L Lawless
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Dec 24 2003
Posts: 282
Loc: TX
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Any good stories of gigs or performances?
One of mine:
Living and gigging in Lincoln, Nebraska, I formed a mallet percussion group called The Percussion Company from a couple of grads and some undergrads at UN-L. We played the Nexus rags, some originals, some jazz standards. Amazingly, gigged quite a bit, private parties, bar gigs, whatever.
One time we got on a TV show out of Kansas City called "All Night Live" with a weird host named Uncle Ed. They would show old reruns of the Twilight Zone, then old movies until morning. Uncle Ed would sometimes have guests on the show at the beginning, and we were able to come on and open the show with Xylophonia, duck call solo and all. The producer liked us so much she had us tape some other things, so that when we got back to our hotel at 2:00am, we were able to watch ourselves on "live" TV!!
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James Walker
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Mar 18 2002
Posts: 1283
Loc: Connecticut
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One that stands out for me wasn't so much the performance, but rather the performance space.
A few years ago, my wife and I performed as part of the local "First Night" New Year's Eve celebrations, and gave a concert in a church in Torrington, CT. The acoustics there were absolutely stunning. I felt like I wasn't only playing the instrument (my marimba), I was playing the hall! I set up, hit one chord, and listened to the sound winding its way around the nooks and crannies of the sanctuary.
Unfortunately, it's right on Main Street, and traffic noise is too great to make recording there a viable option...damn shame, it's a fantastic space.
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Dill
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Dec 09 2003
Posts: 46
Loc: Texas
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I'd have to say that mine split into two different ones. One was last semester, playing Abe's "Wind in the Bamboo Grove" at a recital...best I've ever played. I got on stage and kinda lost track of time, and suddenly I was at the end! The second would be from my senior year in High School, when my accompianist fell several measures behind at state solo and ensemble. I stopped because I was getting lost, and it had fallen apart. The judge said afterwards, "If you had kept going, and left the pianist in the dust, you would have gotten a one." So I got a two for my senior year. I've been afraid of accompianists ever since...the pain...
Dill
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TigerBill
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Mar 11 2002
Posts: 1660
Loc: NJ
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Although I no longer play mallets, I'd have to say my most "memorable" experience with them was when I was a Music Major back in college. I studied under Ray DesRoches at the time and was in his Percussion Ensemble too, but that's another story!
When it came time for my Mallet recital, I was given a Paganini's Violin Concerto to play, which was non-stop 16-notes! Prefering to practice my drumset at the time, I never learned Mallets well enough to avoid looking at the instrument while playing, once in a while, a practice that Dr. DesRoches frowned upon - to say the least!
So what did I do? I memorized the entire concerto note-for-note and "faked" it so it looked like I was reading the music but I was actually using peripheral vision to see the keyboard. I passed and although I'll never forget the experience, I can honestly say that it wasn't one of my fondest memories! ![[Roll Eyes]](/ubbthreads/images/icons/rolleyes.gif)
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Nathan
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Oct 27 2002
Posts: 84
Loc: California
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My best was at the 2003 DCI Individual and Ensemble competition in Orlando, FL. It was just a really fun experience being on the opposite side of the nation and playing for strangers.
My worst was when my band director made me play <i>Yellow After the Rain</i> at a Jr. High while recruiting kids to join high school band... I hadn't played the song in the while and I'd only played it on a graduated Marimba and not the ungraduated keyboard he wanted me to. Needless to say it just wasn't coming accross so I ended it early.
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marimbamistress
Tiger Talk Trainee
Reged: Feb 27 2004
Posts: 30
Loc: Michigan
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My favorite mallet moment...last year for marching band we played "Take the A-train" for our percussion feature. The mallet part was so awesome!!!!!! It's been the most challenging thing I've played outside of solo and ensemble. It was just an awesome song and it was so fun to play! and besides, you can't play jazz at s+e. It was cool.
Worst moment,probably in middle school when the head of my bell mallet came off in the middle of a song and rolled under the trupmet section, now that was fun.
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marimbamistress
Tiger Talk Trainee
Reged: Feb 27 2004
Posts: 30
Loc: Michigan
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Hey Dill... I do some accompanying! Well, I hope I don't scare you too much.
But seriously, if you have a really good accompianst, there's nothing to be scared about, if you get off, they'll find you.
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Dill
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Dec 09 2003
Posts: 46
Loc: Texas
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quote:
Originally posted by marimbamistress:
But seriously, if you have a really good accompianst, there's nothing to be scared about, if you get off, they'll find you.
This is true. I'm lucky enough to be at a school that the last accompianist I had was the dean of music...so he knew what he was doing, and can play nearly anything. His main gig is playing organ, and quite well. So true that.
Dill
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