In attendance: Rick McCarthy, Chris Paquette, Brad Hogg, Alex Lahoski, Victor McSurely.
All except Victor arriving around 7:30 or so, and up to the loft. We begin to prepare the PA for rehearsal, but Alex suggests that we remain unplugged for the initial part of the meeting--this ends up being the case for the entire night.
The meeting begins with a circulation. After the last note fades out, Alex mentions that our circulation abilities have been on his mind this week; though this happened to be a good one, this is not the general rule, and so one of his intents for the night is to work on this tonight. First, though, he calls Blockhead--as we are running this down, Victor walks into the space. Taking a seat, he waits until we finish, and then asks us to run the set from the luau.
Interestingly, the set seems to go a bit better tonight than at the luau. Afterwards, this seems to be the consensus among the players, when prompted by Victor. Guitars come off for a bit, as we recapitulate. Alex notes that, for him, the biggest group issue seemed to be circulating in time. Brad and Rick both commented on needing to "be the guy" (Rick's words) to be able to play the part, especially in a smaller group. Chris's point of view, shared by the rest, was that it had been a "satisfying and honourable performance", with "a supportive audience that was also distracting". Some additional discussion, and Victor notes that there are some things he'd like to work on with regards to our comments.
Guitars back on, and Victor chooses to try out some things in circulation. A lot of working with attention to breath.
After this, guitars back off, and an in-depth discussion of the pentad, as well as how the tetrad, and how they relate to each other and to the circle.
To finish the night, Victor puts on the recording of the Improv ORG performance, to give us a chance to hear the work that was done that night. At 10:20 pm, a moment to acknowledge the end of the meeting, and we take our leave for the night.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
GCNE Meeting, 08-08-2010, The Loft
In attendance: Brad Hogg, Chris Paquette, and Alex Lahoski.
Beginning the meeting at about 8 pm, we start with some circulation to check levels. With no key announced, this moves gently from Cmaj to A Hijaz (a Phrygian scale with a major 3rd and major 7th). We then warm up with some basic 2nd Primary work--first the initial exercise, and then moving to displacement of different harmony notes, working with this for about 10 minutes or so. Chris then offers a counting exercise in 6/4, derived from the bassline of a song by Gentle Giant.
This eventually prompts Alex to move to working with the polyrhythms in Blockhead, and counting while playing them. We first mainly work with the "Paul" part (which is the quarter-note-pulse-with-a-bump part), then move to Bert's 3-against-4-in-15 part, and finally to Hideyo's 5/8 part. After working with all of these for a bit, we then begin looking at the other parts of the song, and each learning all the parts. At 9:25, we take a break, just in time for Brad to take a call from Dev.
Back in the circle, a few minutes later, Alex brings us back to the fifth mode of D Harmonic Minor, teaching a figure that is played almost entirely on the 3rd string. This turns out to be parts of the CG composition "Trapiche". Work on this takes us up to 10 p.m., and a moment of silence to acknowledge the end of the meeting.
Beginning the meeting at about 8 pm, we start with some circulation to check levels. With no key announced, this moves gently from Cmaj to A Hijaz (a Phrygian scale with a major 3rd and major 7th). We then warm up with some basic 2nd Primary work--first the initial exercise, and then moving to displacement of different harmony notes, working with this for about 10 minutes or so. Chris then offers a counting exercise in 6/4, derived from the bassline of a song by Gentle Giant.
This eventually prompts Alex to move to working with the polyrhythms in Blockhead, and counting while playing them. We first mainly work with the "Paul" part (which is the quarter-note-pulse-with-a-bump part), then move to Bert's 3-against-4-in-15 part, and finally to Hideyo's 5/8 part. After working with all of these for a bit, we then begin looking at the other parts of the song, and each learning all the parts. At 9:25, we take a break, just in time for Brad to take a call from Dev.
