Yesterday we went out for sticks. Maurice has acquired a peculiar limp, which may be down to her perch, or the insane way she performs her landings. So it was time to forage for a few sturdy sticks for the wee thing to sit on and spray with poo, as is her bent.
It’s Friday again; the whole week seems to have been reorganised so that Thursday felt like a bank holiday Monday, Wednesday was a Friday and today is some strange blend of Sunday and Tuesday which I shall dub Stunday and will doubtless involve lots of carefully placed karate chops on special pressure points, thus rendering my opponents unconscious.
This also means that we should start rehearsing again for Rhys Hughes’ book launch on the 15th of September, since that is only 7 days away. Thankfully we have learned all the new songs so that our brains don’t have to contain any others right now. We have a grand total of 12 songs, enough for an hour or so. It seems like a nice number of songs, so maybe we can take our time over the next ones. I’d like the next batch to explore the instrumentation more and also to try new ways of making music with the sounds we have. If there is less pressure to get song each “done” I think this will yield some fine fruit, and help to develop what we have. No need to keep things the same since we have all this unmapped freedom at out disposal.
Patrick from Henry Martin’s Ghost got me thinking at the gig last week when he was talking about using drones to sing to when recording. Rather than having a backing track of the music itself the singer sings to a drone in the key of the song, which was interesting in that it apparently encourages the singer to find a different voice, “the other voice” as Patrick put it. I like the idea that there is an actual voice hidden somewhere within which requires the singer to discard their various affections and habits in order for it to be freed.
It would be interesting to take this approach and apply it to the whole group of instruments; rather than working through the individual parts and chord progressions of a song instead playing against a continuous drone and building smaller components onto and around that drone. Take the drone away and what are you left with? I fancy that actually, just got to find something to get droning with. Maybe I’ll give Clement Freud a call.
15 comments:
I saw Clement Freud in a jacuzzi in London. He was staying in the same hotel as me. Fortunately he was not in the same room.
Singing to a single droning note can be very effective and helps you if you're trying to work out harmonies too.
I'm going to try just playing a single droning note all throughout future gigs; it'll be so much easier than all those parts I have to learn and fancy solos I have to to come up with, and it'll really annoy everyone too.
Why not play the silence around and within the drone? That would be truly ground breaking. Jam on that silent vibe right in the core of the drone, mine the bedrock of silence that is the foundation for all sound, the primordial nothing that defines everything. Man.
Or you could just show your willy to the audience for a laugh.
Yeah, willy is good. Go with the willy Burns.
Willy burns? Ow!
that'll be gon or ear.
I don't think anyone should play their willy.
Play around the willy instead!
It's always better if someone else plays with it for you in my experience.
I have been playing within my willy.
Instead of doing my cartoons!
Very wise. I would advocate everyone playing with their willies if they have one of their own. If you are one of our befannied sisters you could play with that instead. Alternatively, if you're feeling friendly, play with someone else's fanny or willy. It's all good, but make sure you ask first, or at least are confident that you will be warmly received.
Very wise words. Wise indeed. Why, I remember only too well the 'fiddling with the driver' incident that led someone of my acquaintance being banned from school coach trips for a whole week.
Ah, happy memories... if only they were true.
If Rhysaurus (made up name) could be bothered to attend Satori gigs then he could have his bloody cartoons. Obviously he has better things to do.
Actually, it's perfectly reasonable for him to have something better (or more important) to do than attend one of our gigs. I think that goes for most people apart from the members of Satori (who rarely have anything else better to do because we live in the countryside where nothing ever happens).
The above does not apply to Morriston Burns because he spends most of his time attending to his small-holding (ooooooooh maaaatron!).
How dare you suggest there could be anything better than attending a Satori gig, especially since you're in it. Yes Rhysaurus, how much do you want to bet if you had come to the last couple of gigs Anthony would have had your cartoons...no, I didn't think so.
Befannied...that's a great word!
Post a Comment