Coming up for air - after making music

[Tom]

Last night we had another uke concert in a nearby town; Well attended, although we had to compensate for some weird accoustics in the hall. Another barn burner, with good audience participation on some pre-selected songs. Hawaiian numbers are tougher (for me){to play and sing, although we only had 5 in the program; The audience gets fixated on our hula dancer, so they don't notice imperfections in my playing or singing  ;D

This show incorporated a "rhythm section", comprised of a washboard, gut bucket, and maracas, adding a little variety and fun.

Many long hours of rehearsal the last few weeks, and a long day yesterday. Got home, ate a late dinner, and fell into a deep sleep in the chair.

Next week we start rehearsing for Christmas shows at several assisted living facilities.

Edit: This was originally posted in the back room (the staff area), but I realized it might catalyze some discussion among our accomplished musicians here.

 

[scottydl]

Any chance that a sample of you and your uke playing are hosted on Youtube or the like??  8)

 

[Tom]

There's nothing on YouTube Scott, although there was a video posted on another site some ago. I'll have to find the link. It wasn't a concert per se, just the band playing a few numbers at a party held for a local choral group (we share a common music director), and we had fewer players.

As an aside, there are licensing and royalty issues associated with public performances or broadcasting. There are 3 main organizations that handle all this stuff for composers &/or publishers, each having their own licensing requirements. What's supposed to happen is that a facility where music is performed buys one or more licenses; If the facility doesn't have a license, it's up to the performer/group to obtain a license.

We've come to learn that not all the venues we might play at are licensed, so we're currently discussing the purchase of a license for the band. A year ago, the band had zero income, except for small donations, so they had no way of funding the purchase even if they'd known about the requirement.

Meanwhile, I assume that Google has licenses from all 3 organizations, but have no idea if there might be any potential repercussions for folks who upload videos of stuff they've recorded.

 

[Tom]

I'll have to find the link.

The link was posted in a prior message, but alas (or maybe thank goodness) has disappeared from Picassa.

 

[Tom]

OK Scott, here's the best I can do. A photo-journalist from a local county-wide newspaper came to one of our practices several months ago, took a bunch of photos and recorded a few songs on his mini recorder. The photos were put into a slide show, with the band playing/singing in the background. The slide show and a nice article were published on their (the newspaper) web site.

I'm farthest right in the front row, wearing a grey/white shirt and light blue jeans, not visible until there's 1:25 remaining. I'm also the loudest and deepest voice you hear  ;D

As you see, we're a bunch of mainly old farts; I was commenting to our music director on the phone this morning that he and I (68 and 65 respectively) are the young kids in the band; One reason we've been actively recruiting "younger" players. The founder, to my right, is 80; Before retiring and moving to the Delta area, he had founded and built a 100-piece banjo group in Silicon Valley.

In case you're wondering, the "gut bucket" shows up with 0:30 remaining. It produces a great bass sound.

 

[Tom]

Coming up for air (the subject line)

That didn't last long; Just got off the phone with one of a number of assisted living facilities within driving distance, wanting to be sure we could play for them in December. Talked with the Activities Director at another AL facility before the concert last night; We're already booked to play for them in December. One of my many tasks is to coordinate bookings for our performances.

So far, good feedback from last evening's audience members, and from a couple of folks planted in the back of the hall. Had 6 new signups for our uke beginners class last night, and this week I was contacted by a wannabe uke player who recently relocated from Hawaii. With the folks that are about to graduate, and graduates from the next class, we'll soon outgrow our practice venue. When I started with the group a year ago and recruited the music director (we were only 11), we alternated practices between our house and his; Then we moved to the room in the slide show as we grew to the current 26 players.

This band will likely be at 40 (players) by early next year, which will present another challenge playing at venues that don't have a stage; We'll either need to buy or build our own 'portable stage', find a place to store it, and lug it to and from performances with the associated put-together and teardown. That's what catalyzed my "we're the kids" comment, thinking aloud about needing more young blood  ;D

 

[Ned]

Tom, you need some groupies to do the heavy lifting

 

[Tom]

Aye we do Ned. I've loaded the Suburban with folding chairs for prior practices, but this stage stuff is not something I want to deal with. We have a few backup plans, including fund raisers from a local high school, and the guys outside Home Depot every morning.

Reminds me of the barbershop chorus; A couple of guys were responsible for transporting, setting up, tearing down, and storing risers used at practices and performances. But those purchased aluminum risers, in addition to being too small to accommodate seated players with music stands, are really expen$$ive.

 

[Jim Dick]

Tom,

We need to get together and see how my Ukin sounds compared to a real ukelele! ;D ;D

 

[Tom]

Absolutely Jim, and I'll bet the ukin sounds great. One of these days, if/when you make it out (far) west, or we make it to Yellowstone.

A few of our players have 'alternative' instruments, including 6- & 8-string ukes; The 6-string has 2 strings on 2 of the pegs, while the 8-string has 2 strings on all 4 pegs, the additional strings being tuned an octave apart from the other string on the same peg. These instruments produce a fuller sound. The guy who owns the 8-string uke showed me his 10-string charango, a Peruvian/Andean instrument which, like the mandolin, is part of the lute family.

 

[Tom]

Just had an interesting discussion with a lady who teaches violin, banjo and mandolin at a music store in a nearby town. She wants to enroll in our uke classes, and I naiively asked "if you can play a mandolin, why would you need ukulele lessons?" Her response was that playing a mandolin is totally different from playing a ukulele.

I learn something new every day.

 

[scottydl]

The photos were put into a slide show, with the band playing/singing in the background. The slide show and a nice article were published on their (the newspaper) web site.

Love it!!!!  ;D

 

[Tom]

Glad you liked it Scott  ;D

 

[Tom]

... we had to compensate for some weird accoustics in the hall ...

The band was initially having a tough time projecting, both instruments and voices, to the back of the hall, but that changed as the energy built in the room.

I was having a tough time projecting (vocally) beyond the first row    I'd had a throat issue for the last couple of weeks. Woke up on show day to a very sore throat. Decided to wait until the last minute to make a decision on.my closing solo (God Bless America), but it was clear I couldn't sing, and signalled our music director that he would need to sing, instead of accompanying me on his uke.