Archive for August, 2007
Since I had nothing better to do on Saturday hight, Eduardo invited me to go to a brief rehearsal of his African percussion group. It was interesting watching the rehearsal to see how Eduardo sets the arrangements for the group using special rhythmic calls from his djembe (a west African drum) to signal changes or pauses in the music. It’s nothing like a drum circle where everyone sits around and thumps a drum. This is very organized and tightly coordinated with the dancers. If all drum solos were this interesting, I wouldn’t use them as a time to take a bathroom break when I attend a concert.
Immediately afterwards, they had a gig at a wedding and they invited me to tag along. The banquet hall gave them a huge area to use as a dressing room so they could change into their costumes and hang out until show time. When they entered the hall to play, the people quickly gathered around and after 10 seconds of drumming they went completely crazy dancing and cheering. The two dancers in the group took turns doing solos then they did a duet that turned into the wildest conga line I’ve ever seen. Everyone except the very elderly were up and dancing madly and the drummers and dancers put on a hell of a show for 30 minutes. After it was over and the group returned to it’s dressing room, the bride and groom sent the banquet manager down to tell us that they had set up a table for us and we were requested to stay and drink tequila. I was included in the invitation so I went along and found myself crashing yet another Mexican wedding. You see every time I go to Mexico I wind up drinking tequila in the wedding of strangers and I’m not sure why. Good fortune, I guess. The banquet hall wasn’t very different from what you see in the US but one thing I noticed was that the hall provided a large sounds system and a crew to operate it.
If all wedding gigs were like the one Eduardo and his crew played, I’d never have run screaming from the world of wedding bands.
August 29th, 2007
I’m here in Mexico City staying in the apartment of my friend Eduardo Garavito. Fortunately, he has a spare room in his house and, to top it off, one of his neighbors has an unsecured wireless network that allows me free internet access! My flight finally got out of O’Hare after an hour and a half delay caused by the wicked storm of the afternoon of the 23rd in Chicago. Plenty of people were sleeping in the airport when I arrived, so I consider myself lucky with only a 90 minute delay.
When I landed in Mexico City Eduardo was there to pick me up with Emilie, one of the administrative assistants for the tour. Eduardo said we had to go straight to a radio station studio because the band was going to play a concert live on the air and he figured I’d want to hear the band and start learning the tunes. Well, we got there and it turns out it’s taking place in this very nice auditorium with an audience of about 200 people. Eduardo introduced me to the music director and he asked me if I want to play! I said “sure!” and within 30 minutes found myself on stage playing for a wildly enthusiastic audience and broadcasting live on the radio. Of course I’d yet to rehearse with the band so I played on the easier numbers and sat out on a couple of the more complex arrangements. Most of the tunes are fairly easy as far as the arrangement goes so it will be a matter of me learning the details, intros and endings. All the musicians appear to be very nice and Koulsy Lamko seems like a very warm person.
I really didn’t think I’d be on stage an hour after landing but it turned out to be a blast. Now we have 2 weeks to rehearse and prepare for the tour’s inaugural gig at the Anthropological Museum in Mexico City.
August 25th, 2007
I’m busy getting things organized for the tour; I leave in 12 days. I asked the tour organizer in Mexico City if there was a good place to get my vaccination for Africa. She said that, yes, there is a good private clinic but it charges $60 - she apologized for the “high” cost. Here in the US the same vaccinations cost almost $300 so $60 seems like a super bargain. I’m listening to a lot of African music with it’s percolating guitars and interwoven rhythms and it’s making me eager to get started.
August 13th, 2007
