Monday, February 18, 2013

Tales From The Road #6 - Wicked Faire

I am now home from my second Wicked Faire (first one I was officially performing at).  The weekend of most EPICNESS ... It kicked my ass & I kicked it's ass right back!!

Had a ton of fun the entire weekend & played 12 sets in 3 days on 2 cellos, plus jammed with people, plus sat in w/ This Way to The Egress on a tune ...

Last year was my first Wicked, and it was one of the most amazing weekends of my life ... there were many highlights, but The one that still stands a year later was catching Ego Likeness while being very bouncy & drunk & having that moment of realization "This is Home, These are my People" (Last Wicked Faire was also the first time I started playing with Eli August)

This Wicked Faire was very much the same ... except, in addition to that, I was officially performing in 4 acts - (The Wandering Cellist, Eli August, Psyche Corp, The Rose West), so everything was just non-stop, from the moment I got there Friday (I didn't even have my first actual break until the middle of saturday!!)

I was really enthused by everyone who turned out for my sets - the Lobby show was a perfect way to introduce myself to the con and filled with all the usual geekiness, the Mirabelle Stage featured my full band setup & was well into the drinking hours ... at one point the cello cut out & I did an acappella version of Game of Thrones... Sunday mornings set was probably my favorite... I actually played cello sitting down & when I showed up to play there was suddenly a whole band of people on various instruments Mandolin, Dounbeck, Violin & Clarinet to accompany me... I also had my energy & voice back by this point, and sang some powerful renditions of Scarborough Faire, Moorlough Shore & Rains of Castamere ... it was really inspiring and the reaction I got from everyone was great


The sets with Eli were great too... They just had an amazing energy of fun, and our sound was great live ... huge crowds too ... so far the reaction to the new CD is *very* positive!!  Then there were the Psyche Corp. and The Rose West sets & those all went awesomely... Rose West featured the electric cello (and I had to keep switching pegs b/c of a broken peg all weekend)

Muses Well was nice enough to host my wares!!

Saturday night I did actually get to watch a few people ... got to dance to Platform One & This Way to the Egress before playing my set... there were moments during Saturday where I was asking myself how I was going to make it through the rest of the performances (b/c 12 performances is *very* demanding ... especially the way I play/jump around like a madman during band sets) ... lots of alcohol & 2nd, 3rd & 4th winds were in order...

All in all, it was a weekend of amazingess (and I recorded an EP 2 days before!!)... Now it is time to decompress...

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Tales From The Road #5 - Arisia, Dorian's Parlor & TempleCon Recap

3 weekends, 3 different events!!  That's the way I love to roll!!

It starts with Arisia - the Sci Fi/Fantasy and all things geeky & intellectual convention.  I had 2 shows with Psyche Corporation, and then had time to spend the rest of the con attending all the wonderful panels and jamming with people.  The programming at this panel is really beyond exceptional.  Lots of great entertainment, ranging from a Circus Group & bands to filking & panels on Poly, BDSM, Gender/Sexuality & the the intersection of any of those things within sci-fi, anime, comics, etc., etc.  The other interesting aspect was going to a con, which wasn't particularly oriented around Steampunk and also didn't contain a whole lot of people I know before hand.  The highlight of it for me was getting to jam with Levi Ali.  At one point, the Con Chair asked me for my info & suggested I apply to perform next year... Can't beat that!!

Next up was Dorian's Parlor.  I was Ninja Gigging it here (A term I use when I'm not officially listed on the bill) & was out in the hall making noise all night.  It was a really fun way to do it & oddly similar to busking ... I got to take breaks when I wanted, and interact with people & tailor what I was playing to random passerbys ... I also got to debut my versions of "The Misty Mountains Theme" and "Rains of Castamere" ... The only downside was I missed most of the other acts... it was a really energetic and filled Dorian's ... here are some photos:




And so this past weekend was TempleCon with Psyche Corporation.  TempleCon was also quite fun ... though I missed out on all the gaming and most of the panels this year ... sad to say (It did not help that there were no printed schedules, except on Bulletin Boards with the *tiniest* print)... Our set Friday night was... interesting... there were some very major technical problems with the sound, due to monitor wiring ... It was the worst on-stage sound situation I've ever had in the entire time I was playing, but we trucked on, rocked out & gave it our all & still got to sign a cd or two afterwards :)  The rest of the con was fun, involving some impromptu cello/accordion busking with Magpie of Steampunk Magazine/Combustion Books, and some hanging out with Professor Mark Donnelly.  I also played for the Tea Party, which Prof. Donnelly gave some history (on tea) for, as well as Leanna Renee Hieber (on fans and flirting), which was really a treat.

All in all, it was a good con, and a great 3 weekends!!

Now I get a break, and then Wicked Faire!!  Can't wait!!