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Got this from gamiila - thanks, G! Does sound like the state of mind I am presently in.
Morpheus
?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla
We had an absolutely wonderful time at Groove Camp, and I got to play a lot. I played with the pros as well, and got noticed, which is very motivating for me. Now I am looking for any opportunity I get to play music, of all sorts. For example, I am continuing my saxophone lessons, and will be playing my tenor sax with a local drum corp for their August 22nd concert. I can play the baritone part on the tenor, and help them out by providing a bottom for the group. I'm planning on checking out a jazz jam at a club in New Haven this Saturday afternoon, taking my flute with me and seeing if I can actually do a jazz jam. I'm working on learning about chord progressions and changes, and hearing how to improvise, which is something I worked on while I was at Groove Camp. Plus The Reel Thing is playing August 12th for a family barn dance up in Goshen, CT, as the end of their library's summer reading program, and we have colonial dance programs we are playing for on September 19 here in Bethel, and on October 2nd in New London. There are a few other things in the works for the Reel Thing, besides the NOMAD Festival on November 6 and 7, at which we are playing. And Lisa and I are playing as Sheebeg and Sheemore on September 10 at a local restaurant, from 6:30 to 9:30 on a Friday night. I'm hoping she and I will get asked back for Bethel's Fall Sidewalk Festival in September too. So lots of opportunities for music, in different genres and different configurations. Can you tell I'm excited about it?! ;-)
I worked with some fabulous musicians while at camp, and I want to share their names and web sites with you all - first of all, there are Donna Hebert, Jane Rothfield, Liza Constable and Stuart Kenney, who are all tops in the contra scene here in the Northeast - check out the groups they are in at Donna's Groovemama site. Actually, they each play in a number of groups - Liza and Stuart also play with Small Tattoo, Stuart is in Rodney Miller's Airdance, one of the premier contra bands in the country, and on and on. You should check out, also, the Guiding Star Grange's site in Greenfield, MA, which is a place where Stuart and Liza, although with a lot of the other big guns of this genre, play for the various dances. I can't wait to get back to Greenfield and actually dance there - I observed a dance that Small Tattoo played last November, and it was really intense.
Two other fabulous musicians you should check out are John McGann, a virtuoso guitar and mandolin player and the nicest guy you will ever meet, and Gideon Freudmann, a cellist who writes phenomenal music and takes the cello to places I never thought were possible. John is based in the Boston, MA area, and Gideon is in Northampton, MA. They, along with Liza, ran the jazz/swing/fusion ensemble I took part in at camp. The creative stuff going on was incredible! Gideon asked me to play with him and a wonderful fiddler named Frances Miller for a piece he wrote, which he is calling "Home". This was during the Tuesday night concert done by the pros. Totally without music and improvised there on the spot. I was extremely nervous, especially in front of these musicians for whom I have such respect, but I came through in good shape and they all told me how much they enjoyed it and how good I sounded. Talk about an ego boost! Hence the motivation.
Plus the dulcimer festivals - just came off Cranberry Dulcimer Festival in Binghamton, NY, near my parents, and I bought a new dulcimer, so we now have his and hers dulcimers lol! We're going to Dulcimer Daze in August, and the new Nutmeg Festival here in Connecticut the first weekend in October.
*Whew!* Trying to get back to reality after all that has been tough. Still playing laundry catchup. Eric is off to his computer camp this week and loving every minutes of it. It's a drag to drive him down there and then go pick him up each afternoon, I have to say, but I think it's worth it for his enjoyment and education. He actually thanked me yesterday for sending him.
That's about it for now. But then, I guess it is a pretty good-sized entry after all this time? Not much in the way of BtVS or James stuff - that is now taking a back seat, I have to say, to my newfound commitment to my music. But that's okay. I'm happy about it.
Morpheus
?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla
We had an absolutely wonderful time at Groove Camp, and I got to play a lot. I played with the pros as well, and got noticed, which is very motivating for me. Now I am looking for any opportunity I get to play music, of all sorts. For example, I am continuing my saxophone lessons, and will be playing my tenor sax with a local drum corp for their August 22nd concert. I can play the baritone part on the tenor, and help them out by providing a bottom for the group. I'm planning on checking out a jazz jam at a club in New Haven this Saturday afternoon, taking my flute with me and seeing if I can actually do a jazz jam. I'm working on learning about chord progressions and changes, and hearing how to improvise, which is something I worked on while I was at Groove Camp. Plus The Reel Thing is playing August 12th for a family barn dance up in Goshen, CT, as the end of their library's summer reading program, and we have colonial dance programs we are playing for on September 19 here in Bethel, and on October 2nd in New London. There are a few other things in the works for the Reel Thing, besides the NOMAD Festival on November 6 and 7, at which we are playing. And Lisa and I are playing as Sheebeg and Sheemore on September 10 at a local restaurant, from 6:30 to 9:30 on a Friday night. I'm hoping she and I will get asked back for Bethel's Fall Sidewalk Festival in September too. So lots of opportunities for music, in different genres and different configurations. Can you tell I'm excited about it?! ;-)
I worked with some fabulous musicians while at camp, and I want to share their names and web sites with you all - first of all, there are Donna Hebert, Jane Rothfield, Liza Constable and Stuart Kenney, who are all tops in the contra scene here in the Northeast - check out the groups they are in at Donna's Groovemama site. Actually, they each play in a number of groups - Liza and Stuart also play with Small Tattoo, Stuart is in Rodney Miller's Airdance, one of the premier contra bands in the country, and on and on. You should check out, also, the Guiding Star Grange's site in Greenfield, MA, which is a place where Stuart and Liza, although with a lot of the other big guns of this genre, play for the various dances. I can't wait to get back to Greenfield and actually dance there - I observed a dance that Small Tattoo played last November, and it was really intense.
Two other fabulous musicians you should check out are John McGann, a virtuoso guitar and mandolin player and the nicest guy you will ever meet, and Gideon Freudmann, a cellist who writes phenomenal music and takes the cello to places I never thought were possible. John is based in the Boston, MA area, and Gideon is in Northampton, MA. They, along with Liza, ran the jazz/swing/fusion ensemble I took part in at camp. The creative stuff going on was incredible! Gideon asked me to play with him and a wonderful fiddler named Frances Miller for a piece he wrote, which he is calling "Home". This was during the Tuesday night concert done by the pros. Totally without music and improvised there on the spot. I was extremely nervous, especially in front of these musicians for whom I have such respect, but I came through in good shape and they all told me how much they enjoyed it and how good I sounded. Talk about an ego boost! Hence the motivation.
Plus the dulcimer festivals - just came off Cranberry Dulcimer Festival in Binghamton, NY, near my parents, and I bought a new dulcimer, so we now have his and hers dulcimers lol! We're going to Dulcimer Daze in August, and the new Nutmeg Festival here in Connecticut the first weekend in October.
*Whew!* Trying to get back to reality after all that has been tough. Still playing laundry catchup. Eric is off to his computer camp this week and loving every minutes of it. It's a drag to drive him down there and then go pick him up each afternoon, I have to say, but I think it's worth it for his enjoyment and education. He actually thanked me yesterday for sending him.
That's about it for now. But then, I guess it is a pretty good-sized entry after all this time? Not much in the way of BtVS or James stuff - that is now taking a back seat, I have to say, to my newfound commitment to my music. But that's okay. I'm happy about it.