You can find my up-to-date FAWM page here:
http://fawm.org/fawmers/emkeev
Song number 9: "White Kids." (mp3) A beatboxing improv generated by us five kids after we were done listening to last Sunday's production of Hometown Heroes. We won the Homie Award for Best Collab - for the Diner Club Christmas album! Then we were ridiculous. And beatboxed. Myself, Andrew, Shane, Erin, and Michael. And it was good. The end.
Song number 10: "Flowers Gotta Grow." (mp3) with Shane Palko. Just a happy little collab. I really like it... it seemed really simple at the time, but something about it is catchy and happy and pleasant on the ol' eardrums.
Song number 11: "Finding My Feet." (mp3) This one's another collab. Joining me are Erin Magnin and Matthew Halley. We wrote and recorded this in two and a half hours. It was really magical. It's a slow tune, employs three-part harmonies and a little guitar strummin' to tell a story about finding one's own feet after disconcerting circumstances.
Song number 12: "Damsel of Distress." A collab with Michael Natrin, which I mentioned in the last post, or the post before. Dulcimer and banjo and a humorous ballad-type thing, in which we switch meters and tempos and all kinds of fun stuff! Will Phil save the damsel, or what?...
Song number 13: "The Underground Spring." O HAI LOOK I WROTE A SONG BY MYSELF! Yeah... this one was tagged as the week three challenge, "big topic." It seems to be about the passage of time, but I'mma be honest with you. The metaphor is a vehicle for me to describe... oh, any number of things regarding God. Overcoming of death. His loving nature. His nourishment. His presence despite appearances. I really love it.
Whew. So I've been busy. But I don't think I'm nearly done writing, even though I'm so near the 14.5 song finish line.
Showing posts with label michael. Show all posts
Showing posts with label michael. Show all posts
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Saturday, January 28, 2012
FAWM 2012!
Here we are again. Another February, another FAWM.
That's February Album Writing Month!
I've completed two FAWMs already. This is my third year writing, and my second year organizing. I've had the distinct pleasure of co-organizing with Michael (Battleshy Youths) (Honey Badgers). We're a well-oiled organizational team. Joining us in the effort so far are Todd Chappelle and Aaron Nathans.
Sometimes, it's a little surreal.
The organizing, I mean.
Do you remember the moment when you grew up and realized you could eat bacon WHENEVER YOU WANTED?
That's kind of like this.
The response is incredible. Very few people I've talked to have said no to FAWM. Seven new Delawareans joined this year along with a few folks I know from Philly, and one of our new Delawareans managed to recruit some folks - without even having started FAWM himself.
It ain't a numbers game, though. I just love to cultivate creativity. People have these kernels and grains of the stuff, and sometimes they let it grow and sometimes they don't. I'll tell you one thing: a garden's a sorry place with just one flower.
Pretty soon, we'll embark. We'll be at the inDEpendence musician network on Monday; they meet at Extreme Pizza once a month for the sole purpose of strengthening Delaware's music community. Then we'll be on Graffiti Radio on Tuesday at 8 pm! Listen online by clicking through to that link. Wednesday, I'm taking off work and writing music all day. ;)
Showcase details forthcoming. Yep yep yep. For more info, check out the website or the facebook page for all the happenin's of FAWM in the Delaware area.
That's February Album Writing Month!
I've completed two FAWMs already. This is my third year writing, and my second year organizing. I've had the distinct pleasure of co-organizing with Michael (Battleshy Youths) (Honey Badgers). We're a well-oiled organizational team. Joining us in the effort so far are Todd Chappelle and Aaron Nathans.
Sometimes, it's a little surreal.
The organizing, I mean.
Do you remember the moment when you grew up and realized you could eat bacon WHENEVER YOU WANTED?
That's kind of like this.
The response is incredible. Very few people I've talked to have said no to FAWM. Seven new Delawareans joined this year along with a few folks I know from Philly, and one of our new Delawareans managed to recruit some folks - without even having started FAWM himself.
It ain't a numbers game, though. I just love to cultivate creativity. People have these kernels and grains of the stuff, and sometimes they let it grow and sometimes they don't. I'll tell you one thing: a garden's a sorry place with just one flower.
