what is going on in your musical life

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

I guess I should have looked upthread to see that I already said this, oops

I was hoping for some glowing 8-bit type Casio sounds, now that would have been a happy accident

I'm gonna suggest we do a chiptone Messiah next year

And congrats LL!

My drumming has been feeling better than ever lately, but having a hard time with producing new music. Starting lots of tracks and abandoning them if they're not clicking rather than pushing through, which I'm choosing to see as wisdom rather than laziness. And having a hard time not feeling like I'm repeating myself, or like I'm making something that hasn't been done better by someone else. There's one track I'm really happy with, but I seem to like it more than anyone else, which is not ideal.

xp yesss

LL, that sounds like a great variety of fun stuff to be doing!

DJP - I'm gonna suggest we do a chiptone Messiah next year -> please please! I need this.

My band's album now physically exists, to be released vv soon, eeeek!

https://scontent.flhr3-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/82119783_2650535134996085_2119605212850159616_o.jpg
(hopefully that works, ours is the LP on the right)

https://scontent.flhr3-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/82119783_2650535134996085_2119605212850159616_o.jpg?_nc_cat=111&_nc_ohc=2DaYleYxFYUAX97bste&_nc_ht=scontent.flhr3-1.fna&oh=e9aa15f909050f898cd3c1bafefd4ff2&oe=5E9EF02B

?

Emil.y I can’t wait to hear it!!

The band I play with is releasing a record this spring too. I only play on one song on the album but it’s still exciting!

I'm gonna suggest we do a chiptone Messiah next year

Get a Commodore 64 and a MSSIAH cartridge!

A woman in my social-media orbit recently asked if anyone has a drum set sitting around, to potentially sell to her 17-year-old daughter.

As it happens, I am thinking about selling some drums (to get more and different drums, of course).

Nothing especially momentous, and perhaps it won't happen, but it does warm my heart to hear that there is a teenager living in the year 2020 who even a little serious about playing acoustic drums.