Well, the holidays are here and for many musicians (just like retail) this is the heaviest gig season of the year. I've been behind on updates for a few months (sorry about that!), but if you're out and about in the Raleigh/Durham area, here's some opportunities to hear some live music!

Last night was my kick-off for the season with the Durham Symphony Christmas gala. It was a little different format this year, as our usual venue (the Durham Armory) is under renovations. So, we were in the Carolina Theater instead. There was a good sized crowd there to hear the show, and our guest conductor, Fouad Fakouri from the Fayetteville Symphony, lead us through some holiday favorites as well as Beethoven's 1st Symphony. This concert will be repeated this Sunday (12/7) in Clinton, NC, as has become our yearly tradition.

Also this Sunday, the Raleigh Symphony will be having it's Christmas show at Maymandi hall downtown Raleigh. I'm actually not playing this one, as I have another show at the same time (more on that below), but Christina will be there in the trombone section, as will our good friend Keith Henderson, singing some Elvis holiday classics with the orchestra!

Sunday evening, I'll be playing with one of my newest projects, ballroom-dance band King's Kompany. We'll be providing the music for the Toppers Dance Club.

Next Sunday (12/14) I'll be at the North Raleigh United Methodist Church playing two services at 8:30 and 11:00. They have a really great holiday service every year, a tribute to their accomplished music director, Michael Glasgow.

Then, the next weekend (12/20-21), it's time for the Durham Christmas Pageant at Page Auditorium at Duke University. We're doing 3 performances again this year, at 3:00 and 7:00 on Saturday, and 3:00 on Sunday. This is always a great productions, and really gets you in the spirit for Christmas, so if you have time it is not to be missed.

After that, time to rest and catch up with family - I think we're actually planning to skip out of town for a few days to recover and get ready for the new year!

Please join me in supporting the Sierra Club Socks "Sock-athon".

Devmir, the company putting on the Sock-athon underwent a rigorous evaluation from the Sierra Club and were entrusted with the Sierra Club brand for the new line of socks made from organic cotton, bamboo and other earth friendly yarns. The goal of the Sock-athon is to raise one million dollars for the Sierra Club and to donate one million pair of socks to the National Coalition for the Homeless. This will be achieved through the sales of Sierra Club socks. (for every pair purchased, the Sierra Club receives a full 10% and another pair will be donated to the National Coalition for the Homeless) Please help me spread the word about this event and I encourage you to participate by purchasing a few pair of Sierra Club socks on November 1.

Visit http://sierraclubsocks.com to learn more.

Take a few minutes to pre-register and join me on November 1 to help these two great causes.

A couple of months ago someone said to me (in a cover band situation), "Either play it exactly like to original, better than the original, or don't play it at all". I disagreee with this on so many different levels, it's taken me till now to sort it out in my head.

First of all,  a basic point-to-point rebuttal:

You're never going to play anything exactly like the original. Not even the original artist is going to play it exactly like the recording (which actually isn't the original - the original is an idea in the composer's mind, but that's a tangent I won't go off on just yet). This is why I've always believed that if all you're hoping to accomplish is to reproduce a recording, you'd be better off bringing a CD than a musical instrument - that's the only way it;s going to happen.

Whether you're playing something better than the original is highly subjective. Some people fell in love with a certain version of a song, and will never accept anything other than that version as acceptable (again, bring the CD). Some people love hearing reinterpretations of songs and want to hear it as different as possible. I would guess that most are somewhere in between. So, who's to judge? Better to just leave that one alone.

Second, moving just a little deeper into the psyche behind the quote:

The person who said this to me spends a great deal of time informing everyone whom he's played with in the past. The list is long and illustrious, as he tells it (over and over again). He's also quite fond of telling everyone how to play their particular instruments (while ignoring his own shortcomings, of course) regardless of if he's able to demonstrate better technique himself. This person is also, shall we say, frequently the most "experienced" member of the group he's playing in (ok, not sure if that got through - he's freakin' old). This leads me to believe that his only standard of accomplishment has been to try and duplicate what has already been done, many times, by many other players. Through his supposedly long and illustrious career, he's still playing the sideman in a cover band, and putting himself in thr position of being hired (and yes, subsequently fired) by someone half his age. Maybe I'm cocky (alright, I'm beyond cocky, no maybe about it), but I don't bother telling people whom I've played with. I tend to make it clear that they are playing with me. End of story.

