Random Updatia
Jan. 3rd, 2007 10:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellyssianI'm still working out a few details, but the information on the first gathering of this year should be up soon - the short form of it being a Midwinter Feast on Saturday, February 2nd, and involving ancient Viking games in the snow and telescopes and a full moon.
The schedule for the year is going to be tentative at best, although there will only be six to eight events. I'm still negotiating the details. The only other definite day to reserve is May 26th for a musical extravaganza (bring yer own acoustic instruments.)
So, if I didn't get the schedule done, what exactly did I do with a whole week off of work? Certainly not updates here - I was actually online a rather minimal amount of time. I did manage to repurpose myMySpace "Top Friends" to center around music - most of the folks I had on there also had a page for their band. So, lots of bands, particularly prog or power metal. I still did retain some of the old order - the first five or six bands are actually folks I know personally, ranked by how long I've known them.
I added a handful of small sections on to the piratey story, although I've definitely fallen behind in posting the finished bits for review.
I've been working on some songs with a keyboard player - somewhat of a first for me. True, back in Vision, Chris Walsh had keyboards, so the three of us (Todd Allen, guitar) often noodled around on them, but not at the same time as playing a song. Sort of. My live debut included a keyboard player, but that was more me fumbling around in surprise at finding the guitar-bass-drum trio supplemented by said keyboardist and two jazz vocalists and the percussionist that did Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Anyway, Justin and I worked on a fairly basic arrangement of The Kraken from Pie Rats of the Carob Bean II: The Monkees Strike Back. Justin handles the low-end on grand piano and I get the rest, doing crunchy power chords and other fun stuff. To show my maturity as a musician, I did what no other living guitar player has ever done: I turned the solo over to the keys. We had originally had me doing all the cephalopodic noodling around while he did the bass pedal line on grand piano, but that wasn't working well for either of us. The bass pedal - transcribed up a couple of octaves - sounds pretty good on the guitar, and the solo works best as written, so he plays that with the pipe organ. Our only alteration to the short form presented in the sheet music is to repeat a "verse" at the end to beef it up a tiny wee bit and a tag ending borrowed off of ol' Joey S. Bach. The organ part already eludes so much towards the Toccata & Fugue in Dm BWV 565, that the bit fits in nicely and provides a good ending to the tune.
I had originally opened up the tune with a solo on the melody for Ye Mar'ners All, but some quick experimentation found a better home for that jammed into Jack Sparrow. It fits thematically as well, for the song is alternately titled A Jug of This and Jack is definitely the type to "pop yer nose in a jug o' this!" The key lined up nicely as well - although the time signatures differ, with Jack in 3/4 and a Jug in 5/4. We haven't done a lot with it yet, but it shows promise. Deb's not impressed as Justin was playing the same two bars for most of it, which got on her nerves and called the festivities to a halt. We've since corrected that, although Justin will have to learn the variations that he plays for the opening, and then we'll have to go from there.
The schedule for the year is going to be tentative at best, although there will only be six to eight events. I'm still negotiating the details. The only other definite day to reserve is May 26th for a musical extravaganza (bring yer own acoustic instruments.)
So, if I didn't get the schedule done, what exactly did I do with a whole week off of work? Certainly not updates here - I was actually online a rather minimal amount of time. I did manage to repurpose myMySpace "Top Friends" to center around music - most of the folks I had on there also had a page for their band. So, lots of bands, particularly prog or power metal. I still did retain some of the old order - the first five or six bands are actually folks I know personally, ranked by how long I've known them.
I added a handful of small sections on to the piratey story, although I've definitely fallen behind in posting the finished bits for review.
I've been working on some songs with a keyboard player - somewhat of a first for me. True, back in Vision, Chris Walsh had keyboards, so the three of us (Todd Allen, guitar) often noodled around on them, but not at the same time as playing a song. Sort of. My live debut included a keyboard player, but that was more me fumbling around in surprise at finding the guitar-bass-drum trio supplemented by said keyboardist and two jazz vocalists and the percussionist that did Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Anyway, Justin and I worked on a fairly basic arrangement of The Kraken from Pie Rats of the Carob Bean II: The Monkees Strike Back. Justin handles the low-end on grand piano and I get the rest, doing crunchy power chords and other fun stuff. To show my maturity as a musician, I did what no other living guitar player has ever done: I turned the solo over to the keys. We had originally had me doing all the cephalopodic noodling around while he did the bass pedal line on grand piano, but that wasn't working well for either of us. The bass pedal - transcribed up a couple of octaves - sounds pretty good on the guitar, and the solo works best as written, so he plays that with the pipe organ. Our only alteration to the short form presented in the sheet music is to repeat a "verse" at the end to beef it up a tiny wee bit and a tag ending borrowed off of ol' Joey S. Bach. The organ part already eludes so much towards the Toccata & Fugue in Dm BWV 565, that the bit fits in nicely and provides a good ending to the tune.
I had originally opened up the tune with a solo on the melody for Ye Mar'ners All, but some quick experimentation found a better home for that jammed into Jack Sparrow. It fits thematically as well, for the song is alternately titled A Jug of This and Jack is definitely the type to "pop yer nose in a jug o' this!" The key lined up nicely as well - although the time signatures differ, with Jack in 3/4 and a Jug in 5/4. We haven't done a lot with it yet, but it shows promise. Deb's not impressed as Justin was playing the same two bars for most of it, which got on her nerves and called the festivities to a halt. We've since corrected that, although Justin will have to learn the variations that he plays for the opening, and then we'll have to go from there.
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-03 06:46 pm (UTC)Wish I lived closer. I'd love to attend some of the gatherings, and I'd really like to hear you and Justin making music together. Adding the Dm sounds likes pure genius to me!
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-03 07:32 pm (UTC)There was talk (several times) last year about getting a bunch of people together (from the west coast and Kentucky, at least) for one of the days - so if there's a time that would theoretically be better for you to make the long trip, let me know. I've got my heart set on a couple of dates here and there, but even most of the ones I have in mind are fairly flexible.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-04 07:50 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-01-04 12:20 pm (UTC)Saturday, August 4: Run-what-ya-brung Cookout (bring food & drinks to cover however many people you bring; everything gets pooled together and grilled and served) - this coincides with the opening of Musikfest
Monday, September 3 - Labor Day Cookout
Sunday, September 23 - Hawkwatch
The hawkwatches will be a bit different this year - I'm not scheduling them to coincide with a dinner, so it may be you're-on-your-own to eat, or maybe everyone will go in for pizza or whatever. The emphasis will be on doing hawkwatching, I just wanted to include it for completions sake. =)