It's uncanny.
Tina Fey will have to work on her Principal Victoria imitation and drop by the SNL set for a few guest star appearances in opening sketches and vice presidential debate parodies.
8/21/08
My compliments to Elton John
Sometimes I rag on Elton John because I am sick of his status as one of the two most popular piano players of our time, with Billy Joel. Nobody else is comparable, and it frustrates me that strangers want to lump me in as a devout worshipper of not just either but both.
But today, I'm gonna give Elton an adulation: Side Four of Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is one of the strongest album sides of all time.
- "Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock 'n' Roll)": Funny stuff.
- "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting": The musical focus on this major radio hit is not the piano but a monstrous distorted guitar riff that has survived many rough 'n' tumble Saturdays.
- "Roy Rogers": I thought I was listening to a Nashville chart-topper for a few minutes.
- "Social Disease": Bernie Taupin's comical lyrics glide off of Elton's tongue in this perfect example of how the musical arrangement of a song should vary from verse to verse. It also makes me want to sit down at a piano and write such inventive chord progressions.
- "Harmony": This stunning album closer makes you think the Beatles reunited for a moment.
Big props, Elton. Nice album. Side One is just about as compelling.
8/20/08
Any requests?
My two regular bands, the Usual Suspects and Trademark, are expanding our playlists. And I'm in the planning stages of two other musical acts simultaneously, so of course we're looking for suggestions.
Trademark wants to do more crowd pleasers from rock of the '80s and '90s.
The Usual Suspects is up for anything in the rock world that is crowd-pleasing, and particularly danceable.
My new project with this guy Henry is so far focusing mostly on classic rock, including some things we've never heard bands play.
My new project with Karlin is open to anything and everything -- obviously, we want people to enjoy it and shake their asses.
Requests, please?
Trademark wants to do more crowd pleasers from rock of the '80s and '90s.
The Usual Suspects is up for anything in the rock world that is crowd-pleasing, and particularly danceable.
My new project with this guy Henry is so far focusing mostly on classic rock, including some things we've never heard bands play.
My new project with Karlin is open to anything and everything -- obviously, we want people to enjoy it and shake their asses.
Requests, please?
Why Abe Lincoln was staring me in the face
Lately, I've had some great musical experiences onstage. I'm proud to announce that I haven't played a bum gig in August. However, as I'm sure to complain, the availability of gigs and my satisfaction with them never guarantee I'm going to make money doing this. But, just as Weezer intoned in "Buddy Holly," I don't care about that.
On a great note, I started out the month up in Massachusetts, where the Building Science Boogie Band really took Summer Camp by storm, performing lengthy sets of some really complicated music. The five core members hail from Colorado, Washington, Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia, but we don't let the distance separate us musically when we play together once a year. And we don't hold back when it comes to musicianship or challenging ourselves to proceed to the next level. We have some audio recordings I hope to be sharing soon as I'm sure they will attest to the quality of the music and the enjoyment of our captive audience as we performed.
When I came back from Massachusetts, I was immediately back in the groove performing with Trademark one night and a newly revamped lineup of the Usual Suspects the following afternoon. The Trademark show at McGinty's Public, an upstairs bar tucked away in Silver Spring, was the group's best with me around. Two of the guys in the Usual Suspects came to check out the gig and smooth-talked the manager into getting their group, also with me, a date on the calendar. Then we were playing together at an autism research benefit in a few hours, this being my first meeting with our new drummer. It was his second gig with the band, however, as they had played a show with somebody filling in on keyboards for me while I was up in Massachusetts. I was impressed with the new drummer, and we entertained a bunch of bikers who were helping the cause. It was great to see all those tattooed people dancing while we rocked out tunes by Tom Petty, Cracker and Stevie Wonder.
From there, I hurried out so I could hop a flight to Florida for a week that included some heavy romance and a successful job interview. It seemed like a five-day glimpse into a crystal ball. Much more on all of that later. I'm just writing about music for now ...
