(no subject)
Helen played at the Ninth Philippine Web Awards this week, and it was a very spiffy gig. Anyone who's interested can watch the webcast by clicking on this link and fast-forwarding to 1:20:00, or by following these instructions:
The event was organized by a group called MediaG8way, and I'm going to put in a good word for them here by saying that we were well-fed, assigned a huge and comfortable dressing room, allowed ample time to sound check, given clear instructions about when to go onstage and how long to play, provided with excellent equipment and more than adequate stage monitoring, given excellent video coverage, and very well-paid.
MediaG8way, you guys rule. Thank you, glendaplatypus, for hooking us up.
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Some of the muscles in my right forearm have been almost cramping during recent gigs because of the breakneck tempos at which most of my bands now play. Last night's gig at Gweilo's was the first time in a while that they didn't do so, and I think I was playing even faster than usual. I think it's because I had a rehearsal earlier in the day and was already fairly warmed-up. Still, I definitely now need more time to warm up those muscles. Or get stronger. Or both.
I'd like to think I'm getting stronger. Rehearsing with Flipperbaby last friday, Chad (of Liquid Jane and formerly of Sound) and I were perfectly comfortable playing dense funk grooves at 165. In previous rehearsals, that particular song was gave us trouble but this time it felt like we could go even faster. This is a good sign!
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Speaking of Sound, ballerina macabre Joelle Jacinto has an article about their recent album launch, here.
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Sometimes my blog reads like a speed freak's progress journal.
My dad asked me, "but does faster really mean better?"
I told him, no of course it doesn't. But what it _is_, is a niche that not too many groups are exploiting. And in just the technical sense, when the rhythm section plays fast enough, the singer and the other instruments can play at _half_ that speed, and the harmonic movement will feel like it's going along at a nice comfortable medium tempo.
When I first started studying with my teacher, I would watch him blaze along at these totally ridiculous speeds while making it feel like the most relaxed, low-volume, floating thing. I'm trying to get to that place.
And there's the adrenalin and the sweat factor, which is always good.
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Something different this coming week. I'm going to be playing at this event:
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- Open Windows Media Player
- Click File | Open URL
- Paste in this URL: http://info-ss.dagupan.com:8080/events2006/webawards.asx
- Fast-forward to 1:20:00. You should see the hosts introducing my band.
The event was organized by a group called MediaG8way, and I'm going to put in a good word for them here by saying that we were well-fed, assigned a huge and comfortable dressing room, allowed ample time to sound check, given clear instructions about when to go onstage and how long to play, provided with excellent equipment and more than adequate stage monitoring, given excellent video coverage, and very well-paid.
MediaG8way, you guys rule. Thank you, glendaplatypus, for hooking us up.
-
Some of the muscles in my right forearm have been almost cramping during recent gigs because of the breakneck tempos at which most of my bands now play. Last night's gig at Gweilo's was the first time in a while that they didn't do so, and I think I was playing even faster than usual. I think it's because I had a rehearsal earlier in the day and was already fairly warmed-up. Still, I definitely now need more time to warm up those muscles. Or get stronger. Or both.
I'd like to think I'm getting stronger. Rehearsing with Flipperbaby last friday, Chad (of Liquid Jane and formerly of Sound) and I were perfectly comfortable playing dense funk grooves at 165. In previous rehearsals, that particular song was gave us trouble but this time it felt like we could go even faster. This is a good sign!
-
Speaking of Sound, ballerina macabre Joelle Jacinto has an article about their recent album launch, here.
-
Sometimes my blog reads like a speed freak's progress journal.
My dad asked me, "but does faster really mean better?"
I told him, no of course it doesn't. But what it _is_, is a niche that not too many groups are exploiting. And in just the technical sense, when the rhythm section plays fast enough, the singer and the other instruments can play at _half_ that speed, and the harmonic movement will feel like it's going along at a nice comfortable medium tempo.
When I first started studying with my teacher, I would watch him blaze along at these totally ridiculous speeds while making it feel like the most relaxed, low-volume, floating thing. I'm trying to get to that place.
And there's the adrenalin and the sweat factor, which is always good.
-
Something different this coming week. I'm going to be playing at this event:
-