Since arriving here, I have started writing six new songs. I have finished a song which I have been struggling with for over 5 years. I have made some progress on at least two other old pieces, including an instrumental. There are four open mic events per week (that I know of so far), and I've been trying to use them as motivation to finish off some of my songs. It provides me with a nice cycle of potential deadlines to meet in order to perform some of my original music.
The weekend has been particularly productive. I keep trying to go back to the stuff I wrote down in the last few days, with the intention of working on some lyrics. Instead, I get my guitar in my hands, and something new happens, and I've started another song. And I'm not going to complain about it. I'll let the flood of musical ideas come out, and worry about the lyrics when I have an overwhelming urge to write lyrics. I never like to force my writing too much. Just...nudge it when it's feeling too cautious to proceed.
On Cats
First off, I played at another open mic night last night. I felt a little out of place, since it was a blues bar, and I wasn't at all playing blues. Oh well. It went quite well. I think I sang better than I've sung before, and I like any exposure I can get.
Continuing my list of observations:
4. I love cats. I usually can't get near them, though, because of my allergies. However, I seem to be tolerating the two cats that live here quite well. There are several things about cats that I enjoy.
a) Cats can sigh. That's just cool.
b) Cats have dreams. And they get all twitchy, and it's funny to watch.
c) Two or more cats often have epic battles. Yesterday Murray (named after Murray in Flight of the Conchords) and Maddox (sp?) waged war in the living room and laundry room, complete with bath breaks, nap breaks, and over-furniture stalking. I was a little disappointed that I didn't see an elbow drop when Murray had the chance, but there's still time to train him.
My dislikes include when they drink the water from my glass and when they leap from your lap suddenly, using their claws to get more grip.
Continuing my list of observations:
4. I love cats. I usually can't get near them, though, because of my allergies. However, I seem to be tolerating the two cats that live here quite well. There are several things about cats that I enjoy.
a) Cats can sigh. That's just cool.
b) Cats have dreams. And they get all twitchy, and it's funny to watch.
c) Two or more cats often have epic battles. Yesterday Murray (named after Murray in Flight of the Conchords) and Maddox (sp?) waged war in the living room and laundry room, complete with bath breaks, nap breaks, and over-furniture stalking. I was a little disappointed that I didn't see an elbow drop when Murray had the chance, but there's still time to train him.
My dislikes include when they drink the water from my glass and when they leap from your lap suddenly, using their claws to get more grip.
Wellington Performance #2
Last night I attended an open mic night at a place called Bodega. It's just a few blocks away, and they run that event every Wednesday. I met quite a few more local musicians, and it was good to see who else is out there for acoustic performers.
It has been my goal to expose Kiwis to some Canadian artists who don't have a following here. Last night I opened my set with a song by Hawksley Workman, and followed it with a song from Matthew Good. I ended with "Talk Show Host" by Radiohead.
Through some of the people I met last night, I found out about another open mic night tonight. This one has a band of talented musicians who will play along to whatever you want to play there, including originals. I plan to spend most of the day practicing up for tonight. I hope to play a song that I have been struggling to write for 5 years, but could never get past the first two lines. I finished the song this morning, so I have to commit it to memory pretty fast.
It has been my goal to expose Kiwis to some Canadian artists who don't have a following here. Last night I opened my set with a song by Hawksley Workman, and followed it with a song from Matthew Good. I ended with "Talk Show Host" by Radiohead.
Through some of the people I met last night, I found out about another open mic night tonight. This one has a band of talented musicians who will play along to whatever you want to play there, including originals. I plan to spend most of the day practicing up for tonight. I hope to play a song that I have been struggling to write for 5 years, but could never get past the first two lines. I finished the song this morning, so I have to commit it to memory pretty fast.
Weezer Tribute Concert
Through a series of coincidences, I performed at a Weezer tribute concert last night, and it was awesome. When I found out that one band had to bail last-minute (due to a toga incident), I emailed the venue and asked if they could use a few more songs from a jet-lagged foreigner. And it worked.
I was the opening act, playing "My Name is Jonas" and "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here." There were four other bands after me, and the variety was awesome. The concert concluded with everyone in the venue singing along to "Say It Ain't So." I lost my voice, but it was worth it.
I was asked to jam with some of the people there, and have made a few contacts in the Wellington music scene. It's unbelievable that I got to play in such a fun concert 36 hours after landing here. I never would have guessed that my first few days here would be so awesome. And I anticipate better things to come.
