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| Leave It to Beverly / DA! Theater Collective : 4 of 5 | |
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11.08.2009
5:53 AM | Link0 comments |
 This is a somewhat biased review, since the playwright and director Kirk German is my pal and bandmate in the Greatest American Heroes, but I have to say that it was fantastic to see Kirk display his talents in yet another way via DA! Theater Collective's production of Leave It to Beverly! While on the surface this play is a hilarious spoof of classic TV sitcoms like Donna Reed and I Dream of Jeannie, it also carries several interesting messages about gender roles and the effort to live a unique and genuine life in general. Gags that begin as funny (like ubiquitous canned laughter) sometimes become suddenly creepy, and the tension between humor and uneasiness really draws the audience into the story! But without over analyzing things, Leave It to Beverly is definitely a comedy, and every element from the incredible cast (who dance as well as act!) to the fantastic sets (which include special effects like magical kitchen utensils and surprise portals for characters' heads to poke through) all add to the hilarity. There are so many fun references to TV and other entertainment mixed into the story, ranging from Six Million Dollar Man sound effects to a brilliant use of Mickey Mouse Club ears (which are said to render the wearer "virtually brainless", which I loved)! It's obvious that Kirk loves this source material and found a way to pay tribute to it while expressing himself as a wonderful playwright. I was lucky enough to see the play on cast party night, and it was fun to play with the Greatest American Heroes right there on stage with a group of folks who had a special affection for TV show themes. It was a fantastic evening, and I'm definitely looking forward to the next production featuring my pal Kirk!
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| Double gig Halloween 2009 | |
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11.02.2009
12:57 PM | Link0 comments |
 Just like last year and the year before, my band The Greatest American Heroes (Austin's favorite TV theme song band, of course), rocked the Carousel Lounge at our special Halloween show this weekend! We wore our official uniforms from the show that inspired our name, and nearly everyone in the crowd was in costume, too! There were so many great outfits, and we were able to get lots of people "into the show" by asking them to participate during an appropriate song. The Blues Brothers showed up for our introduction to Good Times (which has a Blues Brothers feel), Gomez & Morticia Addams led the crowd in snaps for The Addams Family, a couple of Brokeback cowboys were there for Dukes of Hazzard, Wilma danced during The Flintstones, Wonder Woman was there for Wonder Woman (of course), and we even played a surprise version of Old Time Rock & Roll (which we learned on the spot) for our friend Grace who was dressed as Tom Cruise in his undies from Risky Business (the band claims no responsibility for heart attacks caused by this incident)! One of our former vocalists Dana was visiting in town from Washington DC, so she was there to sing several of her old tunes, wearing an awesome GAH-TV remote control costume (so clever). We gave the best costume prize to a guy who did a completely perfect Chris Farley impression, and the crowd was totally generous with tips (and they threw some Blow-Pops in the tip jar, too).The next night, my jazz combo Casa del Swanko played at Satellite Bistro, which was totally relaxing and fun, especially since it had been quite a while since our last show. Since it was officially Halloween, Matt wore his Yuri Gagarin costume and did all of his banter in a hilarious Russian accent (thankfully, he sang with his usual smooth voice). Kumiko showed up in her Tricia Takanawa (from Family Guy) costume with some other friends who were dressed up as well. The band had a delicious free meal, a couple drinks, and a great time with our friends, which is the real reason we love to play!  View photos: Halloween 2009
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| State Fair weekend | |
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10.13.2009
5:52 PM | Link0 comments |
 This past weekend was packed with three events for me, starting with the symphony, then a gig with the Greatest American Heroes, and finally my first ever trip to the State Fair of Texas! The Heroes played at the MS Walkathon at the Dell Diamond, and it was a great experience (nice and chilly outside, but we could play as loud as we wanted!), plus it was fun to hang out for free lunch (and a free T-shirt). Super-early the next morning, my pals Matt & Kumiko and Jonathan & Anne-Marie squeezed into Matt's car to drive to Dallas, and we made it to the fair by 10:00 AM (the ride was fun since we all made different mix CDs)! Matt was the tour guide for the day, so I had a blast not worrying about a thing, wandering around and soaking it all in. We tried lots of snack samples in the Food & Fiber pavilion, then did some browsing for Arts & Crafts (where we almost saw Oprah, who was filming at the fair, but we didn't care enough to