Greetings!
As I lay in my hotel bed in an unremarkable casino in Reno, it occurred to me that I've been on the road for over a week and my mindset has begun to shift back to the old days of touring with the band.
I started this string of gigs in Alamosa, actually. Don Richmond had me track some drums for a singer/songwriter by the name of Chris Coady and I followed it up by tracking percussion and drums for a great friend, Matt Schildt's (the theory/composition professor at the college) next album. Getting into the studio is such an important experience for a musician. Hearing yourself on playback instantaneously and then having to make the determination what you want to re-track versus leave while balancing the amount of time you have (and the artist can afford) is not always easy. It's also interesting to play with other musicians (who already put down their parts) you may never actually meet. In the case of Matt's project, it's fun to interpret his musical ideas into grooves and fills and help him create this album. I'm not sure how to classify the style of the album, but I know I like it.
The next stop was Shreveport, Louisiana where we put the band back together for a gig at the Horseshoe Casino. It's interesting how you just don't forget tunes you've played hundreds of times, regardless of the time between gigs. We did some jazz combo before the actual show and wow can that suck the life out of you when literally no one is listening. The show went off well, the crowd was good, and fun was had.
I then set out for California to play with the old band. Odd how some things never change while the personnel is practically all new. Troy is on his way to Alaska and Matt may or may not stay. The rest of the percussion section is new and I'm not certain what to make of them... It's definitely a different vibe from the good 'ole days of Marshall, Troy, Vince, Matt, and I. Speaking of Vince, we hung out the other night with Holly and he seems to be doing well. WGI stuff with his school seems to be very consuming. Today, we play for a CBDNA convention at the University of Nevada. Tomorrow I return home.
As I said before, my mind has shifted back to being on the road for a living despite the fact I have an entirely new life in Colorado. Although I've found a bit of practice time for my recital, it's disappeared from my daily thought- same is true with the pending percussion ensemble/steel drum band concert. It seems as though time suspends when I'm on the road. It's time to get home and get back to real life.
As I lay in my hotel bed in an unremarkable casino in Reno, it occurred to me that I've been on the road for over a week and my mindset has begun to shift back to the old days of touring with the band.
I started this string of gigs in Alamosa, actually. Don Richmond had me track some drums for a singer/songwriter by the name of Chris Coady and I followed it up by tracking percussion and drums for a great friend, Matt Schildt's (the theory/composition professor at the college) next album. Getting into the studio is such an important experience for a musician. Hearing yourself on playback instantaneously and then having to make the determination what you want to re-track versus leave while balancing the amount of time you have (and the artist can afford) is not always easy. It's also interesting to play with other musicians (who already put down their parts) you may never actually meet. In the case of Matt's project, it's fun to interpret his musical ideas into grooves and fills and help him create this album. I'm not sure how to classify the style of the album, but I know I like it.
The next stop was Shreveport, Louisiana where we put the band back together for a gig at the Horseshoe Casino. It's interesting how you just don't forget tunes you've played hundreds of times, regardless of the time between gigs. We did some jazz combo before the actual show and wow can that suck the life out of you when literally no one is listening. The show went off well, the crowd was good, and fun was had.
I then set out for California to play with the old band. Odd how some things never change while the personnel is practically all new. Troy is on his way to Alaska and Matt may or may not stay. The rest of the percussion section is new and I'm not certain what to make of them... It's definitely a different vibe from the good 'ole days of Marshall, Troy, Vince, Matt, and I. Speaking of Vince, we hung out the other night with Holly and he seems to be doing well. WGI stuff with his school seems to be very consuming. Today, we play for a CBDNA convention at the University of Nevada. Tomorrow I return home.
As I said before, my mind has shifted back to being on the road for a living despite the fact I have an entirely new life in Colorado. Although I've found a bit of practice time for my recital, it's disappeared from my daily thought- same is true with the pending percussion ensemble/steel drum band concert. It seems as though time suspends when I'm on the road. It's time to get home and get back to real life.
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