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.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
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.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
GCNE Meeting, 06-27-2010, The Loft
In attendance: Chris Paquette, Brad Hogg, Glenn Hughes, Alex Lahoski.
A bit of a late start, tonight. In the circle at 8 p.m., we open with an improv that slowly establishes itself in A minor--very good. There's a different, more mature feel to this than some of what we've been playing, recently.
Fittingly, to start in with repertoire, we begin with 3rd Relation. Some brown notes on the last descending line, and some lumpiness in the bass, so a bit of spot section work to address this. Where's the Nurse, next--disregarding some bass issues, it's not bad. This seems to be a piece that is easier to play with a larger group, though that can also mean more timing inconsistencies. Some spot work on this as well.
Askesis, next.
Growing Circle, with three leads and one bass. There's a bit of a dynamics issue that was brought up last week, so we play through twice, to catch it the second time around. Next up is Flying Home; the only really pertinent difficulty is maintaining the tempo throughout. The bass part is quite repetitive, and it can be really easy to rush the piece and mistake rushing for playing with intensity.
Morning Has Broken comes up next. In this small group (which will extend into the full group), it sounds really quite good, and with a bit more personal practice, will be solid for the gig on the 7th. With this, we take a break at about 9:15.
Ten minutes later, we're back in the circle, and we review the Chrysanthemum exercise, both to revisit it and to teach it to Alex. 20 minutes later, it's under the fingers, and ready for personal practice. We close with an improvisation that is even better than the opening--more avant garde, eventually landing on a D tonal center. Lotsa fun, and a good indicator of where the circle is at. The meeting closes with a moment of silence at 10 p.m.
Some discussion, afterwards, of the pentad.
A bit of a late start, tonight. In the circle at 8 p.m., we open with an improv that slowly establishes itself in A minor--very good. There's a different, more mature feel to this than some of what we've been playing, recently.
Fittingly, to start in with repertoire, we begin with 3rd Relation. Some brown notes on the last descending line, and some lumpiness in the bass, so a bit of spot section work to address this. Where's the Nurse, next--disregarding some bass issues, it's not bad. This seems to be a piece that is easier to play with a larger group, though that can also mean more timing inconsistencies. Some spot work on this as well.
Askesis, next.
Growing Circle, with three leads and one bass. There's a bit of a dynamics issue that was brought up last week, so we play through twice, to catch it the second time around. Next up is Flying Home; the only really pertinent difficulty is maintaining the tempo throughout. The bass part is quite repetitive, and it can be really easy to rush the piece and mistake rushing for playing with intensity.
Morning Has Broken comes up next. In this small group (which will extend into the full group), it sounds really quite good, and with a bit more personal practice, will be solid for the gig on the 7th. With this, we take a break at about 9:15.
Ten minutes later, we're back in the circle, and we review the Chrysanthemum exercise, both to revisit it and to teach it to Alex. 20 minutes later, it's under the fingers, and ready for personal practice. We close with an improvisation that is even better than the opening--more avant garde, eventually landing on a D tonal center. Lotsa fun, and a good indicator of where the circle is at. The meeting closes with a moment of silence at 10 p.m.
Some discussion, afterwards, of the pentad.
Monday, June 21, 2010
GCNE Meeting, 06-20-2010, The Loft
In attendance: Victor McSurely, Rick McCarthy, Chris Paquette, Brad Hogg, Glenn Hughes, Alex Lahoski, Dev Ray (late due to a cross-ocean familial ambush!).
No notes taken during the meeting, so this will be mostly anecdotal. Quite hot, and just starting to get a little dim at about a quarter to 8 when we started. Started out with a warm-up presented by Glenn as a way of working through the modes by using a descending tritone pattern, and the relation of the tritone to its place in each mode. Interesting way to look at them, and a useful way to hear the place of tension in each mode. Moved on to identifying modes by ear, as they are played, and responding in the correct mode.
Continuing on, we reapproached some repertoire that we haven't worked for a while. Askesis, Third Relation, Growing Circle (at this point, we turned the lights on, which helped), Opening (this may not approach the three-seat bass circulation in time for the gig, but we're still hoping), the Prelude Circulation, and Batrachomyomachy. Some counting issues still, but nothing that some personal practice won't fix. With this, a break.
Back in the circle, we take on the last parts of MHB, which include all the harmony and ornamentation parts. Though the tradition has been for everyone to know all parts, and trade off throughout the piece, we're choosing to stick with assigned parts for the sake of the gig coming up. A couple of runthroughs, and a long moment of silence.
