August 10, 2008

Another large day

Today, we moved a PA system from O'brien's abode to Liza's with the help of The Fab. O'brien scooped this item from the tai chi garage sale yesterday. 2 monitor speakers, 2 mics, 2 mic stands, and a mixer. Liza and I had to rearrange the better part of the abode to accommodate the system, and our livingroom-studio now looks much larger. Last week, we also received a pair of congas from the Nils abode. They were taking up space in storage. So now we have percussion, which will sound even better with the reverb supplied by the new mixer. (I guess it could sound good 'clean', but we'll leave that for people who can actually play the congas.)

Did I mention jazz is back? It's at the Libra room from 5 til 7:30 on sundays. Of course, I couldn't go today, because we were working with the PA until a few minutes ago, and also no one is around to go with me. Jason is in Japan until around the 21st, and without him there, it's a bit difficult, especially since there's a much different group of musicians there now.

Fab and I have been practicing the tune I wrote a while back, On the roof. The form is AAB. The A sections have a quiet, rain-like quality, and the B section is loud and mostly just one chord. (That's not to say it's exactly like a Nirvana song...) The focus of the band is on providing tension and release using elements other than harmony. I got this idea when I was reading a Jamey Aebersold book, and there was a table listing different things that provide tension and release. On the tension side, there were things like playing loud, ascending lines, faster notes, and dissonant harmony. On the release side, there were things like playing soft, descending lines, longer notes, and consonant harmony. So I thought, why not write a tune based mostly on dynamics? A good thing about this format is that it forces me and Fab to listen to each other.

Anyhow, we have to have it down by next sunday - we have a half-hour performance at IDEC that we're preparing for. I am also preparing for the finest concert ever conceived, which will occur on friday. The Liars opening for Radiohead....wow.

August 1, 2008

String trio

This is a string trio I wrote in about 3 hours a few days ago. The title of it is 'Snap' - an homage to a particular video game....Fab knows. I hope you enjoy the talent of the 1-mm high musicians who live in my computer!