The Newport Country Club hosted Kingdom Dixie as part of the Newport VT Jazz Festival. We were scheduled to be outside, but it was so hot that they decided we should be inside. I think it worked out well for them, since many in the audience bought food and drink. In the morning Richard called me and asked me to bring my PA - I worried that it might not work. Setup was pretty frantic, and I didn't get a chance to check it much. It barely amplified anything.
I was SO TIRED, and SO VERY RELIEVED when Richard called for a break. We had to add a few tunes to finish out the two hours. I had a V8 and figured out the PA (had to crank everything, including the equalizer). Also bought a coffee. Felt better for the second half.
We had Dan Ryan playing with us. He did a great job, especially considering he didn't know most of the tunes. He read Chris' music and I tried to help him with cues. Woody hadn't played in a few days, so had Chris play a solo part in one tune. I have GOT to learn that melody part that I have in one of the songs - I always skip it.
This may be our last gig for the year.....
Monday, August 10, 2015
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Gigs on August 8
I had two gigs on August 8, 2015. The first was at noon with the NCUHS Jazz Band. My car was completely full of equipment, but when I arrived I found out that we didn't need most of it. That was a hassle, but ok. The sound guys finished setting up and we took over. The stage was more crowded than this group is used to, and we didn't have enough stands (my fault for not telling the people absent from rehearsal; not my fault for the one who forgot). I read music over Johna's shoulder. In addition to her, we had Saige, Braxton, Cody, Rachel, Desiree, Olivia, Brianna, Julianna, Joe, Jon, Ely, and Chandler. No trumpets!
- I Saw Her Standing Ther
- Piano Man
- All About the Blues
- Skyfall
- Sticks*
- American Patrol*
- Fever
- Tequila
*Time permitting
We had plenty of time to play everything. Johna was sight-reading Sticks and American Patrol, and was missing a page from Tequila! I think it went well though. The sound guy in charge said another jazz band played the previous day, but we KILLED it!
Earlier in the day we went to a Bernard Purdie clinic. I learned some things by seeing him play - he kept his left foot with the beat, even when not playing the hi-hat, and he kept his ride near his hi-hat so he could use them both easily with his right hand.
After the Jazz Band gig I rushed off to a family reunion, then rushed off to a wedding reception in Coventry. Big Whiskey Social Club was partly set up before I got there, and I set up after eating. It was in a big garage, and was a good crowd to play for. Same set list we've been using. I was going to write down the problem spots, but I don't remember much. I know I came in on one tune with an A instead of an E because I'd just switched basses - not a mistake I'd make unless I was tired. Gimme Two Steps was interesting - Stu didn't remember who sang it so he and John both ended up singing the first verse. Overall we played really well.
On a BOAT!
On August 6 Kyle and I played 60's tunes on a boat. Paul Decelles asked me to provide background music, so I asked Kyle if he wanted to do this. We worked out a list, rehearsed a few times and performed. I sang lots of backup, and even some lead. Actually, I practiced more lead than I actually sang, but this was another small step towards becoming a more complete musician. This was so much fun - looking out over the lake on this beautiful evening and getting paid for playing these fun tunes. It was over far too quickly!
| Sloop John B | Beach Boys |
| Help Me Rhonda | Beach Boys |
| Long Cool Woman | The Hollies |
| Down on the Corner | CCR |
| Proud Mary | CCR |
| Little Sister | Elvis |
| Runaround Sue | Dion |
| Merct Mercy Mercy | The Buckinghams |
| She Caught the Katy | Taj Mahal |
| Feelin Alright | Traffic |
| Michelle | Beatles |
| I Feel Fine | Beatles |
| Daydream | Lovin Spoonful |
| Happy Together (I sang lead on this one!) | Turtles |
| My Girl | Temptations |
| Runaway | Del Shannon |
| She's Not There | The Zombies |
| Homeward Bound | Simon & Garfunkel |
| I'm A Believer | The Monkees |
| Sittin On the Dock of the Bay | Otis Redding |
| I Heard It Through the Grapevine | Marvin Gaye |
| Good Golly Miss Molly | Little Richard |
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Summer Beach Concert!
The NCUHS BAND played at Prouty Beach on August 5, 2015. Alex C and Zach R helped bring stuff over and setup went pretty fast, with on and off rain. The rain started at about the same and got REALLY bad a few times. I got soaked, but most of the kids did not, because they weren't on the edge of the tent - except Dasha & Brianna, who got pretty wet before I had them move back a row. It was really nice that we had community members Judy, Ron, and Jason playing, as well as college student Brianna on clarinet. Torie was the youngest musician there, on xylophone & bells.
