berklee!?
For those that don't know by now, since Thursday I've spent my time in Boston taking classes at the famed microcosm of the music industry. Berklee. I'll be the first to say that no matter how much people praise it or inject hype, that it lives up to and exceeds the praise. Every teacher was amazingly knowledgeable, and was, had a connection with, or taught a revered virtuoso of generally any given instrument. After only a day of having to grab lines by ear, read music and improvise on lines, I improved as much as I would have otherwise with two or three weeks of practice sitting at home. I'm not going to go in-depth about the classes, but if I wasn't in theory, instrument lab or ensemble, I was either out at a latin jazz workshop, a faculty concert, jamming with the faculty, or in an ensemble room jamming with whoever was in the hall at the time. For the first time I was avoiding computers, TV and was leaving my phone in my dorm because it was so enamoring. If you're one of those crazies that runs around saying "music is my life," go to Berklee and see what it really is like.
The fact that it's perfectly integrated with the city over a couple of blocks is convenient as well- you don't have to walk more than a quarter of a mile to get pretty much anything you need and about every fifth person you pass on the street is a bassist. Who knows what the other four play. We had a concert at the end of it featuring about ten different ten-bass ensembles featuring faculty on guitar/drums, and occasionally keyboard as well, which is cool as shit. Too bad people here can hardly even handle a single bassist/guitarist/drummer. Of course, there are pictures, and some videos that i'll throw in later.
The building where I auditioned:
The entrance to the dorms, right on Massachusetts Avenue:
Outside of the recital hall where all of the ensembles played, and just before they did. Myself and Josh in the top middle are the only ones with sixers here:
edit: I put up two very short videos.
This is a quickie of the Genko Uchida building and its recital hall:
http://s51.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=08W821U2GR4KA19ZC1FLDIHPPG
"Fuze" of the mad science trio doing some crazy shit on his double necked guitar (the top neck is a 12-stringed fretless and the bottom is a traditional electric) with Steve Jenkins on bass, who is amazing, and ended up leading my ensemble. A keyboardist that was in the middle of touring with Stanley Clarke jumped in with the latter part of their set, too:
http://s49.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3FMHLDR0DL58P3UXJ6J6DN196G
If anyone wants the mad science trio's cd, some great jazz work by the Bruce Gertz Quintet (double/electric bass, guitar, tenor saxophone, piano and drums), or volumes 31 or 32 of "New From Berklee," I will burn them upon request, since I got them for free anyway.
The fact that it's perfectly integrated with the city over a couple of blocks is convenient as well- you don't have to walk more than a quarter of a mile to get pretty much anything you need and about every fifth person you pass on the street is a bassist. Who knows what the other four play. We had a concert at the end of it featuring about ten different ten-bass ensembles featuring faculty on guitar/drums, and occasionally keyboard as well, which is cool as shit. Too bad people here can hardly even handle a single bassist/guitarist/drummer. Of course, there are pictures, and some videos that i'll throw in later.
The building where I auditioned:
The entrance to the dorms, right on Massachusetts Avenue:
Outside of the recital hall where all of the ensembles played, and just before they did. Myself and Josh in the top middle are the only ones with sixers here:
edit: I put up two very short videos.
This is a quickie of the Genko Uchida building and its recital hall:
http://s51.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=08W821U2GR4KA19ZC1FLDIHPPG
"Fuze" of the mad science trio doing some crazy shit on his double necked guitar (the top neck is a 12-stringed fretless and the bottom is a traditional electric) with Steve Jenkins on bass, who is amazing, and ended up leading my ensemble. A keyboardist that was in the middle of touring with Stanley Clarke jumped in with the latter part of their set, too:
http://s49.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3FMHLDR0DL58P3UXJ6J6DN196G
If anyone wants the mad science trio's cd, some great jazz work by the Bruce Gertz Quintet (double/electric bass, guitar, tenor saxophone, piano and drums), or volumes 31 or 32 of "New From Berklee," I will burn them upon request, since I got them for free anyway.