Pretty soon, we'll embark. We'll be at the inDEpendence musician network on Monday; they meet at Extreme Pizza once a month for the sole purpose of strengthening Delaware's music community. Then we'll be on Graffiti Radio on Tuesday at 8 pm! Listen online by clicking through to that link. Wednesday, I'm taking off work and writing music all day. ;)
Showcase details forthcoming. Yep yep yep. For more info, check out the website or the facebook page for all the happenin's of FAWM in the Delaware area.
Monday, January 23, 2012
All-local iPod
A year ago, I got a new laptop. It was a total surprise - random birthday present - I'm not really one for material gifts, but you're not gonna look a macbook in the mouth, are you?
I never rebuilt my music library. My iPod, therefore, is still synced to the old laptop, where all the old music is.
The old music library has its issues, though. Over the years and transfers from machine to machine, things had been miscategorized or mislabeled. One of my favorite classical albums somehow got each track separated into its own album folder, making it impossible just to shuffle within the album. Plus, there were artists in there that I didn't really want - except for a few songs here and there, I generally skip past Rammstein and Nine Inch Nails. I'm not entirely sure how they got in there, honestly. Oh, and if you ever studied music history in college, you'll sympathize with this one: fractions of songs. I actually love to listen to the stuff I studied in college, but some of the packages contained CD's that split songs into segments of a minute or less. This made it easy to study, but man, if you want to just listen to the piece - good luck. It also means that when I put my iPod on shuffle, I might get just the middle section of the Introit of Mozart's Requiem (beautiful beautiful beautiful). Similiarly, folks who record short demos or song ideas also have such other fragments floating around their libraries.
Okay, so it's got problems. You get the picture.
Well, this presents me with a few options. I could just put up with it. But that's not really in keeping with my character. I could just go through the library and ditch the stuff I don't want, and try to re categorize everything.
OR... I could re-build. It would take time, and it might be a gradual process, but it would ensure a well-organized library.
I got to thinking, though. If I'm a supporter of local music community, shouldn't I put my money where my mouth is? There's plenty of awesome local musicians, most I've met, some I haven't. I have fond memories associated with these people and these albums. Let's rebuild only the local music.
So, that's my current task. And here's what I've got to work with:
Yeah, it's not a ton, but it's a start!
If you care to read on, I'll list what I've got:
Artist - Album
Ba-Durr! - Demo (Newark punk band, I love these guys!)
Battleshy Youths - Grow (YES! Michael and the gang!)
Matt Brown - My Native Home (Great old-time folk musician, has since left for Chicago.)
Tina Colon - Taken Up (Met her at a young adult Christian conference in Mass, she is in NY.)
John (???) - some kind of a demo wrapped up in sheet music. His facebook page seems to be gone :( (johnsounds??)
Mark Engebretson - Where Does Love Go? (my composition prof at UNCG)
John Francis - The Better Angels Project (Saw him at a house show in Wilmington. I helped fund this CD and got a signed copy in the mail when it came out!)
Glad Hearts - The Oak and the Acorn (Actually have no idea where I got it. I think it was gifted to me by someone who thought of me when they saw their show.)
Matthew Halley - Birdsongs (Just met Matt a few months ago and we've had some awesome jam sessions. I'm so happy this album exists.)
Matthew Halley - some rough demos (this will be worth a fortune one day)
The Look Machine - Above this Clouded Mind (They're not together anymore. But I love this album. Shane was the drummer and he was kind enough to let me have a copy. Listen to a track here.)
Em McKeever - Demo (Graciously recorded by Shane Palko)
Em McKeever - Videogame music (written for Jed's videogame! I just put it on a CD so I could drive around and listen to it.)
Erik Mitchell - All These Words (got it at the Christmas show we played at the Queen!)
Shane Palko - Pretty Good Songs Volume VII (The first one.)
Shane Palko - Going Places (The second one. I think I attended the CD release show for this? It would have been very shortly after meeting him.)
Shane Palko - Songs from Pretoria (Shane's currently back in South Africa releasing his CD all over. And doing research. His blog's here.)
Rainy Day Cacophony - Dirty Words (Met at a Palko Basement show. Tim, I think? Cool guy, was glad to make his acquaintance.)
