Forest Park.
New Gig House Band for the Uptown Poetry Slam at The Green Mill
Thanks to Bonnie Shadrake for letting me sub in with The Weird Sisters, I have landed a gig leading the House Band for The Slam! I'm stoked. We're confirmed to play Nov 2nd, 9th, and 16th. The fun starts around 6:45PM with some preshow music, the open mic at 7PM, and the Slam itself at 8PM. The cover is only $6! The Green Mill is located just off of the Lawrence Red Line stop.
I've got Ryan Brewster playing piano and Scott Hirtenstein playing drums. Ryan is the band director/pianist for 'Damn Yankees' and Scott is the drummer for The Weird Sisters. This will be my debut as a band leader. Pending an uber long 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' and Marc's decision, this will become a regular Sunday night gig.
Gear for all the above-I'm playing my New Standard Cleveland. I just added a bib from David Gage. No more shiny shirts!
all the best.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Mid October
Hello everyone.
Damn Yankees
'Damn Yankees' has 6-7 shows left and felt like it was time for a follow up.
The show has been a blast to play. The people are a lot of fun to work with, and there's have been several great reviews.
One of the things that playing this show has confirmed to me is that I love playing for longer show runs. This is the longest I've done yet at 32 shows. Learning the music, showing up to play the show, and then leaving. I'm hoping that this show leads to more work.
Gear wise-the only thing that has changed since the start of the show is that I bought a bib for my bass. Wil Di Sola of New Standard Basses recommended that I buy a bib for the instrument back when I emailed him about a finish scratch...well, sometime later I started realizing that the shiny spot on my shirt is from that. Also, the idea of protecting the part that comes in contact with me was great. I found one that I liked at David Gage's site. It's black and has a pocket. It cost right about $50 with tax.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
I'm starting to prepare for 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' at the Circle Theatre in Forest Park. I bought a recording [the OBC album reissue] and am listening to it heavily. I've found that the better I know the songs, the easier it is to read the music. The big thing that listening to the recordings does is let me know what feel to give the songs. As a bassist, I play a ton of root/fifth two beat lines, but how they help define the song is how it feels. The notes may be the same but the groove can be entirely different. This show goes into previews November 14th and runs Fridays & Saturdays at 8PM and Sundays at 3PM until February 1st. There are no shows December 26th-28th. We're also going to be appearing in the Thanksgiving Parade.
Gearwise-it'll also be another all DB show. Same stuff as 'Damn Yankees'.
Beyond
The CD of The SmallTown Heroes came out!! I played on 3 tracks. It's a great CD, Dallas, Bethany and Brian are some really nice people. Easy to work with, very professional.
I'm in talks to do a few more shows after 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'. Nothing is confirmed, but if things go well, I'll be doing shows from Late Feb thru May [and hopefully longer than that]. A goal of mine is to play shows year round while working part time.
The more long term goal is to play shows full time and NOT work part time. Ideally, it'd be here in Chicago, but I would like to go to New York within 5 years to work.
I've got quite a bit of student loan debt, so I can't make the switch to full time music until I have a long running well paying gig [8 shows a week/Union-Equity show or a national tour/Union-Equity].
Well, I need to do some homework.
all the best.
Damn Yankees
'Damn Yankees' has 6-7 shows left and felt like it was time for a follow up.
The show has been a blast to play. The people are a lot of fun to work with, and there's have been several great reviews.
One of the things that playing this show has confirmed to me is that I love playing for longer show runs. This is the longest I've done yet at 32 shows. Learning the music, showing up to play the show, and then leaving. I'm hoping that this show leads to more work.
Gear wise-the only thing that has changed since the start of the show is that I bought a bib for my bass. Wil Di Sola of New Standard Basses recommended that I buy a bib for the instrument back when I emailed him about a finish scratch...well, sometime later I started realizing that the shiny spot on my shirt is from that. Also, the idea of protecting the part that comes in contact with me was great. I found one that I liked at David Gage's site. It's black and has a pocket. It cost right about $50 with tax.
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
I'm starting to prepare for 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' at the Circle Theatre in Forest Park. I bought a recording [the OBC album reissue] and am listening to it heavily. I've found that the better I know the songs, the easier it is to read the music. The big thing that listening to the recordings does is let me know what feel to give the songs. As a bassist, I play a ton of root/fifth two beat lines, but how they help define the song is how it feels. The notes may be the same but the groove can be entirely different. This show goes into previews November 14th and runs Fridays & Saturdays at 8PM and Sundays at 3PM until February 1st. There are no shows December 26th-28th. We're also going to be appearing in the Thanksgiving Parade.
Gearwise-it'll also be another all DB show. Same stuff as 'Damn Yankees'.
Beyond
The CD of The SmallTown Heroes came out!! I played on 3 tracks. It's a great CD, Dallas, Bethany and Brian are some really nice people. Easy to work with, very professional.