Oh, I guess I could mention I wished I could have sat in with some musicians I was enjoying in Florida. All on that Thursday night, I saw four bands playing down there in four different locations, and the last group was having members of one of the groups I'd seen earlier sit in. No keyboard was available on their stage, or else I would have asked to sit in. I would have fit in perfectly with the arrangements of some rather obscure tunes I recognized.
Also in Florida, I caught up with a friend in the Led Zeppelin fan community online I have known for several years (and whom I also booked one time to write an article on plants at the professional dayjob I held between 2002 and 2007). It was this friend who suggested the places I could go to catch some good live music while I was around, and his advice proved fruitful. He also told me about this little-known recording studio I found some time to visit; one of the guys there is Keith Rose, who was an assistant engineer on the album Jimmy Page and David Coverdale made together.
When I left Florida, I hustled back home because I had a gig in some town in Maryland called Eldersburg. It's one town whose name I had never heard before, but one thing I now know about that place is it is definitely in Ravens territory. Baltimore's football team was losing a preseason game to the Minnesota Vikings on the big screen, although a bunch of men and women in Todd Heap jerseys forgot those troubles when area wonderboy Michael Phelps racked up his eighth medal.
The DangerTones helped keep the celebration alive when our second set started as we picked up mid-song on "Love Shack" by the B-52s, which was playing on the house sound system while we were resuming the stage. The bass player, assumedly because he considers himself a truly serious musician (my perception anyway), did not participate in the impromptu jam. I, however, was the cause of it all. The drummer, guitarist and singer all helped keep it going.
When we were finally done with "Love Shack," the bassist returned to his spot, where all night long he would cue me in on precise song arrangements, accents, dynamics, endings and the like. That's what I love about live music: when the performers are able to follow each other. Whether I'm participating or sitting in the audience, knowing this is happening among musicians is what gives me the greatest enjoyment.
This certainly happened with the DangerTones, a group whose singer was the only one who knew me. I'd never seen or heard the group before, but I was familiar with everything on their set list and confident I could pull off this gig filling in for their unavailable keyboardist. I provided backup vocals whenever needed -- and maybe once or twice when it wasn't needed but helped anyway.
But now here's the one problem with that gig, which paid me $100. I had to rent a car to get myself there and back, which made me mindful of how much transportation was costing me. For the use of my neighborhood Zipcar for 7.5 hours at $9.50 an hour, I paid about $75. I also spent $20 at the bar, which brings my net gross for an evening's work to a whopping $5.
And that is why Abe Lincoln was glaring at me on the long trip back home to D.C. that night. He was on the five-dollar bill I earned, mocking me and taunting me as I guided the white Scion xA south on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.
Honest Abe says I'll never make it in performing live music. Well, screw him. To hell with what he thinks.
Let Teddy win!
8/10/08
It is without remorse
It is without remorse that I placed this bet
It is without hesitation that I boarded this jet
It is without second guess that I headed your way
It is without question that we'll share this day
I've longed to be near you, to be by your side
In our moments together, no fears we hide
We'll calm each other as waves abound
We'll marvel at length at the peace we've found
It is without remorse that I've come to this place
With the same excitement as when I first saw your face
It is without alarm that I call you my own
With your hand clutching mine, we've no reason to moan
Just trust in me, Dessie, and we'll never fail
We'll weather each storm, be it rain, sand or gale
But battle these odds, we will in due course
And conquer we will: It is without remorse
It is without hesitation that I boarded this jet
It is without second guess that I headed your way
It is without question that we'll share this day
I've longed to be near you, to be by your side
In our moments together, no fears we hide
We'll calm each other as waves abound
We'll marvel at length at the peace we've found
It is without remorse that I've come to this place
With the same excitement as when I first saw your face
It is without alarm that I call you my own
With your hand clutching mine, we've no reason to moan
Just trust in me, Dessie, and we'll never fail
We'll weather each storm, be it rain, sand or gale
But battle these odds, we will in due course
And conquer we will: It is without remorse
8/7/08
A modern-day Harold Hill, but with legitimate credentials
This year's Summer Camp was so beneficial for me. Not only were the anticipated amounts of delectable food and amazing fun exceeded, but this week away was also accompanied by plenty of opportunities for self-reflection.