Back in the circle, a few minutes later, Alex brings us back to the fifth mode of D Harmonic Minor, teaching a figure that is played almost entirely on the 3rd string. This turns out to be parts of the CG composition "Trapiche". Work on this takes us up to 10 p.m., and a moment of silence to acknowledge the end of the meeting.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
GCNE Performance, 08-07-2010, "The Luau" in Rhode Island
Circulation/Tuning the SpaceGrowing Circle
Askesis
Introduction
Circulation (A Hijaz)
Where is the Nurse?
THRAK
Morning Has Broken
Circulation/Improv
Eye of the Needle
Blockhead
Asturias
In attendance: Rick McCarthy, Chris Paquette, Brad Hogg, Alex Lahoski.
The performance begins for the circle at 4 pm with some attention exercises, as we all start our traveling towards the location: Martin Bradburn's house in Rhode Island. All arriving at about 6:30 or 6:45 pm, we begin warming up as a group at 7 pm.
Scheduled to take the stage at 7:50 pm for setup, and 8:00 pm to play. The previous band ended up running a little long, so our performance ended up starting at 8:12 pm. After we finish, we leave the stage, take a moment to acknowledge the end of the performance, and then tear down.
Following the performance, we opt to hang out and socialize for a while--beautiful weather, and a lovely location next to the lake. Eventually, the night is called at 11 pm, and we all head home.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
GCNE Meeting, 08-01-2010, The Loft
In attendance: Rick McCarthy, Chris Paquette, Brad Hogg, Alex Lahoski (the "luau team").
We begin the meeting at a quarter of 8pm. A moment of acknowledgment, and then improvisation initiated by Alex. A bit of organizational discussion, with regards to the upcoming luau gig on the 7th, and we jump into working the set (not quite a list yet, as there is no defined order as of this writing).
First up is Intergalactic Boogie Express. A false start, and then a full go at it. With only one bass player, though, we quickly decide to leave it for this gig. 3rd Relation next--this settles in once we actually get into the piece. We spend a little time touching up the final descending run, to give Alex a chance to get used to playing the Dancing D's part, and make a note to revisit the piece before the end of the night.
Growing Circle, next. Once through, with comments from Alex to remember to play the dynamics. A comment from Brad, regarding the playing of this at the Midway gig--Alex has us run it again, with both comments in mind. With this small of a circle, it helps to enter more strongly than we might with more players.
Moving on to Blockhead. This gets two runs, with a quieter entry into the polyrhythm section, the second time. This is a fun piece to play, and a good addition to our repertoire. Where's the Nurse is up next, and gets a good ten minutes of spot work. The Turkish spirit in mind, we continue with Askesis, and give some extra attention to the middle tricky bits, as per request. Flying Home gets some time spent with it, as we are missing an ornamental part for the end--this is also run twice. A break at 9:15 or so.
Back in the circle at 9:25 with Morning Has Broken, with parts as follows: Rick and Alex on melody lead (Rick takes the tremolo picking in the last verse), Chris on chordal accompaniment, and Brad on the Glenn Special. Everyone having addressed their parts, this will be a good addition to the set list for Saturday (and also its premier performance). A bit of a digression, here, as Brad takes a moment to ask about logistics for arrival--this leads to a couple of further digressions, including a recipe from Rick (given below in the comments!).
Eye of the Needle next, with the notes from last week in mind. Chris makes a point of reminding everyone about keeping with the tempo as counted out. A couple of runs with this, and then once more through 3rd Relation, with attention to open strings. A circulation to close the night, starting in C Major and moving to areas more ambiguous. With a moment of silence, we close at about 10:25 or so.
We begin the meeting at a quarter of 8pm. A moment of acknowledgment, and then improvisation initiated by Alex. A bit of organizational discussion, with regards to the upcoming luau gig on the 7th, and we jump into working the set (not quite a list yet, as there is no defined order as of this writing).
First up is Intergalactic Boogie Express. A false start, and then a full go at it. With only one bass player, though, we quickly decide to leave it for this gig. 3rd Relation next--this settles in once we actually get into the piece. We spend a little time touching up the final descending run, to give Alex a chance to get used to playing the Dancing D's part, and make a note to revisit the piece before the end of the night.
