music in the air

Musicians and the (lack-of-)pay issue:

I don't mind playing some stuff for free - charity, donations, etc. Because I do enjoy it and I don't mind giving back a little to groups that deserve it. (Heck, Brazen Brass played a free benefit last night). But organizations, even non-profits, have budgets. That (should) include entertainment. They pay for other services, food, space rental, etc.

Musicians are offering a (good) service. The more they choose to play for free, the more people expect it. And playing for free devalues music in general. (I've heard professional musicians argue that amateur groups playing for free also drive down their prices, making it harder for them to compete and make a living).

Musicians put work into creating our product, collectively and individually, to bring an experience to our audience. We should be compensated for our work, our time, our talent. This goes for any musician or artist.

irish festival

I finally got around to attending the Dublin Irish Festival.

Highlights:

Purchased my first proper bodhran. It's a small (~14") traditional drum (non-tuneable) - nothing fancy - but sounds good. I got it directly from Michael Vignoles. He was kind enough to give me a few pointers, and even sent a follow up email. Great guy - great bodhrans! (He also makes other traditional Irish instruments). I got a new tipper, too, and absolutely love it!

Gaelic Storm - only saw a small portion of the set but good stuff

The Mickey Finns - yay for Celtic punk! (photo*)

The Prodigals - yay for more Celtic punk! (photo*)

Whiskey Asylum - The Mickey Finns & The Prodigals team up to rock your face off (photo*)

Flogging Molly - OMG it's MORE Celtic punk! I don't know what it is, but there's something about Flogging Molly that reaches that sweet spot for me - I revert to the reckless, joyful abandon of a 17 year old at her first punk rock concert, dancing around in exuberance. (Well, dancing around as much as possible without damaging my new bodhran).

There was even more great stuff, but those were the big ones for me. The finale consisted of musicians and dancers from the entire weekend getting up and performing together. Good stuff! (Finale Photo*)

*The photos are rather poor quality. I didn't get too close to any stages - partially to protect the new bodhran and partially because it was about 102 degrees and I didn't want to be smashed in too closely to sweaty, smelly strangers.

one of those nights

I don't usually do general recaps of my day. But Saturday night is just begging for it - there was too much weirdness.

I met some friends for a little session of working out some Irish tunes - me on bodhrán, Julia on whistle, Doug on guitar. Holly was supposed to join us on fiddle, but she couldn't make it. We had lots of fun. Of course. We were playing music.

After playing around for awhile, we headed off to Byrne's. Our intention was to check out the Glengarry Bhoys. There was no band. We heard they had to cancel because their vehicle with all of their equipment was stolen. As a musician, that's an absolutely horrifying thought. Sure, you can have insurance to cover the money lost, but sometimes you form weird bonds with certain instruments, and that's hard to replace.

Since there was no live entertainment, we decided to maybe go up to Flannagan's because Doug had a friend who was playing in a band there. On the way to that bar, we all got the early munchies. So we went to the Taco Bell drive-thru before the bar.

This is where we discovered that Julia can't order Taco Bell, because she doesn't understand the menu. Doug & I were quickly able to identify 2-3 items for ourselves, and after about 5 minutes Julia elected 1 chicken soft taco.

This led us to tease Julia about not knowing how to eat Taco Bell. She then pulled in to Wendy's to look over their menu, and decided against anything on it. Next in line was McDonald's. She decided on a grilled chicken wrap.

So with chicken soft taco and grilled chicken wrap in her hand, we pulled into Flannagan's parking lot. Julia then conducted quite the detailed analysis between the two chicken products. Surprisingly, no one had even a pint to drink before all of this.

Then we discovered that Doug's friend's set was already over. So instead we headed to this bar and pool place called Fats, to play Screw Your Neighbor/Survivor/3 Person Pool (all the same game). It was our luck that Fridnay night was karaoke night. They actually bill their karaoke night as "The Worst Karaoke in Town". At least the pool tables were on the opposite side of the building from the "singing".

After 3 games (we each won a game), we decided to go get bubble tea or something like that. The bubble tea place was closed, but in the parking lot was McDonald's, and who can resist a delicious ice cream cone around 12:30am? Not us!

So, um, The End.

quick music update

My bodhran arrived today! I have to go study lots of websites on how to play it properly. And hope that my friend who is involved in some local Irish dance & music sessions can hook me up with an experienced player.

Yay! Music!

carbon leaf 2.21.07

I finally got to see Carbon Leaf again - it's been over a year since I drove all the way to Ann Arbor for one of their shows. The show was absolutely killer. Maybe because I hadn't seen them (or any great shows) in several months, or maybe because they really do put on a fabulous live show.

I took some decent photos, considering I wasn't using flash and had my little point & shoot that doesn't do too well in the dark, especially with bodies flailing across the stage as they rock out on their guitars or tin whistles or accordians.

This was my favorite photo after a smidge of color tweaking:



(click for big)

(click for all my show photos on flickr)

I also shot a few videos with the same camera. They are ultra-lo-fi but still get the Carbon Leaf vibe across. The entire playlist can be found here. Individual links to the YouTube videos follow, in recommended order:

1. American Tale - Carbon Leaf 2.21.07 - this is always one of my faves live

2. The War Was In Color - Carbon Leaf 2.21.07 - this is mellow and serious and beautiful

3. Learn to Fly (Acoustic) - Carbon Leaf 2.21.07 - this is mellow and peaceful and acoustic, and has some loud crowd noise in spots

4. Life Less Ordinary - Carbon Leaf 2.21.07 - probably one of their most popular songs, really strong lyrics

5. The Boxer - Carbon Leaf - STB's favorite and quite energetic