Another update: Folk Fest, MTG, and "hurt"
Captain Absent is back with more updates...
Again, I apologize for the lack of returned emails, but once I finish off one of the many projects on the go, I will start having more time.
First one, Skelly and Carimiah dragged my poor ass out to Folk Fest. As much of a music junkie that I am, I have been the biggest snob in missing out on Folk Fest my whole life. Not big on the camping thing and the cost of Folk Fest and a million other useless reasons had kept me away all these years. Well, my two great great friends had finally had enough and made me come. And it was amazing. I saw things, I did things, I heard things, and I made friends. It was so unlike anything I had ever come across. You know I always talk about vibes and feelings about things and I got overwhelmed with the sense of peace there. Had a lot, no a ton of things bump into and through me all weekned as well. It was so BIG. Everything was on a different scale, the fun, the people, the music, the experience... out of this world. If I had to make a list of the highlights, it would take me all day, but here are a few of the ones I can talk about here:
- People - I got to hang with "the fam", Skelly's little network of very close friends. I made a great connection with their friends from Neepawa which I now have a special place for. Amazing people with interesting lives. It's not often you meet real people. They were as real as you can get. Besides the newbies, I really got to hang with my soul bro Skelly and the lovely Carimiah. They are two of the most amazing people you could ever meet. Genuine and real. And yes, little Kitty, you and me are on with working out. We'll even drag Skelly along if we have to. I love you both closer than family. I also met a host of other people, all of whom I can never all name, but thanks for making the experience such a great one. Also ran into some other people, none of which I was really introduced to, just the occasional hello, having fun and chatting about something silly or deep or really out there. Even had Uncle Donny choke me and swear at me and then forget what the hell he was talking about. I spun around a couple of people who were trying to fly and had a crazy wacky conversation with that crazy cat that had me rolling in the aisles.
- the music - I knew this was going to be the big 'un. Saw lots of amazing stuff. Highlights were (and I am sure I am missing tons of other stuff) Cat Empire and That One Guy (who I got see perform 3 times on the weekend). I forget half the names of the other bands/performers I saw, but a lot were great.
- The Saturday night party - This was the cat's meow. It was a massive rave at Pope's Hill with That One Guy and the Hummers. Fucking awesome. I danced all night long with everyone else until some time around 5 in the morning and then chatted with The Neepawas for the rest of the time. Even had a early morning badminton match before going to bed.
The biggest thing was the communal spirit. There weren't any bad vibes (except for Uncle Donny). Every thing was so cheerful, everyone was so nice, and everybody was so friendly. You could stop by at anyone's campfire and sit down and hang out, no questions asked. I love meeting people and am generally the friendly person to blindly introduce myself to people. And I was outfriendly-ed.
MTG (Meet the Geeks for the uninitiated) has been moving along. More writing, more formatting, more figuring out the arcs (yes there's story arcs). We're back in the thick of things tomorrow for another brainstorm/meeting.
"hurt" (tentative title right now until we figure out the full title) is also moving along well. My worries over the script I had had are gone and the piece is turning into this strong story. Casting is pretty much out of the way and we have found some rather amazing talent. Hopefully we'll make some casting announcements soon. Much higher than my original aspirations for the film anyway. We start filming in August on a tight 4 day schedule. Lots of pre-production work until then but we are moving along schedule.
Whew. And I haven't even mentioned the band yet. We've been on a hiatus for summer holidays (which is why I've been able to cram so much other stuff in). I think we are still planning 2-3 shows between July and September. I'm still practicing on my car rides to and from work. Been working on some new vocal tricks to try and add another dimension to the voice. It's fascinating how the voice can develop, how you can shape it into so many different forms if you only have the curiousity. The singers who always sing the same style, who never get outside their comfortable range... they are missing out on so much. You can sing so much if you keep at it. And the more you can do, the more you can try. Every had the capability to sing. Even this measly drummer.
Again, I apologize for the lack of returned emails, but once I finish off one of the many projects on the go, I will start having more time.
First one, Skelly and Carimiah dragged my poor ass out to Folk Fest. As much of a music junkie that I am, I have been the biggest snob in missing out on Folk Fest my whole life. Not big on the camping thing and the cost of Folk Fest and a million other useless reasons had kept me away all these years. Well, my two great great friends had finally had enough and made me come. And it was amazing. I saw things, I did things, I heard things, and I made friends. It was so unlike anything I had ever come across. You know I always talk about vibes and feelings about things and I got overwhelmed with the sense of peace there. Had a lot, no a ton of things bump into and through me all weekned as well. It was so BIG. Everything was on a different scale, the fun, the people, the music, the experience... out of this world. If I had to make a list of the highlights, it would take me all day, but here are a few of the ones I can talk about here:
- People - I got to hang with "the fam", Skelly's little network of very close friends. I made a great connection with their friends from Neepawa which I now have a special place for. Amazing people with interesting lives. It's not often you meet real people. They were as real as you can get. Besides the newbies, I really got to hang with my soul bro Skelly and the lovely Carimiah. They are two of the most amazing people you could ever meet. Genuine and real. And yes, little Kitty, you and me are on with working out. We'll even drag Skelly along if we have to. I love you both closer than family. I also met a host of other people, all of whom I can never all name, but thanks for making the experience such a great one. Also ran into some other people, none of which I was really introduced to, just the occasional hello, having fun and chatting about something silly or deep or really out there. Even had Uncle Donny choke me and swear at me and then forget what the hell he was talking about. I spun around a couple of people who were trying to fly and had a crazy wacky conversation with that crazy cat that had me rolling in the aisles.
- the music - I knew this was going to be the big 'un. Saw lots of amazing stuff. Highlights were (and I am sure I am missing tons of other stuff) Cat Empire and That One Guy (who I got see perform 3 times on the weekend). I forget half the names of the other bands/performers I saw, but a lot were great.
- The Saturday night party - This was the cat's meow. It was a massive rave at Pope's Hill with That One Guy and the Hummers. Fucking awesome. I danced all night long with everyone else until some time around 5 in the morning and then chatted with The Neepawas for the rest of the time. Even had a early morning badminton match before going to bed.
The biggest thing was the communal spirit. There weren't any bad vibes (except for Uncle Donny). Every thing was so cheerful, everyone was so nice, and everybody was so friendly. You could stop by at anyone's campfire and sit down and hang out, no questions asked. I love meeting people and am generally the friendly person to blindly introduce myself to people. And I was outfriendly-ed.
MTG (Meet the Geeks for the uninitiated) has been moving along. More writing, more formatting, more figuring out the arcs (yes there's story arcs). We're back in the thick of things tomorrow for another brainstorm/meeting.
"hurt" (tentative title right now until we figure out the full title) is also moving along well. My worries over the script I had had are gone and the piece is turning into this strong story. Casting is pretty much out of the way and we have found some rather amazing talent. Hopefully we'll make some casting announcements soon. Much higher than my original aspirations for the film anyway. We start filming in August on a tight 4 day schedule. Lots of pre-production work until then but we are moving along schedule.
Whew. And I haven't even mentioned the band yet. We've been on a hiatus for summer holidays (which is why I've been able to cram so much other stuff in). I think we are still planning 2-3 shows between July and September. I'm still practicing on my car rides to and from work. Been working on some new vocal tricks to try and add another dimension to the voice. It's fascinating how the voice can develop, how you can shape it into so many different forms if you only have the curiousity. The singers who always sing the same style, who never get outside their comfortable range... they are missing out on so much. You can sing so much if you keep at it. And the more you can do, the more you can try. Every had the capability to sing. Even this measly drummer.