Jess Ray and the Rag Tag Army (Doesn't seem to have a title and I don't know where it came from! Possibly another gift.)
Rachel Schain - Happy Happy (Yeah, lady singer-songwriters!! Rachel is awesome.)
Victory Shoes (no idea??? I think I got it at a show, possibly Palko show.)
Windowview - Pine Island (Picked this up at an inDEpendence networking event, I believe actually the first one, from a bandmother. :)
Compilations:
A Diner Club Christmas (The Paper Janes, Battleshy Youths, Em McKeever and friends)
Christmas on the Block (WSTW/Graffiti Radio)
I actually don't yet have some of my favorite bands, like The Hundred Acre Woods and Bullbuckers, but I'll fix that soon enough!
I never rebuilt my music library. My iPod, therefore, is still synced to the old laptop, where all the old music is.
The old music library has its issues, though. Over the years and transfers from machine to machine, things had been miscategorized or mislabeled. One of my favorite classical albums somehow got each track separated into its own album folder, making it impossible just to shuffle within the album. Plus, there were artists in there that I didn't really want - except for a few songs here and there, I generally skip past Rammstein and Nine Inch Nails. I'm not entirely sure how they got in there, honestly. Oh, and if you ever studied music history in college, you'll sympathize with this one: fractions of songs. I actually love to listen to the stuff I studied in college, but some of the packages contained CD's that split songs into segments of a minute or less. This made it easy to study, but man, if you want to just listen to the piece - good luck. It also means that when I put my iPod on shuffle, I might get just the middle section of the Introit of Mozart's Requiem (beautiful beautiful beautiful). Similiarly, folks who record short demos or song ideas also have such other fragments floating around their libraries.
Okay, so it's got problems. You get the picture.
Well, this presents me with a few options. I could just put up with it. But that's not really in keeping with my character. I could just go through the library and ditch the stuff I don't want, and try to re categorize everything.
OR... I could re-build. It would take time, and it might be a gradual process, but it would ensure a well-organized library.
I got to thinking, though. If I'm a supporter of local music community, shouldn't I put my money where my mouth is? There's plenty of awesome local musicians, most I've met, some I haven't. I have fond memories associated with these people and these albums. Let's rebuild only the local music.
So, that's my current task. And here's what I've got to work with:
Yeah, it's not a ton, but it's a start!
If you care to read on, I'll list what I've got:
Artist - Album
Ba-Durr! - Demo (Newark punk band, I love these guys!)
Battleshy Youths - Grow (YES! Michael and the gang!)
Matt Brown - My Native Home (Great old-time folk musician, has since left for Chicago.)
Tina Colon - Taken Up (Met her at a young adult Christian conference in Mass, she is in NY.)
John (???) - some kind of a demo wrapped up in sheet music. His facebook page seems to be gone :( (johnsounds??)
Mark Engebretson - Where Does Love Go? (my composition prof at UNCG)
John Francis - The Better Angels Project (Saw him at a house show in Wilmington. I helped fund this CD and got a signed copy in the mail when it came out!)
Glad Hearts - The Oak and the Acorn (Actually have no idea where I got it. I think it was gifted to me by someone who thought of me when they saw their show.)
Matthew Halley - Birdsongs (Just met Matt a few months ago and we've had some awesome jam sessions. I'm so happy this album exists.)
Matthew Halley - some rough demos (this will be worth a fortune one day)
The Look Machine - Above this Clouded Mind (They're not together anymore. But I love this album. Shane was the drummer and he was kind enough to let me have a copy. Listen to a track here.)
Em McKeever - Demo (Graciously recorded by Shane Palko)
Em McKeever - Videogame music (written for Jed's videogame! I just put it on a CD so I could drive around and listen to it.)
Erik Mitchell - All These Words (got it at the Christmas show we played at the Queen!)
Shane Palko - Pretty Good Songs Volume VII (The first one.)
Shane Palko - Going Places (The second one. I think I attended the CD release show for this? It would have been very shortly after meeting him.)
Shane Palko - Songs from Pretoria (Shane's currently back in South Africa releasing his CD all over. And doing research. His blog's here.)