One conclusion I have reached is that my original plan of packing everything up for a one-way trip to Nashville to stay and afford a living with the expectation of landing spectacular gigs was probably not quite on track. It takes more than just the one skill of playing mean keyboard solos to accomplish what I was thinking, and only after I develop the full package can I pursue it. That's not happening in October 2008. I'd rather take that chance at a later date, if following that dream is even applicable or necessary to me in the future. The new line of work I'm now planning may help me to hone those skills while I'm instilling them in others.
At Summer Camp, I inadvertently developed a template for a conference bandleader. In advance, the first task was to identify the members of the ragtag band we were forming. Playing at the conference one year inspires new performers to wipe the 30 years of dust off the guitars they've kept stored in their garages and cellars.
Next, those musicians and I participated in nominating an arsenal of songs for the musicians to rehearse individually. I offered some of my own suggestions but did not hijack the list to bear an undue amount of my personal influence. It was primarily the product of group consensus.
On site, I coordinated rehearsals (including a full day of rehearsal before other attendees arrived in town), picking and arranging set lists, splitting up parts, and directing the musicians on the fly. There's no doubt I made myself the bandleader while we were there. First of all, somebody had to. Absent of the expert intuitive skills musicians develop only through the live music experience, the band had to have a crash course in improvising onstage in a cohesive unit. Essentially, the lesson can be boiled down to say only that a good band member is always cognizant of cues that spell out the progression of the song.
I'm satisfied and impressed with the performance of this band not only in tackling an array of typical bar-band cover material but also two pieces of unlikely choices: the two rock albums I recreate in their entirety when I'm playing by myself. These two pieces, Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon and the Beatles' Abbey Road, are complicated overtures for any skill level. Their inclusion was not something I dictated to the group. On the contrary, the band members who'd witnessed me playing those two 45-minute sets in their entirety by myself were the ones to challenge themselves and strive for perfection.
This year, I even questioned the band members as to whether Abbey Road could really be performed from start to finish or if they wanted only to play the medley on the album's flip side. Their inclination was to stick to their guns and play everything. It turned out to be a wise decision. Those guys really put in a lot of work. They were just that determined to put on a great show for an audience of their peers, and it really showed in their performance. And I was there to direct and inspire.
Taking full advantage of the testimonies and recorded footage that exist of our performances this year, I will begin proposing the Summer Camp band template to the organizers of other conferences, based on the statistical assumption that every large crowd must have enough willing and able musicians to form a pickup band for the purposes of entertaining their peers.
The meeting planners would ping their members for the closet musicians. They would contact me directly, and I would assess their skill level, their strengths and weaknesses, and their current and desired music catalog. Remaining in contact with those musicians and continuing to monitor success in individual rehearsals throughout the advance time is crucial to the project's success.
As a band member myself, I would fill in whatever gaps exist on bass, drums or my longtime specialty, keyboard. (Finding guitarists and singers is never much of an expedition.) Finally, I would conduct rehearsals and direct performances just like I did at Summer Camp this week. In return, I would be paid a talent fee and reimbursed for my expenses. The number of conferences I can book determines the viability of this template to make a sufficient living for me.
Between conferences, I would of course promote my services using the Internet, including with YouTube clips as well as through feedback from participants and, yes, fans. In addition, I would have stretches of time for other projects such as side gigs either at home or on the road, professional freelance writing and proofreading, composing books, online newsletters, etc. -- all the other things I am confident and comfortable doing.
This is my new plan, and I like it.
One conclusion I have reached is that my original plan of packing everything up for a one-way trip to Nashville to stay and afford a living with the expectation of landing spectacular gigs was probably not quite on track. It takes more than just the one skill of playing mean keyboard solos to accomplish what I was thinking, and only after I develop the full package can I pursue it. That's not happening in October 2008. I'd rather take that chance at a later date, if following that dream is even applicable or necessary to me in the future. The new line of work I'm now planning may help me to hone those skills while I'm instilling them in others.
