what is going on in your musical life

Last night, I sang in my first concert of the season:

Desenclos - Requiem (I had a "blink and you'll miss it" solo bit in the Sanctus)
Parry - Songs of Farewell 1 - 3
Schuman - Carols of Death

It was rad! We pretty much nailed everything and I can't wait to hear the recording.

Oh wow nice

We're doing Bach Cantata #140 in my church gig's next concert, which has two baller soprano/baritone duets in it. I know I'm going to be doing one of them but I don't know which one yet.

Here they are, for reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_eZkYorPYg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us7_DO4M4pM

damn, Dan that is so cool you're still doing that.

It is weird/amazing/so fulfilling for me now that I can play music with my sons these days...hearing them play instruments is a true joy of parenthood, but a whole other level when you start playing with them. And then an even weirder sensation when they start blazing by your abilities.

I have been working off-and-on for the past four months on a very involving film score-- 100 minutes of music, all orchestral, all very dense. The temp score was Copland, Nyman and Glass. One of the key moments used "Prospero's Magic" as temp-- it's one of my favourite Nyman pieces and it was a pleasure to write something to replace it, and I knocked it out of the park, it's a beautiful piece of music.

I was ignoring the Glass and replacing with completely different stuff and it was starting to work. The Copland was some of the super rhythmic weirdfun stuff, and the stuff I wrote to replace it was coming off all disjointed and terrific. It was shaping up to be the best score I've ever worked on.

Then they showed the MIDI demo cut to the executives. They like it. They want it to be more basic bitch. They want there to be a more unifying compositional tone. It all sounds like my own music but the distance between Nyman-style writing and Copland-style writing was pretty large. I decided that I'd have to rewrite the opening, write something that bridged the gap.

"How do I bridge Copland and Nyman" I asked myself and I slept on it. I woke up and had the idea. The answer was John Adams. Get that rhythmic minimalism and the dense fifths, keep the phrasing square, a more elevated pulse. I worked on the opening for seven hours straight. It turned out perfectly. It was textured, pulsing, unspooling. It sat perfectly under the dialogue and was audible and effective. The ending itself was thrilling. Even as MIDI it was just working terrifically.

I sent it to the director. He texted me, "I got chills". "YOU GOT CHILLS FROM THE MIDI" I texted back. I played the cue for my ex, and for another friend, and another. "You nailed it," they all said, "this is perfect". I felt so job-well-done that I went out to reward myself with a bowl of chicken vermicelli.

I got a call from the director in the Vietnamese restaurant. The producer vetoed it. I paced for 17 minutes in the Vietnamese restaurant. I talked very loudly. They want catchy themes AND they want it not to compete with the dialogue. They want recognizable textures AND they want it to be unobtrusive. They want it to be dramatic and optimistic AND they want it to not be overbearing. They want it to sound like the other cues. They want me to establish the theme in a space of 2.5 seconds before the dialogue enters.

They do not understand anything. They don't understand anything. I rode on the streetcar for 30 minutes near tears writing my letter of resignation. I have lost months of my real life to this film and years of my sanity. I did not send the e-mail. I love my job and I hate my job and I hate my job

[Joni Mitchell voice]: I hate my job, I hate my job, I love my job

Aw man - what a great story with an absolute shit ending. In a situation like this, do they own the music that you created for them but that they don't want?

At least you got that perfect moment out of it. Writing the shit out of something and feeling like you nailed it. Screw those paper-pushing dorks.

Nope, it's mine when it's rejected, and tbh, the opening cue is so good that I would literally just put it on an album even as MIDI. It's so fucking good and I'm so appalled and humanity is garbage

thats amazing and maddening and i pray it sees the light of day

Fucking film music, man
It’s a wonder the good stuff ever gets through
Still psyched as fuck to hear the stuff of yours that appears in the film and that appears reappropriated on your own thing

Have you considered submitting audio of yourself saying "fuck you, you assholes" slowed down 10000% over the Amen break, see if that's more their speed?

OTM

That's brutal fgti. :( I don't think I would have the stomach for it. I couldn't even take making beats for rappers, the model of churning out tons of material in order to have most of it casually rejected was not for me.

I'm sure you'll figure out a great use of the raw material once the sting wears off. Maybe an OST for a film that 'doesn't exist'?

BOFA OST

I spoke to the director this morning and literally started crying on the phone. It is so frustrating to have to rewrite and rewrite and you feel (and all the people you regularly share your work-in-progress feel) like you did it already, you nailed it, and struggling to undo the thought and intention you’ve applied to the scene to come up with something brand new that will convince the admin body :(

fgti I'm sorry to hear about your struggles, fuck the bosses

in my own musical life I started a few weeks ago with a new piano teacher who so far I love and is really pushing me in a way I wasn't getting pushed previously. Trying to sight read in both hands with a metronome is emotionally trying! But I can do it if I try! Slowly.

