October-December 2014

Brass Balagan near Davis Square

I've taken a break from blogging for a bit, but maybe it's not such a bad thing. I feel like a greater volume of posts might lead to a greater volume of crap (except for the little post about the Q train - I felt that was necessary and substantial).

The pattern of traveling between places for gigs (and now, holidays) continues. Despite this, I don't feel any stronger-than-normal lack of involvement in the world, by which I probably mean the city that I live in. This is doubtless due to the nature of the projects that I've been a part of since returning, or the things from other places that continue.

When I last left VT, I knew I'd see Balagan soon again at the People's Climate March in NY (about 2/3 of the group came down for the event). I was happy to see them down there, and I love having visitors in general. A few weeks later, we would all be in Somerville for HONK. I may have written about the festival last year, but this years October in Boston was filled with an even more varied, rich, and extreme palette of feelings. Let me elaborate on a few of these things:

Meeting up with the band in Somerville was particularly warming. I came a few days earlier to rehearse for the NEC John Zorn retrospective (a then-frustrating experience), and made it a point to greet the first arrivals from Balagan pretty much as soon as they got in on Friday afternoon.

I got to the Davis Square VFW, warmed up, and soon after greeted Emily DiPaola and Jen Berger (trumpets), who were staying with a host close by. They called their host (Maggie, a HONK Committee member), and we went over to the house. Though I was staying with my brother in JP, it was great to meet a HONK host and hear a bit about how the committee has managed to warmly accommodate hundreds of musicians for the last 8 years. It was a nice house, not broken into apartments, with a live-in landlord who was away much of the fall. Maggie showed us the place, where the other band members could settle in when they arrived, and told them they could use the kitchen however they wanted (last year she had hosted a group from New Orleans, and woke up on Saturday morning to a bunch of dudes cooking fried chicken prior to the opening ceremony).

Jen Berger on the T  with two members
of the Red Flame Hunters from NOLA

There was a rally with some of the bands going on downtown in Boston, so we went to check that out before the others got in. As the sun began to set more Balaganistas showed up and we joined the neighborhood lantern parade. We were missing a few key players (basically 3/4 of our percussion and our tubist), and were off to a shaky start. After a debriefing, we went over to the VFW to have dinner and hang with the other bands - a cleansing end to to the evening.

The next morning was a rainy one, but by the end of the opening ceremony it began to clear up. Our two sets that day were great, and we were able to hear alot of the other groups. one of them was Veveritse from NY, who we all went to see together right after the last set. They played at the edge of the big field we all met in the night before - totally mind blowing, and there were only about 10 others there. It was mildly surreal, but awesome.

The whole thing ended on Sunday with a parade down to Cambridge Octoberfest, where each band played a set somewhere in Harvard Square, and then a couple songs on a big stage set up across from the Harvard Coop. That's probably the most people we play for every year. Really fun. There was an afterparty at this big club where they served unlimited mac & cheese, and had a full bar. We sat down for one more time as a band before dispersing. I stuck around for a bit, listening to some other bands and talking to some people I'd met that weekend. Later I went up to Davis to say goodnight to a few people who hadn't left yet. Emily, who I haven't seen since HONK, is currently on a cross-country bike trip to the west coast. It was a bit sad knowing that she'd be leaving VT indefinitely, but at least we all have skype now, in addition to pen & paper.

Right before and after HONK, I met with Daniel & Lautaro to again to rehearse Hockey. We rehearsed as much as we could when I was in town,  and brought it in to a few C.I meetings. I planned to leave town right after the next meeting, but would have to come back 4 days later for another rehearsal and a coaching. After a brief existential meltdown, I decided to stay in MA for those 4 days. This allowed me to visit my grandparents and cousins. That weekend, we went up no NH for my cousin Amy's engagement party. Before last year, I hadn't been up that way for about 8 years, and I realized then that I needed more frequent getaways to quiet little places like that.  On our way back to MA, my uncle Peter and I drove all around the white mountains, checking out a few of the ski towns with awesome views - also some paces I hadn't seen in years. While some things in Boston are constantly changing, its  interesting to see what few small changes there have actually been up north.

FlatHouse Series

The next day, we had a coaching for Hockey, which we recorded and sent to Zorn for comments. He wrote back with a few suggestions, and it was clear we'd at least get to play for him when he was in town. When we met him, he worked with us individually to get our sonic vocabulary consistent, and made sure we could move from sound to sound easier (and with greater speed). Though he didn't hear the piece in full, we'd previously worked out strategies between us that propelled things, and he was happy with our interaction.

During the concert, Zorn would go backstage between pieces and talk to each group before and after they played. Lautaro had a tie and suit jacket, and he jokingly said "Man, do you really want to go out there like that? Come on, loosen up a bit!" He successfully got Lautaro to get rid of the jacket and tie (I wish there was a picture of this), and calmed our nerves in the process. When we finished, he was back there again. "You did it, man! You f***king did it!!" It's hard to tell when you're playing that piece how you're actually doing, but in retrospect, we got it that night, and he was happy with the whole concert (there were over a dozen pieces on the program). He gave a talk for students during the day, and a public discussion prior to the concert. Among several things, he spoke at length about his earlier days. They were playing in small spaces for a few people at a time, and seeing elders do the same thing. "That tradition continues," he said. It's always interesting and encouraging to see that the legends and artistic heroes of our time  had experiences that to an extent parallel our own. To interact with all of this firsthand is invaluable.

Dan & I on Boltbus after the Zorn concert

Between that concert and Thanksgiving, things calmed down for a bit. I spent more than 2 weeks in NY, had a couple of private gigs, and started to really work on a couple of things that had taken a backseat. Steve and his roommates had another  house concert, and we played a set of Gershwin tunes. This turned out to be a super deranged performance, where we didn't quite line up the way we'd hoped. A few days later, we listened to a recording of it, and just shook our heads. It's good to do something that falls on its side, so you can sit it upright again. Our duo project isn't over, but we've got our work cut out for us.

I was contemplating staying in NY for the holiday, but I found a $2 roundtrip for Boltbus, which I of course had to use. December was a little busier in NY, but not so stressful. Zorn invited everyone down to NY to play at the Stone. It was great to see everyone down there (without having to travel), and play that music again.

Right before I came home for the holidays, Mark, Steve, and I had another house concert at Steve's place (now dubbed FlatHouse series). We revisited our trio with Joanna, which has always worked well. Anthony came down from the East Village to play a set, and there were a few other  NEC people there. Mark & I drove back to Boston the next day, and I took a train to my grandparents house later that afternoon. I was completely exhausted after all of this, but said exhaustion has been slowly wearing away since.

12/20 at Linden Street