At Summer Camp, I inadvertently developed a template for a conference bandleader. In advance, the first task was to identify the members of the ragtag band we were forming. Playing at the conference one year inspires new performers to wipe the 30 years of dust off the guitars they've kept stored in their garages and cellars.
Next, those musicians and I participated in nominating an arsenal of songs for the musicians to rehearse individually. I offered some of my own suggestions but did not hijack the list to bear an undue amount of my personal influence. It was primarily the product of group consensus.
On site, I coordinated rehearsals (including a full day of rehearsal before other attendees arrived in town), picking and arranging set lists, splitting up parts, and directing the musicians on the fly. There's no doubt I made myself the bandleader while we were there. First of all, somebody had to. Absent of the expert intuitive skills musicians develop only through the live music experience, the band had to have a crash course in improvising onstage in a cohesive unit. Essentially, the lesson can be boiled down to say only that a good band member is always cognizant of cues that spell out the progression of the song.
I'm satisfied and impressed with the performance of this band not only in tackling an array of typical bar-band cover material but also two pieces of unlikely choices: the two rock albums I recreate in their entirety when I'm playing by myself. These two pieces, Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon and the Beatles' Abbey Road, are complicated overtures for any skill level. Their inclusion was not something I dictated to the group. On the contrary, the band members who'd witnessed me playing those two 45-minute sets in their entirety by myself were the ones to challenge themselves and strive for perfection.
This year, I even questioned the band members as to whether Abbey Road could really be performed from start to finish or if they wanted only to play the medley on the album's flip side. Their inclination was to stick to their guns and play everything. It turned out to be a wise decision. Those guys really put in a lot of work. They were just that determined to put on a great show for an audience of their peers, and it really showed in their performance. And I was there to direct and inspire.
Taking full advantage of the testimonies and recorded footage that exist of our performances this year, I will begin proposing the Summer Camp band template to the organizers of other conferences, based on the statistical assumption that every large crowd must have enough willing and able musicians to form a pickup band for the purposes of entertaining their peers.
The meeting planners would ping their members for the closet musicians. They would contact me directly, and I would assess their skill level, their strengths and weaknesses, and their current and desired music catalog. Remaining in contact with those musicians and continuing to monitor success in individual rehearsals throughout the advance time is crucial to the project's success.
As a band member myself, I would fill in whatever gaps exist on bass, drums or my longtime specialty, keyboard. (Finding guitarists and singers is never much of an expedition.) Finally, I would conduct rehearsals and direct performances just like I did at Summer Camp this week. In return, I would be paid a talent fee and reimbursed for my expenses. The number of conferences I can book determines the viability of this template to make a sufficient living for me.
Between conferences, I would of course promote my services using the Internet, including with YouTube clips as well as through feedback from participants and, yes, fans. In addition, I would have stretches of time for other projects such as side gigs either at home or on the road, professional freelance writing and proofreading, composing books, online newsletters, etc. -- all the other things I am confident and comfortable doing.
This is my new plan, and I like it.
8/3/08
Outside the box, it hits me
The past few hours were something spectactular. It was an amazing night, playing some wonderful music for a bunch of people, with some great musicians, in an intimate atmosphere, with some casual drinks flowing.
There wasn't much that could have gone better than planned. We spent all day Friday and all day Saturday rehearsing everything we could fit in satisfactorily. Then I picked the songs that would work best, and we played 'em!
The gig is one that has nothing to do with music. It's the annual conference for the Westford Building Science Symposium. I mean, who'dathunkit? Bunch of guys and gals in the world of energy rating, environmental protection, and whatever else, also happen to be mean, closet aspiring musicians? What luck!
There's one in every crowd, right? There are a few, and I got them all together.
I was up here doing the conference four years ago this summer when my plane tickets were paid by my employer back home. I was the press. I had to cover the conference as a journalist. What's going on here. Meet and greet, get storyline ideas, summarize the lectures, spread the word about our newspaper, and recruit potential authors for scientific articles. That was my job.
Little did I know there was so much fun to be had away from the office. The people seem always to be in a good mood, and there's so much food up here prepared by a conference attendee and a full staff of volunteers and hired help, and much more in the way of drink.