keep waiting). Next we "met" Big Tex, who was huge and bizarro looking (but cool and historic, too)! After some nachos for lunch (this was not a day for healthy eating!), we saw the Birds of the World show, which was definitely the highlight of the entire fair. I couldn't believe they could let birds go from all the way at the top of the Ferris Wheel, where they would swoop right down over the audience to the trainers on stage! The next show was "dog dancing", which was cute and especially cool when we saw one dog walk on his front legs like a handstand! Then we looked at a million chickens, ate a delicious corn dog (necessity of the day), and finally saw the US Marine Drum & Bugle Corps perform. They were so precise and the sound quality was amazing, so we were all blown away and enjoyed it! Soon we were getting tired, so we started heading back to the car, and the timing could not have been better since the rain started coming down. We had a nice wet ride home (thanks to Matt's skillful driving), ending a really fun day with wonderful friends! View photos: State Fair of Texas 2009
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| Rockin' with CITGO | |
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10.03.2009
3:53 PM | Link2 comments |
 One of the more unusual bands I've played in as a drummer was called the CITGO All-Star Rock & Roll Revue, made up of employees in Tulsa. Around 1992, CITGO decided to put on a huge talent show to raise money for MDA (their biggest charity recipient each year) called the CITGO Follies, and one of my bosses and some other guys got the idea to form a band. They knew I was a drummer (and maybe they also thought it was good to have a "young guy" in the group), so we started rehearsing during lunch in our warehouse. One of the guys was a hardcore 50s and 60s rock & roll maniac, who knew every bit of music trivia you can imagine, so we decided to do a kind of timeline medley, starting with Rock Around the Clock and ending with Heart of Rock and Roll (I guess someone was a Huey Lewis fan!). The show was a pretty good success, and afterwards we were asked to play for some other parties and charity events, so suddenly we were kind of a real band! We started learning tons of songs, and the older guys would always be amazed that I had never heard most of these old tunes before! Actually, it was really good for me, since I expanded my knowledge a bit and totally nailed how to play a shuffle beat. We even had a band logo, and CITGO paid to get us custom embroidered shirts and shiny jackets, too!A couple years later, there was another CITGO Follies, so we worked up a new show and added tons of people to the band, including backup singers and even a horn section (which is how I met my good friend Nick, since his dad was a CITGO employee). Another year there was a mock casino night, and we played a long set for the party (my parents were visiting Tulsa during that event, and got to see me go nuts during Ray Charles' What'd I Say). I really enjoyed some other great events, too, such as playing outdoors at Bell's Amusement Park right next to the roller coaster! I don't really remember how or why we stopped playing, but after our four or five year run, we eventually packed it up. During our heyday, we were featured on a local Tulsa news broadcast, and now you can watch that ancient (probably 1995) video! I thought it was hilarious that they used me to begin the segment, with the crazy line "mild-mannered computer whiz by day, rock & roll drummer by night!" I was looking kind of silly in my Mod Mikey phase, but I secretly thought I was super-cool. Playing in the CITGO band sure made work more interesting, and definitely had a positive effect on my drumming ability today. I hope the other guys still find the time to break out their instruments, too!  Watch video: CITGO Band News Broadcast
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| Drumming for Epidemic of Fear | |
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8.07.2009
12:19 PM | Link0 comments |
 I finally have something to write about instead of another review! Since last week I’ve been performing in another theater production (similar to my past experiences in Le Petomane and Comedy of Errors) called Epidemic of Fear: The Influenzical (although the name sounds ominous, the play is a music comedy)! The playwright and director John Cecil is a good friend of my pal Jonathan (in fact, they played together in one of their first bands that later evolved into the famous Merchants of Venus), so he asked Jonathan to recommend some musicians, since the show is a musical with lots of songs. Jonathan is playing horns and keyboards, Chris is playing bass, I’m playing drums, and the director John is playing guitar. We actually play behind a curtain for the whole show, so we have to listen carefully for cues, but it’s kind of fun because we can be so relaxed back there! The music was fun to learn and the show is really funny (it’s kind of a spoof of the bird flu panic from the past, which seems pretty appropriate during today’s swine flu worries), and we had a great opening weekend. The show got some press on the news, and there was a professional sounding interview on Austin’s KUT radio as well! We get to perform the show two more times (tonight and tomorrow) at Salvage Vanguard Theater, so if you happen to read this in time, you might want to check it out!Labels: bands |
