Trey Bone

This is just a quick update on last night’s Trey Bone performance at B.B. Rover’s. It went well. We performed our set in an acoustically unstable environment, and nobody died. Even better, several people actually enjoyed it. Unfortunately, nobody thought to bring a camera.

Trey Bone Performs at Live Oak

Photo by CT

Well, here we are again. Three members of Trey Bone and Beccano played at Live Oak yesterday morning. We provided supporting music for the first sermon Aaron White delivered in his new role as sabbatical minister. He is filling in while our main minister is on sabbatical (until December). I will be glad for Chuck’s return, but I am not looking forward to losing Aaron. He is the most interesting speaker we have at Live Oak.

Beccano made his performing debut using my 1972 Jazz Bass. He did a really fine job and shows here that he has mastered the attitude.

Photo by CT

Yesterday’s sermon was about looking more for the things that unite us than those that divide us—especially in this time when the politics of division seem to be ruling all of our lives and ruining our nation. To support that theme Suna picked three songs that we can add to the band’s repertoire:

• “Rocky Mountain High” (John Denver and Mike Taylor)
• “Warrior for Peace” (Suna)
• “One Tin Soldier” (Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter)

“Rocky Mountain High” is about finding inner peace and harmony with nature. We performed it as the prelude to an almost empty house. But those who were there applauded loudly, and it inspired our poet in residence to read a poem he wrote about the death of John Denver when Joys and Concerns rolled around.

While Suna and Bill carried the vocals, I played “lead accoustic guitar,” which consisted mainly of finger-picking the chords and improvising melody on “Warrior.”

Photo by CT

Suna wrote “Warrior for Peace” for this sermon. We played it while the ushers passed the plate. The house was packed at this time because the kids and their teachers had not yet split off for religious education. Everyone applauded loudly.

We did “One Tin Soldier” as the postlude, primarily because it is a song about endings. And Suna didn’t want to do it while the kids were in the room because the good guys lose in this story. Again, the crowd applauded loudly.

Afterward, we got lots of compliments on all three songs. The applause and the compliments mean a lot to me because Live Oak is such a musical community. I mused with one of the parishioners whose tastes rung to big band music about that. He asked me how large an orchestra we could put together if we had everyone who played an instrument on stage. I said I thought that there would be more people on stage than in the audience.

So once again I am grateful for music. Oh yeah, and the new contract.

Shameless Plug:

Come see us Tuesday night at B.B. Rover’s. We will start playing our hour set at about 8:00PM.

Open Mic Night Out

Gaining Confidence

Phone photo by: Suna

We’ve all gotta start somewhere. Suna encouraged me to participate in the open mic night at BB Rover’s last night after Trey Bone played. When we got there, I realized I had forgotten my guitar. Not getting off the hook that easy, TubaBoy brought it to me after he got off work.

Trey Bone’s performance was not our best. Bill had Buster (at least one of the Bs in the restaurant name)roll all the treble off his guitar. This lead to a bass-y sound that never got fixed all night. Everytime I hit a note, it caused Bill’s guitar to feedback. Other than that, we did OK. A few missed notes, but nothing fatal.

I was the next-to-the-last performer because I didn’t sign up until after my guitar arrived. That meant almost all of our friends had already given up—probably a good thing. It took the entire first song to get used to the mic, which was set too hot and too close. (I was sitting down and had trouble moving away from it.) I was able to move it after the first song, and make enough adjustments myself to get through the second and third, which were actually a medley.

Suna says I did OK. All I know is that I was really nervous, which caused me to play the first one too fast. I was able to slow down the second one enough to get by and got the tempo right during the seque to the third song. I noticed a really good guitar playing nodding while I played the third one. So I guess what I need is to do this more often.

So what I am really grateful for today is Suna. She encourages me, supports me, and tells me I do well. She knows my bluster covers a timid ego and takes care of me.

Gig Sunday

Trey Bone will be playing at BB Rover’s on Sunday night. Please drop by if you’re in the area.

BB Rover’s

12636 Research Blvd # B101

Austin, TX 78759

512) 335-9504

Map

I’m impressed with myself that I got this up before the gig. We will play sometime after 7:00.

Party Report and Gratefulness

Just because it’s pretty. A geranium blossom fell on Beccano’s pineapple, making it look as if the pineapple is blooming. Later one fell and was skewered by a sharp pineapple leaf.

Trey Bone played last night at the keyboard player’s birthday. It went well, and we were received much better than we deserved—probably because of the twin margarita machines. A singer in a band I used to play with once claimed that the band was sponsored by his favorite brewery. He would tell the audience, “The more you drink, the better we sound.”

One of the highlights was jamming with FRM. Somehow, we never did that when we both lived in the same house.