With this, Victor presents the pentad of the guitar circle (as it applies to our work). Things to consider. Meeting closes at about 11 p.m. or so.
No notes taken during the meeting, so this will be mostly anecdotal. Quite hot, and just starting to get a little dim at about a quarter to 8 when we started. Started out with a warm-up presented by Glenn as a way of working through the modes by using a descending tritone pattern, and the relation of the tritone to its place in each mode. Interesting way to look at them, and a useful way to hear the place of tension in each mode. Moved on to identifying modes by ear, as they are played, and responding in the correct mode.
Continuing on, we reapproached some repertoire that we haven't worked for a while. Askesis, Third Relation, Growing Circle (at this point, we turned the lights on, which helped), Opening (this may not approach the three-seat bass circulation in time for the gig, but we're still hoping), the Prelude Circulation, and Batrachomyomachy. Some counting issues still, but nothing that some personal practice won't fix. With this, a break.
Back in the circle, we take on the last parts of MHB, which include all the harmony and ornamentation parts. Though the tradition has been for everyone to know all parts, and trade off throughout the piece, we're choosing to stick with assigned parts for the sake of the gig coming up. A couple of runthroughs, and a long moment of silence.
With this, Victor presents the pentad of the guitar circle (as it applies to our work). Things to consider. Meeting closes at about 11 p.m. or so.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
GCNE Meeting, 06-13-2010, The Loft
In attendance: Victor McSurely, Chris Paquette, Brad Hogg, Glenn Hughes, Dev Ray.
The meeting begins at roughly 7:35 with a clear moment of silence. "When ready, begin."
Following this, we jump into working with CMaj, as well as the rest of the church modes, focusing on C as a tonal center. The approach is "bright to dark", echoing a very good presentation from Steve Jolemore:
Lydian (Major scale, augmented 4th)
Ionian (Standard Major, perfect 4th)
Mixolydian (Major Scale, minor 7th)
Dorian (Minor Scale, natural 6th)
Aeolian (Natural Minor Scale, minor 6th)
Phrygian (Minor Scale, minor 2nd)
Locrian (Minor Scale, minor 2nd, flatted 5th)
The focus is a bit more on ear training, tonight. After short improvisations in each mode (knowing what they are beforehand), Victor's next exercise is to have the circle improvise and respond in the mode that he lays out, without telling us what he will play. Interesting work, and interesting comments, especially with regards to "What key are we actually playing in?". This leads quite organically into "real life", or having to discern tonal center and modality by ear. After a bit, Victor leaves it and has Glenn choose a few keys. Glenn notes that it strikes him how important it is to know exactly what he's going to play before he plays it, in order to give the correct tonal bed.
With this, we take a slightly extended break. Victor plays a couple of recordings of the Beatles concert that he put on with his students at the Montessori school. Wonderful music. A quote from one of the parents really stuck with the scribe, as well: "Instead of performing for us, they were showing us themselves."
Also, during the break, we start hammering out details of the gig, such as who is opening, what rehearsals we have available to us, and what the setlist may involve. Currently, repertoire includes most of the major themes (EotN, Askesis, 3rdRel, Asturias, Growing Circle, Flying Home, Thrak), along with Batracho, Where's the Nurse, and the Bach Prelude. Morning Has Broken and Opening as well, possibly. Certain pieces are in the bag, but there are definitely those that need to be touched up and revisited. The problem is scheduling rehearsals where everyone is present. Additionally, we are considering a busking night in Canton, but this is still a little up in the air. We eventually decide that it will be easier to work out scheduling through e-mail (since two people weren't able to make it in, tonight).
Back in the circle for some more work. Glenn touches on the Chrysanthemum exercise, again, adding the additional challenge of tapping out the quarter note beat and saying the bass note of each triad as they come. A little tough, but very helpful. After working this for a bit, he then clarifies the melody part in MHB (specifically, the rhythmic variations from verse to verse).
Batracho is next. Glenn, Dev, and Victor on lead, with Chris and Brad on bass. A bit hairy, with Brad playing bass for the first time, and Dev in a different slot than what he has played, but it should work itself out--most problems are related to personal practice more than anything. Where's the Nurse after this. Not a bad runthrough of this, considering we haven't rehearsed it in some time.
Another very clear moment of silence at 11 p.m. to end the night.
