Monday 27 November 2006 by ramuji
- Performance Schedule:
No more performances scheduled for 2006
The weekend in Tokyo with Stick player Greg Howard was wonderful. Greg was in Japan for the first time in six years, during the weekend of 18, 19, and 20 November. He had a busy weekend, including a joint concert with Stick player Kanamaru Toshiaki on the 18th, a Chapman Stick clinic on the 19th, and finally returning home to the US on the 20th.
I learned a lot about Greg’s Stick technique, but there was so much to absorb in such a short time that my head felt close to bursting. I have no performances scheduled for December, so I’ll use that time to study and practice the basic techniques I learned from Greg.
We also had time to discuss a few other things, such as the state of Stick activity in Japan and an exciting project Greg
has coming up soon that I may be able to lend him a hand on. We plan to keep in touch and work together to elevate the Stick scene in Japan, a little at a time.
Photo 1: With Greg Howard, at the Ishibashi Music Store in Shibuya
Photo 2: Greg Howard plays ramuji’s graphite Stick
Posted in Photos, Stick Players, Stick Techniques, Performances | 1 Comment »
Tuesday 28 September 2004 by ramuji
One reason I’m really disappointed that I didn’t get a recording of my performance on Sunday night is because I played my “Chapman bass motor” patterns in front of an audience for the first time. These are left hand bass patterns strongly based on what Emmett Chapman teaches in his excellent book Free Hands. I still have trouble putting my left hand on “auto pilot” and mainintaing the pattern while soloing (or doing anything mildly intricate, for that matter) with the right hand. But, I think putting what I have so far out in front of an audience without any major crashes was an important first step to building a bit of confidence with the technique. Still, it would have been nice to have a recording to study afterwards.
I’m in the preliminary stages of booking a Stick player for a performace at a local cafe, hopefully before the end of the year. We don’t even have a date nailed down yet, so its too early for details. Hopefully good news will be available in the near future.
Posted in Miscellaneous, Stick Techniques | No Comments »
Saturday 14 August 2004 by ramuji
Following a nice lunch at a nearby French cafe that Chicaco and I really like, we spent the rest of Sunday taking it easy at home watching TV and listening to music. Chicaco found time to watch
Zatoichi today; I’ll have to find time in my schedule to watch it this week before returning it to the video shop on Friday. We also spent a good part of the day watching the Olympics. We’ve been hooked on the judo competitions, and Japan has faired well with 3 golds and a silver.I’ve never quite been able to work out the left-hand bass motors that Emmett describes in
Free Hands. I simply haven’t put enough time into practicing and getting it up to speed while soloing with my right hand. A few days ago, I was playing some quick 16th notes in the bass, and after a friend commented how he liked how it sounded I realized that it was something of a modified version of what Emmett was teaching in the book. So, I’ve been reading through those pages of Free Hands again, and also watched
Hands Across the Board again today for some visual input. Now, I just need to spend some serious time on practicing it.
I found this picture of Greg Howard on the website of Sound House, one of my favorite music equipment suppliers in Japan. Apparently they send staff members to the US every year to attend and report on the NAMM events, and had the chance to speak with and photograph Greg at this year’s Summer Session in Nashville. Greg was demostrating the graphite model Stick XG at the booth exhibited by Moses, the company that provides the graphite bodies to Stick Enterprises.
Posted in Miscellaneous, Stick Players, Stick Techniques | No Comments »