Growing Circle, next. Once through, with comments from Alex to remember to play the dynamics. A comment from Brad, regarding the playing of this at the Midway gig--Alex has us run it again, with both comments in mind. With this small of a circle, it helps to enter more strongly than we might with more players.
Moving on to Blockhead. This gets two runs, with a quieter entry into the polyrhythm section, the second time. This is a fun piece to play, and a good addition to our repertoire. Where's the Nurse is up next, and gets a good ten minutes of spot work. The Turkish spirit in mind, we continue with Askesis, and give some extra attention to the middle tricky bits, as per request. Flying Home gets some time spent with it, as we are missing an ornamental part for the end--this is also run twice. A break at 9:15 or so.
Back in the circle at 9:25 with Morning Has Broken, with parts as follows: Rick and Alex on melody lead (Rick takes the tremolo picking in the last verse), Chris on chordal accompaniment, and Brad on the Glenn Special. Everyone having addressed their parts, this will be a good addition to the set list for Saturday (and also its premier performance). A bit of a digression, here, as Brad takes a moment to ask about logistics for arrival--this leads to a couple of further digressions, including a recipe from Rick (given below in the comments!).
Eye of the Needle next, with the notes from last week in mind. Chris makes a point of reminding everyone about keeping with the tempo as counted out. A couple of runs with this, and then once more through 3rd Relation, with attention to open strings. A circulation to close the night, starting in C Major and moving to areas more ambiguous. With a moment of silence, we close at about 10:25 or so.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
GCNE Meeting, 07-18-2010, The Loft
In attendance: Rick McCarthy, Chris Paquette, Brad Hogg, Glenn Hughes, Alex Lahoski, and Dev Ray.
Glenn, Brad, and Rick arrive first and head up to the loft. As we're setting up the room, Chris calls Brad to let them in, as the door buzzer and bell are apparently not working.
Starting at 8 pm with some circulation to set levels. Dev hasn't arrived yet, due to a bit of day-job-related preparation, so Alex asks to review the ornamental parts for Morning Has Broken. Glenn agrees to this, and we spend roughly the next 25 minutes or so relearning the parts and rehearsing the piece. For the August 7th luau gig, it looks like the ornamentation will go to either Alex or Brad (to be decided next week). At this point, we take a bit of a break, as we prepare to dive into other luau matters; Glenn chooses to bow out, due to impending work of his own.
Dev arrives a few minutes later, and Brad heads back down to let him in. We make it back to the top to the sound of Blockhead. Alex is presenting this piece specifically for the luau team, and so we dive into it for roughly 45 minutes. At the end, we're able to run it all the way through, and have it definitely on call for the gig.
Flying Home is called next, to see how this will play out in this line-up. The leads have a high lead part that is usually played by Glenn; this might be left out for this particular gig. A few more pieces of repertoire are mentioned, and Brad requests to hear Eye of the Needle with Dev laying out. After running the piece and working in some suggestions from Dev, there's a bit more discussion of the logistics of when we play, where we meet, and other practicalities, and then we call it a night at around 10:25 p.m.
Glenn, Brad, and Rick arrive first and head up to the loft. As we're setting up the room, Chris calls Brad to let them in, as the door buzzer and bell are apparently not working.
Starting at 8 pm with some circulation to set levels. Dev hasn't arrived yet, due to a bit of day-job-related preparation, so Alex asks to review the ornamental parts for Morning Has Broken. Glenn agrees to this, and we spend roughly the next 25 minutes or so relearning the parts and rehearsing the piece. For the August 7th luau gig, it looks like the ornamentation will go to either Alex or Brad (to be decided next week). At this point, we take a bit of a break, as we prepare to dive into other luau matters; Glenn chooses to bow out, due to impending work of his own.
Dev arrives a few minutes later, and Brad heads back down to let him in. We make it back to the top to the sound of Blockhead. Alex is presenting this piece specifically for the luau team, and so we dive into it for roughly 45 minutes. At the end, we're able to run it all the way through, and have it definitely on call for the gig.