Rainy Day Cacophony - Dirty Words (Met at a Palko Basement show. Tim, I think? Cool guy, was glad to make his acquaintance.)
Jess Ray and the Rag Tag Army (Doesn't seem to have a title and I don't know where it came from! Possibly another gift.)
Rachel Schain - Happy Happy (Yeah, lady singer-songwriters!! Rachel is awesome.)
Victory Shoes (no idea??? I think I got it at a show, possibly Palko show.)
Windowview - Pine Island (Picked this up at an inDEpendence networking event, I believe actually the first one, from a bandmother. :)
Compilations:
A Diner Club Christmas (The Paper Janes, Battleshy Youths, Em McKeever and friends)
Christmas on the Block (WSTW/Graffiti Radio)
I actually don't yet have some of my favorite bands, like The Hundred Acre Woods and Bullbuckers, but I'll fix that soon enough!
Friday, December 2, 2011
"A Diner Club Christmas": radio, album, shoshosho
I cram so much into my one little life. Certain aspects of this are admirable, then... others are stupid.
For example, the past week. Jam-packed each night of the week, including Sunday. Now when it's Friday night, everyone else is out and I'm home too tired to move from the space-heated recliner corner.
And I really don't mind that one bit. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Anyway, there's this supergroup of us: the Paper Janes (Shane and Jess), Battleshy Youths (Michael, and Andrew, and Mitch) slash the Honey Badgers (Erin with Michael), and myself. We recorded the Christmas album "A Diner Club Christmas," which arrived on Monday, and we promptly began selling them to everyone we know, and will continue to do so awhile (please don't hesitate to comment or contact me if you want a copy!). I have already signed a few copies for co-workers. ^^
Okay. It's not like I've never played music with people before, and it's not like I'm opposed to it. I'm known to appear at many formal and informal jam sessions, as whim dictates. I fulfilled all my small ensemble requirements in college. To be blunt, though: I chose guitar so that I would not have to rely on anyone other than myself. I am my own one-woman band. I like the independence. (Which is probably why I am still single, and pretty happy being just that.)
Despite my hermit-like inclinations, playing with this group has been pretty delightful. Not that we have a name or anything.
Sunday we were on Hometown Heroes. I can't say enough good things about Mark Rogers, who invited us to be on the show. Hometown Heroes is run by WSTW out of Wilmington. Being in the studio is kind of magical. I've been in radio stations before, and the magic never really wears off. It's tingly, it gets under your skin, it tickles. You're stuck in an eternal grin. The half-hour in the studio really flew by, sadly, but there IS a podcast available!
For example, the past week. Jam-packed each night of the week, including Sunday. Now when it's Friday night, everyone else is out and I'm home too tired to move from the space-heated recliner corner.
And I really don't mind that one bit. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Anyway, there's this supergroup of us: the Paper Janes (Shane and Jess), Battleshy Youths (Michael, and Andrew, and Mitch) slash the Honey Badgers (Erin with Michael), and myself. We recorded the Christmas album "A Diner Club Christmas," which arrived on Monday, and we promptly began selling them to everyone we know, and will continue to do so awhile (please don't hesitate to comment or contact me if you want a copy!). I have already signed a few copies for co-workers. ^^
Okay. It's not like I've never played music with people before, and it's not like I'm opposed to it. I'm known to appear at many formal and informal jam sessions, as whim dictates. I fulfilled all my small ensemble requirements in college. To be blunt, though: I chose guitar so that I would not have to rely on anyone other than myself. I am my own one-woman band. I like the independence. (Which is probably why I am still single, and pretty happy being just that.)
Despite my hermit-like inclinations, playing with this group has been pretty delightful. Not that we have a name or anything.
Sunday we were on Hometown Heroes. I can't say enough good things about Mark Rogers, who invited us to be on the show. Hometown Heroes is run by WSTW out of Wilmington. Being in the studio is kind of magical. I've been in radio stations before, and the magic never really wears off. It's tingly, it gets under your skin, it tickles. You're stuck in an eternal grin. The half-hour in the studio really flew by, sadly, but there IS a podcast available!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
November madness
The madness never really stops!
So. What's going on.
I reckon we'll probably have to practice or something ridiculous like that...!
