A Valentine's Day Concert

      Last weekend I had the privilege of playing a Valentine's Day benefit concert at the Brunswick United Methodist Church. This was to raise money for the church ( and see how many items could be made out of chocolate). Mitch Thomas (vocals, piano) led the group along with Kristen Thomas (vocals) and Jeff Munson (bass). We played love song repertoire that ranged from show tunes to jazz standards. It came off well, and we all experienced a chocolate sensation afterwards.

                                                   A chocolate fountain on one table...

                                                    Balloons tied to hymnals.

                                                    Here is where we played.

                                                    This is my setup now. I use the Ibanez acoustic amp as a monitor. 
                                                    My telecaster has a stereo split.

                                                    Chocolate and coffee mix-- I didn't try it.

This same show was repeated (minus Kristen) at the Chapman House assisted living community in Auburn the following week. I may return to that location to play for the residents-- there is an audience that appreciates everything.

More gigs to come!

Pippin @ Oak Hill H.S.

The last weekend of January I had the opportunity to play in the pit for Pippin at Oak Hill H.S. This was under the direction of John Neal, who is a great Music Director and teacher. I had played with him 6 years prior for My Fair Lady on violin (this time on guitar).

I like Pippin as a show-- I played this show 4 years prior at Kent's Hill H.S. There are a few catchy songs that I could easily sing at a normal gig and still not feel like that "showtunes" guy. "Love Song" and "No Time at All" could be played anywhere and work as pop songs. A certain melody played on the piano during the finale really caught my ear because of modulation and odd meter. I can say that this musical uses many odd meters-- 3/4 to 5/4 timing and 7/4 is common-- I love it!

BTW-- this music for this is available on Spotify or Youtube-- just search for Pippin- Broadway cast.
http://www.pippinthemusical.com/

Every Other Sunday at Cumston Hall in Monmouth

Every Other Sunday has been planning out a winter gig for a few months. That gig happened last month on the weekend of January 11th in the midst of a mild ice storm (which mostly melted by the end of the gig). We spent the morning packing, unloading, and setting up a wonder set full of wires, microphones, instruments and computers-- we did not want to cancel. We also had a professional video tech and a person running lights for us-- if anything, we could make a series of good videos!

They are still editing video and audio-- aside from a few problems with songs and capturing media, it may be up on the band website soon: http://michaelfrenchdesigns.com/EOS/.

Editing is tough stuff when you have so many sources, right Mike?