Flying Home is called next, to see how this will play out in this line-up. The leads have a high lead part that is usually played by Glenn; this might be left out for this particular gig. A few more pieces of repertoire are mentioned, and Brad requests to hear Eye of the Needle with Dev laying out. After running the piece and working in some suggestions from Dev, there's a bit more discussion of the logistics of when we play, where we meet, and other practicalities, and then we call it a night at around 10:25 p.m.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
GCNE Performance, the Cloud Club, 07-10-2010 - Improv ORG
Full circle in attendance: Dev Ray, Alex Lahoski, Glenn Hughes, Chris Paquette, Rick McCarthy, Brad Hogg, Victor McSurely.
The circle arrives in bits and pieces over the course of an hour, at Northampton Street in Boston, around 9-10 pm. A friend of Victor's has asked us to play a set at Improv ORG, a private party held at the Cloud Club in Boston. Those in the know will recognize this place as one of the mainstays in the Boston counterculture movement (our host, Mali Sastri, plays in/is Jaggery, one of the better bands in Boston). A bit of warming up in the green room on the second floor (the entire house is like one big surrealist painting), and then we find that we're about to go on. So, up the stairs with stools, guitars, and cables.
10:35 or so, we're on. The performance space is on the top floor, and is very tight. We take our space, circle up and plug in (battery amplifiers for this one). Once the incidental music comes down, a moment of silence for us, and then we're in.
35 minutes later, we finish a set that is at times wonderful and other times quite intense, and have a moment of silence in the room before enthusiastic applause from the crowd. Back down the stairs to the green room, where we complete the task for the night. Once our things are put away, Victor discusses more of the Systematics pentad as it applies to us, within the context of the circle. Then, some talk* about what our upcoming work is: upcoming gigs, gigs that have yet to be acquired, musical tasks, etc. Finally, we agree that we should take Sunday off--having two performances in a week, followed by some more work with the pentad, seems to constitute a full week's work. Most of us are gone by 11:45 or so, and a couple stay behind. A good week, and a great night.
*This talk is punctuated by consistent floor pounding from the performance space above us: Amanda Palmer, Mali Sastri, and the rest of Jaggery are playing MIA's "Paper Planes" directly above our heads.
The circle arrives in bits and pieces over the course of an hour, at Northampton Street in Boston, around 9-10 pm. A friend of Victor's has asked us to play a set at Improv ORG, a private party held at the Cloud Club in Boston. Those in the know will recognize this place as one of the mainstays in the Boston counterculture movement (our host, Mali Sastri, plays in/is Jaggery, one of the better bands in Boston). A bit of warming up in the green room on the second floor (the entire house is like one big surrealist painting), and then we find that we're about to go on. So, up the stairs with stools, guitars, and cables.
10:35 or so, we're on. The performance space is on the top floor, and is very tight. We take our space, circle up and plug in (battery amplifiers for this one). Once the incidental music comes down, a moment of silence for us, and then we're in.
35 minutes later, we finish a set that is at times wonderful and other times quite intense, and have a moment of silence in the room before enthusiastic applause from the crowd. Back down the stairs to the green room, where we complete the task for the night. Once our things are put away, Victor discusses more of the Systematics pentad as it applies to us, within the context of the circle. Then, some talk* about what our upcoming work is: upcoming gigs, gigs that have yet to be acquired, musical tasks, etc. Finally, we agree that we should take Sunday off--having two performances in a week, followed by some more work with the pentad, seems to constitute a full week's work. Most of us are gone by 11:45 or so, and a couple stay behind. A good week, and a great night.
*This talk is punctuated by consistent floor pounding from the performance space above us: Amanda Palmer, Mali Sastri, and the rest of Jaggery are playing MIA's "Paper Planes" directly above our heads.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
GCNE Performance, at the Midway Cafe, 07-07-2010
Full circle in attendance: Victor McSurely, Rick McCarthy, Chris Paquette, Brad Hogg, Glenn Hughes, Alex Lahoski, Dev Ray.