| The Day Jobs on Austin Music Network | |
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7.26.2009
8:53 AM | Link0 comments |
 During my last visit to Oklahoma City, I used Dad's old VCR to dub some VHS tapes onto MiniDV, which included some old footage of my swing band, The Day Jobs. During our days of being "famous", we appeared on Austin Music Network in 1998 on a show called What's the Cover?, where we had a short interview and played four songs live on the air! The studio gave us a tape of the show after the filming, which has been packed away in my garage all these years. Over the past few weeks I've been editing our songs into individual videos on YouTube, and here they are for your nostalgic enjoyment! The first two are originals, starting with our "hit" song Mopac Bounce (I had a low quality version of this one on YouTube already, but I've replaced it with this new source), followed by Get Go Getter. We also did two standards - Puttin' on the Ritz (please notice my whistle skills!) and Dream a Little Dream of Me, one of our best fast numbers. I have lots more Day Jobs footage coming when I get around to editing it - I like "preserving" our band on the internet! Watch video: Mopac Bounce Watch video: Get Go Getter Watch video: Puttin' on the Ritz Watch video: Dream a Little Dream of Me
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| Old band clips with iMovie 9 | |
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6.13.2009
4:15 PM | Link0 comments |
 Transitioning to my new iMac has been really cool for lots of reasons. First, it helped me get some files organized that I had forgot I even had, such as tons of short video clips (mostly shot with still cameras using movie mode) that needed a little editing! Next, it gave me a great excuse to try out iMovie 9. I'm kind of an "expert" when it comes to the old iMovie HD, but after I saw how radically they had changed the application in the last version if iLife, I didn't even bother upgrading. But since the latest iLife came with my iMac, I wanted to see what it can do. It definitely takes some getting used to, since almost none of my "skill" applies to this version! But for short clips, the transition and title capabilities really make it worth it (I would never use it for a long project, but I hope to be learning Final Cut Express in the future!). Finally, the speed of my new iMac really made it a joy to mess with this stuff!So, I have three "never before seen" clips of a couple of my bands. The first is my old jazz combo Stella, back in the days when we played some crowded, well-paying gigs! The next two are Halloween shows of the Greatest American Heroes playing in costume at the Carousel Lounge. It's fun to watch people dancing, and it's also quite historically important to have preserved footage of Ernesto dressed as Jeannie! Watch video: Stella Watch video: Greatest American Heroes 2006 Watch video: Greatest American Heroes 2008
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| Day Jobs original: Get Go-Getter | |
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5.26.2009
6:40 PM | Link0 comments |
Time for another time capsule post about my old swing band, The Day Jobs! Some of the old files that I recently discovered were song lyrics, since we had several original tunes written by Dae and Ernesto. For a few songs, after the guys wrote the melody, I got to write some lyrics to go along with them, and it was really fun to see what I could come up with, and even better to hear Matt sing them with the band. One my favorites was Get Go-Getter, which Ernesto wrote and titled, so I had to write around that idea. At the time I was into the complex and funny rhymes of Lorenz Hart (lyricist of My Funny Valentine and a million other songs you know), so I wanted to be clever with lots of three syllable rhymes. Some of them aren't so hot, but they're close! By the way, this song isn't about anyone I've ever known (although I remember I did have a car battery problem back then!). You can actually listen along to The Day Jobs performing live at Speakeasy on February 25th, 2000, thanks to Club Cast Live (a now defunct website that used to broadcast Austin music on the net)! Play Get Go-GetterShe's a get go-getter, you ought to see her go |
| Day Jobs standards list | |
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4.26.2009
6:06 PM | Link0 comments |
This weekend has been packed with gigs and other mayhem, so instead of writing something, I think I'll just post another bit of Day Jobs history (which is mainly only interesting to me, but you'll survive). Here's our song list of jazz standards (without our original tunes), although I'm sure we added a few more over time. It's fun for me to read this list, because I can remember the ones I liked to play, the ones that were a little boring, the ones that got the best crowd response, and so on. I'm still playing a few of these today with Casa del Swanko, but it sure would be fun to go back in time with the Day Jobs, wear our suits, and kick out a few of these at the Speakeasy again!
