The Heaters at the Eagle's Club

I subbed for Chris at his wedding reception at the Eagle's Club in Burlington.  It was fun playing with the Heaters.  Interesting that they had total faith in me - no sound check, no talking through the songs ahead of time - just, "ready?"  They changed the key on the very first song, but I figured it out quickly enough.  "Ring of Fire" was a little different than the original, and I had to watch for the stops on "Born this Way," but otherwise I pretty much nailed it.  ...until the end.  After drinking and dancing, I played "Bitch" at the very end of the night. Totally botched the chorus, although I got better each time, and by the end I had it.  It was SO much fun to be able to play for the family!

The Heaters

867-5309
Bitch
Born this Way
Brick House
Hard to Handle
Hit Me With your Best Shot
I'm gonna be 500 mile
I'm Yours
I love R & R
Keep Your Hands to Yourself
Mary Jane's Last Dance
Ring of Fire
Santeria
Tush
You May Be Right
Sweet Child O Mine
Rolling in the Deep
Wonderful Tonoight
Marry You
Jackson

Guest Conductor with the GMMDV Middle School Jazz Band

So I was asked by San Gordon, a music teacher who used to teach at Charleston, to conduct the Middle School Jazz Band for the Green Mountain Music District Five Festival.  It took place at the College of St. Joseph's in Rutland.  I left Newport a bit later than I wanted to leave, around 6:05, got some McD and hopped on the Interstate.  It was just under a three-hour drive, so I should have arrived just before 9:00, but a wrong turn in Rutland delayed me by about 20 minutes.  Arrival into the rehearsal did not go as I expected - at 9:15 they were basically sitting there waiting!  The schedule said 9:30, and I thought everyone would be introduced in one big greeting, but that was not how it went.  So at 9:30 I started rehearsal.  Oddly enough, they didn't have stands.  When we began, they were looking at the floor, or the back of a chair, or propped it up in a case.  Some stands were brought later, much to my relief!  Some students didn't get the right music either.  Ugh.

They sounded good, right from the start.  They were a bit nervous, but they warmed up pretty quickly.  We were able to work on articulations and form early on.  The drummer was this tiny kid named Angus who played great.  Very solid.  Trumpets bells were too often down, but they played well, too.  The saxes were very strong, especially 1st alto & 1st tenor.  Only one trombone player, but when he belted it out he got it.  Sometimes he wasn't too confident, especially on the piece he was sight-reading!  I was surprised at how many of them volunteered to solo on the one piece I opened up!

The rehearsals went on all day, and it was probably too much.  When we got to mid-afternoon, fatigue was setting in and they made silly little mistakes.  So did I, actually.  The concert was tremendous.  Angus' drumset was up on two sets of risers, and the kids played so well.  The crowd was HUGE.

Angus - drums

Oziah - keyboard (piano & B3)

Ben - guitar

Henry - bass (cool, electric upright bass!)

Levin - trombone

Cameron tpt1

Meghan tpt2

Taylor tpt3

?? & Cameron (another one) - tpt4

?? & Zack - bari sax

Ethan - tenor 2

Katelyn - tenor 1

Katie - alto 2

Caleb - alto 1

PROGRAM:

Lester Leaps In, Moondance, Runaway Baby, Mambo #5, and the House of the Rising Sun

It was a very long day - I got home, after a long drive, at about 11:00.  The drive was easy because the performance was really uplifting.  I got paid well and had a fun day of music with some great kids.  Awesome.

Kyle & Bill at the Tavern

So Kyle Chadburn, guitar & vocals, was abandoned for a gig at the Tavern.  His singing and percussion-playing cohort Travis couldn't make it on a Saturday night.  In fact in looks like he can't make many Saturday nights at all, and I may fill in for him some more.  Kyle had a small PA set up and I played through that, using my pedalboard.  Not sure I really needed the pedal, but it gave me a little more control and a longer connection to the PA.We played a mix of ETA songs, Kingdom Dixie songs, and requests (I need to do these blog posts sooner, so I remember what we played, especially when there's no set list).  Kyle is SO good at figuring out songs on the spot.  All I had to do was follow along.  For such a low-pressure gig (the same day as Northeast Auditions!) it paid just fine.  I hope to do it again!

Kingdom Dixie at the GML

January 17, 2014
Kingdom Dixie played at the Goodrich Memorial Library.  It was the end of a verrrrry long week and I was so tired.  I swear I almost nodded off in the middle of a tune!  The room wasn't too big, but it was full.  Although this wasn't a paying gig, it's always fun to play with this group - Howie, Richard, Mike O, Pete, John, Chris, and Cindy.  I wish we'd taken a picture, though.  I used Gary's Acoustic amp for this gig - so nice to have that little beast.