The meeting begins at roughly 7:35 with a clear moment of silence. "When ready, begin."
Following this, we jump into working with CMaj, as well as the rest of the church modes, focusing on C as a tonal center. The approach is "bright to dark", echoing a very good presentation from Steve Jolemore:
Lydian (Major scale, augmented 4th)
Ionian (Standard Major, perfect 4th)
Mixolydian (Major Scale, minor 7th)
Dorian (Minor Scale, natural 6th)
Aeolian (Natural Minor Scale, minor 6th)
Phrygian (Minor Scale, minor 2nd)
Locrian (Minor Scale, minor 2nd, flatted 5th)
The focus is a bit more on ear training, tonight. After short improvisations in each mode (knowing what they are beforehand), Victor's next exercise is to have the circle improvise and respond in the mode that he lays out, without telling us what he will play. Interesting work, and interesting comments, especially with regards to "What key are we actually playing in?". This leads quite organically into "real life", or having to discern tonal center and modality by ear. After a bit, Victor leaves it and has Glenn choose a few keys. Glenn notes that it strikes him how important it is to know exactly what he's going to play before he plays it, in order to give the correct tonal bed.
With this, we take a slightly extended break. Victor plays a couple of recordings of the Beatles concert that he put on with his students at the Montessori school. Wonderful music. A quote from one of the parents really stuck with the scribe, as well: "Instead of performing for us, they were showing us themselves."
Also, during the break, we start hammering out details of the gig, such as who is opening, what rehearsals we have available to us, and what the setlist may involve. Currently, repertoire includes most of the major themes (EotN, Askesis, 3rdRel, Asturias, Growing Circle, Flying Home, Thrak), along with Batracho, Where's the Nurse, and the Bach Prelude. Morning Has Broken and Opening as well, possibly. Certain pieces are in the bag, but there are definitely those that need to be touched up and revisited. The problem is scheduling rehearsals where everyone is present. Additionally, we are considering a busking night in Canton, but this is still a little up in the air. We eventually decide that it will be easier to work out scheduling through e-mail (since two people weren't able to make it in, tonight).
Back in the circle for some more work. Glenn touches on the Chrysanthemum exercise, again, adding the additional challenge of tapping out the quarter note beat and saying the bass note of each triad as they come. A little tough, but very helpful. After working this for a bit, he then clarifies the melody part in MHB (specifically, the rhythmic variations from verse to verse).
Batracho is next. Glenn, Dev, and Victor on lead, with Chris and Brad on bass. A bit hairy, with Brad playing bass for the first time, and Dev in a different slot than what he has played, but it should work itself out--most problems are related to personal practice more than anything. Where's the Nurse after this. Not a bad runthrough of this, considering we haven't rehearsed it in some time.
Another very clear moment of silence at 11 p.m. to end the night.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
GCNE Meeting, 06-06-2010, The Loft
In attendance: Rick McCarthy, Chris Paquette, Brad Hogg, Glenn Hughes, and Dev Ray.
Getting started a little earlier than the week before, we begin with a bit of a pause before jumping straight in with the opening 16 chords of Chrysanthemum, presented by Glenn. Work on this is pretty direct: the sequence is long*, and there's a couple of jumps thrown in that are not difficult, but are hard to remember where they are. The most difficult part of this, for the scribe, is reconciling the root movement and the suggested fingering of the notes. Work on this takes us straight up to 9 p.m., and a break ensues.
After some small talk, we reconvene, and discuss the upcoming gig on July 7th: who will open, what we might do. After this, we make some very clear headway with MHB, having both the chordal structure and the primary melody down. A circulation and improv to close the night, and we finish at about 10:15 or so.
*The sequence of the root movement will be in a comment on this post.
Getting started a little earlier than the week before, we begin with a bit of a pause before jumping straight in with the opening 16 chords of Chrysanthemum, presented by Glenn. Work on this is pretty direct: the sequence is long*, and there's a couple of jumps thrown in that are not difficult, but are hard to remember where they are. The most difficult part of this, for the scribe, is reconciling the root movement and the suggested fingering of the notes. Work on this takes us straight up to 9 p.m., and a break ensues.
After some small talk, we reconvene, and discuss the upcoming gig on July 7th: who will open, what we might do. After this, we make some very clear headway with MHB, having both the chordal structure and the primary melody down. A circulation and improv to close the night, and we finish at about 10:15 or so.
*The sequence of the root movement will be in a comment on this post.
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