Third, to broaden the perspective musically:

My personal path as a musician would be, "If you aren't creating something new, don't bother". And yes, this applies even (maybe especially) to cover bands. As an example, as a percussionist in a symphony orchestra (the most extreme example of a cover band there is), I am required to play certain notes at a certain time. They are written down, published for the world to see, set in stone. However, the depth of interpretive variation from one player is staggering. Listen to two recordings of a Bethoven symphony and you start to wonder if they're looking at the same piece of music. Get into Rimsky-Korsakov and the differences are astounding. My goal as a symphonic percussionist is to filter the dots on the page through my own musical training, influences, and experience to come up with my own reality of how those notes should be played. To make that part Beethoven (or Rimsky-Korsakov, or Tchaikovsky et. al.) through me, and because of me. I've always said, "When I'm playing with a symphony, I feel like a drumset player. When I'm playing with a rock band, I feel like a djembe player. When I'm playing djembe, I feel like a jazz vibraphonist". It never ends. There's always something new to express, and the more rigid the part I play, the deeper I dig to make that expression come alive through the music.

In the end, music is a creative art, at every level. Playing a notated part is no more or less creative than playing free improv. It's just creativity expressed in a different way. If you're not here to create, press [PLAY].

Beverly Bottsford was one of my first djembe teachers - check out her new solo performance piece...

> " Gourd and Groove Around the World"

> with Cross-Cultural Percussionist, Beverly Botsford

> Gourds have been used as musical instruments for centuries

> throughout the world. Using an assortment of gourds, Botsford

> creates stirring rhythms accented with folklore, history, humor,

> science, and art.

>

> Sunday August 10th, 2008 3:00 to 4:00 PM

> NC Museum of History in Raleigh, NC tel: 919-807-7900

> 5 East Edenton Street (between Salisbury and Wilmington Streets) in

> downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.

> www.ncmuseumofhistory.org

>

> FREE ADMISSION

>

> A Closer Look: Making Music in North Carolina

> Sunday, August 10

> 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. (drop-in program)

> ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _

> I hope you all can make it. It blends music w/ spoken-word,

> movement, stories, wisdoms and humor. I'll be telling my

> autobiographical tale of life with the Cogui Indians in the Sierra

> Nevada of Columbia. !!!!

> It's not "kids show", but is certainly appropriate for families

> w/ children. "Edutainment" with an edge.

> PLEASE HELP ME SPREAD THE WORD.

>

> In Peace and Rhythm, Beverly

Durham Symphony Supporters,

Just a reminder, you have one more week to save on season tickets for the Durham Symphony Orchestra. You don't want to miss this exciting season!

 

Buy in July

Buy your Durham Symphony Orchestra

Season Tickets in July for $75 ($80 after July)

Season Tickets include admission to:

Fall Classical Concert

November 2, 3pm ~ Carolina Theatre

Fundraiser for the Center for Child and Family Health

featuring Guest Artist, Shana Blake Hill, Soprano

and Conductor Candidate, William Henry Curry

Holiday Pops Concert

December 5, 7pm ~ Carolina Theatre

featuring Conductor Candidate, Fouad Fakhouri

Classical Concert

February 8, 3pm ~ Baldwin Auditorium

featuring Young Artists Competition Winners

and Conductor Candidate Harry Davidson

For more information or to purchase your tickets,

please call the Durham Symphony office 919-560-2736

or email office@durhamsymphony.org.

Or you can send a check made payable to Durham Symphony

to PO Box 1993, Durham, NC 27702.