so many new songs
we have so much new material that we are working with now that it is hard to keep track of it all. the rock opera has turned into a 25+ song beast, not all of which is even being used in the upcoming stage show. i'm still focused on mixing it down and right now getting some auxiliary instrumentation added on - horns, strings, etc. it's been a real bitch finding people to fill those roles, so i've now hit up my brother who lives in Ashland to pull out his rolodex of contacts and i will probably be making a trip up there in the next week or so to get it all nailed down. as it is, i am mostly happy with the material, though there are still a couple songs that need major overhauls in the instrumentation, as there are elements that simply make me cringe every time. plus, we gotta write and record the fucking overture and outroture (curtain call) still too!
for the stage production, i have an actual title - music director! - and i have being working with the actor/vocalists in the stage show, which is kind of a weird new thing for me. most of the "talent" is very good and capable, yet i never imagined that learning the material would be so challenging for the parties involved, nor that sheet music which clearly delineates the melodies and phrasing would be so potentially useful (cuz fuck no, they ain't no sheet music, ha!) while i have a natural advantage being the jerk that wrote the songs (and recorded all of the guide vocals already), i have really come to realize how much i appear to have developed my ear over the past few years, ahem - cuz this shit was all pretty easy for me, if i must say so myself. certainly, i never expected most of the male leads to hit some of the high notes, but i'll be damned, i certainly didn't expect some of the struggles i have encountered thus far. but again, most of the performers do indeed have what it takes, and at this point i think it is coming down to a situation of ego versus experience (or lack thereof, of the latter that is) with just a couple people involved. hopefully it will not come to the point that i will have to openly mock and snicker at certain performances in the actual run of the show that fail to do justice to the silly songs of which i have recorded and composed.
speaking of which, here are the performance dates of ORESTEIA FRACTUM:
Fri, Mar 9 8:00p - Opening Night
Sat, Mar 10 8:00p
Sun, Mar 11 2:00p
Fri, Mar 16 8:00p
Sat, Mar 17 8:00p
Sun, Mar 18 2:00p
Location: City College of San Francisco - Diego Rivera Theatre, San Francisco, CA
Tickets $15: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/224756
additionally, Tommi and I have been writing and rehearsing with M, our new band member, and coming with stuff very quickly. she is wonderful, incredibly creative and driven. it's good to have some new blood in the mix. plus she has been contributing to the rockpera as well, and i'll be damned if she doesn't a super strong ear as well. really knocking everything out like a pro.
we will be making our return to the stage and live debut with M on Thursday March 15 @ the Stork Club in Oakland, playing with a bunch of bands we've never heard of. we'll be playing a mix of reworked songs from PCN, a few pieces from the Oresteia rockpera, and several brand new things. and we're through being cool, btw. no more pandering to the hipsterati, ha!
as far as we know, Jimo is still off in that cult, living out in a commune somewhere in the desert. hopefully he is finding the spiritual fulfillment that he has been in search of.
for the stage production, i have an actual title - music director! - and i have being working with the actor/vocalists in the stage show, which is kind of a weird new thing for me. most of the "talent" is very good and capable, yet i never imagined that learning the material would be so challenging for the parties involved, nor that sheet music which clearly delineates the melodies and phrasing would be so potentially useful (cuz fuck no, they ain't no sheet music, ha!) while i have a natural advantage being the jerk that wrote the songs (and recorded all of the guide vocals already), i have really come to realize how much i appear to have developed my ear over the past few years, ahem - cuz this shit was all pretty easy for me, if i must say so myself. certainly, i never expected most of the male leads to hit some of the high notes, but i'll be damned, i certainly didn't expect some of the struggles i have encountered thus far. but again, most of the performers do indeed have what it takes, and at this point i think it is coming down to a situation of ego versus experience (or lack thereof, of the latter that is) with just a couple people involved. hopefully it will not come to the point that i will have to openly mock and snicker at certain performances in the actual run of the show that fail to do justice to the silly songs of which i have recorded and composed.
speaking of which, here are the performance dates of ORESTEIA FRACTUM:
Fri, Mar 9 8:00p - Opening Night
Sat, Mar 10 8:00p
Sun, Mar 11 2:00p
Fri, Mar 16 8:00p
Sat, Mar 17 8:00p
Sun, Mar 18 2:00p
Location: City College of San Francisco - Diego Rivera Theatre, San Francisco, CA
Tickets $15: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/224756
additionally, Tommi and I have been writing and rehearsing with M, our new band member, and coming with stuff very quickly. she is wonderful, incredibly creative and driven. it's good to have some new blood in the mix. plus she has been contributing to the rockpera as well, and i'll be damned if she doesn't a super strong ear as well. really knocking everything out like a pro.
we will be making our return to the stage and live debut with M on Thursday March 15 @ the Stork Club in Oakland, playing with a bunch of bands we've never heard of. we'll be playing a mix of reworked songs from PCN, a few pieces from the Oresteia rockpera, and several brand new things. and we're through being cool, btw. no more pandering to the hipsterati, ha!
as far as we know, Jimo is still off in that cult, living out in a commune somewhere in the desert. hopefully he is finding the spiritual fulfillment that he has been in search of.
posted by eriq at 12:48 PM
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