Do you watch The National Geographic Channel? Did you see Hunting The Anthrax Killer? Then you might have recognized one of the FBI agents. We shot this back in March down in DC. It was a very chill shoot and everyone was very cool. I was surprised at how much screen time I actually ended up getting.
The show that was on right after Anthrax was really good too, so I just kept watching and now I'm hooked. I had never watched National Geographic before but now I can't turn it off.
Anyway, I know it's not exactly starring in this summer's big blockbuster, but you gotta enjoy the baby steps.
Miss You Dad!
Three rehearsals, six performances and a new guitar.....all in about a week. That was the crazy, but awesome whirlwind experience that was playing Partial Eclipse at Signature last week. The show was part of the theater's cabaret series that they're doing this summer and was advertised as "A Rock Song Cycle by the Composer of Nevermore, Matt Connor". Basically, it was a collection of new tunes that Matt's written.The first two rehearsals went fine. It was a lot of music and I was sight reading it, but none of it was too difficult....the most challenging part was figuring out the arrangements and the key changes.....I have a hard time modulating sometimes, but everything seemed to be going smooth.
I get to the final tech rehearsal and my bass decides to not work anymore. I had been getting some static from my volume knob the last gig I had played but did a little home repair and thought I had it fixed....obviously not. With the entire cast and production staff looking at me, I tried to figure out how to make it work but it wasn't gonna happen, so I drove down to Guitar Center in Falls Church, ran into the store, grabbed the first bass I saw and bought it. Back at the theater I plug the new one in and it makes the same farty noises that the old one had been. Turns out my cable wasn't plugged all the way in. I looked at the music director and just laughed and asked, "Do you hear that? That's the sound of God laughing at me! I hear that all the time!"
Turns out my bass did have a bunch of electronic problems which I got fixed the next day. I had been planning to return the new bass, but I figured I should have a reliable back-up, so I went back to Guitar Center and exchanged the new one for a nice, used Ibanez that only cost $30 more. It's so nice actually, that the guys in the band were trying to convince me to play it instead of my green bass. It does sound great but the feel is so different I didn't want to break it in at a gig.
Oh yeah, the gig. I really enjoyed the music. Don't hate me for saying this, Matt, but the show reminded me a little of Songs For A New World, not melodically but in it's vibe...a collection of theatrical rock songs that each tell their own story but have an underlying theme. That's not to compare the sound of the music though...Matt has a style of his own.
The voices were unbelievable!!! Nuff said!
Everyone involved with the show was way cool and I got to touch Eric Schaeffer's Tony Award! Overall, it was a great experience.
Next up.....Fringe!
I've been playing bass for Sophisticated Ladies since January and we closed this past weekend. If you're not familiar with the show (I wasn't until I got the gig), it's a review of music by Duke Ellington...."Take The A Train", "It Don't Mean A Thing, If It Ain't Got That Swing", etc.I struggled a little with this show at first because half of the show is charted as opposed to being written out. What this means is that instead of each note and rhythm, the music just consists of blank bars with the chord changes written over top. Jazz dudes play this way all the time but I don't have a lot of experience with it. I knew some jazz and blues scales, but went on-line to make sure what I was playing was appropriate for some of the weirder chords. Do you know what scale to play under a C minor chord with a flat 7th? I didn't.Once I got comfortable with it, I loved playing this show and their were certain nights, when we all locked in, that were amazing!
This weekend I played in the orchestra for Winters Lane's production of Chess - In Concert, which was fun. Except for the song, "One Night In Bangkok", I'd never heard much of the show prior to this gig. I really like the show...cool story and very cool music. Actually the music, at times, was pretty difficult. Dreamgirls is still the hardest show I've ever played on bass, but Chess is definitely now in the top five.It was interesting because I had auditioned to be in the show but had really only been interested in one specific part, which went to someone else. They did offer me a different role, which was very nice of them, but I said no thanks and asked that they keep me in mind if they needed a bass player. After seeing the show and the part in question, it would've been a cool part to do, but no complaints about doing the bass thing.Sunday was also a little interesting as I played three gigs at three different locations. I was a little burnt out by the end of the day. I also realized that this month, I'm playing four different shows, not including the church thing and the acting stuff. Again, no complaints. Just be understanding if I seem to staring off into space sometimes.
I also finally got to go see Slumdog Millionaire. Definitely my vote for Best Picture this year!!!
Do you watch The National Geographic Channel? Did you see Hunting The Anthrax Killer? Then you might have recognized one of the FBI agents. We shot this back in March down in DC. It was a very chill shoot and everyone was very cool. I was surprised at how much screen time I actually ended up getting.
The show that was on right after Anthrax was really good too, so I just kept watching and now I'm hooked. I had never watched National Geographic before but now I can't turn it off.
