Growing Circle
Intergalactic Boogie Express
Eye of the Needle
Bicycling to Afghanistan
"When Ready, Please Begin."
Prelude Circulation
Where's the Nurse?
Third Relation
Askesis
Circulation
Calliope
Flying Home
Thrak
"When Ready, Please Begin."
Asturias
Brad, Rick, Chris, and Chris's brother Matt (in town to check out the Art Institute, and to participate as an audient) arrive a little before 6 p.m. at the space. The foreman, who is also named Chris, lets us in, with just a reminder to lock up when we're done. Glenn arrives shortly after, and we load him in to the space, with Terry and Alex both arriving before 6:30. Glenn's drummer also arrives at about 6:45 or so, to load in his equipment. Once we've prepared the space, we begin to do a quiet soundcheck. As we're doing this (not too much as David hasn't arrived yet), Lindsay and Armand, who are closing the night for us, arrive and let themselves in. A full soundcheck, as best we can do, and the space is ready at about 8:00 p.m.
Overall, a very good night. Glenn's group, the Church of Flying Dreams, open for the Circle--this with Glenn on loops and electric/acoustic guitars and his friend Shawn on drums*. Very cool set.
Some connection "backstage" to the course in Italy, and to our respective aims. The Guitar Circle New England take the stage at about 9:00 p.m.--probably more on schedule than many groups usually do. Glenn realizes after the first song that he's forgotten to hit "record" on his laptop, does so, and we continue with the set. The acoustics of the room are a little funky, and lend to some difficulty in timing, but this is a niggling point. We even have a brief appearance of Blue Oyster Cult in the set!
The circulation in the middle of the set is a very powerful moment, as is the twinkling of Asturias. Overall, a good effort from us.
Lindsay Straw and Armand Aromin close the night for us with some traditional Irish music. They choose to run without any amplification at all, which is very fitting for this music and this room. A very fun and welcome closer. Check them out.
With the end of their set, that's the end of the night. Glenn, Brad, and Rick restore the space to a better state than where we left it, and after a bit of talk about what comes next (in a larger sense, not specifically for the circle), we bid adieu for the night. Our next meeting will be a week after March 28th.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
GCNE Meeting, 03-21-2010, "The Loft"
In attendance: Alex Lahoski, Rick McCarthy, Chris Paquette, Brad Hogg, Glenn Hughes, David Kuznick, and Terry Tungjunyatham.
Rick, Brad, and Terry are in the space first; Brad is a little early, due to Glenn being gone, so the three of us head up to the loft to get set up. A little talking, and some circulation, and a little more talking, with everyone else showing up at roughly the same time.
Once everyone is plugged in and ready to go, some circulation to set levels. An interesting thing to note is that a lot of the circulation has been drifting to D natural minor, instead of the more common C Major (which is easily available due to NST). A bit of discussion, regarding what to wear for this gig (codpieces and chaps are turned down rather quickly), times to arrive, etc. Then some practice entering and exiting the space, and we sit down to run the set list for Wednesday.
Growing Circle first. Sounds good, so we move on to Intergalactic. This is hairy by nature, and we manage to put a little extra on it. Some spot work on finding the one in a couple of tough spots, and we run it a second time, due to a complaint from Brad about mix levels, and it runs a little better. Eye of the Needle next, which sounds very good. From here, it's a pretty straight run of the setlist, leading up to Askesis, and a bit of spotwork for the unison and tricky bits.
Here, there be breaks! Some talk about logistics and photography, while some of the circle runs lead parts from Flying Home.
Back in the circle, we circulate a bit, and find ourselves switching directions and casting notes in different directions. A lot of fun work. Moving on to Calliope, with attention to the transitions in the piece, as well as making sure that the cowboy sections don't sound like we just came out of the saloon.
Flying Home: generally, this sounds pretty good, though there's a bit of funky intonation going on in the basses. We try out a dynamic idea in the F section, which seems to work well, and then use this to go directly into Thrak out. Notes for this entry read: "Flying Home --> Thrak - Wow!"
Finalizing some bits about Asturias, as well as some explanation from Alex, who was taught all the parts by Bert Lams, the composer of the piece. A runthrough sounds very good.