I'm in talks to do a few more shows after 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'. Nothing is confirmed, but if things go well, I'll be doing shows from Late Feb thru May [and hopefully longer than that]. A goal of mine is to play shows year round while working part time.
The more long term goal is to play shows full time and NOT work part time. Ideally, it'd be here in Chicago, but I would like to go to New York within 5 years to work.
I've got quite a bit of student loan debt, so I can't make the switch to full time music until I have a long running well paying gig [8 shows a week/Union-Equity show or a national tour/Union-Equity].
Well, I need to do some homework.
all the best.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Damn Yankees has opened!!
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
My Fair Lady, MNNV Chicago, More Shout Section, David Wycoco
Since the last post, I have kept busy.
Shout Section
I did a few more gigs with Shout Section Big Band including one at the Adler Planetarium for a fundraiser and then one out in Beecher Illinois. The Adler gig was on double bass, and the Beecher gig was on electric [Fender P-bass w/flats]. I'm diggin playin with this band-it's just relaxed enough where it's a ton of fun without much work, but is serious enough to get me to at least look at the trouble spots i have.
Videos of Shout Section are available on YouTube.com do a search for "Shout Section Big Band".
Monday Night New Voices Chicago
This is a pretty recent add on for me. I had known one of the producer's for a few years, and then ran into both of them at a staged reading that i was playing for [Rejected Hearts @ Strawdawg Theater]. They had told me at that point, they had a show coming up that they wanted me to play for. I have agreed to play for Monday Night New Voices Chicago on an "on call" basis. Essentially, if it's a night that they want bass for, i'll play-otherwise, i'll go home after work. It's fun, it's networking, and you never know where your next call will come from.
A note about Monday Night New Voices-it's a showcase/series originated in New York by Scott Alan. The Chicago edition is ran by Allen Sledge & David Tomzack. It is a series dedicated to showcasing rising talent both vocally and compositionally. They do not shy away from honoring an established entity while showcasing new talent [hence-the Lippa show]. Great guys, great production, and I look forward to seeing where this goes.
Fast forward to last week [i think-time is running together], and I played for the Monday Night New Voices featuring the music of ANDREW LIPPA!! That was killer and rather sentimental for me. The killer factor is that we were doing the music of Andrew Lippa with him in the audience. The music is quite fun to play.
The sentimental factor is this-the first show choir show i played for in high school was music from "The Wild Party" which was written by Andrew Lippa. Why does that matter at all? Well, it was from playing for that show choir show that made me think "theater bass playing would kick ass".
Gear wise-i played my Ray5 into the SWR WM12. I needed to cop a lot of tones out of 1 bass, and the Ray5 is my de facto go to bass. I received many compliments on tone, feel, and my playing in general that night-twas nice. I took a cab straight from Symphony Center to the theater, so i needed small and cabable. No chance in hell that i'd take a DB in that situation. There were 2-3 songs that I would have preferred DB on, but eh-i think i played 4-5 songs total of the night. I gotta be making either killer bread, getting great networking, or it needs to be next door to my apartment before I'll take 2 basses plus an amp to a gig straight from work.
David Wycoco
I'm continuing to play with David Wycoco. He's a blast to play with, and I look forward to this continuing.
General Gear Comments
I'd like to move to a lighter/smaller amp with more power sometime in the near future. We will see what the financial future holds. I'm CTA/Metra dependent for gigs, between the cost of car ownership, gas, and parking-I'm going to put off getting a car/bringing a car up here as long as I can.
I'm realizing that I don't need a million basses, but just a few that I can get the sounds that I need out of. 2 that belong in that small group of basses for me are my Ray5 & Fender P-bass. I think a nice fretless [maybe even my Squier Fretless-i need to practice it more], and a modern sounding 6 would right about cover it. I'll probably always have quite a few more than that, but hey-i like my toys.
all the best.
Shout Section
I did a few more gigs with Shout Section Big Band including one at the Adler Planetarium for a fundraiser and then one out in Beecher Illinois. The Adler gig was on double bass, and the Beecher gig was on electric [Fender P-bass w/flats]. I'm diggin playin with this band-it's just relaxed enough where it's a ton of fun without much work, but is serious enough to get me to at least look at the trouble spots i have.
Videos of Shout Section are available on YouTube.com do a search for "Shout Section Big Band".
Monday Night New Voices Chicago
This is a pretty recent add on for me. I had known one of the producer's for a few years, and then ran into both of them at a staged reading that i was playing for [Rejected Hearts @ Strawdawg Theater]. They had told me at that point, they had a show coming up that they wanted me to play for. I have agreed to play for Monday Night New Voices Chicago on an "on call" basis. Essentially, if it's a night that they want bass for, i'll play-otherwise, i'll go home after work. It's fun, it's networking, and you never know where your next call will come from.