In the last rehearsal Nathan B. had a melody by himself, which made him pretty nervous. I promised him that he'd have help, and when we got to that spot Joe joined him and played nice and loud. Great moment. When the wind blew the drummers music just as a soli began, they dealt with it and got through. The trumpets kinda missed a section in the Hobbit.
Our Director - FE Bigelow, ed. John Boyd
In the last rehearsal Nathan B. had a melody by himself, which made him pretty nervous. I promised him that he'd have help, and when we got to that spot Joe joined him and played nice and loud. Great moment. When the wind blew the drummers music just as a soli began, they dealt with it and got through. The trumpets kinda missed a section in the Hobbit.
Jumpin’ at the Woodside - Basie, arr. Lowden
When I’m 64 - Lennon/McCartney, arr. Jennings
Procession of the Sorcerors - Robert Buckley
Symphonic Chorale for Band - Eric Osterling <>
Suite from the Hobbit, Mvt 1, 3, 4 - <>
Howard Shore, arr. Douglas E. Wagner
Howard Shore, arr. Douglas E. Wagner
Our Director - FE Bigelow, ed. John Boyd
Happy - Pharrell Williams, arr. Ishbah Cox
Friday, July 24, 2015
BWSC at CCC
Big Whiskey Social Club played for "Ron's Fire Recovery" fundraiser at the Coventry Community Center for about 75 people. It was a good gig, even though we hadn't played together in quite some time. I found out the their alternate bassist has not been able to rehearse with them, and I agreed that I'd stick around. I'm not a big fan of the music, but I enjoy playing with these guys. The set list was the same as the last few gigs. I think I played really well, with only a few issues:
- Honky Tonk BeDonkadonk - used the Fender, tuned down and screwed up some of the low F#'s and G's.
- There's an ending with a run that I left out because I couldn't remember it, but I'm not convinced it's being done correctly. I'm going to have to figure it out.
Great night, though, overall.
Conducting the NCAVB
Last night I conducted the Newport City Area Volunteer Band. I rehearsed with them on Monday, sight-reading the scores because Peter was sick. He was hoping he felt better by Thursday and I planned on playing trumpet but he did not feel better, so I picked up the equipment and music and was able to study the music a little in the afternoon.
O CANADA / STAR SPANGLED BANNER
SABRE DANCE - Everyone repeated! There was just a little blip when someone attempted to play. It went really well, although the decrescendo at the end didn't really happen. Dynamics don't really happen much with this group, I suppose.
SING FOR AMERICA
THE GENIUS OF PAUL SIMON (new) - This is a pretty big arrangement, and I was concerned about the different tempos but it went fine. The flutist came in on the wrong beat at one point and the clarinet had tried to stay with me but most of the band followed her. I ended up adding a beat - not sure if anyone noticed. Maybe Saige.
SEMPER FIDELIS March
SHENANDOAH
THE SOUND OF MUSIC - Very big arrangement, over ten minutes long. I listened to it on Youtube and that helped. I think the trumpets started in 4/4 but it was in cut time, so we didn't We skipped some measures to make it a bit shorter and almost got through unscathed,
THE SYNCOPATED CLOCK - I love this tune. The "alarm" section was supposed to be with a triangle, but they hit the cymbal instead, which was fine I suppose. We rushed the ending a bit, since it had started to rain. As soon as we were done, the clouds opened up and dumped buckets of rain down, causing a little panic. I calmly turned and announced to the few people still on the benches that we'd be ending!
SOMEWHERE OUT THERE
THE SLOOP ‘JOHN B’
Theme from SUPERMAN
STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER March
Monday, July 6, 2015
Independence Day 2015
My day started with organizing music and loading my car with boxes of music and lyres, drums, and a bari sax. I also loaded Deb's car with my amplifier and the acoustic bass. We dropped that car off at NCUJHS and then went to the Elk's Club. There I opened up the trunk and waited for everyone to show up. The last member showed up with only two minutes left, and he had to walk from Louis Garneau. He played bass drum, so I'm really glad he made it. When we first got going, the drummers couldn't remember the very simple soundoff that they've used since the fifth grade, but after a few tries they got it....and the band didn't come in. So I decided to count off. That worked, and everyone started, though at different speeds. It didn't take me long to realize they needed me conducting, so I walked backwards and conducted them through Happy, Louie Louie, and 7-Nation Army. They sounded better than last year, although there weren't as many students (we had 18 this year, 25 or so last year). The band was made up of a 7th grader, a parent, two 2015 graduates, one 2014 graduate, and the rest were current students.
