Feb 26 2013

Kansas City-We arrived here yesterday around mid day-hours before a big snowstorm hit the midwest. Paul Hideyo and I had changed our flights to early morning flights to avoid the storm weather.

Today was rehearsal day, with focus on an arrangement of Blue Rondo by Dave Brubeck, and Allegro from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. We felt inspired to work on new dynamics for the Fifth, after hearing a great rendition for solo piano by Louis Lortie.

Brubeck’s piece is still in the beginning stages, but the arrangement is near complete-Last week I arranged the second of two cycles of ‘Brubeck’ chordal progressions based on the original studio recording–big fat jazzy chords! Brubeck’s dynamic playing and sense of humor is fascinating; I hope it will come across in this new CGT arrangement.

March 1, 2013

Leaving for Arkansas.
Little Rock, Arkansas: A busy morning on the phone with Paypal customer service. While I was on hold I practiced new fingerings for Beethoven’s Fifth-and some new ideas came for different phrasings.

An encouraging email from Andrew Keeling arrived about continuing our work on Robert Fripp’s Orchestral Sound Scapes…he suggested I make a transcription of ‘Here Comes the Flood’ next. After hearing the magnificent performance of OSC by the ‘Metropool Orkest’ in Amsterdam last May, we feel that more transcribing and composing needs to be done to create a more cohesive work. The last transcription I made of ‘On My Mother’s Birthday’ was much more ‘composed in’ by Andrew.

March 2, 2013
Late gig at Juanita’s in Little Rock last night… We played for about 15 people in a club in the center of town, at 10 pm. Fortunately the folks in the audience were really excited about coming to see us play.

March 4
Back in Kansas City, we did our final winter show with the Montreal Guitar Trio at the Yardley Theater, for a big crowd of 850 people.
Audience before the show at Yardley Hall(photo by Paul)

I was happy to see Steve Ozark in the audience. He became CGT’s booking agent in the late nineties, after our tour as opening act with King Crimson. He worked with us for several years, and got us off to a great start, performing all over the US.
I made sure to thank him for that last night.

I’m now on a plane to Los Angeles for a three day visit with my daughter Tillie, and I also look forward to a couple of weeks at home, to rest up a bit, readying for an intense touring schedule with CGT and our pals from the Montreal Guitar Trio in the spring.

Today’s a drive day: 500 miles from Largo, Florida to Atlanta, Georgia.
Last night we played our final concert of this tour with the Montreal Guitar Trio.
We played some fine theaters in Largo, Gainesville and Melbourne, Florida. It’s been a lot of fun playing and hanging out with our pals from the MG3; they are a wild bunch, bursting with jokes and laughter. We’ll miss them next week, during our upcoming CGT gigs, but we are looking forward to many more concerts this year and the next. During our drive today I did an online interview, and below is an excerpt:
Q:So, how is the tour going so far? How does you live schedule these days compare with previous years?

A:Last night we played the final concert of a ten-day tour with the Montreal Guitar Trio. We played seven concerts in California, Texas and Florida. It’s a really exciting show, and great fun sharing the stage with the Montreal Guitar Trio(MG3).  

Right now we are driving to Atlanta(a 500 mile drive today), for a week of concerts with the CGT next week. 
  We used to play mostly clubs with CGT, but since we started working with our agency several years ago, we have been playing in nice theaters and performing art centers around the   country. Our basic set up is still the same: we rent a mini van, book our own hotels, and take care of our own travel details. In the past we had to cut corners to make the tours profitable and go home with some money:we’d share hotel rooms and try to cut corners where we could. These days we book individual hotel rooms(thanks to Priceline we can get some great deals), we try to eat healthy when possible, and we also cut down the travel distances on performing days. We now don’t drive more than 200 miles on a performance day. If it’s more we make it a travel day, so we can rest up and be in good shape for the concert the next day. 

