Tomorrow we drive up to Sewanee TN to play a few shows, one of which is with their orchestra. I’m still not so comfortable with the idea of many musicians with skill levels much higher than my own, playing our music, but it’s a lot of fun! Our new sub has committed to a six month period of playing with us, and that has eased a lot of anxiety. This week we were lucky enough to bring in another world class session guy to cut a few tracks. He was one of the most kind people I have ever been around. Phrases like “I’m willing to work really hard to get this”, and I just want you to fall in love with the part” were heard from the studio monitors. I’m comparing notes of world class studio players and learning some of their similarities. For starters non of them have had egos. We are on world class dude number four in this process and they have all been attitude free. They also all have been able to make a detailed personal chart of the selected tune with one listen through. Typically it’s one listen through to make a chart, one listen through to prepare ideas, and then they are ready to record. Also of note they don’t have any of the issues that people of my skill level struggle with, timing, intonation, etc.. It’s not a question of what is the best take, best referring to execution. It’s here are three fantastic, unbelievable, perfectly executed takes, which is the one you love the most. A song may take 20-30 min. tops and then it’s on to the next one. The process has been an eye opener of the skill level of real genius.
On the home front, kiddo one scored two baskets last week, and kiddo two swallowed some magnets. Ah the life.
We sold a song!… to the largest search engine company (wonder who that could be) In the contract it states that we can’t advertise or disclose the name of the buyer. But a nice milestone non the less..
Upcoming gigs include performances with some great orchestras, and we have 19 weddings booked for the year. It’s crazy.
I entered this contest and won second place the other day.
I think I’m the worlds worst at updating. This site for me needs to become a diary more than a blog. I’ve had to pull up the Google calendar just to remember life. And it seems to be moving faster every year. Maybe a back half review of 2010 would be appropriate.
Since my summer update lots of changes have happened. We did play with the ASO and it was very eye opening to me from a business standpoint. Of course to stand on that stage knowing some of the worlds best were backing you up was unbelievable. They were super nice too. I had heard that professional orchestras could be a bit stuffy, but I never felt that during any moment of the day. And since the performance we have been brainstorming on ways to collaborate with more orchestras. The conductor that was instrumental in getting charts written and giving us guidance has teamed up to form a separate booking company specializing in orchestra performance. In 2011, we should play with 3-5 orchestras across the U.S. We hope to triple that number for the 2012 season. It’s always intriguing how many niche things can be done to eak out a living in music.
On a super sad note, our violin player decided shortly after our orchestra performance to step down. I have been greatly affected by this. We tried for several months to address her needs, but with no avail. We haven’t made a formal announcement, and to be honest for several months I wasn’t sure if we were going to continue. We had 25-30 obligations left for the year, and it was a crazy time finding subs to fill the dates. On one run to GA for the week, out of desperation, we took a drummer instead of a violin. I miss her terribly, but we all want to honor her decision. And God has been very gracious. We have been playing with a really great sub for the last few months, and have recently started an audition process that has turned up a few other great players.
Other notable appearances for 2010 included performing a wedding with Sara Evans, several out of state runs including, Multiple TX,FL,GA,VA trips. Lots of weddings and corporate events, television Christmas shows, etc. One of my favorites was playing the Christmas eve services at a huge church in town. There were 9 services over 3 days. 25 thousand guest!
This year has taught me the greatest gig can’t replace time missed with my family. I felt the road in 2010. It doesn’t just leave you when you get home. It takes little pieces of you.
We just got over a festival stint…. Some traveling to Texas and Missouri along the way…The funny thing about festivals….The reward for being the headliner is you’re never going to play the festival again….They want a new headliner every year, so you can play a few acts before the headliner, and they will have you back next year…but don’t be the headliner if you want a return slot:)
Next Thursday we play with our state symphony the ASO…I’m pretty pumped and nervous…It’s been a real learning experience…Whole different ballgame of people and personalities…I was told a long time ago the music industry is 10% music and 90% dealing with people…It’s so true…I try to teach this concept to students…Profecency on your instrument alone does not equal success in the industry. This opportunity could open a whole other realm of doors for the band…Good stuff…
We’ve been writing a lot lately….We’re trying a whole new format…It could backfire totally….but I think for the longevity of the group we have to experiment….There is a financial ceiling with our current acoustic format….We’re trying to expand our audience base and I sure hope it works…In addition, It selfishly allows for me to go back to some instrument formats that are much more comfortable to me.
