Tales From The Road #7 - Upstate with The Rose West & and Back Home with Eli August

So last weekend brought me upstate with The Rose West ... it was a really great weekend ... We journeyed up to the band's in Glens Falls to play at The Hudson River Music Hall.  Hudson River Music Hall is a very awesome venue run by musicians & artists for musicians & artists and was by far the loveliest place to play at.

We got to the venue pretty early (for once), which was really nice, b/c we had time to properly set up (and it was here that things first began to go awry for me) ... during setup it turned out that my 1/4 to 1/8th cable for my cello was crapping out & that I needed a 2nd one for my keyboards ... so we sent a friend to get some cables at the local music store... only it turned the local music store was closed, and he had to stop by Radio Shack & get some very low-quality 1/8th inch cables and then adaptors... yikes!!  Those were so short that I had to actually strap my tuning pedal *to my cello* (it would then later come off when I rocked out too much during The Mechanic)... on top of that, the Keyboards kept disappearing, and the organ pedal was getting all this noise & mucking everything up... add to that the fact that we had worked out the keyboard rig, vocal harmonies & decided I was gonna play accordion on Feria Cinerum 2 days before... it was a recipe for chaos... I trooped through it though, and the rest of the band played awesomely & the crowd was great

Playing Accordion on stage for the first time in my life

That moment when your cello life says "Let's be crazy" & you say "Yeah, let's do this!"

For me, the highlight of the night was seeing Anthime Miller ... A cellist singer-songwriter ... he did a lot of badass covers, and some originals.  It was a really inspiring set!!  I've seen and heard tons of cellists over the years ... very few play as if they are deeply in love with their instrument ... this guy played with heart & style & with the technique of a true bad ass ... I felt like I had simultaneously met a kindred spirit & found someone whose greatness I could aspire to (I even got to try his ancient cello later in the evening ... what a *beautiful* instrument)...

Anthime Miller - Bad Ass Cellist & the highlight of my night

Cello Robare... just doesn't have the same ring to it...

The rest of the weekend involved great conversation & food, and hanging out in the woods by Alex's Folks ... we shot rifles, which was an interesting experience for me (having never held a gun in my life before) ... not something I think I'm likely to fall in love with, but definitely glad to have tried...




So that was last weekend ... this weekend I came back home and played with Eli August for the CD Release... we were originally supposed to play in Massachussetts the night, however the show was cancelled due to hazardous weather, so Alas, it was just New York ...

NYC more than made up for it... Brooklyn Fireproof was where it was at!!  We had a really strong turnout & everyone was dancing, clapping, singing or cheering along ... the band was tight, everyone was having fun ... Baroque & Hungry opened & were amazing fun as usual... I started some clapping mayhem during their set (assisted by Robare) ... I started some clapping mayhem during our set (again assisted by Robare) ... B&H joined us for a song during our set, with great affect ... So many of the Steampunk Family came out ... proceeds went to the NY 19th Century Society's educational programming (who helped sponsor the event) ... Through my Ninja Cam, I learned that I can play a set drunk & without monitors & still play well (Important things to know)... all in all, a really fun & *amazing* night

Some pics from the show (taken by a friend):

Baroque & Hungry joined us for the Behemoth version of Eli August & The Abandoned Buildings

You can't tell, but I was making a <3 symbol w/ my hands...

Here's some photos from the rehearsal that preceded the show:

I missed Alex in this one... he was probably drinking anyway...

Robare playing accordion while Mell writes out lyrics for Eli

Catch ya on the road!!

Tales From The Road #4 - NERFA Recap

This past weekend was a weekend FULL of awesomeness I have not experienced in a *long* time.

I was up at a folk convention called NERFA, with Eli August & The Abandoned Buildings.

It was like being a little kid in a room full of toys ...

Full of musicians jamming everywhere, showcases, cool people, DJs, promoters, great panels, great vendors ... it was just non-stop talking, jamming, etc.

