Thinking of buying a digital piano for your children to study piano?

I just found some words I agree with when considering buying a digital piano for your children to study piano on:

http://www.piano-tuners.org/piano-forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=102

and

http://www.opusmusiceducation.com/blog/2012/06/pianos-vs-digital-pianos-vs-keyboards-how-to-choose-the-right-instrument-for-you/

I believe you can find a used acoustic upright (even a spinet piano) that costs the same as a digital and you will have a better instrument to develop a better technique.

Cheers, Bill

Cremation Association of North America (Gig #2101)

Interesting gig.  On Wednesday, August 15th 2012,  the CANA had my jazz trio playing for the trade show portion of their weekend in British Columbia at the Westin Bayshore Inn Vancouver.  (see youtube video of their weekend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DdtCR3E_gk&feature=player_embedded )  I see Jack Stafford and his trio enjoyed playing for them as well.

Thank-you to Noteable Entertainment for setting us up with CANA.  They were very nice people, and we had a fun afternoon.  Thanks to Ron Samworth (guitar), and Tim Stacey (Acoustic Bass).

Gig number classification

I want to number my professional gigs.  I'm never going to know exactly how many gigs I have played, but I'm going to count them roughly, and then from now on count every one.  At least, that's the plan. 

So, my first gig was around 1976.  It was a "sock hop" for my former elementary school (Seaview) in the gym.  Murray Mclauchlan, vocals (my neighbour, not the famous one).  Ken Lonie, guitar, Rob Clarke, bass, Glen Santics, drums and yours truly on electric piano (Rhodes 73).  I distinctly remember singing background to "Blue Suede Shoes", and we probably played "Monster Mash", and "Eight Days A Week".  We will call this gig #1.

Since gig #1, I played about 60 gigs with Royal Flush from 1977 to 1979 as well as with the Nanaimo Musician's Stage band.  Also, there were gigs with Peter Long (I remember a duo at the Nanaimo keg), and in about '79, there was a week at the Cowichan Valley Inn playing for "The Platters".  Also, lots of solo piano gigs in and around Nanaimo at pubs and bars etc.  Let's say I played 150 gigs in Nanaimo.

I went away to school in Texas in 1981, and then there was UBC in 1982 - 1986.  I played in the UBC Jazz Band #1 (and the 9 o'clock band at North Texas State University)  Let's add another 50 gigs here.  Don't forget the cruise ship I played for 11 weeks in the Caribbean in 1985.  (66 there).  Then there was the Yukon, and general gigs around Vancouver and Toronto.  Five months a year 6 days a week in the Yukon for 8 years, and slower amounts of gigs in the winter around this time.  By 1996 I had probably played 1200 gigs.  That was in 20 years.  (60 gigs/year).  That sounds about right.  Fifteen years later, lets keep this average going, so the total to date is approximately 2100 gigs.

I think it will be fun to number my gigs as I talk about them in the past and present.  Hopefully I won't have to shift all the numbers around as gigs occur to me.  (For example, forgetting a series of gigs from an unpleasant era).  They all count!

Persian Anniversary Party (Gig #2040)

Last Saturday afternoon Jennifer, Olivia, and I came home from a nice picnic in the sun in Deep Cove. We were tired from chasing our two year old around at the park, and the two year old was tired from being chased!

A local musician, John Owen called. Jennifer used to sing for him, but he was calling for me. He needed a sub for that evening. My first thought was to say no, but I AM a working musician, so OK. He told me it was going to be jazz, “an easy gig, only two hours".

I should know better than to believe any gig is easy, but I took only a couple of fake books with me (memorized tunes aren't my forte, they are more my pianissimo!) and headed to the British Properties for an ^“easy” 5^th anniversary party.

The couple who answered the door were gorgeous. They were out of some foreign film about young Iranian models. We traded stories about children (they have a one year old), and then it was down to work. I sat at a beautiful Yamaha C3 grand piano overlooking the entire Burrard Inlet. I pointed to Nanaimo, and said I was born over there. They didn't seem impressed. I'm a closet geographer. Anyway, I told the hostess that I was ready to play jazz, and I saw her nose scrunch up. “Do you play any popular music?” Yes, I thought, but I left that book at home. Kids, work on your memorization. It comes in handy. I played as many pop tunes as I could remember, but I kept coming back to the jazz tunes I brought with me, and that I love. The couple kept asking for pop tunes, so I said “I can read anything. What music do you have?" Well, that changed the whole evening. Kids, learn how to sight read. You can make a lot of money. It turns out they are into, of course, Persian music.

I had already played an Indian night of music a couple of years ago. The family sent me Cds ahead of time and I wrote out three piano tunes for their party. I was ready with those. I practiced them. The crowd loved it. “Now that's real music”, a man from the crowd said.

This was different. I had never SEEN this Persian music. However, after playing the Indian music, I new that it would sound and read like western music, and I was happy to see that the difficulty was about a grade 6 to 8 level. Almost every tempo was 84. It is very melancoly music. “This song was sung by a man to his daughter just before his execution under the Shaw” someone explained. I kind of got into it. The crowd went nuts. They asked for the same songs over and over (thank God!, or Allah!) so I got better at them. Anyway, I was a hit, after sweatting over bringing the wrong tunes for the wrong crowd. I was asked to play an extra hour, and got a nice tip. Phew!

Vancouver is changing. I should get organized and tell people I play international parties. Maybe after I change the baby, take my beautiful wife out on a long awaited date (for both of us), fix my crashed computer, slap on baseboards throughout the apartment, buy a new apartment, rent out the old one, fix the Thomas The Train that split in two (aren't those well made British toys?), etc. etc., oh yeah, and practice!

Harbour Dance Centre Vancouver (Gig #2039)

It's always fun to musical direct and play piano for the summer dance intensive musical theatre class at Harbour Dance Centre Vancouver. We spend one week of daily two hour classes to create a 3 minute piece of singing and dancing (wonderfully choreographed by Belinda Sobie). Martin Fisk was on drums this year. I met Martin last November in the pit orchestra for Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Gateway Theatre in Richmond.

We played a nice performance last Friday afternoon to the members of the other classes. It was exciting to have Amelia Kearns in class. She is a graduate of Arizona State's Musical Theatre Program, and is a very talented performer. Thanks to Pam and Danielle (the bosses at Harbour Dance) for supporting live music! We performed "When You're An Addams" from the new Addams Family Musical. Great singers this year.