I’m up late finishing some extra practice for our first performance with a symphony. On Wednesday night after Easter church rehearsal, I am driving with the band up to Huntsville. Thursday morning will be spent visiting some high schools for performance/lecture stuff. There will be some short radio interviews, and our one rehearsal with the 55 piece orchestra that evening. We are very excited to have our songs arranged by a Grammy nominated guy from Nashville. He is BIG TIME….Saturday we will be driving back and Headlining another festival a couple hours away. I’m a little nervous about having a new bass player,(Tim and his wife are expecting twins any day, he will be out for some months) but the new guy is a great music reader and Tim wrote out all his parts……
Last week we tracked two new tunes…It was way more fun this time, partly because of going in prepared, and partly because of some friends that came to help out…We had a small choir, cello, and trumpet player cut some tracks…and of course my favorite musician in the world Antwane Mcmullin cut percussion. We as a band are going to be focusing a great deal of time on shaping our sound for radio formatting. We’re hoping this year is a big one for us creatively…
On Saturday my good friend Lee and I went downtown to experiment with an idea. We wanted to interview some important people in the local music community and give them the interview to aid in their endeavours. First up was my good friend Keith. I’m putting the video below. Lee really did all the work…I just showed up…
On a crazy side note…I got a call from Doyle Dykes on Friday. We played a show with his daughter Haley a few months back. Doyle is a monster guitar player, and it was such a pleasure that he took the time to speak with me. What a guy!
Finally, a praise report. The band made way more money than we thought. The members didn’t, but the band did….that meant crazy tax responsibility on each of us, because of the way an L.L.C is set up. My family was concerned, but our accountant gave us a very favorable report today that could only be God’s hand on my life. I’m very grateful.
On Thursday the band was selected to perform at the APCA national convention in Atlanta. APCA is an organization that promotes entertainment to colleges (and the military at this conference) thorough the country. The band had been selected as a national finalist in the band of the year award, so we were excited to showcase. It’s taken me a few years to get over the artistic integrity thing and learn to play for the specific audience. (Hence playing a lot of covers, and not a lot of originals) APCA gave a ten minute showcase were you perform for many of the campus entertainment buyers in the country. It’s not just music either, there are comedians, self help specialist, wild animals, (I touched an alligator)…We were the third act of the night. First up was Mr. Belding of Saved By the Bell fame, followed by Joey from Full House, then us…After the performance you go down to the exhibit hall and meet and greet with the kids. The next day, each acts booking representative meets with the schools reps…If enough schools like the act, they can start what’s called block booking. This process hopefully results in the act having multiple daily gigs in specific parts of the country. The schools get the act for a cheaper rate if they can offer more gigs. It’s an interesting process. We hope to book 20-30 gigs from that ten minute showcase. It’s high stakes, because every act is top notch and each have their own impressive resume……We then drove back to Birmingham at 2 A.M…..