With some final discussion of what the schedule will be like, after the gig, and after Victor and Dev get back to the States, there's a very clear feeling, which is articulated by several in the room, that the course in Italy is very present with us. Whatever happens, the momentum that we've built up will certainly be useful for us.
But for now, we end in silence, a little after 10 p.m. Next stop, Cambridge!
Rick, Brad, and Terry are in the space first; Brad is a little early, due to Glenn being gone, so the three of us head up to the loft to get set up. A little talking, and some circulation, and a little more talking, with everyone else showing up at roughly the same time.
Once everyone is plugged in and ready to go, some circulation to set levels. An interesting thing to note is that a lot of the circulation has been drifting to D natural minor, instead of the more common C Major (which is easily available due to NST). A bit of discussion, regarding what to wear for this gig (codpieces and chaps are turned down rather quickly), times to arrive, etc. Then some practice entering and exiting the space, and we sit down to run the set list for Wednesday.
Growing Circle first. Sounds good, so we move on to Intergalactic. This is hairy by nature, and we manage to put a little extra on it. Some spot work on finding the one in a couple of tough spots, and we run it a second time, due to a complaint from Brad about mix levels, and it runs a little better. Eye of the Needle next, which sounds very good. From here, it's a pretty straight run of the setlist, leading up to Askesis, and a bit of spotwork for the unison and tricky bits.
Here, there be breaks! Some talk about logistics and photography, while some of the circle runs lead parts from Flying Home.
Back in the circle, we circulate a bit, and find ourselves switching directions and casting notes in different directions. A lot of fun work. Moving on to Calliope, with attention to the transitions in the piece, as well as making sure that the cowboy sections don't sound like we just came out of the saloon.
Flying Home: generally, this sounds pretty good, though there's a bit of funky intonation going on in the basses. We try out a dynamic idea in the F section, which seems to work well, and then use this to go directly into Thrak out. Notes for this entry read: "Flying Home --> Thrak - Wow!"
Finalizing some bits about Asturias, as well as some explanation from Alex, who was taught all the parts by Bert Lams, the composer of the piece. A runthrough sounds very good.
With some final discussion of what the schedule will be like, after the gig, and after Victor and Dev get back to the States, there's a very clear feeling, which is articulated by several in the room, that the course in Italy is very present with us. Whatever happens, the momentum that we've built up will certainly be useful for us.
But for now, we end in silence, a little after 10 p.m. Next stop, Cambridge!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
GCNE Meeting, 03-14-2010, "The Loft"
In attendance: Alex Lahoski, Rick McCarthy, Chris Paquette, Brad Hogg, Glenn Hughes, Terry Tungjunyatham.
In the circle at about 8 p.m., with some circulation to check levels. We start warming up with the 16 Bar exercise--as we're playing, Victor McSurely walks in to check on us. This is his last Sunday before flying to Italy. When Glenn asks for another calisthenic exercise, Brad suggests the 28 Bar exercise. A few are unsure on the form, so Brad begins to show it, but it becomes quickly obvious that it's alotta chords. Victor suggests approaching just the first 4 chords, for calisthenic purposes. Several people in the circle begin this exercise as 16th notes, but by the time we finish, we are all playing in 32nd notes (the tremolo part of the exercise).
Bicycling to Afghanistan, with Terry on lead, Chris on mid, and Glenn on bass. Unusually slow tempo. Some clarification on the lead part, from Victor, and a bit more of this at a more appropriate speed. Choosing to look at this, later tonight, we move to 3rd Relation. After playing this, Victor asks who in the circle was holding the tempo back, prompting a second run with attention to tempo.
Eye of the Needle. Only one person on bass, as David is not here, tonight, but well-played, with a decent balance of parts. Where's the Nurse, next. After we play this, Victor asks Brad if he's ever played bass in a band. When answered, "No," Victor advises him to play more assertively, and to listen to some bass players over the next couple of days. A second runthrough.
Askesis, next. There is a question about the clarity of "the tricky bit", which boils down to playing the parts accurately, so that the clarity becomes available. Victor also mentions how the piece was written in an hour or so, and how it was the first theme not written by RF.
Bum break. Glenn mentions that the Myspace salute didn't work, as we didn't have the entire URL of the website in the photo, and pulls out his camera. As he's arranging the shot, Victor takes a moment to ask us all to really consider what's coming up, in addition to the gig. Some form of participation at a distance with the completion course is suggested, as well as a different, less attached practice. Important words to consider.