Q:How has your playing progressed over the years? 
A:There is more focus on musicality and dynamics. For instance:playing with the likes of Tony Levin has showed us a different, more open approach on playing together and our sense of keeping time. We used to play much more ‘metronomic’ in our beginning years. We’ve also loosened up a lot on stage; we used to be much more uptight onstage and worried about every little thing that went wrong. Over the years, we’ve let go of all that, and now we just laugh about the little things that go wrong during a performance. It’s these unexpected things that makes it more fun anyway, and that’s why people come to see us play after all.

Q:Echoes is an album of covers. Andromeda is all original compositions. Masterworks is all classical music. Your earlier albums are a blend of everything. How do you decide what to record? Do you have any specific plans for the next album? 
A:Our first albums were a reflection of what our live concerts were like. But after we recorded our Christmas Album, we recognized the need for more coherence in our CD releases, and we liked the themes that went along with each project. Our focus now is on writing and arranging music for a studio album with the sextet(CGT+MG3). 

Q:You’ve been sharing some dates with the Montreal Guitar Trio. How did that relationship come about and how do those shows differ from a typical CGT show? 
A:We’ve always enjoyed playing with other musicians, and collaborations have been an integral part of our history. Working with other musicians gives us a different perspective, and has opened up many opportunities for the CGT in the past. 

We met the MG3 at a music conference in Eugene, Oregon, about four years ago. We liked their music, and we saw that we have some things in common: both trios are very eclectic, and like to play just about any kind of music that resonates with us. We were on the same flight on our way back from the conference, and during a layover in Chicago we discussed getting together for a few concerts. A few months later we played a series of concerts in Canada with them. With only one rehearsal day we had to be really fast and prepared; we sent each other mp3′s of pieces we wanted to play together. The rehearsal was incredible: as soon as we sat down together something very special happened, and the sound of both trio’s meshed together, creating something very powerful. The shows are very dynamic, especially because we showcase the separate trio’s in the first part of the show. During the second half of the show both trio’s take the stage together and the audience gets to share that magic moment that we all felt four years ago in our first rehearsal.

Glen(MG3) is changing strings before sound check in Gainesville, FL
 

CGT/MG3 Live in Gainesville, FL

CGT backstage before our show in Gainesville, FL

Final bow to the audience, CGT/MG3 in Gainesville

CGT backstage in Largo, FL

CGT/MG3 onstage in Largo, FL

Last night we played our first CGT/MG3 show for this year at the lovely Raymond Kabbaz Theater in Los Angeles. The concert started out with Montreal Guitar Trio-they played a 20 min set and included their new arrangement of the Barber of Seville. Last piece in their set was Garam Masala, with lots of percussion (on the guitar)and detuned guitars, evoking some true classical Indian music. A winner. They are a tough act to follow!
For this tour we re-learnt one of our favorite classical pieces: the Overture from Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. It made for a good ending piece of the CGT set.
After intermission we all came out and played a set as a Sextet, including some newer pieces written for this group: Magneto by Sebastien Dufour and an arrangement of Penguin Cafe Orchestra’s ‘Perpetuum Mobile’.
Great to see family and friends after this show; most of them attended the first CGT concert some 23 years ago, at the ‘Natural Fudge Cafe’ on Fountain Ave. And here we were back in LA almost a quarter century later!

Jan 28, Austin, TX
Day off in Austin. Yesterday we traveled from Longview, TX to Austin(a 5 h drive), and played two back to back concerts at the One World Theater in Austin, with MG3.
Between both shows they catered us some good TX barbecue food from a local place called Ruby’s. Both shows went very well, but after the barbecue meat there was great energy during the second show. Austin folks are some of our favorite audiences, and last night they didn’t let us down!

     On the road: Waiters at a Mexican restaurant singing Happy birthday to Hideyo.

    Load in at the backstage door in Longview, TX. On this tour we’re traveling in small           SUV’s, one for CGT and one for MG3.

     Set up for sound check in Longview, TX

    On this tour Paul and I play a new Breedlove guitar, model Voice Auditorium, sent to         us by the team to test. It has walnut back and sides and is one of the best sounding             guitars I ever played.