At 11 we met back at our silver 12 passenger van and made the four hour drive to Memphis and the Folk Alliance 2010 conference. This is a complete shift from APCA. FA is a who’s who of artist, festival bookers, labels, promoters, manufactures. It takes place over a week long period in a large hotel/conference center. Last year we we’re literally playing in the elevator trying to be discovered. We had no idea what to expect. There are hundreds of artist from all over the world that will do anything to be noticed. This year we were given an official showcase spot. The twenty minute spot was also recorded for broadcast on XM and some big live music website. In the same night we had two other showcases….One was off of Beale Street and the other in a hotel room late in the evening. The top three floors of the hotel are reserved for room showcases. An artist can pay for a twenty minute spot in a room, and hope that some passer by is the key to a gig/business opportunity. The hallways are completely flooded and one room could have some person you’ve never heard of…the next room could be a Grammy winner…Also you could be sitting next to some mega famous person and have no idea who they are until glancing down at their name tag. (I was feeling the car lag of the day, and after our third showcase (after midnight) some lady was hurriedly asking questions about the band asking for records, and how we got together. I totally was being stupid and making jokes up for answers….I afterwards learned she is one of the wealthiest people in America and builds large amphitheaters across the county…She then goes around the U.S. and looks for good (not famous) music to put in her venues….GET YOUR HEAD BACK ON BUDDY!) As a side note….The Sacred Steel players are a group of African American pedal steel players from around the country. They are part of a denomitation of churches were the pedal steel run through distortion and played like Hendrix has the importance of the piano in a Baptist Church. Robert Randolph came out of this denomination. I’ve been following these guys for over ten years. This year many of the most prominent players accepted an invitation from FA and came to the conference. As soon as we got off the van, I walked into the hotel and three of my favorite players, the Campbell brothers, and Aubrey Ghent were standing right there. I about freaked……Later that evening Calvin Cooke, one of the greats was on the elevator. I invited him to our showcase, and he came!…It meant the world to me…We stayed up super late mingling, then got up at seven Sat. morning to drive back to B’ham for a wedding….I thought the craziness was about to return to normal, when the first person to sit in the pew across from where we were playing was the Governor…..
Life is moving at such a pace that I often look at the gig dates to get my bearings…In a nut shell….Disney was fantastic…The Decatur GA Beer festival was interesting to say the least…(Got to meet Chris Smither…One of my all time favorite blues guys)…Drove to Kentucky and Texas for college showcases….The Texas trip was an all nighter after a local gig…We just finished working with a marketing group from a local university. They made a semester project out of getting more college exposure for the band….The climax was inviting a bunch of local university SGA kids to a campus gig….It was a success…This is my crunch time week for work stuff…Two recitals….Christmas program…end of semester stuff..etc…A. B. and I worked on a caribbean style tune today. B. was telling us all about the Bela Fleck concert she went to last night…..I have been loving my new guitar a Collings C-10…It’s pretty great…I’m having to part with my Goodall though…Every question that pops up from a ebayer sends pains through me…I’ve had a lot of memories with that guitar…Love the new J. Mayer disc…That guy has talent…Working on my swing guitar….Bob Taylor is giving me some inspiration…Looking forward to spending time with my kiddos…
Most of this morning was preparing for Sunday church responsibilities. We’re very fortunate to have the guy that cuts all our band percussion parts coming in to play drums. He is my favorite musician. I really mean that. He is so great….
This afternoon, I drove to get the van, and then off to A.’s house for rehearsal. We worked out another new tune today. It’s super cool. Then, it was off to play a wedding. The people were crazy! They had the best time dancing and having fun. Many of the guest were from the arts community. T. got his prius stuck in the mud on the way out, which delayed out leaving about an hour. We finally hooked up a tow rope to the van and got it free. The band gets to pay for my dry cleaning.
Video of the day…This guy was at the wedding today..
This morning was a continuation of yard month. I borrowed the neighbors shovel and G. and I dug up two huge bushes. Then, we got mulch and filled in the two holes. Next, it was edge, and mow time….It ended up being a good sense of accomplishment. Kiddo #1 and I then charged up his RC monster truck, and jumped skateboard ramps in the driveway. After lunch, it was off to band practice. We were minus the fiddle today, but the three of us got a lot done. I’m feeling more in the groove of things with pre-production. In two hours A. and I finished up the arranging of one tune. We then worked with T. on the bass part of another new tune. Once we have a skeleton song written…meaning structure, vocal melody, etc…. it’s on to the individual instruments….The bass is usually the first one. I think we finished a good part in an hour or so…After all the parts are written, we record them on A.’s computer and listen to rough tracks for a month or so. After changes are made and we’re happy with the tune, we go and record it for real. We’re toying with doing a 4 song e.p. in a couple months. A. and his wife then came over for desert. We had a lovely time….
In other news, the string endorsement we got put us on their website. I’m pretty honored….www.daddario.com/DaddarioArtistDetails.Page?ActiveID=2049&ArtistId=40409……..