I think we'll be featuring some of our Christmas tunes from the album, which has been all mastered up and is totally awesome-sounding. Really, seriously. A great product from a great time which was started by a great vision.
For now, I run, for I actually did not have time to blog this evening but oh well. :3
So. What's going on.
- Playing the Gathering Place at Klondike Kate's tonight
- Adventuring out with Michael tomorrow for to see and play at an open mic at the Steel City Coffeehouse in Phoenixville, PA (and seeing superfan Cara!)
- Adventuring further on my own this weekend for dancing, dancing, musicking at Head for the Hills; I don't count my ducks before they hatch but I'm hoping to have some cool video to show you afterwards so that you can all be jealous that I had so much fun and got to make so many new friends. But I am really terrible at taking videos/photos of anything I do because I would rather be enjoying myself in the moment.
- Announced today: our supergroup dealiebobber (myself, Paper Janes, Battleshy Youths, ???) will be playing at the Queen, downstairs (!) on Thursday, December 1. Tickets are ON SALE! :) Come out and see us.
I reckon we'll probably have to practice or something ridiculous like that...!
I think we'll be featuring some of our Christmas tunes from the album, which has been all mastered up and is totally awesome-sounding. Really, seriously. A great product from a great time which was started by a great vision.
For now, I run, for I actually did not have time to blog this evening but oh well. :3
Sunday, September 4, 2011
And the rest of August went something like this.
Strawberry ice cream flat root beer float.
Both ingredients are remnants of social gatherings I've had here at my bachelorette pad, and there's no decent way to get rid of them... so I've merely deferred to the indecent methods.
Speaking of indecent, hellooooooooooo not updating my blog for a month.
Here, before you read on, click "play" on this song I wrote. Then you can listen and read at once. It'll be magical.
Both ingredients are remnants of social gatherings I've had here at my bachelorette pad, and there's no decent way to get rid of them... so I've merely deferred to the indecent methods.
Speaking of indecent, hellooooooooooo not updating my blog for a month.
Here, before you read on, click "play" on this song I wrote. Then you can listen and read at once. It'll be magical.
Friday, May 27, 2011
So this is cool - I'm on a podcast?
Remember that set I said I kinda accidentally played last Thursday at Mojo Main?
Apparently you can listen to it here: GraffitiRadio.com
Normally I really don't enjoy listening to myself, but I'm a minute or two into the first song and... it just sounds like I'm having a great time. Yeah, I'm making mistakes because it's Michael's guitar and I don't normally play steel string and I couldn't adjust the strap because it was too difficult and unfortunately all my guitar-playing friends are giants compared to me and I was getting over a cold so my vox mess up but... FUN!!!
The setlist is comprised of:
5 Stages of Infatuation,
The Horseshoe Crab Song,
"the war song" (no good title),
Automatic Toilet Song,
and Half-Decent (with Shane on drums)
...and COFFAY!
Anyway, the reason you can listen to this recording is because Graffiti Radio set up the show and was broadcasting it live. So I guess when you can do that sort of thing, it makes sense to record what you're broadcasting and put it up as a podcast. Huge big shoutout to Graffiti Radio for letting me go on - you folks are completely awesome!!! And thanks to Michael for being the ninja go-between-suggestion-guy.
If you've got a couple seconds, also listen to the other sets - folks did a great job that night!
Apparently you can listen to it here: GraffitiRadio.com
Normally I really don't enjoy listening to myself, but I'm a minute or two into the first song and... it just sounds like I'm having a great time. Yeah, I'm making mistakes because it's Michael's guitar and I don't normally play steel string and I couldn't adjust the strap because it was too difficult and unfortunately all my guitar-playing friends are giants compared to me and I was getting over a cold so my vox mess up but... FUN!!!
The setlist is comprised of:
5 Stages of Infatuation,
The Horseshoe Crab Song,
"the war song" (no good title),
Automatic Toilet Song,
and Half-Decent (with Shane on drums)
...and COFFAY!
Anyway, the reason you can listen to this recording is because Graffiti Radio set up the show and was broadcasting it live. So I guess when you can do that sort of thing, it makes sense to record what you're broadcasting and put it up as a podcast. Huge big shoutout to Graffiti Radio for letting me go on - you folks are completely awesome!!! And thanks to Michael for being the ninja go-between-suggestion-guy.