When we finished the parade, I was pretty tired. I sat in the car with my bass gear and tried to sleep, but really couldn't. I found where Kingdom Dixie was going to play and got set up. I only used the bottom speaker, and it's still overkill. I need an amp that will fit under my chair. This lineup of Kingdom Dixie is the regular lineup (Howie/clarinet, Richard/trumpet, Woody/trombone, Pete/Tenor, Chris/Guitar, me/bass) but with Brett playing drumset. He used a really small kit with no toms. He had a splash and a cowbell, though, and used those effectively. John has basically quit KD at this point, because he doesn't want any summer weekend gigs. Brett's tempo is really solid, and his fills are great, so I really like having him playing.
My last gig as a member of Soul Kingdom happened later that night, at Gardner Park. During the KD gig, Chandler texted me that there was no PA system. This was a big deal, since Kyle had another gig and had his PA with him. I had a hard time believing that there was no PA, but when we went down to see Sleep All Summer (formerly the Session Guys), I could see and hear that they'd cobbled something together. They sounded fine, although their volume was really low. We listened to three songs (they did a "punk-pop" version of Cruise, but nobody got the joke!) and then headed to NCUHS, where Deb & I dropped off the marching stuff and picked up band's PA system, which is really only used for rehearsal, but would hopefully be better than nothing. I was lucky that I found out there was no PA before 5:00, when my key to the school would no longer work. We got back to Gardner Park at about 6:30 to see that the band before us, the Hit Men, had a pretty complicated setup. Larry Beaudry was playing guitar, and they sounded good (esp Larry and the keyboard player). It rained quite a bit during their set. Partly because of their age and partly because this was their first gig, the Hit Men took forever to tear down. They had already played about 20 minutes longer than their time, but that wasn't their fault. Jess asked them to play longer so the hula contest could have music. She wasn't concerned about time to switch bands, figuring it was no big deal. Travis and Gene both said not to bother with monitors, so I turned the speakers in just a bit. Gene didn't have a mic and brought this up after almost everything was set up, but luckily I'd grabbed the clip-on mics from the school. Travis didn't have a tuner, so tuned with my pedal, which didn't quite work right, probably because it's made for bass. Because of that time, and tear down/set-up, we started after 9:00 and only played a fraction of our songs. The PA couldn't put out enough volume for Travis' voice, even though we kept turning it up. Brett and I grooved, though, and if everything had been balanced things would have sounded great. However, people still got into it. The crowd was dancing and loving it. Especially the guy who always leans on the corner of the stage and a 12-year girl who stood in front of Gene and screamed the whole time. I'm glad we grooved, because I was concerned about our lack of guitar - Travis played, but he's just not a lead guitarist - and our lack of practice. Brett really knows his stuff, and I'd practiced plenty. I think Gene was reading Emily's music instead of playing his parts, although I'm not sure. Emily lost her lip at one point, I think, but got it back again. In the end we only played SIX SONGS. It reminded me of two years ago (http://mrprue.blogspot.com/2013_07_01_archive.html) when the bed races cut us off, but this was much worse.
When I talked to Andy after packing up, he mentioned that he really liked the band. He didn't have the check ready, and it could be a week before we get paid. I already wrote checks to the bandmembers because that way they wouldn't have to chase down any money. I'm going to meet with him to suggest the city rent sound equipment. I'd be willing to do sound. It sounds like he definitely wants Soul Kingdom to headline again next year. I won't be with the band, but there needs to be a guarantee that they can play their allotted time!
KINGDOM DIXIE setlist
We skipped some at the end, since the crowd was breaking up and 3/4 of the lips were getting tired.
