Friday 16 May 2008
Back after a long hiatus: a new job, a new album underway, and a visit to San Francisco
A quick summary of an eventful season:
I’m settled into my new position as web maintainer for Evergreen, an organization focused on environmental education and community-based greening initiatives. It’s a fine bunch of people, and the work feels much more worthwhile than almost anything I did working on the “agency side”.
We’ve been dropping into Don Kerr’s studio every few weekends to record the new Flickershow album - we have ten songs in progress, with vocals, guitar, bass and drums complete on almost all of them and keyboards on about half. I’m currently working on the trumpet arrangement for a recent song called “Mute”. We’ve also played a whole pile of gigs, most notably busking in front of Pages Books on Queen St, and a swell gig for Earth Hour which included an hour-long, completely acoustic songwriters’ circle.
Sean and I spent a few days in San Francisco last month - he was there to attend a couple of different conferences, and we got to visit his sister, her partner and their two black cats (it seems to run in the family). I spent several days walking all over the downtown area, and up to Fort Mason, where I visited the Long Now Foundation’s museum and shop. Spent many hours checking out every sound-related exhibit at the Exploratorium. I came home with far too many books, and a new pair of shoes - my old pair having disintegrated completely after several dozen hills too many.
Much more to come - more musical experiences; several books to discuss; and my obsession with ruins continues.
Friday 23 February 2007
Spacing Wire points out this lovely “concert sauvage” by NYC a capella group Naturally 7, favouring bemused Parisian commuters with a rendition of “In The Air Tonight”. I’m reminded of my first visit to Manhattan a few years ago, when three guys wandered onto our train and started singing a couple of gospel numbers (“It’s gonna rain! It’s gonna rain. Or maybe snow…”) - I’m guessing there’s much more of a tradition of singing on the subway in New York?
Makes me want to do some busking this summer. It struck me, for example, strolling around during last year’s wonderful Nuit Blanche, that it’d be even cooler with street music…
I almost missed this one: Zunior recently released the Our Power Solar Music Compilation as an exclusive download album. It’s a fundraiser for solar power initiatives in Ontario, and has tracks by Sexsmith & Kerr, Steven Page, Snailhouse, Gord Downie and others.
Tags for this entry:
a capella,
busking,
energy,
environment,
music,
paris,
performance,
public space,
subway,
transit,
video
Tuesday 30 April 2002
It’s been an impulsive day. I went out shopping for a mirrored cabinet for the bathroom. A rare item in these parts, it seems: I came up empty-handed.
On the way, however, I happened on an HMV. Now, HMV isn’t my usual haunt for record shopping - I prefer to shop at the little independents - but on a whim I stopped in. For a good while I wandered around from section to section, checking out everything that caught my eye, desperately trying to remember the name of an apparently amazing acoustic guitarist someone recommended. Rather lovely jazzy-bossa-trip-step somethingorother on the store speakers. (Jazzanova, I think?)
I picked up some Prokofiev, since there wasn’t any in my collection yet. Also got the new Sarah Slean album, Night Bugs after hearing bits and pieces on the radio - the harmonies on the poppy closing track, “Bank Accounts”, nearly had me in tears at the listening booth. (So did “L’autre valse d’Amelie” from the Amélie soundtrack, which I must also get sometime.)
Bay station - an older fellow was playing accordion there, something slow and sweet. He seemed even a little surprised when I dropped a loonie in the tray in front of him. Funny: in the days surrounding our move, I was reserved, even distant, shutting myself off from everything while I got my head wrapped around this new lifestyle, living mostly in my head. It feels like I’ve returned, now. I’ve found myself making more contact with people around me, noticing them more, starting up conversations with people panhandling on the street…
(Man! That Sarah Slean tune is still going through my head. And I just realized that one line in the chorus ends with the harmony and main melody a major seventh apart. Yow.)
In the afternoon J came by and we practiced a bit before heading to the Oasis for the weekly open stage. I’d never been there before, and I was immediately impressed - by the comfy surroundings, the smoke-free back room, the diverse tapas menu, the sound, and the diversity of the acts. It was a nice change from the parade of acoustic guitars at other places we’ve been. Oh, there were guitars, including ours, and they made some great sounds in the hands of our fellow musicians. But there were several duos and bands (the stage setup generally includes a drum kit), one woman who sang to prerecorded accompaniment (much better than that makes it sound), and a rather odd fellow who did a sort of stand-up comedy (I had to wonder if it was an act, or whether he was Really Like That). As with any open stage, the acts varied wildly in experience and skill, but regardless, it was always fun.
J and I played two of his: “My Apology” and “Suit Impostor Prophesy”. I played better - miles and miles better - than I’ve ever played on stage before, and stayed fairly relaxed all the way through. Partly, it may have been that I was playing better, but generally, I just wasn’t worried any longer about what everyone might think of us. Before I would have cringed every time I squeaked on a high note or played out of key. Now, I just let it flow - easier now that the music is coming much more from my hands than from thinking about each note. It’s like learning to crawl, then walk, then run.
At this rate, I should be airborne soon. I wonder what that would sound like…