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| Original Day Jobs biography | |
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4.24.2009
7:45 PM | Link0 comments |
 Recently I was organizing and cleaning out some old files on my external hard drives (to make extra room for all the home movies I've been importing), and I stumbled upon some ancient files that I saved from my old Windows PC (which is long gone now). The best thing I found was a few old text files from my old band The Day Jobs, including some set lists, original lyrics, and our band bio from our website. I don't remember for sure, but I think we got together to decide on the content, and then Ernesto probably wrote the bulk of the text, and I might have edited it after that. It's kind of funny to read this today, since it seems kind of long and slightly goofy, but I guess it helped with our success! Since the original Day Jobs website is kind of hard to navigate on the Internet Archive, I thought it would be fun to post these "rare documents" on WEBmikey over time for posterity!The Day Jobs have been swinging since late 1997, when Ernesto Marquez and Dae Kim decided to expand their saxophone duo into a complete jazz combo. Their goal was to put together a group of musicians with a true affection for the music of the 20s, 30s and 40s, who could strive to capture the feel of that era and love doing it. Within two months, the band was formed and spent months rehearsing to arrange their favorite standards into a formidable repertoire that continues to grow today. Soon they began appearing at clubs, parties, and weddings, performing swing hits mixed with their own original compositions. The Day Jobs are now a fixture of Austin’s swing scene, keeping dancers happy all over town. |
| Fun times last weekend | |
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3.07.2009
7:38 AM | Link2 comments |
 It's already the weekend, but I haven't mentioned all the fun things that happened last weekend! Casa del Swanko played two gigs, which strangely enough were both our worst and best ever. The first one was the bad one, because not only did Steve's keyboard electronically freak-out and go out of key every two seconds, but I forgot my hi-hat clutch, so my poor left leg was just working all night doing nothing. But the next gig was somehow magical, and we played our very best - I had recently tuned my kit and got to enjoy the new richer sound! I also got to see a cool program of traditional Japanese dance, emceed by my pal Kumiko! She did a great job describing each of the dances, which included everything from small girls to beautiful geisha style numbers. Finally, Anne-Marie threw a surprise birthday party for Jonathan, and it was a blast to hang out with everyone to celebrate our pal! I spent a little too much time taking pictures of Emiliano, but how can you resist a one-year old playing drums? View photos: Jonathan's Birthday 2009
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| Heroes Halloween 2008 | |
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11.02.2008
12:51 PM | Link0 comments |
 Every Halloween my band The Greatest American Heroes plays a special show at the Carousel Lounge - actually, it's not much different from the show we do every month, but at least we're in costumes! This year we got matching outfits of the band's namesake, the actual Greatest American Hero from the original TV show. We looked pretty crazy together - it was like an ocean of red with blonde wigs. Actually, I was pretty embarrassed of my costume figure, but we still played a great show. There were tons of great costumes in the crowd, including my pal Matt's perfect Captain Kirk, who was unexpectedly joined by two other Enterprise crew members! There was plenty of dancing and the tips were generous, so it was a Halloween success. I didn't take as many pictures as I should have since I was feeling costume-uncomfortable, but you can still get a taste of the action with these shots! View photos: Halloween 2008
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| Triple event weekend | |
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5.03.2008
9:23 PM | Link0 comments |