I ran into some folks I knew from the NY scene - Allison Tartalia, Anna Dagmar, Carolann Solabello, and Laura Joy (who I met *years* ago at a random gig in Yonkers ... the same gig where I first met the guys from The Rose West who were then called Tryptic) ... I also ran into the folks from BOBTOWN, who I had met just a week ago & got to meet Madalyn Sklar of GoGirlsMusic ... Rob of EA & Rob of ilyAIMY had a bonding moment over Coheed & Cambria

I was playing mostly with Eli August, but also joined Allison Tartalia for an instrumental set, after she came down with laryngitis

There were also a ton of cellists up their with their respective bands ... think there were 10 of us in total!! (I did not meet everyone this year, but there is talk of a Collective Cello Jam/Showcase next year!! I *can't wait* for that!!)

Didn't take too many pictures at this (Mell of The Abandoned Buildings took some more...) but here's a few:

The Army of Basses!!

Sleeping Mell

Full band shot taken by ilyAIMY

The sign outside one of the showcases...

Playing some music in the Lobby

Late night Cello Jam - featuring Kristen Jones of ilyAIMY, and Katie Chambers of Victoria Vox

A moment of humor

Robare playing some guitar

General Thoughts/Reflections:

LOTS of people from Philly & NYC area

Met a few folks from Nova Scotia

HARP!! (though we didn't get to Jam)

NO SLEEP

I LOVE JAMMING

The Sound in the Main showcase room was *amazing* ... the setup actually had depth to it & was *so clear*

Panels were rather cool

EPIC

I need to learn more fiddle tunes

We stayed at a Dude Ranch

Cool or interesting Bands:

ilyAIMY

BOBTOWN

Rick Drost

Deni Bonet

Rorie Kelly

(Many More...)

Bands with Cello
Eli August & The Abandoned Buildings
Miles to Dayton
Putnam Heights
Victoria Vox
ilyAIMY
(There's more too...)

Writing Music

I was rewatching "A Year & A Half In the Life of Metallica" last night ...

It's so interesting watching things multiple times ... particularly now that I've had the experience of playing frequent gigs & writing songs & have a bit more maturity and self-awareness to go along with it.  I can watch the vids. with more understanding and less romanticisation (while still getting the inspiration from them) ... anyway, at one point Kirk & Lars & Jason are talking about the songwriting process & explaining riff tapes ... you know, when you're on tour you record riffs at 3 in the morning or whenever on whatever instrument ... (which we now do to cell phones half the time)... It got me thinking about my own writing process...

I tend to write acoustically a lot (usually more as a default than on purpose), and I sort of expect a song to just come out on the spot & be amazing a lot of the time... I end up rejecting a lot of ideas, a lot of riffs ... a lot of things that sound "whatever" acoustic sound worlds different & more exciting when you plug in and put some gain on, or fuck with the sound a little bit.  This sort of judgemental approach in early stage writing is really not a good thing ... guess how many songs I've written like this ... wait for it?  None.

What does work though is when I just jam & record & loop and get excited & don't necessarily expect perfection, but instead follow things where they go ... even then I get stuck at times, but that's how it's got to work ... you just flow first, and then you can be all cerebral and analytical after (at least that's how it goes for me) ...

On top of that, I tend to write best when I'm practicing 3 hours a day & watching vids & listening to cool music & messing around on different instruments ... in short, having fun (through working).

It's good to keep this all in mind ... On a not so positive note ... My hard drive just died, and I've probably lost everything I've written for the last year or two (most of it anyway) ... back to the chopping board!

Tales From The Subway #1

It's been months, but I've finally started playing in the subways again.  it feels really nice to get back to it.  It's amazing how much time of day & location really influence the experience.  My overall favorite spot to play so far has been Union Square - I feel like there's always a great mix of people there who get into the music.


It's been a bit slower getting back into it, but also, very refreshing ... It's very interesting for me to see how I've developed different music over the last year or two, and how I've something I did a year or two ago & added a new twist to it... it's also interesting to see how everything get's faster & faster the longer I play it (sometimes that's good ... sometimes not so much) ... a lot of the time my compositional ideas come from playing in the subway too (I'd say most of them really...)