Myspace Salute 2.0! One wonders what exactly prompted Rupert Murdoch to come up with this. With this, Victor takes his leave, for the night, with wishes for safe travels following him.
Calliope, back in the circle. There are some parts that need to be relearned in one of the leads, but otherwise, this should be good. Flying Home, next, with some clarification of both lead/mirror lead parts and bass (as well as attention to tuning).
Prelude, with Alex in pole position. One false start, due to some unintended contemporary reharmonization, and then a full run. This comes out much better than we had expected. Some discussion of arrhythmia in some parts, and another run. Intergalactic Boogie Express, next. This is a touch slower than some recordings, but the groove is much tighter--it feels like the right tempo for this circle. We address the outro chords, and then move back to Bicycling. Some more work with this.
"When ready, begin." Two parts to this, with a moment of silence in between the parts, and a longer holding of the moment after. We call it a night at about 10:15 p.m.
In the circle at about 8 p.m., with some circulation to check levels. We start warming up with the 16 Bar exercise--as we're playing, Victor McSurely walks in to check on us. This is his last Sunday before flying to Italy. When Glenn asks for another calisthenic exercise, Brad suggests the 28 Bar exercise. A few are unsure on the form, so Brad begins to show it, but it becomes quickly obvious that it's alotta chords. Victor suggests approaching just the first 4 chords, for calisthenic purposes. Several people in the circle begin this exercise as 16th notes, but by the time we finish, we are all playing in 32nd notes (the tremolo part of the exercise).
Bicycling to Afghanistan, with Terry on lead, Chris on mid, and Glenn on bass. Unusually slow tempo. Some clarification on the lead part, from Victor, and a bit more of this at a more appropriate speed. Choosing to look at this, later tonight, we move to 3rd Relation. After playing this, Victor asks who in the circle was holding the tempo back, prompting a second run with attention to tempo.
Eye of the Needle. Only one person on bass, as David is not here, tonight, but well-played, with a decent balance of parts. Where's the Nurse, next. After we play this, Victor asks Brad if he's ever played bass in a band. When answered, "No," Victor advises him to play more assertively, and to listen to some bass players over the next couple of days. A second runthrough.
Askesis, next. There is a question about the clarity of "the tricky bit", which boils down to playing the parts accurately, so that the clarity becomes available. Victor also mentions how the piece was written in an hour or so, and how it was the first theme not written by RF.
Bum break. Glenn mentions that the Myspace salute didn't work, as we didn't have the entire URL of the website in the photo, and pulls out his camera. As he's arranging the shot, Victor takes a moment to ask us all to really consider what's coming up, in addition to the gig. Some form of participation at a distance with the completion course is suggested, as well as a different, less attached practice. Important words to consider.
Myspace Salute 2.0! One wonders what exactly prompted Rupert Murdoch to come up with this. With this, Victor takes his leave, for the night, with wishes for safe travels following him.
Calliope, back in the circle. There are some parts that need to be relearned in one of the leads, but otherwise, this should be good. Flying Home, next, with some clarification of both lead/mirror lead parts and bass (as well as attention to tuning).
Prelude, with Alex in pole position. One false start, due to some unintended contemporary reharmonization, and then a full run. This comes out much better than we had expected. Some discussion of arrhythmia in some parts, and another run. Intergalactic Boogie Express, next. This is a touch slower than some recordings, but the groove is much tighter--it feels like the right tempo for this circle. We address the outro chords, and then move back to Bicycling. Some more work with this.
"When ready, begin." Two parts to this, with a moment of silence in between the parts, and a longer holding of the moment after. We call it a night at about 10:15 p.m.
Monday, March 8, 2010
GCNE Meeting, 03-07-2010, "The Loft"
In attendance: Rick McCarthy, Chris Paquette, Brad Hogg, Glenn Hughes, David Kuznick, and Terry Tungjunyatham.
All arriving tonight roughly within 10 minutes of each other. Tonight is Terry's first night back in the circle since roughly this time last year.
Beginning with a quiet moment at roughly 7:45, we begin with a bit of circulation to set levels, followed by some basic calisthenics with the 16-bar exercise. Glenn then calls Eye of the Needle. Played pretty well, with a touch of rushing in the leads. Glenn's suggestion for this piece (and as a general rule) is to really nail the transition points throughout the piece, so as to glue the parts together.