 This has been a jam-packed weekend so far, and tons of fun! Friday night there was a bachelor dinner in honor of Jonathan's wedding (coming up in a couple weeks!), so all of gathered for a long meal at the Clay Pit with plenty of drinking, story telling, and lots of laughter. After dinner we decided to walk to the Cloak Room, which is one of Jonathan's secret late-night haunts. Most of us had never been there before, and it was cool to discover this tiny, dark bar that's famous for being filled with Texas legislators (since it's right at the foot of the Capitol). It was a really fun evening!Today I got up early to get my weekend chores done so I could head out to enjoy Free Comic Book Day! Matt decided he wanted to check it out also, so we went to Capstone Comics (a really nice place that I'll definitely revisit) and ran into George and his grandson Devin, which was nice since I love seeing kids getting excited about free comics. The store really went all out for the event with raffle drawings, guests artists signing things, and even guys in authentic Star Wars costumes! Next, after an hour or so of rest, the Greatest American Heroes drove to Temple to play a benefit for the American Cancer Society. We played in a high school football stadium, right on the 50-yard line, and although we were missing Chris on guitar and had a guest bassist, we had a great time and seemed to be well received. It was so refreshing to play outside in the beautiful weather, and then have an awesome meal together at a 50s themed diner. Now I'm finally home, a little sunburnt, and a lot tired, but I've enjoyed every minute of this crazy weekend! I'm definitely going to kick back tomorrow! View photos: Jonathan's Bachelor Dinner View photos: Comics & Heroes
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| Swing for under a buck | |
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3.06.2008
8:04 PM | Link0 comments |
 I'm really late in mentioning it, but my pal Dae, guitar player for the world famous Day Jobs from Austin's swing glory days, has put our old studio tracks on Amie Street to make a few pennies! We did this recording just before Dae moved to Los Angeles, and all of the tracks online are original compositions. On Amie Street, the price is set by how often something is purchased, so you should buy this rare album while it's only 78 cents! Of course, the Day Jobs features my pals Matt on vocals, Ernesto on sax, Dae on guitar, Ann Marie on bass (now a Grammy-nominated artist!), and myself on drums.While I'm on the topic of music, I should also announce that the Ernesto Marquez Sextet has been renamed Casa del Swanko! Since our beloved founder Ernesto has moved to Los Angeles (oh how we miss him!), we chose our new goofy name to commemorate Jonathan's house (where we rehearse), which has always been referred to as Casa del Swanko. We have lots of gigs booked through May - look for us at the Tree House Italian Grill or North by Northwest! |
| Hitting the big time | |
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11.11.2007
12:39 PM | Link0 comments |
 My bands had a couple amazing gig opportunities last week, and they were sure fun (and exhausting) shows! First, the Greatest American Heroes played at a party for the University of Texas, who just happened to rent out the studio of Austin City Limits for the event! We could hardly believe we were actually going to play on that stage that we've all seen on TV so many times, the same stage where huge entertainers like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and a million other folks have stood. The stage was really fascinating, especially the fake Austin skyline (that looks much better on TV), and the sound crew was unbelievable! They helped us all with our equipment, setup tons of mics on my drums, and made sure we all had excellent personal monitor mixes. When we did the sound check, we couldn't believe the sound - it was the best we've ever experienced! The show itself was fun to play and the audience enjoyed it, but I was a little intimidated by the stage, so it was mentally tiring, but definitely an incredible experience. (In addition to my photos, check out our bassist Francis' website, too!) The very next day, the Ernesto Marquez Sextet played at a huge conference for Planview at the Lost Pines Hyatt Resort and Spa, a cool resort in the woods about an hour out of town. It was a big dinner, jazz and casino night, and we filled the big ballroom with our sound and enjoyed the good food (and the scotch just kept on coming!). Although we love playing clubs and restaurants, it sure is nice to have big gigs like these every now and then! View photos: Heroes at Austin City Limits View photos: Sextet at Lost Pines HyattLabels: bands |