A note about Monday Night New Voices-it's a showcase/series originated in New York by Scott Alan. The Chicago edition is ran by Allen Sledge & David Tomzack. It is a series dedicated to showcasing rising talent both vocally and compositionally. They do not shy away from honoring an established entity while showcasing new talent [hence-the Lippa show]. Great guys, great production, and I look forward to seeing where this goes.
Fast forward to last week [i think-time is running together], and I played for the Monday Night New Voices featuring the music of ANDREW LIPPA!! That was killer and rather sentimental for me. The killer factor is that we were doing the music of Andrew Lippa with him in the audience. The music is quite fun to play.
The sentimental factor is this-the first show choir show i played for in high school was music from "The Wild Party" which was written by Andrew Lippa. Why does that matter at all? Well, it was from playing for that show choir show that made me think "theater bass playing would kick ass".
Gear wise-i played my Ray5 into the SWR WM12. I needed to cop a lot of tones out of 1 bass, and the Ray5 is my de facto go to bass. I received many compliments on tone, feel, and my playing in general that night-twas nice. I took a cab straight from Symphony Center to the theater, so i needed small and cabable. No chance in hell that i'd take a DB in that situation. There were 2-3 songs that I would have preferred DB on, but eh-i think i played 4-5 songs total of the night. I gotta be making either killer bread, getting great networking, or it needs to be next door to my apartment before I'll take 2 basses plus an amp to a gig straight from work.
David Wycoco
I'm continuing to play with David Wycoco. He's a blast to play with, and I look forward to this continuing.
General Gear Comments
I'd like to move to a lighter/smaller amp with more power sometime in the near future. We will see what the financial future holds. I'm CTA/Metra dependent for gigs, between the cost of car ownership, gas, and parking-I'm going to put off getting a car/bringing a car up here as long as I can.
I'm realizing that I don't need a million basses, but just a few that I can get the sounds that I need out of. 2 that belong in that small group of basses for me are my Ray5 & Fender P-bass. I think a nice fretless [maybe even my Squier Fretless-i need to practice it more], and a modern sounding 6 would right about cover it. I'll probably always have quite a few more than that, but hey-i like my toys.
all the best.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
My Fair Lady Opens tomorrow/HSM this past weekend
My Fair Lady opens tomorrow! We have our final run through tonight.
This experience has been great. This has been my first "semi-professional" show. I've done several staged readings, but those are typically maybe 12 songs.
The music director is Ryan Brewster-very hip guy. Something that I am beginning to learn is that if you have a somewhat twisted/dark sense of humor-musical theater orchestra playing is home. Based off the people I have met thus far-I am at home with these people.
Some notable comments about this show: I am learning why pro's play on stools. Standing for a 3hr+ show is tiring. So-once i get some money, I'm going to look into buying a decent stool that can collapse. I believe JoAnn Daughtery made the comment to me while we were working up "Starting Here, Starting Now"- "You want to be doing this the rest of your life right? Well, you need to learn how to make it the easiest one your body." So-i'm taking that advice to heart-albeit about a year later. The stage is at just the right height to be used as a stool...so for 1/4-1/2 the show I am playing while sitting on it. Right about cello style-bass is a bit more flat than when I normally play, but it feels totally natural. Maybe my cello days are coming back to me? ;)
I've got my eye on these stools from Ikea that are cheap, but i got a feeling they'll work better for my apartment than for bass playing. We'll see. I've got some research to do on Talkbass.com
High School Musical
That was a blast. I got to see so many people that I haven't seen in years. Working with Mr. Satterfield outside of school was fun. I ended up only working on the trouble spots before rehearsal and just sight read the grooves on the spot. Worked out really well. I plugged my SansAmp RPM into a DI [redundant...] & then into a powered speaker to use as a monitor. That was so much easier than taking my Rack + cab and about 100 pounds lighter. The show went well. My 'rents came [all 3 of em-Mom, Dad, & Step Mom].
Well-I've got some errands to run. I move on the 29th from the Gold Coast to Roger's Park.
This experience has been great. This has been my first "semi-professional" show. I've done several staged readings, but those are typically maybe 12 songs.
The music director is Ryan Brewster-very hip guy. Something that I am beginning to learn is that if you have a somewhat twisted/dark sense of humor-musical theater orchestra playing is home. Based off the people I have met thus far-I am at home with these people.