3rd Relation, next. Some rushing and open strings. We run the descending chord outro a few times, to firm that up. Calliope, after this. It sounds good, but there are some parts that are a little unclean. We work on this for a bit, and decide to come back to this, later tonight. Flying Home: a couple of problems throughout the circle, but nothing major--simply a matter of momentary loss of attention. There are some indiscrepancies in the bass part, which turn out to be due to excess tension in the left hand, as well as clear tuning problems, which are addressed.
"When ready, begin." Glenn attempts to pull the circle into Asturias, coming out of this improv, but it doesn't work, as either no one hears it amidst the rest of the circle, or no one is listening. An instructive moment.
After this, Brad asks to try an idea that he got [brazenly stole] from Tuning the Air: working on Thrak at a soft level. This gets slightly misinterpreted as "working on Thrak with no amplification", which is fine. We play through the song, and it is interesting to hear how we play when not relying on volume or force to bulldog our way through the piece. Additionally, it's also surprising how quiet some of the players play.
Glenn takes this a step further, and asks everyone to stand up and stand in a circle, facing each other, and has us play the piece again. We then work both the straight magic-chord 5s and the polyrhythms. And then, seeing as we're all standing up, and essentially unplugged, we choose to take a break.
During the break, Glenn takes the opportunity to have us all pose for a "Myspace Salute!" Apparently, in order to regain control of a myspace page, it's necessary to pose for a picture with a handwritten sign with one's personal or band name on it (depending on the nature of the page). Curious, but fun.
After the break, we jump in to Intergalactic. This is very much a "don't fall off the boat" piece, and we manage to prove it a couple times. There is a bit of rushing all around (and a bit more in one of the leads), and we take some time to tighten up some areas (the re-intro is particularly difficult, due to a very long pause).
Moving on to Growing Circle: played well. Terry suggests Bicycling to Afghanistan, as he knows the lead (though he needs a refresher). This falls apart roughly 2/3 of the way through, but will likely be ready and waiting for the gig, within the week--very good news. Moving on to Askesis: this is generally sounding pretty good, with only a couple of things that really need to be worked on (tension in the hands, and the spaces after the "tricky bit" and last verse into the outro, especially in the basses, who have a big jump up the neck).
Addressing Asturias, we recheck parts and a couple of fingerings, and then play it through. A few words about playing cleanly.
Brad asks to try a concept from the OCG II course. "When ready, begin." Not bad, from the scribe's point of view.
Rick points out that we need to run Where's the Nurse, and so we do. A couple of spots reviewed, with one more runthrough. Ending the meeting in silence at roughly 10 p.m.
All arriving tonight roughly within 10 minutes of each other. Tonight is Terry's first night back in the circle since roughly this time last year.
Beginning with a quiet moment at roughly 7:45, we begin with a bit of circulation to set levels, followed by some basic calisthenics with the 16-bar exercise. Glenn then calls Eye of the Needle. Played pretty well, with a touch of rushing in the leads. Glenn's suggestion for this piece (and as a general rule) is to really nail the transition points throughout the piece, so as to glue the parts together.
3rd Relation, next. Some rushing and open strings. We run the descending chord outro a few times, to firm that up. Calliope, after this. It sounds good, but there are some parts that are a little unclean. We work on this for a bit, and decide to come back to this, later tonight. Flying Home: a couple of problems throughout the circle, but nothing major--simply a matter of momentary loss of attention. There are some indiscrepancies in the bass part, which turn out to be due to excess tension in the left hand, as well as clear tuning problems, which are addressed.
"When ready, begin." Glenn attempts to pull the circle into Asturias, coming out of this improv, but it doesn't work, as either no one hears it amidst the rest of the circle, or no one is listening. An instructive moment.
After this, Brad asks to try an idea that he got [brazenly stole] from Tuning the Air: working on Thrak at a soft level. This gets slightly misinterpreted as "working on Thrak with no amplification", which is fine. We play through the song, and it is interesting to hear how we play when not relying on volume or force to bulldog our way through the piece. Additionally, it's also surprising how quiet some of the players play.