     Paul and Hideyo, backstage at One World Theater in Austin.

Houston airport, TX. Waiting for a plane to take me back home, after ten days of house concerts in Austin with Tom Griesgraber. The past few days have been quite a whirlwind. On Saturday we drove from Austin to Houston. About an hour outside Austin our car got sideswiped as we turned into a gas station at La Grange. I was in the passenger seat; it all happened in a split second—-didn’t see it coming—-BANG! A truck hit the right front of our car, skidded and landed on some boulders. They had to lift it off with a crane. Fortunately no one got hurt. Tom’s car was severely damaged on the front right side; with one wheel completely out of alignment, and some leaking fluids it was undriveable. We had it towed to the nearest garage. We still had a few hours left to go to our gig in Houston, but we had to act fast: we decided to get it towed to the Toyota dealership back in Austin, and on the way there we rented a car at the airport. We made it just in time for our concert at the Artery in Houston. It was a packed house, and a great crowd and fun gig.
Yesterday morning we drove back to Austin in the rental car for our final house concert of this tour. Tom’s going to stay in town a few more days to deal with insurance and the car repair.

Final house concert in Austin on January 13.

At the Artery in Houston, January 12

Assessing damage after the accident

January 12, 2013

I decided to write up some diary entries again, after taking a break from it for a while. Im currently in Austin, TX, playing a series of house concerts with Tom Griesgraber to promote our new release ‘Unnamed Lands’.

We’ve been staying at our friend Bruce Stofft’s house in Driftwood this past week, playing house concerts in the Austin area almost every day. Today we’re heading out to Houston for a show at the Artery.

Below are some photos from the past few days:

Private house concert in Austin, Jan 11.

Private house concert in Austin with special guest Suzanne Oleson, Jan 5

At the German/Texan Heritage Society, Jan 6(photo Laura Dow)

One of the curators at the German/Texan Heritage Society(Photo Laura Dow)

The audience on Jan 5

With Mark Vermette at our first concert at Fellowship Hall near Driftwood. We met in 1986 at our first Guitar Craft Course with Robert Fripp.

Max,our playful companion during our stay at Bruce’s house in Austin.

After a day off in Bend, Oregon, I flew to Brussels, Belgium, for a visit to my parents, and a weekend in Amsterdam.

The past 12 years I have been working with composer Andrew Keeling on ‘Orchestral Soundscapes’. I was commissioned to select and transcribe music played by guitarist Robert Fripp, and Andrew Keeling arranged these transcripts for orchestra and choir. All of this music was from Robert Fripp’s solo CD’s and performances, called ‘Soundscapes’.

Music producer Gert-Jan Blom organized the big event: a concert at the Muziekgebouw aan’t IJ by the Metropole Orkest and the Crouche End Festival Chorus, directed by Jules Buckley. This coincided with the release of a new CD ”The Wine of Silence” with recordings from previous performances by the Metropole Orkest in 2003 and 2006, produced by David Singleton.

The concert was magnificent and moving. I was blown away by Andrew’s latest arrangement of ‘On My Mother’s Birthday’. He composed new choir sections into the original transcript, taking the music to a different place.  It was one of the most beautiful performances I witnessed, ever, and feel very grateful for the immense work involved by all. Robert told us that he feels this was the beginning for a larger work to come.

And so, the transcribing continues!

The Poster..

The Venue

Rehearsals-photo Sid Smith

Pre-Concert Talk with producer David Singleton and Andrew Keeling-photo Sid Smith

The Concert-photo Andrew Keeling

After the concert, with composer Andrew Keeling

With my mother in Belgium

With Carrie, mother and father in Belgium

Playing music with my dad

Begijnhof in Brugges

Westvleteren

The final leg of the tour took us to Los Angeles, where we started our last week of touring. First gig was in Redlands, CA, where we stayed in the beautiful home of our friends John and Sally.