Another was finding a new nickname for the band. Since “Trey Bone” is a pun on très bon (very good) that originated when the group was officially a trio, we have been trying to figure out how to accommodate the extra member. Last night one of the people in the audience yelled out, “Trey Bonus!” I like that.

Grateful Monday

Today I am grateful again for music. I can’t count the number of times it has gotten me through rough times. Of course, it also helped me get into some of those rough times, but that is a different story.

I am never so comfortable as when jamming with musicians I trust—musically, that is. The intense listening that goes with playing something you are making up as you go is just wonderful. Music becomes a conversation. I remembered some of that last night. It reminded me that I would like to play more and rehearse less.

A Boney Gig and Feast

The Dung Daisy (Gerbera fecisuu) is one of the most tepid examples of the fictional daisy family.

Trey Bone has another gig!

OK, this one doesn’t count. It’s a short set at the piano player’s birthday party. But there will be real musicians there, and maybe I can get some work out of it. Let’s hope.

Friday’s Feast

Appetizer: Invent a new flower; give it a name and describe it.

The Dung Daisy (Gerbera fecisuu) is a forlorn flower that grows only on well fertilized fields where it is likely to be trampled by herds of muck buffalo on whose bovine byproducts it thrives. The sordid brown flower sits atop a tepid stem that generally sprouts a lone languid leaf. It is pollinated by blowflies, who are attracted to is odoriferous out gassing, for which it is named.

Soup: Name someone whom you think has a wonderful voice.

1. Linda Ronstadt—I’ve been a fan since I can remember. She continues to grow her capabilities instead of resting on her laurels.
2. Suna—I love to hear her burst into random song. I wish I could do as well.

Salad: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how clean do you keep your car?

4. It rains, doesn’t it? And it seems like every time I clean the inside, it gets piled up again before I know it. But I have been thinking about vacuuming it out again. The bike is much easier to keep clean.

Main Course: How do you feel about poetry?

It all depends upon. Some is good, some isn’t. I love Dickinson. I despise ee cummings. I like metered, rhymed poetry that doesn’t necessarily read like it. I despise blank verse. There was already a name for arrhythmic, unrhymed literature: prose.

Dessert: What was the last person/place/thing you took a picture of?

I honestly don’t remember. Probably something on our trip to the farm this past weekend, possibly my dad.

On Broadway

This was TubaBoy’s first official gig. He has learned one of the most important lessons in music: If you don’t know the part well enough to sound good, just don’t sound bad.

They say that I won’t last too long on Broadway

I’ll take a Greyhound bus for home, they all say

But they’re dead wrong, I know they are

’Cause I can play this here guitar

And I won’t quit ’till I’m a star on Broadway

—Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil,
Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller

This weekend was one of the best I’ve had in a while. It was all about music.

We started Friday with a Trey Bone rehearsal in preparation for Sunday night. We got together at Deadhead’s to go over a few of the songs Suna and company have been doing for years. I’ve taken to playing lead bass. With two guitars already in the mix, a lead guitar wasn’t adding that much to the sound. Now, I’m rounding out the bottom while still adding some linear movement. We decided on four songs: “Helplessly Hoping,” “California Dreaming,” “Attics of My Life,” and “I’ve Just Seen a Face.”

After gardening all day Saturday (more in a later blog entry), we went to a house concert at MoneyMan’s house. I call him MoneyMan because he is the church treasurer, not because he is exceedingly rich—although he is not poor. His spouse won’t eat anything that has ever touched an animal product or flame. Even so, there was excellent snackage. Not to mention excellent music by Karen Mal and Ken Gaines. Two steel stringed acoustic guitars, two voices, and no amplification yielded a warm, rich sound that completely filled the room. I really enjoyed listening to them. I love the imagery on her song “The Space Between.” And I like the title track to Ken’s Catfish Moon CD. He is working very hard to keep a dying style of music alive.

It’s hard to believe that this was their third anniversary playing as a duet. Their first performance together was also a house concert at MoneyMan’s house.

The sermon at church Sunday was delivered by the senior religious education class. They also provided the music. Jewel2 sang and played acoustic guitar (nylon strings) for the transitional bits and a hymn. A small ensemble played Let It Be for the collection. And TubaBoy joined an electric ensemble for the postlude. I never thought I’d hear Red Hot Chili Peppers in church.

Then Sunday night was our “gig” at BB Rover’s Café and Pub. Well, it wasn’t really a gig; it was an open mike. After Attics, the crowd was so wowed, the owner asked us to play a fifth song, instead of the three (four with an encore) we had planned. We added “Landslide.” It’s good tune for Suna to sing, but the guys have an unfortunate tendency to not put the correct chords in the cheat sheet. They’ll put the chords in one key and then capo (seven frets in this case)—I’ve always played with people who could transpose before. Sigh. I started in the written key instead of the key they actually play it in. Other than that, it was a good evening.