Glenn takes this a step further, and asks everyone to stand up and stand in a circle, facing each other, and has us play the piece again. We then work both the straight magic-chord 5s and the polyrhythms. And then, seeing as we're all standing up, and essentially unplugged, we choose to take a break.
During the break, Glenn takes the opportunity to have us all pose for a "Myspace Salute!" Apparently, in order to regain control of a myspace page, it's necessary to pose for a picture with a handwritten sign with one's personal or band name on it (depending on the nature of the page). Curious, but fun.
After the break, we jump in to Intergalactic. This is very much a "don't fall off the boat" piece, and we manage to prove it a couple times. There is a bit of rushing all around (and a bit more in one of the leads), and we take some time to tighten up some areas (the re-intro is particularly difficult, due to a very long pause).
Moving on to Growing Circle: played well. Terry suggests Bicycling to Afghanistan, as he knows the lead (though he needs a refresher). This falls apart roughly 2/3 of the way through, but will likely be ready and waiting for the gig, within the week--very good news. Moving on to Askesis: this is generally sounding pretty good, with only a couple of things that really need to be worked on (tension in the hands, and the spaces after the "tricky bit" and last verse into the outro, especially in the basses, who have a big jump up the neck).
Addressing Asturias, we recheck parts and a couple of fingerings, and then play it through. A few words about playing cleanly.
Brad asks to try a concept from the OCG II course. "When ready, begin." Not bad, from the scribe's point of view.
Rick points out that we need to run Where's the Nurse, and so we do. A couple of spots reviewed, with one more runthrough. Ending the meeting in silence at roughly 10 p.m.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
GCNE Meeting, 02-28-2010, "The Loft"
In attendance: Victor McSurely, Rick McCarthy, Chris Paquette, Brad Hogg, Glenn Hughes, David Kuznick, and Dev Ray. Alex is feeling unwell, and cannot make it.
Starting a little late, at 8 p.m., we find ourselves 7 in the circle, with the return of David to the circle. This is the first time in roughly a year that David has been here, and he is welcome back.
A light comes on, and Victor calls, "When ready, please begin."
Following this is some discussion--this is the first meeting with Victor since the Montessori gig, and he invites some comments from the performance. Dev mentions that in the middle of one of the songs, he looked out at the audience and saw a writhing mass of movement, and had been surprised by it. Victor notes that the audience--both kids and adults--were very appreciative, and enjoyed the performance very much. The energy in the room was very present and positive, but the kids were pretty excited. When asked, he also noted that there weren't too many questions, the day after the gig, likely because he is teaching them all.
There was also an official recognition of the gig coming up at the end of the month, for the non-Italy contingent ("the special performance project GCNE team!"). As this is coming up fairly soon, the decision was made to do some full circle work, after which Dev and Victor would sit out and observe (with comments as necessary).
Growing Circle, first. Eye of the Needle, following. There is some rushing going on, especially in the leads, so we play through again, with more attention to time, as well as to the dynamics in the outro.
Moving to Opening. This is played once, but with a bit of lead section work before hand. After the full runthrough, some comments are offered, in regards to the rhythm/time-related issues with this. The duple-against-triple feel comes through, occasionally, but mostly isn't quite making it, though it clearly wants to.
Where's the Nurse is next. The first time is pretty fast, probably in the 84-88 bpm realm (it feels at least as fast as Tuning the Air's recorded tempo), and the timing is a little sloppy, so we play through it again, a little slower. Much better, though dynamics aren't quite as dynamic. This leads into the Bach Prelude, which, after a false start, just about falls apart halfway through, due to dropped/wrong notes. But, we keep it together and finish it, and then elect to play it again, now that we all remember our parts. The time is still a little too jazzy, but we at least are able to make it to the end.
Thrak is called, next. Played twice (I think). Not quite as cohesive as at the gig, but not bad. A break comes after this, with some talk about how the gig will work, when we'll be playing, where it is, who will be playing. In a word, logistics.
After the break, Victor and Dev elect to stay out of the circle and let the abridged performance team do their work. 3rd Relation is up, with some rushing. Glenn stops the circle, and asks us to return to playing just the intro with the same delicacy we had approached last week. A couple instances of this, and then through the piece. This is pretty effective.
