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I'd love to hear what other people do when they rehearse their bands. I'd especially like to hear about rehearsals with Frank Zappa (if anyone at VW has any experience with that). I heard he rehearsed a lot. I'd also like to hear about rehearsals with "local" bands and rehearsals that David Friedman, Gary Burton and Tony conduct when traveling, and anyone who is doing "professional" rehearsals who is paying their members for their time.

The next "traditional" vibe hang is April 3 from 12-2 East Coast USA time.

I would LOVE to get more people involved. If we have to go longer than 2, then fine. You guys are posting videos and audios, so I know some of you can try this. You can use a web cam on your computer if you want. That will work ok with your computer mic.

In fact I have a bigger plan in mind… to have a whole day online music performance with vibes players from all over the world!!

I laughed when I heard vibraman mention Franz's name (Franz is a new subscriber). He said, 'Man I thought I knew all the great players in Germany'.

There's a message here I think worth mentioning. Man be humble. You just never know who's sitting in the audience, or who's around the corner from you.

I had Mike Gordon over the house today. I didn't know much at all about Phish. But man some people worship this group huh??? He shot some video for our hand drum site. Any fans? I'll also put some on face book.

I was supposed to go to the concert tonight, but i got sick.

Here a recent take of Wine & Roses (to get going with posting here)
Through practice of permutation from Bergonzi's Melodic Structures I recently started finding a way to bridge the "gap" between playing the head with chords (I generally start out learning a tune by fitting the chords under the melody first- as written on the pdf) and horizontal lines, in other words: move on from a "stiff" head to being able to improvise over the changes.

The steps I figured out playing more freely & horizontal were:

Barry was talking about preparing for a gig he might or might not do.

It hit me while I was practicing. Every one should spend time 'preparing' for a gig. Even if you don't have one, or feel like you're not good enough. Whatever!!!

When I post my solo pieces, I'm always preparing for my solo vibe CD. I might never make this cd, but I'm always preparing for it. That gives me a level that I have to achieve with each piece.

I fantasize about making a solo cd. So I'm always preparing for it. That means I'm practicing 'for real'.

Sometimes I feel like the scare crow in the Wizard of Oz. Not because I feel I'm missing a brain but because i wish I was a sponge. I want the capability to immediately soak up all the information available for playing vibes. And I want it now. At my age sometimes you feel its risky to buy slightly brown bananas.

I was lucky enough to get along to Ronnie Scott's on Saturday night, to see an absolutely fantastic gig. I rushed over to catch the late show, (all the early tickets were sold out, unsurprisingly) and a packed out club was treated to some amazing music.

The best students are the ones who teach themselves and as a result have lots and lots of questions for their teachers..

When I teach a class and we do nothing that I had prepared, then it was a great class usually.

For some reason that just hit me. I forget who told me that but someone great did, way back in the day.

Rather than bury back in my mind, I thought I would type out here.

What's your favorite cd(s) where the format is a vibes trio, that is Vibes, Bass and Drums?