Haiku #12 - Roomies!

Better to lose sleep
because you like your roommate
than because you don't.


Me with my tour roommate, Alex the Badass Bassist 
We both look a little tired at the airport waiting for our flight back to New York, partly because we've been working very hard, and partly because we're getting into a habit of staying up talking and sharing music.  She is going to introduce me to funky jamz and remind me how to wear lipstick, and I'm going to introduce her to Latin grooves and teach her how to pack. We're a good team, and half of the rhythm section of the Heights band.

Haiku #11 - 2nd Preview

Sunday matinee
Trying to be on our game
Lac's in the hizzy

From left: Gianchi, Alex Lac, & Kurt
We had our second preview performance this afternoon, and Alex Lacamoire, the music supervisor was there.  He was (along with the aforementioned Shermanator) the Tony- and Grammy-award-winning orchestrator and arranger of the show, and the original music director on Broadway.  So... he knows how it should sound.  We all survived, and got some notes from Lac to polish the sound of the show when we hit the road for real in about a week.


Back to New York tomorrow... I am being beckoned downstairs to help some of my colleagues finish the riesling.  

Haiku #10 - Real American: Woody, The Vegan BBQ Master

At the theater
The vegan pitmaster feeds
Scores of carnivores

We had our first preview performance last night at Brooks Performing Arts center here in Clemson, SC. My friend from college days, Gregg, now heads the commercial music department in Spartanburg about an hour away, so he was able to be there. I had a little moment during the opening number when I realized that, while I've played these number hundreds of times for rehearsals, last night was my first time playing them with an audience.

Real America:
Today is the homecoming game at Clemson. It is now crystal clear how big a deal football and marching band are here in the South: this little college town, normally pop. 20,000, balloons to 100,000, mostly dressed in Clemson Tiger orange. We are marooned at the theater all day because of the parking and traffic situation, so the company and theater are feeding us.

Real American:
The theater is run by a guy named Woody, who makes a mean barbecue, and is, implausibly, vegan.

Haha, that's a good one, I laughed when he told me. I'd just tasted the pulled pork he brougt in for the crew. Ain't no way no vegan cooked pork like that. ...Awkward moment as I realized he wasn't joking. He's a self-described "friendly vegan" - vegan for health reasons, he does have a taste of his BBQ to make sure it's up to par. Woody has also been my hot water hookup - as long as his office door is open, I can feel free to use the electric kettle. This has improved morale during these long tech days, because I am MUCH nicer when I have tea access.

Haiku #6 - Kokopelli Goes to Band Practice

G.C. and Al - bass & drum!


Playing in the band:
Andrew, Al, Jonathan, Jim
G.C., Kat and Kurt

(not pictured: Jonathan, Andrew - trumpet and trombone, respectively. I'll catch them eventually, bwah hah hah hah...)
Jim the flute (and sax and clarinet) player with Kokopelli the flute player
With music director, Kurt and Koko

Haiku #4 - On the Keyboards!

I am practicing
pedal choreography
2nd keyboard woes

Let this not be interpreted as a complaint - 2nd keyboard woes in this show are mild compared to the woes of the 1st keyboard/conductor.  We had our first chance to practice on the keyboards last night, so finally I'm hearing the sounds from the show. I have about 160  patch changes, and I'm using a volume pedal for the first time. My left foot is like, "Yo, you want me to work? I haven't seen you since you needed me for the sostenuto pedal in 2002." ...But I have a lot fewer notes to play on a nightly basis than our fearless music director, Kurt (I also get to trigger the coolest sound effects, including but not limited to a car horn, a record scratch, and a big-ass explosion).

Relative woes are really a moot point, since I am also learning the conductor score to be prepared to conduct in the event Kurt eats some sketchy General Tso's or gets hit by a covered wagon. The show must go on - that is the magic of thater.

The Hitch-Haikuer's Guide to Real America

I'm hitting the road
With a Broadway musical

A poem a day
Keeps the tour madness away
At least I hope so

I bend haiku rules
But I like some structure so
"five, seven, five" stays 


PAST PROJECTS...
2010: A YEAR OF STANDARDS
In late 2009, sick of being stuck in a rut and tired of not knowing songs everyone else seemed to know, I decided to learn and memorize a song every day of 2010.  I spent a lot of time thinking about why songs are so important, as they became my taskmasters, my stepping stones, my companions throughout the year.  You can read about it starting here, and check out the list of songs I learned.

Winter/Spring 2011
I wasn't quite sure what to do after a year's worth of a song a day, so I decided to do a project every week that I called the Weekly Wishes project.  I eventually settled on trying to learn/transcribe something interesting and piano-based, and made a few videos (not weekly - too time-consuming), which you can check out on here.

It's the End of an Era!


I'm going on tour, y'all!

In the Heights, for which I worked as a rehearsal pianist when it was on Broadway, is embarking on the 2011-2012 national tour in about a month.  I'm going as the 2nd keyboard/associate conductor.  Very excited to be playing this music again, and to play with the band.

Fans of the show will know I stole the title of this post from the character Sonny.  Why do I talk about endings when I'm about to start on a new adventure?  Because beginnings and endings go together, duh...

I went next door to Nat's the other night for a glass of wine.  I used our "secret" passageway across the rooftop from my building to hers.  When I say, "be there in a minute", I mean it literally.  We catsit for each other; I once picked up Nat's bike from the repair shop.  Well, Nat is probably going to be moving out of the neighborhood sometime in the next few months.  I relish our little impromptu visits all the more because they may not be feasible when I get back.  

And of course the gig-goodbyes: letting my fall gigs know I won't be back this year, playing my last lobby lunchtime, trying not to lose it when my awesome 12-year-old piano student got tearful at the news that I'm abandoning her for the troubadour lifestyle.  I don't know what is on the other side of the next few months.  In the meantime, I get to play an awesome show, meet a lot of new people, and see a lot of new places.  Which all sounds pretty badass to me.

(P.S. I'm gonna take a little hiatus the next few weeks - but stay tuned for info on the tour - come see it when we come to a theater near you!)

Hiding my Piano from Irene!

Kawai Leopard-Pillow-Garbage-Bag Monster

I dressed my piano up as a sofa so Irene hopefully won't find it in the event my living room window breaks.  I'm on the 5th floor, so it's unlikely flying debris will be a problem (I heard glass break somewhere below me last night... and are we still under tornado watch? Not sure...), but there is a tree right outside that I've always loved for its sort of Zen-window-view representation of the seasons.  It's looking a little worse for wear and still has the heaviest winds to go, but so far so good.  

Diesel holding down the fort.
Speaking of windows, I slept in my entryway last night, because everywhere else in my apartment is too close for comfort to windows and the trees right outside.  This is the only instance in which I will complain about being too close to trees in New York City.

Central Park-Conservatory Gardens

 I took a walk yesterday morning during the calm before the storm, and took some pictures in Central Park.  Lots of people were milling around.  There was a couple looking at the plants in the Conservatory Gardens - I overheard the one of the women tell her partner about a type of grass that bends every but doesn't break in a storm.  Lots of people were walking their dogs.  There was a wedding party getting photos taken.  

My facebook news feed is filled with complaints of the anticlimactic hurricane.  Better that than catastrophic, I say!  We still have a few hours to go... here's hoping it is actually anticlimactic!