Some notable comments about this show: I am learning why pro's play on stools. Standing for a 3hr+ show is tiring. So-once i get some money, I'm going to look into buying a decent stool that can collapse. I believe JoAnn Daughtery made the comment to me while we were working up "Starting Here, Starting Now"- "You want to be doing this the rest of your life right? Well, you need to learn how to make it the easiest one your body." So-i'm taking that advice to heart-albeit about a year later. The stage is at just the right height to be used as a stool...so for 1/4-1/2 the show I am playing while sitting on it. Right about cello style-bass is a bit more flat than when I normally play, but it feels totally natural. Maybe my cello days are coming back to me? ;)
I've got my eye on these stools from Ikea that are cheap, but i got a feeling they'll work better for my apartment than for bass playing. We'll see. I've got some research to do on Talkbass.com
High School Musical
That was a blast. I got to see so many people that I haven't seen in years. Working with Mr. Satterfield outside of school was fun. I ended up only working on the trouble spots before rehearsal and just sight read the grooves on the spot. Worked out really well. I plugged my SansAmp RPM into a DI [redundant...] & then into a powered speaker to use as a monitor. That was so much easier than taking my Rack + cab and about 100 pounds lighter. The show went well. My 'rents came [all 3 of em-Mom, Dad, & Step Mom].
Well-I've got some errands to run. I move on the 29th from the Gold Coast to Roger's Park.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Mid-Late July Gigs
Mid to Late July-I've got a nice chunk of gigs. This time-they're all Musical Theater.
Wednesday the 16th-i'm taking Amtrak back to Indiana to play for Civic Theater's production of "Disney's High School Musical". I am actually subbing in on this show. A guy that i useda teach in high school played the first weekend of it, but is going out of town on a family vacation for this weekend's. So-i'm coming in for it. I'm getting the music Thursday during the early afternoon & then I have my only rehearsal with the group in the evening. Friday the 18th & Saturday the 19th are the shows. It should be fun. I've been listening to the sound track to "High School Musical" pretty heavily the past few weeks. I will be playing my StingRay5 w/rounds for this show. The music is modern pop music-the Ray5 will be a great fit. Amp wise, I will be playing my Rack Rig for the first time in a few years. I will be running a SansAmp RPM into a Carvin DCM2000 Poweramp into my Avatar B212. This will be fun as the B212 has been sitting in the basement of my Mom's house for 2-3 years now without being played.
I feel that listening to the Original Cast album [preferably Broadway cast/most common version] is highly beneficial. This is a great tie in for both High School Musical & My Fair Lady [the next show I am playing].
With HSM, I will have very little time to get the show up to performance ready-less than 6hours with the actual music. I am relying on two skills-my sight reading ability and then listening ability. Since I know the recording quite well for feel changes, what is going on vocally [solos, ensemble, etc]-I will be able to make sense of the part that much faster.
Now onto "My Fair Lady", I have been contacted to play for a 6 show run in Wood Dale, Illinois. We had our first rehearsal this past Sunday [the 13th]. Thanks to listening to the recording ad naseum, I was able to sight read the part with a very high accuracy. I needed to give extra attention to about 8 measures of the show. Not bad to me, but I want to reach the point where I can play a show perfect at first read. For this show, I am playing all Double Bass. So, I am playing my New Standard Cleveland. The show dates for "My Fair Lady" are: July 25th-27th & August 1st-3rd. It shall be a blast.
Wednesday the 16th-i'm taking Amtrak back to Indiana to play for Civic Theater's production of "Disney's High School Musical". I am actually subbing in on this show. A guy that i useda teach in high school played the first weekend of it, but is going out of town on a family vacation for this weekend's. So-i'm coming in for it. I'm getting the music Thursday during the early afternoon & then I have my only rehearsal with the group in the evening. Friday the 18th & Saturday the 19th are the shows. It should be fun. I've been listening to the sound track to "High School Musical" pretty heavily the past few weeks. I will be playing my StingRay5 w/rounds for this show. The music is modern pop music-the Ray5 will be a great fit. Amp wise, I will be playing my Rack Rig for the first time in a few years. I will be running a SansAmp RPM into a Carvin DCM2000 Poweramp into my Avatar B212. This will be fun as the B212 has been sitting in the basement of my Mom's house for 2-3 years now without being played.
I feel that listening to the Original Cast album [preferably Broadway cast/most common version] is highly beneficial. This is a great tie in for both High School Musical & My Fair Lady [the next show I am playing].
With HSM, I will have very little time to get the show up to performance ready-less than 6hours with the actual music. I am relying on two skills-my sight reading ability and then listening ability. Since I know the recording quite well for feel changes, what is going on vocally [solos, ensemble, etc]-I will be able to make sense of the part that much faster.
Now onto "My Fair Lady", I have been contacted to play for a 6 show run in Wood Dale, Illinois. We had our first rehearsal this past Sunday [the 13th]. Thanks to listening to the recording ad naseum, I was able to sight read the part with a very high accuracy. I needed to give extra attention to about 8 measures of the show. Not bad to me, but I want to reach the point where I can play a show perfect at first read. For this show, I am playing all Double Bass. So, I am playing my New Standard Cleveland. The show dates for "My Fair Lady" are: July 25th-27th & August 1st-3rd. It shall be a blast.
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