recording

I had my first recording experience today. Just me and a fancy microphone with my young friend Justin at the computer. It wasn't scary like it could've been. I didn't get any sort of physical signs of nervousness like if I'm performing live. But I didn't get energy from a crowd, either. Give & take, I suppose.

We did Sweet Georgia Brown first, and it was a fast arrangement, and high. But technology is amazing, so he dropped it 2 steps and slowed it down a little, and that made it much easier! The next song we did was All of Me, one of my favorites for sure. I must say, I'm a little intimidated by ballads. By negative space, by slow tempi. But we found a great arrangement of this tune, not a ballad by any stretch, but definitely slower, inviting. And I rocked it! Especially the third take.

And I learned a couple of things. Closing your eyes while singing helps. It really does.
Another thing- there's something to that jazz diva thing. Not diva in the temper tantrum sense, diva in the commanding sense. But not selfish either. It's hard to explain, but in my mind's eye, there was a sharp little black dress with a belt, black heels, and a sleek hairdo. And it made a difference you can hear. How awesome is that! Can' wait til I'm wearing the little black dress.

Why Skye is amazing

Skye Humphries: Men want to be him and dance like him; women want to dance with him and then some.

Me? I'm a bit leery, a little bashful. When I see people being bombarded for dances (and wow does he usually get bombarded), lots of times I back off so that I'm not part of the problem. But when I was in DC for ILHC, there was definitely some space around him. I caught the end of a class that he taught with Marie from Sweden. They were teaching a move where the follower is led to zoom in on a side pass, and then the lead lets her momentum change his own. Pretty spiffy.

The thing is, people think Skye is so amazing because he's probably the best lindy hopper in the world, or because he's so musical, or because his expression is so clear & focused, or because he's such a badass. Those are all pretty cool. But to me, the reason Skye is so amazing is that he's so humble. I don't know him personally, and my interactions with him have been brief, but from my perspective as an instructor and a fellow dancer, he's so very kind. When I approached him after the class at ILHC to ask him for feedback on the move they'd been teaching, he seemed a little aloof. But he quickly connected with me by dancing the move with me and giving me just enough feedback on it so that after a few tries, I got better and better at it until he said it was feeling great. Marvelous! And all in a very matter of fact way that put no false hierarchical barriers between us. No bullshit. It was lovely.

I glimpsed more of his seemingly genuine humility and joy when the Boilermakers played that night. He was dancing right up near the band. Emboldened by my interaction with him after his and Marie's lesson and without a line of hungry followers waiting to dance with him, I asked him to dance, and we did! And then he asked for another - how very Herrang of him! At no point in the dance did I feel like he was dancing down to me; at no point did I feel judged. Plenty of less-than-the-best dancers have prompted those feelings in me, and I'm sure I have prompted them in other dancers as well. I felt like we were both thoroughly enjoying the music and having a blast dancing with each other. YES! Isn't that what we're all here for? Not to act like pricks, but to enjoy ourselves.

Of all lindy hoppers, Skye has the most justification and the most potential to really be a prick. Who would call him on it? He's the best. But he doesn't take that road, at least in the public eye, and that's why Skye is amazing.

beats, rhymes, and life

I am getting a washboard. And I am absolutely tickled about it.

Last weekend I attended Sugarfoot Stomp in Asheville. It was a blast, and much fun was had by all. I especially enjoyed learning the Texas Tommy.

One of the highlights was familiarizing myself with the washboard that Carl had brought. It was a little jarring playing on the metal, especially with thimbles, but I got used to it. I also tried it out with my fingernails, and I liked that better. But what I am completely excited about is that strumming the metal bit with your fingers is not even half of what you can do with it! Oh no. You can beat the metal, like a drum. You can beat the wooden part above the metal like a drum. If you drum with different parts of your hand, it sounds different - just like a djembe would! You can even rap your knuckles on the very top of it, and it sounds like you're knocking on a door.

The reason I'm so thrilled about this discovery is this: Yesterday Chuck and I were practicing - I sing; he plays ukulele. We've been practicing here and there for a while, learning chords and lyrics and all that because we want to busk. Chuck really wanted to do the tune "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," made famous by the Shirelles. I wasn't thrilled about it, but I agreed - it's simple, it's easy, kinda pretty, and he really liked it. No problem, right?

Well yesterday I was done with it. Boring. It's boring! And I thought, "How could we play this tune so that people would not only want to listen to it but also be compelled to tip us?" And then practice got fun. I asked Chuck to arpeggiate his strum pattern: instead of just strumming so that the pick quickly goes across all the strings in succession, he picked out each string one at a time. Then I laid down a beat.

Yes I did: I laid down a beat. On a piano bench, no less. So we had a sweet, chill modified strum pattern and a beat, and then I changed the rhythm and styling of the vocals so that they were more soulful. The truth is that I sang the song while channeling Lauryn Hill. And it is indeed a good start. Now I really like that cheesy '60s tune.

Obviously we can't drag the piano bench along with us to Market Square - it doesn't project all that well anyway. We walked all over my house in search of some inanimate object with a decent resonating body and a good sound, but got nothing. Then I remembered the washboard. I texted my mother, and it turns out my Aunt Judy has one she's going to give me. It probably came from Granny's farm in Mississippi, and I have no idea how old it is, BUT - I'm getting a washboard! And then it is ON.

Redirection: Singing

a gorgeous spring night out of doors, trees blooming everywhere
live old-time music fills the air, played by down-to-earth people who are also awesome musicians
children laugh, dance, giggle, play
a dog runs here and there, visiting
an old white man clogs near the band
a middle-aged black woman runs toward him and joins in, dances alongside him
Yes.


I had the pleasure this evening of hearing the Carolina Chocolate Drops live on the lawn of Maryville College... and it was free! A friend of mine had mentioned them to me. He told me that if I got the chance to see them, I should take it. And it was fantastic. (Thanks, Jack!) They're an incredibly versatile trio. They swap instruments quite a lot, and they play everything from jigs to Gaelic tunes to a cover of the Blu Cantrell song "Hit 'Em Up Style." And it's all awesome. So buy their music: it will make you happy, and spring is the perfect time to listen to old-time music and bluegrass. And if you're in Nashville, go to the Grand Ole Opry on June 14 to hear them- they'll be playing there.

I heard them play earlier on the Blue Plate Special at WDVX. What pulled me in and intrigued me was the voice of Rhiannon Giddens. You see, I'm trained in opera singing - that's what my college degree is in. So I'm a little bit picky about singers because it hurts me to listen to some of them. That was not the case here. I heard her sing and immediately thought, "This is a trained voice." And I was right! I asked her about it after they played tonight, and sure enough, she was trained in opera at Oberlin Conservatory. She also danced a little bit of Charleston, and she says that she wants to learn lindy hop. Wow.

What struck me - what really made me stop and reconsider my own singing - is that she's really kicking ass at this old-time music, and she's an opera singer. For a while now, I've been wondering what to do about my own singing. I don't want to waste my talent and the time & money I spent on the degree, but I've just been stalled in this area. On the one hand, I'm an opera singer. I feel like I should sing opera. I feel guilty for not singing opera. I do love to sing in operas, but it's such a cumbersome process. On the other hand, what I really get into singing is blues, soul, and gospel. That's when I really move people. That's what I really enjoy. And I've been moving slowly towards it, but I think hearing Rhiannon tonight really galvanized my movement towards those things I love to sing. Just last night I was at 4620 listening to an open blues jam and thinking that an informal jam like that might be a great opportunity to get my feet wet again where performing is concerned.

So for the rest of the evening I will be on my porch, drinking a beer, meandering through some tunes.