My teacher also quite reasonably observed that I should work on music I'm interested in playing even if it seems too hard so I acquired Philip Glass' piano etudes and have started working on the first one at 1/3 of the listed tempo.

Oh man those Glass etudes are SO HARD, good luck

To deal with the annoyance re the score, I took a break and went and got my ears pierced

nice, and thanks for the well-wishes, I assume I will keep returning to them over the years until I'm actually advanced enough to play one of them

Cantata concert went great

That's great, DJP.

I was just offered a one hour ambient/improv/out gig at a nearby cafe this Friday. It seems like a good and exciting opportunity but also seems totally crazy to get an hour of solo music to a performance standard in four days. I said I'd confirm for sure tomorrow.

I finished writing the score and it's great and I'm happy now

!

Just agreed to do the gig tonight. Going to try to figure out a set, sigh.

Er, not tonight. I agree this afternoon. The gig is Friday.

Eh, one hour will fly by! You did the right thing by agreeing. I think it's good to accept challenging invitations if they present themselves :)

Thanks!

I finished writing the score and it's great and I'm happy now

I finished writing the score and it's great and I'm happy now

I just agreed to sing this in a concert next month:

https://youtu.be/urxk4mveLCw

@ hardcore dilettante

I just finished it all. I was really not-feeling the opening cue, which I wrote under the direction of producers/director, and was unhappy with the result (they loved it and wanted to use it.) I was so frustrated with their decision, and enamoured with other ideas I'd written, that I was seriously considering leaving the project over it. It passed, I was being overdramatic. I have softened on the opening cue and although I don't think it's the best option, I do think it essentially works. I'm so happy with the rest of the score and think it (and the film itself) are an achievement and so I'm really in a happy place about it!

in challenging invitations, i have accepted an invitation* to play a solo set (only 15-20 min) in early january, which means starting off my 2020 with 1) one rock band show and 2) one weird solo thing. YES PLEASE. I accept.

*invitation came from someone I don't know personally on facebook, so I was dubious at first, but then remembered my "always be growing/learning" mantra and accepted. i mean, i was invited. i can't say no!

Right on, you have some time to prep at least.

I totally couldn’t do it otherwise! But with a little time I’m looking forward to seeing what I can put together. And also realizing that it’s just 15 min, not a big deal. Right??!!?

Yeah, totally.

I was a little under the weather and took yesterday and today off work, which did give me a little more time to prep. Feeling ready-ish for tomorrow.

how’d it go?

Yeah how did it go??

I’m sitting in w a friend for an Alex Chilton annual bday thing. Should be fun!!!! Excited about the songs we’re playing :)

Wow. Can you tell us what they are? No pressure ;)

My yearly Messiah thing went well even though the power to the organ went out two days beforehand and we ended up singing with Casio accompaniment

Perhaps it was a problem with the blower? I hear that happens a lot. To organs.

Yes indeed I can! Most excited about You Get What You Deserve + Daisy Glaze, also I’m in Love...+ Give Me Another Chance but those are pretty mellow/not drummy

Daisy Glaze may be the craziest actual song I have ever played or attempted to play w other people.

Also newsflash I’m no Jody Stephens
It’s not for a few days and we will have rehearsed 2x. That’s enough right? I agreed to do this like 4 days ago.

how’d it go?

It went all right, thanks! The crowd was small and mostly there for the guys who put it on and played before me so there was a very small audience. It was fairly loose but I think the stuff came across all right anyway. Because there was less of a PA/sound system than I had anticipated, I ended up connecting my interface into the two amps of the guys who played first, which meant I kept trying to turn things down or adjust levels during my set. Still, I'd been hoping to put an album together for next summer so this got me to get pretty much all the material ready.

Alex Chilton thing sounds super fun.

Puffin: Yes, the blower was non-functional even after power was restored. I’m out of town on vacation now but I heard they fixed it before this morning’s service.

I have a new album out! Comes with a little book I drew as well. https://boomkat.com/products/the-saturn-star

Djp: Glad to hear about the organ blower

Am currently spending Christmas alone bc I have to sort through and edit 60 GBs of orchestral recordings for a film score

ahhhhhhh did a solo show tonight! the first thing i played got royally messed up from the outset and it was my first time out with the looper totally under my control so there were some bumps. but the second thing i played felt much more right and i feel so relieved!! ahhhhhhhhhhh

the last three weeks i have played
alex chilton tribute
regular rock show w the band i play with
solo w looper

a range of experiences in a short period of time, very satisfying :)

Right on, glad the solo show smoothed itself out.

BTW they didn't fix the organ before my Handel recital so we all ended singing to Casio accompaniment:

https://soundcloud.com/djperry1973/for-behold-darkness-shall-cover-the-earththe-people-that-walked-in-darkness