SOUL KINGDOM setlist
When we finished the parade, I was pretty tired. I sat in the car with my bass gear and tried to sleep, but really couldn't. I found where Kingdom Dixie was going to play and got set up. I only used the bottom speaker, and it's still overkill. I need an amp that will fit under my chair. This lineup of Kingdom Dixie is the regular lineup (Howie/clarinet, Richard/trumpet, Woody/trombone, Pete/Tenor, Chris/Guitar, me/bass) but with Brett playing drumset. He used a really small kit with no toms. He had a splash and a cowbell, though, and used those effectively. John has basically quit KD at this point, because he doesn't want any summer weekend gigs. Brett's tempo is really solid, and his fills are great, so I really like having him playing. |
| Sleep All Night - Harry, Chandler, and Alex |
My last gig as a member of Soul Kingdom happened later that night, at Gardner Park. During the KD gig, Chandler texted me that there was no PA system. This was a big deal, since Kyle had another gig and had his PA with him. I had a hard time believing that there was no PA, but when we went down to see Sleep All Summer (formerly the Session Guys), I could see and hear that they'd cobbled something together. They sounded fine, although their volume was really low. We listened to three songs (they did a "punk-pop" version of Cruise, but nobody got the joke!) and then headed to NCUHS, where Deb & I dropped off the marching stuff and picked up band's PA system, which is really only used for rehearsal, but would hopefully be better than nothing. I was lucky that I found out there was no PA before 5:00, when my key to the school would no longer work. We got back to Gardner Park at about 6:30 to see that the band before us, the Hit Men, had a pretty complicated setup. Larry Beaudry was playing guitar, and they sounded good (esp Larry and the keyboard player). It rained quite a bit during their set. Partly because of their age and partly because this was their first gig, the Hit Men took forever to tear down. They had already played about 20 minutes longer than their time, but that wasn't their fault. Jess asked them to play longer so the hula contest could have music. She wasn't concerned about time to switch bands, figuring it was no big deal. Travis and Gene both said not to bother with monitors, so I turned the speakers in just a bit. Gene didn't have a mic and brought this up after almost everything was set up, but luckily I'd grabbed the clip-on mics from the school. Travis didn't have a tuner, so tuned with my pedal, which didn't quite work right, probably because it's made for bass. Because of that time, and tear down/set-up, we started after 9:00 and only played a fraction of our songs. The PA couldn't put out enough volume for Travis' voice, even though we kept turning it up. Brett and I grooved, though, and if everything had been balanced things would have sounded great. However, people still got into it. The crowd was dancing and loving it. Especially the guy who always leans on the corner of the stage and a 12-year girl who stood in front of Gene and screamed the whole time. I'm glad we grooved, because I was concerned about our lack of guitar - Travis played, but he's just not a lead guitarist - and our lack of practice. Brett really knows his stuff, and I'd practiced plenty. I think Gene was reading Emily's music instead of playing his parts, although I'm not sure. Emily lost her lip at one point, I think, but got it back again. In the end we only played SIX SONGS. It reminded me of two years ago (http://mrprue.blogspot.com/2013_07_01_archive.html) when the bed races cut us off, but this was much worse.
When I talked to Andy after packing up, he mentioned that he really liked the band. He didn't have the check ready, and it could be a week before we get paid. I already wrote checks to the bandmembers because that way they wouldn't have to chase down any money. I'm going to meet with him to suggest the city rent sound equipment. I'd be willing to do sound. It sounds like he definitely wants Soul Kingdom to headline again next year. I won't be with the band, but there needs to be a guarantee that they can play their allotted time!
KINGDOM DIXIE setlist
We skipped some at the end, since the crowd was breaking up and 3/4 of the lips were getting tired.
1
Panama
2
Muskrat Ramble
3
Mapleleaf Rag
4
Blizzard Head Blues
5
High Society
6
Basin Street Blues
7
Livery Stable Blues
8
Darktown Strutters Ball
9
Sugar Foot Stomp
10
When My Sugar Walks Down The Street
11
Tin Roof Blues
12
Don’t Mean a Thing (if you don’t have that swing)
13
Millenburg Joys
14
That’s a Plenty
15
I Can’t Give You Anything But Love
16
Randolph Strut
17
High Society
18
After Your Gone
- Soul Finger (good groove, weak beginning, Gene was a bit confused when we got to the guitar/bass break)
- In the Midnight Hour
- Got to Get You into My Life (felt like it ended quickly)
- Ain't to Proud to Beg {DID NOT PLAY}
- I Got You (I feel good) (Horns didn't hear that we were skipping this one)
- The Chicken (sounded great. I even threw in some double-stops)
- Let's Stay Together {DID NOT PLAY}
- Hold On! {DID NOT PLAY}
- Higher and Higher
- Low Rider {DID NOT PLAY}
- Knock on Wood {DID NOT PLAY}
- Feeling Alright {DID NOT PLAY}
- Soul Finger outro {DID NOT PLAY}
- Sweet Home Chicago (added; not sure we were in the key that Emily had)
- Star-Spangled Banner (Gene played on his soprano. Had a few squeaks, but sounded good)
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