Redlands, CA

In Los Angeles we met up with Fred Raimondi, for a video shoot of our classic song “the Marsh’. He had some specific ideas and a vision on how to make a very cool black and white video. The session took 4 hours and we played the song over and over again, with a camera crew taking some really close shots of our hands and guitars. I can’t wait to see the result!

Video shoot in Los Angeles with Fred Raimondi and crew

A little make up for Hideyo before the video shoot

Meeting up with MG3 in San Louis Obispo

Sound Check at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga, CA

Workshop at Santa Teresa High, in San Jose, CA. Great students, and amazing teacher Tony de Rose.

CGT in action at the workshop in San Jose, CA

Signing CD's at the Opera House in Napa

After the Napa concert the CGT completed the tour with a concert in Forest Grove, OR.
Paul and Hideyo flew home, and I flew to Bend, Oregon for a day off, and a nice breakfast with luthier Jayson Bowerman.

After our last gig in the US  at the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA, we drove to Canada for a week of concerts with the Montreal Guitar Trio. We rehearsed for a day in Montreal, and worked on a great new piece that Sebastian Dufour wrote for the sextet: ‘Magneto’.

Most of the shows were in large concert halls, including one of our favorite spots in the world: Quebec City.

Phew! I’m back home after a long tour, that started all the way back in February. After a brief break we met up in Minneapolis for the second half of the tour, and a concert at Cedar Cultural Center. We also played in a home for mentally disabled people the next morning. Lots of joy that morning; and lots of dancing too!

The next phase of the tour was tough: Paul caught a flu somewhere-he had trouble talking to the audience for a few days, and was feeling terrible. Thank goodness he was in decent shape to still play! Then I got the same thing, and was miserable for a week or so. Trying to recuperate while on the road isn’t easy. Fortunately we stayed in some nice hotels, including a resort and a private country house in Sinnissipi, Michigan, where I enjoyed some much needed rest.

The next week we played several gigs in Lansing, Grand Rapids, Rockford, and Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo. On April 1 we played a special concert at the Ark in Ann Arbor with Tony Levin, and Abby Swidler, a young violin player from Michigan.  Highlight was the new arrangement of a piece from Penguin Cafe Orchestra: Perpetuum Mobile, with both Tony and Abby on strings. We also featured more pieces off our recent Masterworks CD: Bach’s Passacaglia and Prelude from Lutesuite, with Tony on upright bass and cello. I didn’t take many photos during this time, so you’ll see some of Hideyo’s photos below.

April 3 was a drive day: we drove about 680 miles to Pawling, NY for a gig with Tony at the Towne Crier. And we liked Abby’s playing so much we invited her to join us for a gig near Boston, MA on April 5.

Meridian, Mississippi. Today is our first day off/drive day on a two month long tour.

We’re on our way to Jackson today; Paul and I went to a Bikram Yoga class before we left-it’s been good to stay in shape and focused while traveling.

The past two weeks we traveled through Missouri, Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama, and dodged some tornadoes along the way. Kentucky was hit by a big one just a day or two after we were there, and the Atlanta area had weather alerts the day before we arrived; we’ve been lucky!

It’s been a real pleasure to travel with Paul and Hideyo.  A real effort is made to take care of oneself and each other on this long trip, with more intimate and smaller venues down here in the South. Texas is up next, and then we’ll have a four day break before we meet again in Michigan for another 6 weeks of intense touring. Below are some photos from our adventures these past few weeks:

Checking the recording levels for our first show in St Louis

Paul warming up backstage at Radio Radio in Indianapolis

Backstage at Natasha's in Lexington, Kentucky

Before sound check at the Evening Muse in Charlotte, North Carolina

Sound check with Adie at the Coffee Tree in Frankfort, Kentucky. (photo Hideyo Moriya)

CGT live at the Altamont in Asheville, North Carolina(photo Wayne Porter)

Before loading out at the 5 spot in Atlanta

Hideyo changing strings backstage at the 5 Spot in Atlanta, GA

Paul changing his strings backstage at the Rhytm and Brews in Chattanooga, Tennessee.