| Gigs with Ernesto | |
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10.02.2007
6:58 AM | Link0 comments |
 Both of my bands played gigs this past weekend, and both of them were the last public shows we'll play with Ernesto, who's moving to Los Angeles in less than two weeks. Ernesto wants to be with his family because of his mom's health, which is totally understandable and admirable, but all of his pals here in Austin are so sad to see him go! On Friday, the Greatest American Heroes played out usual show at the Carousel Lounge, and there was a nice crowd with lots of our friends there, plus plenty of cute girls filling the dance floor. I think we all did our best to make it a great show (I came up with some new fills on a few songs), and it was so much fun! The next day on Saturday the Ernesto Marquez Sextet played at the Treehouse Italian Grill, just barely dodging the rain. We had to start a little late because of the weather, but somehow there was still a nice crowd eating outdoors and we all played well (and Bernadette was back to join us on a few tunes). Now all that's left is one private party gig, and of course we'll be throwing a big going away party (combined with a book signing for Tom's book). I know I'll miss Ernesto a lot, especially on Sunday TV nights, but I also know that there's no way we'll lose touch. Since I try to get to LA a couple times a year to visit Dae, it will be cool to have Ernesto there, too! I think that's one of the wonderful things about close friendships as an adult - realizing that friendship is so important that there's no way we could ever let it go.
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| The Day Jobs: more memories | |
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7.24.2007
8:39 PM | Link0 comments |
 I'm continuing to move old photos to Flickr, and now it's become kind of an obsession, since I know I will have a nice feeling of accomplishment when it's finished! Since I'm starting with photos taken in 2000, there are plenty of shots from the last few gigs of my old swing band, The Day Jobs. It's been a blast seeing these old photos again! One of these gigs was way out in the boonies (complete with flatbed trailer), and the other was on the Flagship Texas, a cool boat on Lake Travis that people rent for parties. I've also been converting my old video clips to YouTube, so I figured now would be a good time to upload some Day Jobs video! This is a performance of Mopac Bounce (an original by our guitarist Dae) from Austin Music Network, which we appeared on live. It was pretty exciting at the time! The quality of this clip is definitely lousy - I can remember that Barron helped me rip it from VHS so many years ago, and we had to make it a little postage stamp sized video in order to get decent sound (now replaced with higher quality version!). Still, it's better than nothing, so enjoy the memories! View photos: Gig in the Boonies View photos: Flagship Texas Gig Watch video: Day Jobs / Mopac Bounce
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| My new kick | |
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6.23.2007
2:55 PM | Link0 comments |
 Last week during my Ernesto Marquez Sextet gig, the spring on my bass drum pedal broke. Thankfully it was only out for the last few songs, but I definitely had to do something out it this week. It's well-known among my bandmates that I have a cheap drum kit and I'm too lazy to shop around for anything better, so I have been playing my old Yamaha drums into the ground for years now. So, I figured rather than replacing the spring on my cheap, ancient pedal, I should just get a new pedal. When the Sextet recorded our CD at Brain Machine, I used their studio kit, and I was really impressed with their bass pedal - a DW (Drum Workshop) 7000. I decided to get the same model, and I found it quickly online at Zzounds.com (I like this website since my old pal Mark used to work there in Chicago - I have no idea if he still does, but I still shop there!), and I just got it a few days ago. The construction is really amazing, and I'm impressed by all the sound-dampening features it has - the action is going to be so smooth! I'll be trying it out tonight for the first time, which should be fun. Now my bass pedal is the best part of my kit, so maybe I'll have to start upgrading some other pieces someday!