Such was the case when, just one year ago, I was no longer doing the press thing, and I needed to make a decision about what I should do with my time. It was the easiest choice I have had to make, my whole life through. I was returning to Summer Camp, this time on my own dime.
I did it then, and I'm doing it again now. The thing is such a good time, the cost is outweighed by the benefits immensely. I am so glad Summer Camp is my thing.
It's the music that's the best, though. I mean, the food is incredible, and the drinks are out of this world. But more than I am a fat bastard who needs to shed a few pounds, I'm a rock star, first and foremost, who needs rock 'n' roll more than food, clothing and shelter!
Forget the rest. I'll take rock for $400, Alex.
What I've done here in Westford, over the course of four years, is somehow connect with the half-assed musicians in the crowd, and it didn't take much convincing to get them to practice up some songs throughout the year so that we could tear it the hell up out here. And that's exactly what we're doing. They ain't half-assed musicians anymore. They've now worked themselves up to people who know what they're doing!
Tonight, we played a 25-song set, hand-picked by me, of the best stuff we've played together, either in rehearsal the last couple of days or at last year's iteration. We picked 'em, we played 'em, and we nailed 'em.
Of course we did. We're the Building Science Boogie Band, dammit!
Crucially, we had one last-minute entry into the set list, by the name of "Layla," and it honestly floored me how well it came together. I must have talked the bass player through the song for two minutes by the time we tried it out in front of an audience including the tune's worthy namesake, an attendee at the conference. The guitarist wasn't even around for the run-through or the rehearsal, and we just went for it. Amazing, we pulled it off. It was just smashing. I mean, sincerely.
Wish there were more days like this. And there will be. We're here through Wednesday night before we head home to all our different locations across this great nation of ours (and maybe even further, in the case of the several Canadians and one Australian I know to be wandering around in our midst).
But really, I wish there were more days like this. I want to do this for other conferences. I think work like this ought to be recognized and paid for. I think somebody who runs a conference and wants to do something that's never (or seldom? scarcely?) been done before needs to contact me and have me coach their musically inclined attendees into exuding confidence and playing their hearts out, semi-professionally, for a crowd every year.
Hasn't been done before. I want to be that guy. I know I can be that guy. Whoever is reading this and, as a result, wants to make a buck or three hooking me up with the realization of that ultimate goal is more than welcome!
There wasn't much that could have gone better than planned. We spent all day Friday and all day Saturday rehearsing everything we could fit in satisfactorily. Then I picked the songs that would work best, and we played 'em!
The gig is one that has nothing to do with music. It's the annual conference for the Westford Building Science Symposium. I mean, who'dathunkit? Bunch of guys and gals in the world of energy rating, environmental protection, and whatever else, also happen to be mean, closet aspiring musicians? What luck!
There's one in every crowd, right? There are a few, and I got them all together.
I was up here doing the conference four years ago this summer when my plane tickets were paid by my employer back home. I was the press. I had to cover the conference as a journalist. What's going on here. Meet and greet, get storyline ideas, summarize the lectures, spread the word about our newspaper, and recruit potential authors for scientific articles. That was my job.
Little did I know there was so much fun to be had away from the office. The people seem always to be in a good mood, and there's so much food up here prepared by a conference attendee and a full staff of volunteers and hired help, and much more in the way of drink.
Such was the case when, just one year ago, I was no longer doing the press thing, and I needed to make a decision about what I should do with my time. It was the easiest choice I have had to make, my whole life through. I was returning to Summer Camp, this time on my own dime.
I did it then, and I'm doing it again now. The thing is such a good time, the cost is outweighed by the benefits immensely. I am so glad Summer Camp is my thing.
It's the music that's the best, though. I mean, the food is incredible, and the drinks are out of this world. But more than I am a fat bastard who needs to shed a few pounds, I'm a rock star, first and foremost, who needs rock 'n' roll more than food, clothing and shelter!
Forget the rest. I'll take rock for $400, Alex.