If you've got a couple seconds, also listen to the other sets - folks did a great job that night!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Whoosh!
The last four days were a whirlwind. In fact, life from this point on until late August is going to be a complete cyclone.
(from toothpastefordinner.com)
A damselfly just landed next to me! So pretty. I'm outside enjoying my porch. It would be a much nicer porch if I had a couple beers and some friends over. Instead, I'm blogging and eating chocolate. Whatever.
Anyway, enough about domesticity. Back to the adventure! Because, as we all know, there is no adventure in domesticity. Which is something that has rather been affecting me in not a good way. Twice in the last week, I've had to truncate adventures due to my nice domestic lifestyle of having a job and a house to take care of.
RARGH
But anyway. I truly am grateful for what I have. Which is chocolate. And a blog.
OKAY, musics!
Thursday, I grabbed a five-song set at Mojo Main, rather accidentally, by which I mean, I didn't mean to. By which I mean, I showed up to hear the Paper Janes and Battleshy Youths and all of a sudden I'm onstage killing time until Glen shows up to drum for the Janes. Thanks to Michael for sneaking that in, all ninja-like, and for letting me borrer his guitar.
Friday, I show back up at Mojo to much suspicion. "Weren't you here last night??" "Yeah, I stayed overnight and ate something I found on the floor for breakfast." Anyway, that was fun. I like matinees at Mojo Main. This time, there were even some people there! Afterward, I got to scootch down Main Street to hear the Paper Janes play in the dark at Central Perk. ^^ Seriously, more shows should be played during power outages, just sayin'.
Saturday, down to the Dupont Nature Center for Peace, Love, and Horseshoe Crabs 2011. Shane was gracious enough to accompany me on the djembe. (He also helped to put a dent in the buffet table, which I think was much appreciated since they had WAY TOO MUCH!.) I missed the daytime portion of the festivities, but I had an awesome time singin' and playin' and carryin' on at the silent auction/dinner/benefit portion. The assistant superintendent of Lums Pond drafted a team of backup singers & dancers for the Horseshoe Crab song. ^^
Sunday, I actually didn't play anywhere, believe it or not.
Monday was Mojo Main's open mic, again, the best open mic in Newark, DE... I busted out a few songs that I don't ordinarily play. In fact, one I've hardly played at all since I wrote it for FAWM 2010.
And Tuesday was a lovely Palk Basement Show, where Michael and I played a pretty-good rendition of "Peter." I love that song. I really do. I honestly didn't practice at all before we went up. I should consider doing that sometimes. Unfortunately, I had to miss the last band 'cause I was basically a hot mess between feeling miserable in the stomach region, and therefore not having eaten, and then all the other life that was happening and me feeling bad and guilty for things, and I just felt like it would be a better idea for me to go home at that point.
So that's what I've been doing. This is actually my last week of teaching lessons for a month... work is promising to get really rough in the next month, and I'm just taking a little breather so I can focus and do things like... sleep. I do like teaching guitar. I only like teaching under certain circumstances... I've never been enamored with public schools. The idea of bringing homework to grade is so repulsive to me. I'd probably be the best teacher ever, actually.
Work is going just fine. I JUST got the summer concert series ALL booked up as of this week, so I'll start promoting that soon.
I gotta give a shoutout to the community of folks I've got around me right now. There are just a lot of musicians around me with really good spirits. I really am looking forward to seeing what is going to come out of this, 'cause I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.
(from toothpastefordinner.com)
A damselfly just landed next to me! So pretty. I'm outside enjoying my porch. It would be a much nicer porch if I had a couple beers and some friends over. Instead, I'm blogging and eating chocolate. Whatever.
Anyway, enough about domesticity. Back to the adventure! Because, as we all know, there is no adventure in domesticity. Which is something that has rather been affecting me in not a good way. Twice in the last week, I've had to truncate adventures due to my nice domestic lifestyle of having a job and a house to take care of.
RARGH
But anyway. I truly am grateful for what I have. Which is chocolate. And a blog.
OKAY, musics!
