it;s subtle, what i meant is,
playing in public *is* a form of rehearsing.
and if you decide to only do one kind of gig,
and turn down others, you will miss that
playing/practice time, and that is
a certain amount better, that you will not be,
when you play the gigs you 'want to play'.
not that you should ever bring tunes
in public that aren;t ready.
or ignore the audience even though they may
be ignoring you.
playing out is a special kind of practice, i call
it 'battle conditions'.
meaning, you can play in the basement forever,
but til you play it out, you can;t tell what
is going to happen./
This is why I'm forming a new dance/jam session (I got carried away with thinking of band names). Playing live focuses everything: the desire to play, the determination to get better, the determination to learn new songs, with others, the determination to not get embarrassed the next time.
Jams are ok, except the one I did this weekend was totally improv for me as a fiddler, and the results were less than satisfactory most of the time, with a few exceptions. However, that trial by fire also helps teach some things. And develops thicker hide.
playing live is unlike playing in the rehearsal studio in ways....
live playing is more of an adrenaline rush and you can play too fast.
I try to stretch some in a live performance, not stay in a comfortable pocket...reach new levels..and sometimes blow it. But the point is: live playing can be very inspirational and if all the planets are aligned...wow
lots of regular rehearsal is a must in my book
live gigs are a different animal...every live gig is a sort of rehearsal for the next live gig
in the studio it's great to break down the tunes with dynamics focus (this in an ongoing thing to make the songs more interesting), arrangements, etc.
We are going to record a second CD and I'm concerned with keeping the feeling in the music without an audience to engage.
I agree with everything you said, and others in the thread too.
I have a thought for you on how to have the live feeling while recording. Everyone is different, but this worked for me. We went into the studio not too long after a few live gigs, and then we recorded everything live in one take. We just played exactly like we do live. Yes, there was no audience there, but that didn't seem to take away too much.
In our case, this was really the only practical approach anyway. Nobody had the time or money to sit there in the studio agonizing on take after take and worrying much about a lot of details. That seems foreign to the style of zydeco anyway.
-David
p.s., my offer of posting the lyrics for "Barres de la Prison" to be used in place of "Crying Waltz" is still good if you are interested.
Re: Re: live vrs. studio - an idea that worked for me
Hi David,
thanks for the offer on the lyrics of barres de la prison. I know two verses as of now, and have two more to memorize from the "white book" (ann savoy)
I took up fiddle too, and this was one of the tunes that inspired me to play fiddle. I perform this tune now on fiddle with vocals. Lovvvve it.
I have made up some lyrics and I'm going to a French teacher to get help with decyphering more of the "crying waltz"
so far I'm using (ignore my made up spelling)
oooooh tit monde....
fait brailler toul le soir
fait brailer toul le jour
I think we have alot in common. It would be great to visit with you someday. I'll be in LA for Mardi Gras up in Eunice and the general Lafayette area. You gonna go? Also go to Augusta every ;year.
Kirk
Re: Re: Re: live vrs. studio - an idea that worked for me
Kirk,
Yeah, it would be cool to hook up some time. I won't be in LA for Mardi Gras, but I am overdue to make the trip! I have never been to Augusta, but I sure would like to go.
If you are ever in S. Cal., you are more than welcome to stop by! If you were to come in the spring time, you could help yourself to some of our navel oranges. They say that the navals in our general area are the best in the world, and somehow our little orchard has some of the best in our area.
Houma Zoomaz
Tchoupitoulas Zokettouyas
Crawfish of Wrath
Raging Crawfish
Dwightning Zydeco
Dwightning Blues Howlers
California Zydeco Foundlings
Hi-popalorum (in memory of Huey P. Long)
Dwight and the California Red-hots (nah)
Gitchee Nutria
Dwight and the California Gators (just to bug David)
Banded Swamp Rats
Yo Zydeco
Lowground Runaways
I was casting around for band names recently, and we settled on Bon Chance Cajun Band. During the process, I stumbled on this funny website from MIT:
http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~bwhitman/10000.html
This is a list of "Ten Thousand Statistically Grammar-Average Fake Band Names" created as part of a research project. Kind of a 1000 monkeys typing exercise.
Dwight, I think we met at Augusta this summer. I was there for only the second time since 1998. I traveled down with Betsy (Terr) Fuller, my girlfriend. She's the guitarist in Bon Chance. We've morphed from a trio to a 6-piece with the addition of fiddle no. 2, acoustic bass, and triangle. Betsy's doing an awesome job of keeping us in the Cajun music tradition, writing great set lists loaded with waltzes. She and the fiddlers are the singers, too. She sends her regards.
Betsy's been working on some Cajun fiddle tunes, but time is limited and she's been pouring most of her musical energy into guitar. Here's our set-ready tune list: Ossun Two-Step, Lacassine Special, Reno Waltz, Amede Two-Step, Madelaine, Newport Waltz, Bee de la Manche, Valse Criminelle, Sur la Courtableu, Jai Passe, Acadian Two Step, Quo Faire, Jolie Blonde, Reel de Nonc Will, Catch My Hat, Oberlin Waltz, Dance Carre, Parlez-nous a boire, Valse de Marie, Fifi Poncho, McGee One-Step, Chere Bassette, Tit Galop, Eunice Two Step, Cherokee Waltz/Midland Two-Step, Chopique, Bayou Teche Waltz, Lake Arthur Stomp, Allons a Lafayette, Grand Bois, Jolie Bassette, Blue Runner, Chez Seychelles, Madame Bosso, Bonsoir Moreau, and Flames D'Enfer. We're working on doubling it so we can play dances here in Upstate New York. There are dance communities in Rochester, Ithaca, and Albany with several more scattered around New England. I never cease to be amazed at the many levels of musicality in Cajun music. It's a joy to be able to place these songs with like-minded musicians.
hi russ....
where y'all located? we play traditional cajun music as a duo, guitar and fiddle, down here in the mid-hudson valley. maybe our paths will cross sometime....
roger
www.cleomasghost.com
Roger, we're from the Rochester NY area. Betsy's been around Cajun music since her teen years. Her brothers are Charlie and John Terr (who with Charlie's wife Lynne Terr, organize the Augusta Cajun/Creole Heritage Week), and she's been connecting with Cajun musicians at Augusta and at Charlie's place in Chicago for many years. I fell in love with this music at festivals, and have been playing accordion since 1995, first with Chanka Chank, then with the Swamp Padres (both defunct). Bon Chance Cajun Band started earlier this year, and I've also started RedLine Zydeco, which made a successful debut this month. My rehearsals for these two bands are back to back (Wed, Thu) and every week, I'm learning how large the gulf is between the accordion styles. I've heard of Cleoma's Ghost (what a great name), and would love to meet and play together. Do you know Chris Woods (Slawinski)? She's tight with Betsy, and we've played tunes together up here a couple times this year.