Flying Home, called by Brad. This isn't played nearly as fast as last week, but sounds a lot better (Victor's comment: "You guys are fun to listen to!"). Some talk about minor/major points of performing this piece. Before we move on, Victor asks us to circulate, which is very clearly in C Major. At this, Victor and Dev take their leave, and we continue on. Growing Circle again, with this "new" organization of personnel, followed by Nurse, with three leads and one Brad.
Eye of the Needle. With five in the circle, and five parts, the balance sounds excellent, and this probably lends to the success of this run-through. Calliope, next--no mirror lead, but it doesn't sound bad, though the lead part in the intro is overpowered by four bass parts (one player switches parts between sections).
Intergalactic Boogie Express: this is becoming unlikely for performance, though when it works, it works. It's more a problem of lead players remembering which parts go where. 3rd Relation again, to revisit this, and it does sound a little better. Asturias up next, with parts getting redistributed and learned--this shouldn't be a problem.
One last requested improv, to finish the night, and we end in silence at roughly 11 p.m.
Starting a little late, at 8 p.m., we find ourselves 7 in the circle, with the return of David to the circle. This is the first time in roughly a year that David has been here, and he is welcome back.
A light comes on, and Victor calls, "When ready, please begin."
Following this is some discussion--this is the first meeting with Victor since the Montessori gig, and he invites some comments from the performance. Dev mentions that in the middle of one of the songs, he looked out at the audience and saw a writhing mass of movement, and had been surprised by it. Victor notes that the audience--both kids and adults--were very appreciative, and enjoyed the performance very much. The energy in the room was very present and positive, but the kids were pretty excited. When asked, he also noted that there weren't too many questions, the day after the gig, likely because he is teaching them all.
There was also an official recognition of the gig coming up at the end of the month, for the non-Italy contingent ("the special performance project GCNE team!"). As this is coming up fairly soon, the decision was made to do some full circle work, after which Dev and Victor would sit out and observe (with comments as necessary).
Growing Circle, first. Eye of the Needle, following. There is some rushing going on, especially in the leads, so we play through again, with more attention to time, as well as to the dynamics in the outro.
Moving to Opening. This is played once, but with a bit of lead section work before hand. After the full runthrough, some comments are offered, in regards to the rhythm/time-related issues with this. The duple-against-triple feel comes through, occasionally, but mostly isn't quite making it, though it clearly wants to.
Where's the Nurse is next. The first time is pretty fast, probably in the 84-88 bpm realm (it feels at least as fast as Tuning the Air's recorded tempo), and the timing is a little sloppy, so we play through it again, a little slower. Much better, though dynamics aren't quite as dynamic. This leads into the Bach Prelude, which, after a false start, just about falls apart halfway through, due to dropped/wrong notes. But, we keep it together and finish it, and then elect to play it again, now that we all remember our parts. The time is still a little too jazzy, but we at least are able to make it to the end.
Thrak is called, next. Played twice (I think). Not quite as cohesive as at the gig, but not bad. A break comes after this, with some talk about how the gig will work, when we'll be playing, where it is, who will be playing. In a word, logistics.
After the break, Victor and Dev elect to stay out of the circle and let the abridged performance team do their work. 3rd Relation is up, with some rushing. Glenn stops the circle, and asks us to return to playing just the intro with the same delicacy we had approached last week. A couple instances of this, and then through the piece. This is pretty effective.
Flying Home, called by Brad. This isn't played nearly as fast as last week, but sounds a lot better (Victor's comment: "You guys are fun to listen to!"). Some talk about minor/major points of performing this piece. Before we move on, Victor asks us to circulate, which is very clearly in C Major. At this, Victor and Dev take their leave, and we continue on. Growing Circle again, with this "new" organization of personnel, followed by Nurse, with three leads and one Brad.
Eye of the Needle. With five in the circle, and five parts, the balance sounds excellent, and this probably lends to the success of this run-through. Calliope, next--no mirror lead, but it doesn't sound bad, though the lead part in the intro is overpowered by four bass parts (one player switches parts between sections).
Intergalactic Boogie Express: this is becoming unlikely for performance, though when it works, it works. It's more a problem of lead players remembering which parts go where. 3rd Relation again, to revisit this, and it does sound a little better. Asturias up next, with parts getting redistributed and learned--this shouldn't be a problem.
One last requested improv, to finish the night, and we end in silence at roughly 11 p.m.
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