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Last Night's Gig, continued...


bitflipper

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My dad used to attend church services every Sunday, rotating between every church in his small town. He was not religious, he went for the music. The Catholic church was his favorite; he said they had the best music. They also had a killer sound system and a light show to rival a Las Vegas circus production.

I've been told I'd burst into flames if I did that. Seriously, a pastor said that. Something about having a daemon in my head. Or something. 

Nevertheless, every year my sister-in-law's church orchestra and choir put on a Christmas concert and I get there early for a front-row seat. It would be the perfect night out if not for that horrid comedian they have opening for them.

Back to topic. We had more responses to our ad for a bass player than we could realistically handle. There will be no less than six of them cycling through my garage this weekend. It'll be fun, I think. We've given all of them the same four songs to prepare. All are easy tunes, so no undue pressure. But all depend on a solid bass groove to be interesting.

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2 hours ago, bitflipper said:

My dad used to attend church services every Sunday, rotating between every church in his small town. He was not religious, he went for the music. The Catholic church was his favorite; he said they had the best music. They also had a killer sound system and a light show to rival a Las Vegas circus production.

I've been told I'd burst into flames if I did that. Seriously, a pastor said that. Something about having a daemon in my head. Or something. 

Nevertheless, every year my sister-in-law's church orchestra and choir put on a Christmas concert and I get there early for a front-row seat. It would be the perfect night out if not for that horrid comedian they have opening for them.

Back to topic. We had more responses to our ad for a bass player than we could realistically handle. There will be no less than six of them cycling through my garage this weekend. It'll be fun, I think. We've given all of them the same four songs to prepare. All are easy tunes, so no undue pressure. But all depend on a solid bass groove to be interesting.

Here's the "Largest Pipe Organ on the West Coast" located inside the church my parents went to when I was young First Presbyterian Church in San Diego).

img_4992z-a-place-for-religious-faith-an

Then the kitchen in the basement caught fire and it was never fully restored.  I have to confess that I once snuck on it and played Smoke on the Water!  (Almost broke the windows!  LOL!)  I also must say, that hearing Bach being played on that beast was a religious experience!

Edited by craigb
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On 11/4/2021 at 2:35 PM, Notes_Norton said:

I have some vegan friends who tell me that the only vegetarians are vegans

Q: How can you tell if somebody that you've only just met is a vegan?

A: They've already told you three times.

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"Sir, in the box labeled 'Religion' you wrote 'Vegan'. I'm sorry, but that's not a religion"

"You've never met a vegan before, have you?"

 

(That's a joke my dad told me back in the early 70's. In the original version, it was "vegetarian", as that word was known back then. "Vegan" is of more recent coinage.)

Actually, the term "Vegan" is quite old. It's an ancient Navajo word meaning "bad hunter".

I once considered becoming Vegan, but soon realized it would be a big missed steak. 

 

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One step closer to filling out the band's bottom.

Auditioned two players today, both good. One sang well, but the other was locked in tighter to the kick drum. Leaning toward the latter. Four more coming over tomorrow. This may not be as painful as I'd feared it might be.

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1 hour ago, bitflipper said:

One step closer to filling out the band's bottom.

Auditioned two players today, both good. One sang well, but the other was locked in tighter to the kick drum. Leaning toward the latter. Four more coming over tomorrow. This may not be as painful as I'd feared it might be.

Final cut question?

"Do you have your OWN transportation?"

🤣

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I saw something rare today, something I haven't seen in years. Something so unusual I would have whipped out my camera had I not been so stunned by the sight of it.

What I saw was a bass player who sets up, plugs in, and before we start - get this - he tunes his instrument! I know!

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On 11/5/2021 at 8:02 PM, Starise said:

<...snip...>

As I have mentioned I am a church musician on a fairly regular basis. Yeah I know Notes, that one doesn't conjure scenes of joy for you :) <...>

Doesn't bother me. I've done some playing in church for wedding services.

Music is music, and there is a lot of very good church music. It just doesn't pay enough for me to make my monthly bills. :D

- - - - - -

If you get a chance to go to Montreal, Canada, check out the pipe organ and choir at Notre Dame Cathedral. The organist is outstanding, and the choir is every bit as good as the finest recording choirs in the world. During their breaks, some dude in fancy robes said something in French.

I went to a mass in Vienna, Austria. There was a pipe organ, choir and classical symphony orchestra. They played some Mozart, Bruch and others. During their breaks, some dude in fancy robes said something in German.

As you might surmise, I went for the music, not the ceremony. I'm not religious by nature, but I'm not opposed to those who like that. When attending their churches to hear the music, I do my best to be respectful and play along with the sit/kneel/and other rituals. After all, I'm their guest.

Notes ♫

Edited by Notes_Norton
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Ironically, it was one of the few ways a musician could make a living back in J.S. Bach's time. If not for the church, we wouldn't have the Toccata and Fugue in Dm to enjoy today. It was either that or give lessons to some rich guy's kids. Which is how we got the Brandenburg Concertos.

We often hear complaints about how hard it is to monetize music today, but we actually have more - and more reliable - ways to do that now. Today, we don't have to depend on the generosity of rich guys. Now, we get paid thanks to guys trying to get their potential girlfriends drunk enough to find them attractive. 

 

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Success! We have found our new bass player. His timing is good, he can sing harmony, isn't a drug addict, alcoholic or general flake. He's a Reaper user, but I can overlook that.

It was a long day. I sang and played for 9 hours straight, something I haven't done in a very long while. Now comes the slog of working him in in time for the next gig, which fortunately is nearly a month away.

I am beat. But it was a good day today.

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12 hours ago, bitflipper said:

Success! We have found our new bass player. His timing is good, he can sing harmony, isn't a drug addict, alcoholic or general flake. He's a Reaper user, but I can overlook that.

It was a long day. I sang and played for 9 hours straight, something I haven't done in a very long while. Now comes the slog of working him in in time for the next gig, which fortunately is nearly a month away.

I am beat. But it was a good day today.

Did you know that Azslow created a utility to open a Cakewalk project in Reaper? I tested it out on some very deep (50+ tracks, beaucoup plugins) and it worked very well.

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5 hours ago, Bapu said:

Did you know that Azslow created a utility to open a Cakewalk project in Reaper? I tested it out on some very deep (50+ tracks, beaucoup plugins) and it worked very well.

In my experience it didn't like frozen synths very much.

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17 hours ago, bitflipper said:

Success! We have found our new bass player. His timing is good, he can sing harmony, isn't a drug addict, alcoholic or general flake. He's a Reaper user, but I can overlook that.

<...snip...>

I guess you can't have everything. The Reaper guys ain't all that bad. :)

Congratulations, I hope it works out for the best for you.

 

Notes ♫

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