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| Maybe I need to join a snoozetet | |
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4.24.2007
7:52 AM | Link0 comments |
 Last night I missed rehearsal for the Ernesto Marquez Sextet because I slept through it! After work I was feeling sleepy, so I set my oven timer (which I use for an alarm clock all the time) for 30 minutes, and started napping on the couch. Before I knew it, I was waking up about an hour after rehearsal started! The band called my cell phone, but it was still on silent mode from going to the movie on Sunday. I can't believe I slept through the oven timer, too. Everyone was nice to me when I called, though, and they still had a good rehearsal. I just stayed home and continued organizing software CDs instead! Anyway, this is a good excuse to mention that recently Chris finished a fantastic website for the band, where you can hear our tunes and check our schedule, so take a look!
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| The Stones opened for the Heroes | |
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3.18.2007
7:36 AM | Link0 comments |
 Happy Day After St. Patrick's Day! Last night the Greatest American Heroes were part of the first Austin Tribute Band Marathon at Ego's, and it was a crazy fun time! Austin is overflowing with visitors right now because of the big South By Southwest festival, and when you combine that with St. Patrick's Day, you get a huge crowd of green-wearing party people. This show wasn't officially part of the festival, but even so, Ego's was totally packed from 4:00 PM until after midnight. The marathon was a great idea (and was advertised all over town with cool posters) - a different tribute band took the stage every hour, and we showed up early to take it in. We got to hear Elvis Costello, Journey, Iron Maiden, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and the Beatles! The Heroes were sandwiched in-between the Stones and Hendrix, so I'm not sure the crowd knew what the heck was going on when we kicked into The Jeffersons, but at least the applause was nice. Overall, it was a pretty cool experience, and it was nice to mingle with the festival crowds (which I usually avoid) for awhile. What a night!
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| A musical day | |
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11.11.2006
8:52 PM | Link0 comments | Today the Ernesto Marquez Sextet put in a full day at the studio recording for our first CD (basically a five song demo). We decided to try The Brain Machine after a great recommendation from another musician friend (and a nice special price), and every went incredibly smoothly! The band was really prepared, and Ernesto really outdid himself with some fantastic arrangements and horn lines for himself and Jonathan. Bernadette really sold the vocals, Steve sparkled on the keyboard, Chris was amazing on bass, and I had fun playing a combination of my drum kit with some of the studio's higher quality equipment. Tomorrow everything will be mixed, and we're all looking forward to hearing the result! After a great day at the studio, I've been relaxing with some manga (yes, more manga!) and Scotch - I wonder if that's a popular combination anywhere other than my house? |
| Yet another Heroes Halloween | |
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10.29.2006
11:45 AM | Link0 comments |
 Happy early Halloween from the Greatest American Heroes! Last night we played our annual Halloween show at the Carousel Lounge, decked out in costumed craziness. I decided to go simple this year with a Fred Flintstone outfit (which was really comfortable, except for the stone underwear), which turned out great since Wilma & Betty showed up! Francis was a nice Clark Kent/Superman combo, Kirk was Mork from Ork, and Chris resurrected his Greatest American Hero costume from a few years back. Ernesto was by far the star, though, taking Chris' dare to go with an I Dream of Jeannie ensemble (and Jonathan was Major Nelson to go along with the theme)! Plenty of folks in the crowd were dressed up, too, which made for a great costume parade during our third set. It was a really fun night, but don't take my word for it, take a look at the photos! View photos: Heroes Halloween 2006
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| Threadgill's night | |
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10.04.2006
10:06 PM | Link0 comments |
 Last weekend my pal Francis and his band, which also features my pal Chris (both Chris & Francis are also in the Greatest American Heroes, since all of my friends mix together in our various music projects!), played a show at the outdoor stage at Threadgill's downtown. For part of the show they were the band for Maryann Price, who was really crazy and entertaining, and they also had a pretty amazing ancient sax player who was incredible to hear. It was a fun show, and it was nice to sit outside in the evening breeze and drink with Ernesto & Jonathan and everyone else - it was a nice relaxing night with friends! As usual, I enjoyed taking some photos and playing around with different simulated film speeds. I really like a few of them, so enjoy the set! View photos: Music at Threadgill's