All of the acts at the open mike, although of widely varying style, were good. Well, maybe one of them wasn’t, but we couldn’t hear his voice in the mix. So it didn’t matter. This being my first open mike, I wonder if any city other than Austin (or maybe Nashville or LA) would have the quality of performer showing up at an open mike in an obscure café. It really reinforced that I made the right decision when I chose to stop trying to earn a living as a performer. There is just too much good, unsung talent for the market to support.

Grateful Monday

So that brings us to what I am grateful for this week: music. It is so good to have music back in my life, pervading my life even. I am surrounded by music and musicians. Oddly, I find the cacophony of developing musicians satisfying, especially when the get what they were working on. I love the wonderful exploration that comes of not being afraid to make a mistake.

It’s Still rock and Roll to Me

This is the guitar I chose to play for the choir. I usually dress better than this in public.

Photo by: Suna

It’s the next phase, new wave, dance craze, anyways

It’s still rock and roll to me

—Billy Joel

This post is an update on the music scene at The Hermitage. Suna and I participated in two separate rehearsals over the past two nights.

Trey Bone

As you already know, I am now the semi-official guitarist in residence for Trey Bone—the vocal trio that Suna and some of her friends have worked in for almost a decade. I love their harmonies and try not to detract too much from the sound.

I am not really confident in my singing right now because my voice seems to be changing again. And since their harmonies are so tight, there usually isn’t a note left in my range. All this means that I’m not even trying to sing with them. I think they are probably relieved, even if they would not admit it.

So we practiced Tuesday night, and we sounded really good. We are even talking about trying to land a couple of gigs other than the annual freeze out at the race track.

Choir

Last night was the final rehearsal for the Christmas pageant. This year, the Christmas service features the children’s choir, with the adults backing them. I am also playing guitar for this one because only one of the pieces has an official tenor part, and they all have guitar chords above the piano part. Most of the tunes are really easy, and I would be able to memorize them if we had a couple more practices.

After the rehearsal, we had a baby shower for Cute Young Couple, the newest members of the choir.

Thank You for the Music

Three members of Trey Bone play with a drummer at Live Oak UU Church Photo by: John Montgomery

What would life be without a song or dance

What are we

So, I say, thank you for the music

For giving it to me

—Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus

Tonight was the first rehearsal for Trey Bone since we played a couple of songs at church in October. It went really well, almost as if we had been playing together recently. Suna and the guys harmonized so well that it sent chills down my spine. Would that I could sing that prettily.

We are using the same set list as last year, with the addition of a couple of songs. One thing that’s nice is that we’ve slowed down some of the tunes to a more reasonable pace. There were a couple that I felt as if we were racing through. Slower, they sound really good.

Grateful Monday on Tuesday

OK. I’m a little late getting my Grateful Monday post. My dear reader knows that this blog often post a few days or weeks behind. I have enough deadlines at work to feel the need for them in my recreational activities. Humph.

Anyway. Today I am grateful for music. I love the feeling of hitting the notes with everyone—losing yourself in something larger than yourself. I love being able to play or sing or both and have the music just flow through me without thought.

Listening to a really good performance sometimes brings this transcendence, but playing…

Surprise, Suprise, Suprise

They invited us back to play next year. That is goodness. I think.

More Music

Amy’s Ice Cream on Burnet Road
 

Well, it finally happened. We had a gig.

Trey Bone with Special Guest (me) played at the Amy’s Ice Cream world headquarters for the 3M ½-Marathon. It was bloody cold. I couldn’t feel my guitar. Unfortunately, I could feel my fingers; they hurt.

Soon after we started, someone brought us each a breakfast burrito. I stuck mine in my coat pocket and used it to keep my left hand warm. That worked for about five minutes. Well, I’m not really sure if it worked or if it just prolonged the agony.

We played for about 45 minutes to an appreciative gathering of locals and runners. The runners didn’t stick around to listen, but many of them shouted their thanks. At least, I hope it was thanks. Apologies for the numb clunkers.

It's Music Again

Band practice tonight went swimmingly. When we practiced on Saturday, one of the singers (who also plays guitar) was still sick. That means that I had to try to carry the whole guitar load on songs I don't really know. But he was back tonight. So I was able to concentrate on filling in holes.

Someone once told me that I would be bored by the music this band plays. Well, the challenge is for me to learn so many intricate harmonies, rhythms, and chord progressions at once. Since we use librettos with tablatures instead of actual music, you have to already know the song to learn it.

Also, we have a tendancy to play the songs once. Tonight we actually worked on parts, instead of racing through the list. It was very satisfying.