The night begins with a warm-up at Brad's place, which is conveniently located three blocks from the venue. Victor, Chris, Rick and Brad spend roughly an hour playing and running repertoire, in order to get the hands working correctly. After this, a walk (and drive) down the street, for load in at 7 pm. Sound check at roughly a quarter of 8, to make sure that everything works, and a little more repertoire with the full group. Once we're finished with this, Victor and Randy Wooten set up for their opening slot (an ambient/looping project with Randy on drums), amidst a small amount of heckling from some of the bar regulars ("Aw, man, where's the eighth guitah playah? The sign says eight! Hey, you should do some covahs, you know, like 'In the Jungle', and have one guy doin' chords, and annuddah doin' the lead, you know, like 'ah-wheeee'. I'm just sayin'. . .")
Victor and Randy begin their set a bit before 9 pm. Great music, and the first time that they've played out in this format. Once they've finished their set, we strike the stage and reset for the circle. There's a bit of consternation between the house sound man and the circle, with regards to how the house mixer should be set, but it seems to be resolved simply, within a few minutes.
A bit of circulation, and then addressing a technical issue. And, at about 9:45, we're off!
No set list--this seems to be a good way for us to work, and really lets us gauge the momentum of the show. Opening with Flying Home, and closing with Asturias, with a fair amount of improvisation and repertoire in between. Intergalactic Boogie Express gets called in the middle of the set; we haven't played this in rehearsal in about 4 months, so some tricky spots are a little trickier, but it is surprisingly well played. Thrak is LOUD, the way that it should be
Once we finish the set at about 11 pm, we unplug, leave the stage and circle up. As we do so, the house sound man immediately turns up the house music to a slightly uncomfortable level, which is a little distressing, but we're able to finish and complete, regardless. The show is well-received, and everyone that is there (granted, not many, but it is a Wednesday night) is vocally impressed and pleased.
We fully strike the stage, enjoy a beer or two, and call it a night. Over all, a good performance.
The night begins with a warm-up at Brad's place, which is conveniently located three blocks from the venue. Victor, Chris, Rick and Brad spend roughly an hour playing and running repertoire, in order to get the hands working correctly. After this, a walk (and drive) down the street, for load in at 7 pm. Sound check at roughly a quarter of 8, to make sure that everything works, and a little more repertoire with the full group. Once we're finished with this, Victor and Randy Wooten set up for their opening slot (an ambient/looping project with Randy on drums), amidst a small amount of heckling from some of the bar regulars ("Aw, man, where's the eighth guitah playah? The sign says eight! Hey, you should do some covahs, you know, like 'In the Jungle', and have one guy doin' chords, and annuddah doin' the lead, you know, like 'ah-wheeee'. I'm just sayin'. . .")
Victor and Randy begin their set a bit before 9 pm. Great music, and the first time that they've played out in this format. Once they've finished their set, we strike the stage and reset for the circle. There's a bit of consternation between the house sound man and the circle, with regards to how the house mixer should be set, but it seems to be resolved simply, within a few minutes.
A bit of circulation, and then addressing a technical issue. And, at about 9:45, we're off!
No set list--this seems to be a good way for us to work, and really lets us gauge the momentum of the show. Opening with Flying Home, and closing with Asturias, with a fair amount of improvisation and repertoire in between. Intergalactic Boogie Express gets called in the middle of the set; we haven't played this in rehearsal in about 4 months, so some tricky spots are a little trickier, but it is surprisingly well played. Thrak is LOUD, the way that it should be
Once we finish the set at about 11 pm, we unplug, leave the stage and circle up. As we do so, the house sound man immediately turns up the house music to a slightly uncomfortable level, which is a little distressing, but we're able to finish and complete, regardless. The show is well-received, and everyone that is there (granted, not many, but it is a Wednesday night) is vocally impressed and pleased.
We fully strike the stage, enjoy a beer or two, and call it a night. Over all, a good performance.
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