Blog

I played a club last night where lots of old rock bands from the 60's and 70's are now playing! Full circle for them, huh?? Was a big club, but not a stadium!

I used to be a big fan of a band called 'The Tubes'. JEEEEZ, I youtubed them and I couldn't believe I used to dig them. I can't for the life of me remember why I did. Maybe I need to check out the album. But man, I don't dig them now. I must be missing something I had back then. I noticed they were pretty 'theatrical'. Maybe that was it. I'm missing something.

BTW - anyone can start the vibe diary. I personally think it's pretty cool for someone to start talking about what they're doing and then all the rest of us join in.

I was glad to finally have a day where I don't have to practice other peoples music. i do have a session tomorrow but the music is not that tough. And I do do a bunch of gigs with Diane Monroe, but I think I got a handle on all that!! We will see.

Man I missed a brunch gig today. I knew I put the gig into Google calendar, I remember checking the time with the cat and checking my next gig after it today. I remember putting the date in the calendar.

I wasn't there and I missed the damn gig! Now I'm freaked out. Do I go back to paper? Could I have done something weird and deleted it?? What a mess. I'm going to pay the bass player what he was going to make today.

September is here and we are eager to tie in with colleges. I think with technology we could do some really great things!

We work with the University of Delaware doing some things with their percussion department. We are in their syllabus. Students subscribe to the site and work with the material. And we'd like to build on that!

As part of the University of Delaware subscription I come out and do a clinic (included) and we also do a vibe hang from the school.

It has been ages since I posted any in the blog: last months have been enormously busy but ended with a nice holidaytrip to Scotland.

With the added new cnc-machinery and after quite some programming we were able to speed up the building process of the gigVibe models. Was really needed cause due to the developping of the carbonVibe the delivery time of the gigVibe increased a lot. Luckily we're blessed with understanding and very patient customers.
We're now finalizing the gigVibes for the last couple of them, among which a very nice 3.5 octaves with midi.

I am always curious what people are practicing. THIS is how we learn by checking each other out!

I worked on O grand Amor and finished up with really trying to play Anthropology and make it swing.

My buddy Joe Magnarelli warms up with a Parker tune. When he feels it's swinging he knows he has found his center. I dug that and mess around with that concept.

OK WHAT DID YOU PRACTICE TODAY?

So, I played a gig with a new band this weekend and afterwards and during I got a million comments to the effective of, "wow, the vibes sound cool! You add some great color behind the soloists. I didn't know you could do that with vibes" -- from the musicians as well as the audience.

Now all of this was very gratifying but of course, I KNOW that vibes sound cool already -- that's why I play it! It's amazing how many people have no idea what a vibraphone can do, even other musicians. And especially what a 4-mallet, chord-oriented vibist can do.

My first blog ever!

I just got home from the Vibes workshop at the University of Delaware, and what a great time it was. Meeting David Friedman was terrific; what a genuine, warm person he is and how passionate about imparting his encyclopedic knowledge of the vibraphone to the students. I truly envy the vibraphone students in Germany that get to study with him.

Thanks Tony for organizing this, and thanks to Harvey Price for hosting the event. I hope to go again.

So 2 great workshops this summer! I'm amazed at what how vibe players can grow in one week of hard work! It's really cool because I meet vibe players from all over the world now. It's all the same, you work hard you get better!

I'm amazed also at how this site is used in the workshop. Players bring up lessons as topics to talk about, they have questions about lessons. Between all of us, the site has grown into a HUGE source of information. I see this at every workshop.

I'm curious about other people's experience with mallet break in. I have a set of mallets that sounded really harsh (i.e. too hard) when I first played them and now they sound really great.