Thursday, I grabbed a five-song set at Mojo Main, rather accidentally, by which I mean, I didn't mean to. By which I mean, I showed up to hear the Paper Janes and Battleshy Youths and all of a sudden I'm onstage killing time until Glen shows up to drum for the Janes. Thanks to Michael for sneaking that in, all ninja-like, and for letting me borrer his guitar.
Friday, I show back up at Mojo to much suspicion. "Weren't you here last night??" "Yeah, I stayed overnight and ate something I found on the floor for breakfast." Anyway, that was fun. I like matinees at Mojo Main. This time, there were even some people there! Afterward, I got to scootch down Main Street to hear the Paper Janes play in the dark at Central Perk. ^^ Seriously, more shows should be played during power outages, just sayin'.
Saturday, down to the Dupont Nature Center for Peace, Love, and Horseshoe Crabs 2011. Shane was gracious enough to accompany me on the djembe. (He also helped to put a dent in the buffet table, which I think was much appreciated since they had WAY TOO MUCH!.) I missed the daytime portion of the festivities, but I had an awesome time singin' and playin' and carryin' on at the silent auction/dinner/benefit portion. The assistant superintendent of Lums Pond drafted a team of backup singers & dancers for the Horseshoe Crab song. ^^
Sunday, I actually didn't play anywhere, believe it or not.
Monday was Mojo Main's open mic, again, the best open mic in Newark, DE... I busted out a few songs that I don't ordinarily play. In fact, one I've hardly played at all since I wrote it for FAWM 2010.
And Tuesday was a lovely Palk Basement Show, where Michael and I played a pretty-good rendition of "Peter." I love that song. I really do. I honestly didn't practice at all before we went up. I should consider doing that sometimes. Unfortunately, I had to miss the last band 'cause I was basically a hot mess between feeling miserable in the stomach region, and therefore not having eaten, and then all the other life that was happening and me feeling bad and guilty for things, and I just felt like it would be a better idea for me to go home at that point.
So that's what I've been doing. This is actually my last week of teaching lessons for a month... work is promising to get really rough in the next month, and I'm just taking a little breather so I can focus and do things like... sleep. I do like teaching guitar. I only like teaching under certain circumstances... I've never been enamored with public schools. The idea of bringing homework to grade is so repulsive to me. I'd probably be the best teacher ever, actually.
Work is going just fine. I JUST got the summer concert series ALL booked up as of this week, so I'll start promoting that soon.
I gotta give a shoutout to the community of folks I've got around me right now. There are just a lot of musicians around me with really good spirits. I really am looking forward to seeing what is going to come out of this, 'cause I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Mojo Main's Open Mic
Well, heck with taking time to regroup. We went out to the open mic today. I've never minded doing things on my own, many times preferred it -- but dang, it's also just plain nice to wait your turn in good company.
Michael took this one of me playing one of my new FAWM tunes. I returned the favor by getting his performance of David Ford's "State of the Union" (warning: a couple f-bombs dropped)
That looping stuff is pretty crazy. The idea of amplifying myself with a pickup is still pretty much a novelty for me, so stuff like this just seems so beyond me. I was really impressed by the end where he actually ditches the guitar, almost gets the strap caught on his head in the process, unwinds the mic cord from the stand -- all while singing the last verse. Good stuff.
Mojo's open mic is great. All open mics are a smattering of good to bad, but Mojo Main's tends more toward great to decent. It was a good crowd. They reacted well -- the audience at Mojo Main generally does keep at least one of two ears on the stage, which I think is probably not real typical of open mics that happen in bars. Plus Spanky's got my back with calls for "ONE MORE SONG!!" from behind the bar, on some nights. I haven't really tried any of the others in town, but I also haven't heard any of the other musicians even mention other open mics in town. (It is, however, a small town.)
Hoping to play Arden's open mic later this week. I played there in December and I've been tryin' to get back ever since. Arden's a musician's open mic - meaning folks are listening to you with all available ears because it's a community pooling together for community's sake, and art's sake, instead of musicians plus whoever wanted a beer that night. It's not publicized. They have no need for publicity; my impression is that they already have all the talent they'd ever need, and they're being pretty gracious by allowing non-members to slip in on the program. But I think that's just how they roll. I love Arden since that's my contra-stomping grounds, plus it's a beautiful area tucked away near the city and I love the community they have there. Reminds me a little of Takoma Park, MD, which I loved very much, apart from a little countryside nostalgia. Despite Newark being a college town, there's nothing like Arden in the town proper.
