5 posts tagged “music”
Even if you know nothing about classical music, you might give these FREE tunes a listen...
http://alexanderstreet.typepad.com/music/
Right now, the free download is Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48. They post a new download about every 3 weeks or so, you can download in MP3 or Windows Media format, AND there are no pesky licensing hoops to jump through - just download and enjoy.
I've had a series of Very Busy Days at work - despite having last Friday off. I'm talking ten-hour days combined with mind-crushingly boring multi-hour meetings, many deadlines, and the soft rabbitty nibbles of a thousand small projects (none of which would take more than an hour or two, but taken together are a bit overwhelming).
Maybe it's just because I'm wearing a black concert t-shirt, but as I looked in the restroom mirror a moment ago, I thought, "It would be a great day to quit my job and become a roadie."
Of course, the bands I like best are unlikely to ever make enough money to be able to hire a roadie (and those that have made that much money are often acoustic solo and duo performers who wouldn't need a roadie, anyway). But still. I could lift and carry heavy things. I could say "Check" into a microphone. I could shovel a drunk/stoned/spaced-out lead singer into the back of a car and get them to the show on time. I can even tune and restring guitars.
Maybe I'll take a sabbatical and look for a temporary roadie gig...or maybe I'll just cart my own damn guitar to the acoustic jam and/or the open mic night right here in town.
There's even a guidebook...at least I can read about being a roadie.
So send all positive cosmic whirlies my way that I will have fun and not play too many wrong notes and that folks will generally have a great time listening.
And the weekend after this, I'll be getting ready for the big move, and the beginning of my peripatetic wanderings, Cain-like, over the face of the earth for six weeks until my apartment is ready. Except mostly I'll be staying with my dear sweetie and Redz.
It was good, but next time I have to pace myself -- I got a blister on finger from playing for two solid hours.
And I hope I didn't pull a Scarlett, but I did in fact cover two Tom Waits tunes: "Fumbling with the Blues" and "Downtown Train." Yes, even though the version most people know is the uber-cheesy one by Rod Stewart, that song was actually written and first recorded by Waits -- and if you've only heard Stewart's version, go out right now and and listen to the Waits version to get that other one out of your head.
Usually that's the way of the world: the cover version is the cheesified version. One notable exception to that rule is Warren Zevon's cover of Steve Winwood's "Back in the High Life," in which Zevon's wry, melancholic delivery actually de-cheeses the original and reveals the song's hidden depths.
Anyway, I got some nice compliments on my playing and singing, had fun, made $26 in tips (whoo-whoo!), and enjoyed hanging out watching the people go by. It was a very low-key return to public performance (I think it's been about 13 years or more since I actually played and sang in front of any kind of official audience).
The organizers ask the performers not to sing anything raunchy or objectionable, which I had thought a little bit restrictive, but let me tell you, there were TONS of small children in attendance who just stood there and gaped and drank in the music until their parents finally dragged them away, so it's probably a reasonable restriction. I'm gonna warp their little minds anyway, but just not with "cuss words." Maybe I'll brush up my version of "Margaritaville" for next Saturday...
Well, it looks like I'm booked for three dates at the Farmer's Market - May 31st, June 7th, and July 12th. Should be a nice, low-key affair, with me standing there playing guitar and singing among the cabbages and cucumbers.
Whew! Now I have some practicing to do!