I was the opening act, playing "My Name is Jonas" and "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here." There were four other bands after me, and the variety was awesome. The concert concluded with everyone in the venue singing along to "Say It Ain't So." I lost my voice, but it was worth it.
I was asked to jam with some of the people there, and have made a few contacts in the Wellington music scene. It's unbelievable that I got to play in such a fun concert 36 hours after landing here. I never would have guessed that my first few days here would be so awesome. And I anticipate better things to come.
Wellington is Superdope
I've only been here just over 24 hours, and I already love this city. It's very compact, and easy to get around by foot. I've spent a lot of time walking around downtown, trying to get lost, so I can find my way again. It's the unmetaphorical version of what I'm doing in New Zealand in the first place, only the finding part is much easier.
I met a few buskers downtown today, one who played flamenco guitar. I think I need to learn from his technique, because he has an interesting way of adding percussion while strumming. His technique is different from my own, but I think there's a lot of potential in combining the two.
The other one had a Warr Guitar, which was cool to see for the first time. These guitars are designed to be "tapped" instead of plucked, like a Chapman Stick, or the technique used by Stanley Jordan. It's pretty cool to see these kinds of things on my second day in the city.
I'm planning to keep an ongoing list of observations about Wellington. And I think I should start with the most pressing issue:
1. It is my primary goal to avoid being hit by a car in the first week. It's not that I will suddenly stop trying to get hit by a car. It's just that for the time being, my instinct is to look the wrong way for cars. I'm also a bit jet-lagged and tired. This is a dangerous mixture.
2. The birds here know different songs than Canadian birds. This is probably true of most two places on Earth, but I find the differences interesting. They do still have untalented chirping birds, but the songbirds are quite different. Waking up to new birds songs is better than waking up to old birdsongs, even with the jet lag.
3. My leg muscles are not used to hills; they are used to prairies. Going downtown is great, because it starts by going down a hill. Coming back is tiring, and daunting to the point where I actually stay downtown to delay the inevitable climb home.
I met a few buskers downtown today, one who played flamenco guitar. I think I need to learn from his technique, because he has an interesting way of adding percussion while strumming. His technique is different from my own, but I think there's a lot of potential in combining the two.
The other one had a Warr Guitar, which was cool to see for the first time. These guitars are designed to be "tapped" instead of plucked, like a Chapman Stick, or the technique used by Stanley Jordan. It's pretty cool to see these kinds of things on my second day in the city.
I'm planning to keep an ongoing list of observations about Wellington. And I think I should start with the most pressing issue:
1. It is my primary goal to avoid being hit by a car in the first week. It's not that I will suddenly stop trying to get hit by a car. It's just that for the time being, my instinct is to look the wrong way for cars. I'm also a bit jet-lagged and tired. This is a dangerous mixture.
2. The birds here know different songs than Canadian birds. This is probably true of most two places on Earth, but I find the differences interesting. They do still have untalented chirping birds, but the songbirds are quite different. Waking up to new birds songs is better than waking up to old birdsongs, even with the jet lag.
3. My leg muscles are not used to hills; they are used to prairies. Going downtown is great, because it starts by going down a hill. Coming back is tiring, and daunting to the point where I actually stay downtown to delay the inevitable climb home.
Summer is over...
...but it's almost summer again. In two days I will be going to Wellington, New Zealand to avoid the Canadian winter. I have little planned out for the six months that I will be there, but the plan was not to have a plan. The very act of showing up under-prepared is somewhat of an exercise in non-religious faith, trusting that things will work out.
After completing my work on Notepad Command, I worked on a second, as-of-yet untitled game for Monoclesoft. The music consisted of short loops which play until a certain even is triggered, then move on to the next loop, a slightly more layered version of the previous loop. It was all about stacking parts, musical elaboration, and gradual growth from an initial idea. It was an interesting process to tackle the music that needed to fit that model of progression.
I have been inconsistent with my blog posts, but I hope that my new adventures in New Zealand will inspire me to post more frequently.
After completing my work on Notepad Command, I worked on a second, as-of-yet untitled game for Monoclesoft. The music consisted of short loops which play until a certain even is triggered, then move on to the next loop, a slightly more layered version of the previous loop. It was all about stacking parts, musical elaboration, and gradual growth from an initial idea. It was an interesting process to tackle the music that needed to fit that model of progression.
I have been inconsistent with my blog posts, but I hope that my new adventures in New Zealand will inspire me to post more frequently.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)