What I've done here in Westford, over the course of four years, is somehow connect with the half-assed musicians in the crowd, and it didn't take much convincing to get them to practice up some songs throughout the year so that we could tear it the hell up out here. And that's exactly what we're doing. They ain't half-assed musicians anymore. They've now worked themselves up to people who know what they're doing!
Tonight, we played a 25-song set, hand-picked by me, of the best stuff we've played together, either in rehearsal the last couple of days or at last year's iteration. We picked 'em, we played 'em, and we nailed 'em.
Of course we did. We're the Building Science Boogie Band, dammit!
Crucially, we had one last-minute entry into the set list, by the name of "Layla," and it honestly floored me how well it came together. I must have talked the bass player through the song for two minutes by the time we tried it out in front of an audience including the tune's worthy namesake, an attendee at the conference. The guitarist wasn't even around for the run-through or the rehearsal, and we just went for it. Amazing, we pulled it off. It was just smashing. I mean, sincerely.
Wish there were more days like this. And there will be. We're here through Wednesday night before we head home to all our different locations across this great nation of ours (and maybe even further, in the case of the several Canadians and one Australian I know to be wandering around in our midst).
But really, I wish there were more days like this. I want to do this for other conferences. I think work like this ought to be recognized and paid for. I think somebody who runs a conference and wants to do something that's never (or seldom? scarcely?) been done before needs to contact me and have me coach their musically inclined attendees into exuding confidence and playing their hearts out, semi-professionally, for a crowd every year.
Hasn't been done before. I want to be that guy. I know I can be that guy. Whoever is reading this and, as a result, wants to make a buck or three hooking me up with the realization of that ultimate goal is more than welcome!
8/1/08
More travels ahead
What is it about me that makes me want to travel up north this time of year? It's summer. Who would possibly want to head up to New England and risk taking a few degrees off the temperature for a week or so?
Well, that's what I'm about to do, for better or worse. Let me sacrifice a little warmth for some ... mosquitos.
I'm not fooling anybody. The main draw up there, when I get to Massachusetts every August, is mosquitos. They bite. They ain't no damn fun.
I go up there because I'm a glutton for punishment. I remember the summer of 2005. I got my airfare covered, and I went up there to write about a conference. I found out it was such a good time. I went back in 2006, same deal. Only more fun.
Go back in 2007? Paying my own way, this time. Just as much fun. But not reimbursed a cent. I couldn't come up with a single printable word about the experience. That Hunter S. Thompson shit don't fly with that publisher.
Take us to 2008. I know I'm not getting paid. I know there's no reimbursement. The only reason I'm going is because it is going to be so much fun. I'm going to play with a bunch of musicians, and we're going to entertain. That's what's on my agenda.
Right now I'm on the road, taking a shuttle to the airport. I'm going to be in Manchester, New Hampshire, by morning, and in Westford, Massachusetts, by afternoon. And everything is going to be cool.
I guess that it for now. More when I get to the airport. I had a good time in D.C. tonight, and I ought to reflect on that.
Well, that's what I'm about to do, for better or worse. Let me sacrifice a little warmth for some ... mosquitos.
I'm not fooling anybody. The main draw up there, when I get to Massachusetts every August, is mosquitos. They bite. They ain't no damn fun.
I go up there because I'm a glutton for punishment. I remember the summer of 2005. I got my airfare covered, and I went up there to write about a conference. I found out it was such a good time. I went back in 2006, same deal. Only more fun.
Go back in 2007? Paying my own way, this time. Just as much fun. But not reimbursed a cent. I couldn't come up with a single printable word about the experience. That Hunter S. Thompson shit don't fly with that publisher.
Take us to 2008. I know I'm not getting paid. I know there's no reimbursement. The only reason I'm going is because it is going to be so much fun. I'm going to play with a bunch of musicians, and we're going to entertain. That's what's on my agenda.
Right now I'm on the road, taking a shuttle to the airport. I'm going to be in Manchester, New Hampshire, by morning, and in Westford, Massachusetts, by afternoon. And everything is going to be cool.
I guess that it for now. More when I get to the airport. I had a good time in D.C. tonight, and I ought to reflect on that.
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