freestyle
The other day i picked up some ya pears and kiwis and peaches because i was in a fruity mood. I went to pay rent same day and our landlord gave us enough pears to feed an army. I felt really bad last time she gave us plums because we never even got round to eating one before they died. When i get given food for free i tend to forget it's there because it's not on the "meal options list" i've made in my head. J's mom came back from Florida with Butterfingers and Hershey's for me and they're still in the fridge. I think i don't eat as much chocolate as i used to. I did have two pears this morning, though, and they were awesome. It's nice to eat food that grew 20 feet from your front door.
Wednesday night's drum performance went pretty well. There were probably around 30 or 40 people there, most of them board members and donors, so we were kinda showing where their efforts were going. We opened with a big high-tempo number. Everyone was a bit nervous so it was sloppy, but by the second song we got into the groove and things went pretty well. We skipped one of the songs in our set because in last-minute rehearsal we were still a bit off with timing, but for the encore we threw in some extra reggae songs we'd jammed around with in the past, so all was good.
It was a real buzz to play and sing in front of a crowd. Dude, i fucking sang in public! I am extremely self-conscious about my voice so that was awesome. I should sing more. It was bittersweet at the end of night, though, saying goodbye to my group and teacher. With the group, i never learned any of their names and sometimes they bugged the hell out of me, but somehow we built up quite a bond over the past month or so of serious rehearsing. And my teacher? Well i feel like i'm cheating on him by going to drum classes under someone else! Is that weird?
So last night i attended the other class and it had dropped from about 15 people down to 6. I guess our teacher scared everyone off last week by telling us that even after practicing for a year our "tek" hits would still sound like shit. He's very funny. He's also very good-looking. This week there was a new guy taking the class who had seen our teacher play at a club on the weekend. I swear i've never seen such blatant drooling, it was almost embarrassing. I think the dude creamed his pants when the teacher grabbed his arm to move it back and forth, showing the correct wrist action.
I'm just trying to learn as much as i can. It's very different having a serious teacher zero in so fiercely on technique, but i can feel where it's going - there is more of a flow to hitting the drum the right way. Maybe in a year i'll prove him wrong and be able to play as nifty beats the right way as i was doing a few weeks ago the wrong way. There is a song waiting...
Incidentally, it's why i like my boxing coach too, she always tries to get me to use the right technique, to condition and use my body the best way so i don't hurt myself. This is exactly why i wanted to get into these sorts of pursuits, to learn how my body works better, to control it better, to not hate it or fight with it all the time. It's changing me. I think my body is getting used to being pushed and when i let it go i get crampy and cranky. Since i missed class on Tuesday i've been all wonky.
Or perhaps i'm just a little bit depressed. I keep letting little things to get to me and bursting into tears over nothing. Fortunately i ducked Jewish New Year tonight so i am going to kick back and do things that make me feel good. I am going to watch a John Carpenter movie, and perhaps make cheese on toast. I finally found sumac on my photography expedition last week and have been itching to use it. Best spice ever. Actually, i think i will do that right now. Yum.
Wednesday night's drum performance went pretty well. There were probably around 30 or 40 people there, most of them board members and donors, so we were kinda showing where their efforts were going. We opened with a big high-tempo number. Everyone was a bit nervous so it was sloppy, but by the second song we got into the groove and things went pretty well. We skipped one of the songs in our set because in last-minute rehearsal we were still a bit off with timing, but for the encore we threw in some extra reggae songs we'd jammed around with in the past, so all was good.
It was a real buzz to play and sing in front of a crowd. Dude, i fucking sang in public! I am extremely self-conscious about my voice so that was awesome. I should sing more. It was bittersweet at the end of night, though, saying goodbye to my group and teacher. With the group, i never learned any of their names and sometimes they bugged the hell out of me, but somehow we built up quite a bond over the past month or so of serious rehearsing. And my teacher? Well i feel like i'm cheating on him by going to drum classes under someone else! Is that weird?
So last night i attended the other class and it had dropped from about 15 people down to 6. I guess our teacher scared everyone off last week by telling us that even after practicing for a year our "tek" hits would still sound like shit. He's very funny. He's also very good-looking. This week there was a new guy taking the class who had seen our teacher play at a club on the weekend. I swear i've never seen such blatant drooling, it was almost embarrassing. I think the dude creamed his pants when the teacher grabbed his arm to move it back and forth, showing the correct wrist action.
I'm just trying to learn as much as i can. It's very different having a serious teacher zero in so fiercely on technique, but i can feel where it's going - there is more of a flow to hitting the drum the right way. Maybe in a year i'll prove him wrong and be able to play as nifty beats the right way as i was doing a few weeks ago the wrong way. There is a song waiting...
Incidentally, it's why i like my boxing coach too, she always tries to get me to use the right technique, to condition and use my body the best way so i don't hurt myself. This is exactly why i wanted to get into these sorts of pursuits, to learn how my body works better, to control it better, to not hate it or fight with it all the time. It's changing me. I think my body is getting used to being pushed and when i let it go i get crampy and cranky. Since i missed class on Tuesday i've been all wonky.
Or perhaps i'm just a little bit depressed. I keep letting little things to get to me and bursting into tears over nothing. Fortunately i ducked Jewish New Year tonight so i am going to kick back and do things that make me feel good. I am going to watch a John Carpenter movie, and perhaps make cheese on toast. I finally found sumac on my photography expedition last week and have been itching to use it. Best spice ever. Actually, i think i will do that right now. Yum.