Take this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExR8dWkb6pc&feature=plcp - I do all the same stuff, but now I have the loop station drone under it & I add a middle eastern sounding section influenced by Gladiator to it

The truly great thing about the subway though is the people you run into - the old friends, the kids, the people whose day you made, the people who dance as you walk by, the whackos, everyone...

I hope to be sharing some of *those* stories in the near future!

Experiences at the Cello Madness Congress NYC Pt.1

2 nights of the last 2 weeks were really special for me. Cello Joe hosted an event known as the Cello Madness Congress in NYC. First in Brooklyn, then in Manhattan.

Basically, the way I describe it to people is: "take all the cellists who do really weird stuff in New York & put them all in a room together for 4 hours" ... and that's basically what it was ... but so much more.

Brooklyn:


The Brooklyn event was held in a loft apartment with a nice open space. I think about 13 cellists showed up & maybe 20-30 people or so to watch us. There were snacks & beer & it was an awesome night. I was the first cellist there (besides Joe) & one by one, people wandered in, we introduced ourselves to each other, chatted it up with the audience, figured out how to arrange the room, etc.

Eventually, we got started & began with a group twist on the C scale. Each person started at a different part of the scale (Root, 3rd or 5th) .. it made for a very cool sound. After that, we did a bit of group improv & the rest of the night, alternated group improvisation games with solo sets. The solo sets were really amazing & eye opening in a lot of ways. It was great to see such a high level of playing, as well as such a variety of different kinds of original music. Here's a glimpse of who did what:

CelloJoe (Joey Chang) - beatboxing cellist
http://CelloJoe.com/

Valerie Kuehne - cross-polinating sundry genres
http://www.myspace.com/valeriekuehne

Cosmo D (Greg Heffernan) - electro cello techno loop genius
http://cosmod.net/

Michael Lunapeina - the wandering cellist - rock/metal
http://cellomike.com/

Elizabeth Glushko - electronics and looping.
http://www.myspace.com/egcello

Nick Jozwiak - fascinating composer, throat sings while he plays
soundcloud.com/nicholas-jozwiak

Jacob Cohen - melodic improv inspired by hip hop
http://soundcloud.com/jacob-cello

Meaghan Burke - songstress
http://www.reverbnation.com/meaghanburke


There was also a guest appearance by Quetzacoatl via the form of a Giant Puppet & courtesy of http://GiantPuppetsSaveTheWorld.com

I sadly didn't get any video, but here are some pictures (Taken by Sean Hagerty)...

Stay tuned for part 2!

Finding Myself

I came to a revelation today - well the other day really ... I don't think Harmonically. This is why I don't get jazz on an emotional and intuitive level. I just do not do it. I think rhythmically, melodically, moodily & I think about articulation, but I do not think about harmony as a guiding force ... I get patterns and chords & stuff - they just aren't what speaks to me & I don't immediately identify them ... this is an inherent limitation of mine (which is good and bad) ... it's just interesting to realize...

I'm also finally starting to find myself musically for what I feel is really the first time. I'm realizing how to combine all the different things I love and make that into who I am. I'm realizing I need to songwrite & sing & writer lyrics & play the cello, etc., etc.

I was at a classical cello recital earlier & the music put me into a meditative state ... it's so rare that any other instrument/ensemble/sound does that - but cello does it right away ... particularly cello playing bach. It just takes me to a different world ... I have no rational explanation for it, but it is such an integral part of me and I really like it, even if I think a lot of classical music is boring.

Parallels

alright... so now that I haven't practiced in about a week and a half, I'm back into the swing of things!

