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Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Oct 13, 2004 11:14:50 GMT -5
They changed groups on you? or are these just different parts of the whole group?(except of course for the persian) WED. OCT. 13/2004/12:22 E.S.T.
LADYTASS,
No, I was just not given all the facts of the situation.
As I understand it, I shall be performing in both groups, separately & apart from each other.
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Post by ladytass2001 on Oct 13, 2004 11:42:32 GMT -5
Cool You get twice the exposure that way.So which group do you prefer so far? or do you have a favorite?
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Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Oct 14, 2004 2:30:20 GMT -5
Cool You get twice the exposure that way.So which group do you prefer so far? or do you have a favorite? THU. OCT. 14/2004/03:38 E.S.T.
LADYTASS,
I cannot say, yet, as most of our time together has been spent in active rehearsal, rather than socialising with each other.
The first group (quartet) is quite testosterone-sodden, whereas the second group (sextet) has 2 women in it, so the group dynamics are utterly different.
The sextet is far more playful, but there is also a great deal more pressure from the Musical Director to “get it right”, which may be a response to the relative youth of the sextet, relative to the quartet.
I am honoured to have been chosen to partake in both configurations, whatever the reason(s) might be for my having been assigned thus.
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SIRONA,
I was not aware that MIKE was known to you!
No, that audition was for a MOLSON’S™ advert, which I did not get.
The T-shirt I wore to the Percussion Ensemble audition was turquoise blue, with pink ZILDJIAN™ logos on it, & had been autographed by MR. JERRY MAROTTA (drummer formerly of PETER GABRIEL’S band on PETER GABRIEL I – IV, later of FRIPP/SYLVIAN, & currently with THE TONY LEVIN BAND™).
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Sirona
Junior Member
Posts: 98
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Post by Sirona on Oct 14, 2004 13:05:10 GMT -5
Malcolm
Ach! They probably could tell by your carriage that you were not a devout fan of Canadian beer; or they were blinded by your sheer presence. &&&&&&&&&&
The members of that particulair established do know me quite well as devout patron
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Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Oct 18, 2004 13:18:16 GMT -5
Malcolm
Ach! They probably could tell by your carriage that you were not a devout fan of Canadian beer; or they were blinded by your sheer presence. &&&&&&&&&&
The members of that particulair established do know me quite well as devout patron MON. OCT. 18/2004/14:26 E.S.T.
SIRONA,
There is only 1 Canadian beer I have tasted that I would *never* drink again, despite its lovely bottle, but thank you for your kind words.
I find it curious that you & I have never encountered each other there before, that being the case....
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Post by MALCOLM XERXES™ on Oct 20, 2004 19:37:44 GMT -5
WED. OCT. 20/2004/15:30 – 20:46 E.S.T. – GIG #1 TECHNICAL REHEARSAL
I obtained 2 pairs of mallet/drumsticks from a music shop as I had been instructed to do by the Musical Director, who said that he would reimburse me for them, then made my way to the venue, which is sprawling.
When I arrived there, I found myself in the midst of conventioneers, & sought intel from the bloke @ the Information Desk, who marvelled @ my KING CRIMSON™ T-shirt, saying that it had taken him by surprise, & that I was a true “21st Century Schizoid Man”. His intonation & eye movement told me that he was homosexual & was giving me a favourable appraisal as he told me that it would take no less than 8 min. to reach my destination from whence I stood. I acknowledged the compliment for what it was, assuring him that I would be brisk.
When I arrived @ the main hall, I found SHANIA TWIN taking her band through its paces, & was pleasantly surprised to find that MR. AL CROSS was the drummer on that gig! MR. CROSS played on all my favourite songs by MS. JANE SIBERRY, most of which comprise the entirety of her “NO BORDERS HERE” album that spawned her hit single, “MIMI ON THE BEACH”.
Immediately, I noted the absence of the Stage Manager, which led me to expect that there would be a greater than usual amount of tension because he would not be there to run interference for us about safety & technical issues. Nobody mentioned his absence or the reason for it, so I thought it best not to ask, just in case it was a sore spot with the Choreographer, who seemed to have taken on his role for herself.
She instructed me that since they were so far behind, I might want to avail myself of the various foods & drinks that were being served in the Hospitality Suite, so I adjourned there & ate fruit salad, kidney beans & rice, chilli non-carne (bloody vegetarians!) & a rye bun, followed by a tin of SPRITE™ (a product of the COCA-COLA™ COMPANY). If they had been serving chilli con carne, then I would have drunk COCA-COLA™, instead.
The Technical Rehearsal for tomorrow evening’s gig was fraught with challenges, not least of which were the technical difficulties arising from the fact that the Percussive Apparatus I was given to play literally fell backwards off the cart as I attempted to ascend the ramp on a test run during SHANIA TWIN’S sound check.
The Assistant Stage Manager assigned to me ran immediately to my aid, as she feared that it had collapsed on top of me, & I, in turn, thought that she had been crowned by the car wing that dangled from the gallows arm, so we ended up stuck holding the thing together in our respective efforts to save each other’s bacon, while various other personnel came to our aid.
There was the usual amount of union grumbling about design & workmanship while all ignored my suggestion that the problem could be alleviated by the simple removal of the gallows arm & car wing assembly, so the apparatus was re-assembled & the same thing happened again, as I predicted it would.
This time, I stood back & let the Musical Director deal with the union grumbling, as they all concluded after a further 5 minutes’ palaver that it might be best if, in the interest of safety, the gallows arm & wing assembly were to be removed, & the drums lashed together more tightly with tape, rather than the aircraft cable that had been used beforehand.
The A.S.M. was barked @ by the Choreographer because she was attempting to affix flashing lights to the Percussive Apparatus as she had been instructed to do, while the Choreographer’s primary concern was that the rehearsal got underway as quickly as possible.
When I was walking through the blocking with the Percussive Apparatus, the Choreographer barked @ me, also, because she had assumed that I was not doing what she had instructed me to do while we had been rehearsing in the studio. To my mind, it was obvious that I was testing for any further difficulties, so as to avoid unpleasantness “on the day”, but I saw no percentage in attempting to communicate that I was only doing what any seasoned Theatrical Professional might do.
Given that there were so many safety concerns connected with my situation, I found that somewhat counterproductive, but it’s what I’ve come to expect from those in the Terspichorean Arts, who tend to want what they want when they want it, with little regard for technical issues that need to be resolved in order that one can execute the moves they have assigned to oneself, unless & until such issues impact directly upon themselves.
When we finally began playing our rehearsed music with the assigned staging,, there was a bit of confusion because the band was accompanying us to the tune of MR. STEVIE WONDER’S “SUPERSTITION”, which we had not been informed about beforehand. This meant that I was compelled to alter my volume somewhat, in order that to be able to hear them properly, which caused problems in turn for 1 of the quartet, who said that I would have to play louder still in order for him to hear me.
Once we had played through it, the Choreographer altered some of the staging to make it easier for us, I had originally been instructed to play while walking backwards, pulling the Percussive Apparatus with the other blokes forming up a line behind me.
Once the change was made, we played & walked through without the band, for which I was grateful, since my head had been hammering within 5 min. of my arrival, partly due to the volume, partly due to the sibilant high frequencies, partly due to the carbon monoxide fumes in an enclosed space.
Satisfied @ last, the Choreographer dismissed us @ 18:00 so that she could move onto the other acts, which did not upset me, for we had been scheduled to go until 19:00 E.S.T., & my head was already fit to explode @ 15:35!
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