At least not yet.
Michael took this one of me playing one of my new FAWM tunes. I returned the favor by getting his performance of David Ford's "State of the Union" (warning: a couple f-bombs dropped)
That looping stuff is pretty crazy. The idea of amplifying myself with a pickup is still pretty much a novelty for me, so stuff like this just seems so beyond me. I was really impressed by the end where he actually ditches the guitar, almost gets the strap caught on his head in the process, unwinds the mic cord from the stand -- all while singing the last verse. Good stuff.
Mojo's open mic is great. All open mics are a smattering of good to bad, but Mojo Main's tends more toward great to decent. It was a good crowd. They reacted well -- the audience at Mojo Main generally does keep at least one of two ears on the stage, which I think is probably not real typical of open mics that happen in bars. Plus Spanky's got my back with calls for "ONE MORE SONG!!" from behind the bar, on some nights. I haven't really tried any of the others in town, but I also haven't heard any of the other musicians even mention other open mics in town. (It is, however, a small town.)
Hoping to play Arden's open mic later this week. I played there in December and I've been tryin' to get back ever since. Arden's a musician's open mic - meaning folks are listening to you with all available ears because it's a community pooling together for community's sake, and art's sake, instead of musicians plus whoever wanted a beer that night. It's not publicized. They have no need for publicity; my impression is that they already have all the talent they'd ever need, and they're being pretty gracious by allowing non-members to slip in on the program. But I think that's just how they roll. I love Arden since that's my contra-stomping grounds, plus it's a beautiful area tucked away near the city and I love the community they have there. Reminds me a little of Takoma Park, MD, which I loved very much, apart from a little countryside nostalgia. Despite Newark being a college town, there's nothing like Arden in the town proper.
At least not yet.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
FAWM post #8: EPIC WIN (with Michael Natrin) and Valentine's Day
I just love this. I just love this. I can't say how much I freakin' love this. Yeah sure, it's not perfect and I botched a few things, but hey, who gives a crap when you have SO MUCH WIN.
(Hey, check out the rest of Michael's FAWM songs! They're awesome!)
A few short minutes after I saw this for the first time, I stopped spazzing out and headed over to Mojo Main for another fabulous open mic. I was betting on getting a spot near the beginning on account of it was Valentine's Day. It's probably Newark's best open mic. I don't really say things are great unless they really impress me, so rest assured: IT'S GREAT.
And I was right about getting a spot near the beginning, which was good. I thought to myself, hey, self! You could, like, go home if you wanted, and get some sleep!
And then I didn't leave 'till like 1 AM. I have this notion that being a singer-songwriter is pretty much not conducive to sleeping ever. And I am comfortable with this. Except for when it's 8 AM, at which point I am too busy telling myself what an idiot I am for staying out late again.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
FAWM: going after inspiration... with a club.
Michael and I are trying to gather together Delaware (and Delaware-area) songwriters to participate in FAWM, or February Album Writing Month. It's a songwriting challenge; write 1 song every 2 days in February, you end up with 14 songs (about an album's worth).
I managed to complete this challenge last year, and it was amazing. I already had a good pile of songs, but most of my current original repertoire is a direct result of FAWM. The thing that snagged me about FAWM, and the thing that kept me going, was the supportive online community they've built up around it. FAWMers are great -- they come from all different countries and all types of musical backgrounds. They'll listen to your stuff online and give you honest, constructive feedback (if you like).
Online is good, but... I've always been big on community, and I've always been big on music. I don't think we'll ever be sorry we tried to bring together a group of local artists to encourage and hone one another. Nope. Never.
And that's why we're doin' it. Please consider becoming a part of this growing community of artists and songwriters, even if you don't think you can do FAWM.
For more info, check out this site that Michael threw together. Or check us out on facebook!
(Plus, you can watch me through the month of February as I tackle the challenge myself...)
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