First thing I've noticed: I'm less out of shape than I expected, which means that routine I was working on is gold, because that's about the only thing I've worked on in the last few weeks & it's kept me where I am ... which has led me to a revelation that my technique is sorely lacking in the fundamentals and that this is holding me back tremendously...

but anyway, I called the post parallels, and there's 2 reasons for this:

1. Technique first, expression afterwards - I came across this in Emily Wright's blog (Stark Raving Cello):

They are both adult beginners, and have trusted me with my policy of Technique First, Sound Second. Of course, a week into this new bow grip, their sound caught up with them, and is more radiant and polished than it ever was before. Just like mine was when Ron Leonard unceremoniously dumped my bow grip and gave me a new one...on our first lesson. It took me about 2 months to regain my sound, but he is directly responsible for my current approach, and my faith in technique uber alles.

I then came across the exact same sentiment/idea in the essays here (a must read for anyone in volved the arts by the way, amateur or pro...): http://www.artrenewal.org/articles/2003/Best_of_ARC/best1.asp?forumID=18

2. In an interview w/ JK Rowling (which I can't link to because mugglenet is down due to the release of the movie today), she mentions that when she writes she doesn't share it with anybody until it's finished because the energy dissipates, then I come across this interview with Jordan Rudess (http://www.tokafi.com/15questions/interview-with-jordan-rudess/view), where he says the following:

It is very important to be very involved personally. It is also very hard, I think, for many people these days to balance business and family and art. You know, it's the challenge of modern life. For me, it's hard, especially with email and all that, it's really tempting and interesting to go and look and see what the communications are - you can kind of get a lot of things going and a lot of relationships, and I enjoy that. For instance, what happens with me, when I was creating this solo album that has yet to come out, it's called "The Road Home", and I guess we'll talk about that a little later, you know I have to stop the world a bit.

Anyway, I think those are both amazing points & one of the things I've been doing lately, that parallels with this, is spending less time on the computer ... it's a great tool, but it takes up so much of my energy at the same time...


Now, back to the music stuff.... A few insights I gained while practicing today:

1. Intonation: When doing 5th double stops, always secure the root & then the 5th will follow
2. Bowing: Initiate the bow stroke w/ the middle 2 fingers - this seems to reduce gripping with the thumb
3. LH: Move as a unit. All motions come from the back
4. Slow is the foundation for good technique
5. Thumb Position: If you can play a good note with your thumb down, you can play a good harmonic. Not the other way around (In doing scales, I was leaving the thumb up whenever I got to the harmonic A on the A string... I feel like doing so is essentially handicapping myself)

I think I might make a small modification or two to the daily routine, but otherwise, I'm pretty set with it & working on actually getting through all of it cleanly. Also, I'm implementing it on keyboard... man is my keyboard technique a mess!!

Now, keeping in line with the 2nd principle up there, I'm gonna get off the internet now...

All the Cello Videos One Could Wish For...

http://youtube.navi-gate.org/tag/cellist/

A New Beginng - The Journey to Heavy Metal

So I actually started this blog months ago & then couldn't figure out how to get back into it for a while... anyways, I just did & I'm glad... I need to have some sort of music journal & I think a blog is the best way for me to do this... I was keeping a journal for a good long while & then my powerbook died... talk about a shot to the heart... at the moment I can't get to that journal... hopefully some day I'll be able to...

However, learning from that experience & stemming from wanting to share my ideas & teach and learn, I'm going to keep a somewhat regular journal here... hopefully I'll get some readers soon (will post in my facebook profile & on myspace... maybe even consider importing this on facebook, we'll see...)

Anyway, been going through a lot of stuff lately that's left me kind of down, but a good result of this all is that I'm determined to explore and forge a path for the cello in heavy metal... I think this is going to be the main thing I work on as an artist.

Why? Heavy metal has always been the music that moves me the most & I love listening to/playing it ... I want to follow in the footsteps of groups like Break of Reality & Apocalyptica...

In order to do that, I'm going to need to do some serious technical work & ear training as well as really learn heavy metal inside and out (after all, this stuff is meant to be played on keyboards and guitars!!) ... it's going to be my new focus... I've got some potentially exciting stuff coming up in that area, so I'll write about it as things start to happen...

In the meantime, 2 posts that I started on the Internet Cello Society:
1. Bridging the Gap Between Cello/Guitar & Classical/Metal
2. Some things I just don't understand...

guess that's all for now...