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| As seen on TV | |
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8.26.2006
9:48 PM | Link0 comments |
 I really enjoyed playing this month's Greatest American Heroes gig at the Carousel Lounge! Just like last month, it was practically dead when we got there (the poor opening band played to almost no one!), but by the time we got set up and started the show, the place was getting packed. It's so nice to have fans! There's a nice girl named Emily who has been to almost every single show for years - she was celebrating her third birthday in a row with our band! We had her come up on stage for a drunken duet of Three's Company with Kirk, and she loved it. The rest of the crowd was a blast (plenty of dancing), and real TV enthusiasts, too (one guy even had a "As Seen on TV" T-shirt on for us!). We debuted some new material, too! I'm really happy with our bizarre new medley - A-Team blends into Eight is Enough which blends into Green Acres, a genius combination! We also did our new "Dr. Who Are You?" which is the classic Dr. Who theme with a sudden switch into Who Are You by the Who (which is the theme to CSI). Finally, we did the Flintstones as the third part of our Hanna Barbera 3-pack, which of course starts with our old favorites Scooby Doo and Hong Kong Phooey. It's amazing how playing these songs still remains fun after so many years! View photos: Heroes in August
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| Artistic acheivements | |
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4.13.2006
8:59 PM | Link0 comments |
  Two of my pals had some amazing "firsts" this week! Last Saturday, my pal Francis had his first gig of his new solo music project (featuring the songs on his No Less Days CD). They played at Borders, which was a nice environment, since it was easy to enjoy the band, talk with old friends (Conrad was there with his awesome kids), and browse Kanji books at the same time! My pal Chris is in the band also, so it was really nice to see my friends put on a great show!A few days later in Japan, my pal Matt opened his first gallery exhibit of his super-cool photography! The theme of the show is Life on a Japanese Train (read Matt's description of the theme), and he did a fantastic job of covering all kinds of ages and walks of life in these images. I'm so happy that he's taken his photography talent to the next level, and I'm sure it's just the beginning. View photos: Francis' gig View photos: Matt's exhibit
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| SXSW party update | |
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3.12.2006
4:45 PM | Link0 comments | OK, forget my crappy cameraphone pics - there are already a jillion photos of the party on Flickr! (Wow, I seriously love Flickr.) There are even some nice shots of the band (yay, us!), so check out my favorite, one with a nice comment, and a decent close-up! |
| Smoke machines and TV themes | |
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1:31 PM | Link 0 comments |
 Last night the Greatest American Heroes got to play a total rock show event as one of three bands for Frog Design's SXSW Interactive Opening Night Party (thanks to our singer Dana, who works for Frog, though she's taking a new job in DC in a few weeks)! This was a giant party held in an old produce warehouse, and filled up with hundreds of people (not everyone was in front of our stage, of course). They had a great stage setup, with smoke machines, crazy remote control spotlights, and all kinds of graphic projectors putting cool images all over the walls! The sound guy was Damon, a cool guy that I've worked with before, and he's really professional - he had five mics on my kit all setup in just a few minutes, and he cranked us up loud. We only got to play an hour, and I have no idea what the crowd was thinking with the Muppet Show theme started blaring across the room, but it was really cool to play for a huge crowd with all that equipment and rock the house (in our own cheesy way)! Since the SXSW Interactive conference is going to be a majorly blogged event, I've already found some mentions of the party on the web - maybe someone will talk about that cool TV theme song band eventually. I didn't have my camera with me (baka!), but I tried to take a few crappy cameraphone pics to capture some of the moment. View photos: SXSW Interactive gig
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