StickNews Digest Issue #271 - 02/02/05
An online digest about The Chapman StickŪ published by Jim Reilly.Please send your posts and responses here: sticknews@stick.com
You don't have to be subscribed to post.
To receive new issues by email, send a message with "Subscribe" in the subject line to sticknews@stick.com.
To be notified when new issues are online, send a message with "Notify" in the subject line to sticknews@stick.com.
Check out the Stick Events Calendar to find out about upcoming events near you.
Archives of previous Sticknews Digests can be found at sticknews/archives.
CONTENTS:
INTRO
- We're all in this together.
- Bob Culbertson in Vancouver.
- Western Canada Stick Retreat 2005.
- An update on the European Stick Seminar April 8-9-10 in Zaandam/Holland.
- Chris Crain Keeps the tunes coming.
- Chuck Reynolds has something for you to hear.
- The Show Goes on in PA.
- Greg Howards upcoming shows.
- Items For Sale.
- Steve Adelson's Spinal Substitutions.
- Ron Baggerman's Etude with an Edge.
- A Holiday Stick Story.
- It's time to meet the Europeans.
- Visit the world's largest music store .
- Another great Stick Night.
- More, more, more in 2005.
INTRO: A Few Words From Your Travel Weary Host
Hello All,
What a great start to the year: NAMM, Stick Night, some great gigs and seminars already in the works. I can't wait to see and hear what lays ahead in 2005 for everyone. Keep those submissions coming in!
I'm really excited about this issue of StickNews. Hopefully this will satisfy your Stick cravings and keep your fingers tapping for the next month. Below are new lessons from Steve Adelson and Ron Baggerman. Ron is also introducing us to some of the players he has crossed paths with over the years, it almost makes me feel like I'm in Europe too. Lots of announcements and music to share as well.
And then there is NAMM and the Stick Night concert. Both were truly wonderful. I sure hope that we've managed to convey a little bit of the vibe that was going on. As you can imagine, it's almost impossible to really describe what goes on at shows like that, but we try. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to participate in these major events, many have told me how they whished they could go too. But you know, something funny happens. When I'm standing on stage at a Stick Night or playing to the moving masses at the NAMM show it's almost like every other Stick player is there too. Sounds odd but it's true. When people from all over the world stop and check out what we're doing or ask questions about The Stick almost invariably they start talking about another Stick player that they've seen playing before in Pittsburgh or London or Toronto or wherever. When I was playing the new pressed bamboo 10-String at the Knitting Factory it felt like Qua Veda was right there with me tapping away. It was Qua who sent Emmett the original sample of the pressed bamboo that lead to this new model.
I hope it doesn't sound goofy or even a little patronizing, but when we're up there doing what we do, all you other Stick players around the world are right there with us in spirit, energy and intention and together we're introducing the world to this revolution new way of making music. Don't believe me? Just wait till the time someone walks up to you after a gig and says, "You know I would have walked right by but I saw this guy playing a Stick at a NAMM show a couple of years ago and it's such an amazing instrument I just had to check you out too," then you'll see how we're all in this together.
Take care,
Jim
EVENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS AND A COUPLE OF THINGS TO BUY
From: StickNews [sticknews@stick.com]
Subject: Bob Culbertson is coming to Vancouver
Date: 01/28/05
The one and only Bob Culbertson will be making a rare trip north of the US in February. On Febrary 20th Bob, along with Jim Meyer and I will be performing at the Cellar Jazz Club in Vancouver. Bob and I will also be available for lessons, either individually or in groups on Saturday Feb. 19 and Sunday Feb. 20. There is also the possibility of a one day seminar or master class if enough people are interested.
After Vancouver Bob will be coming up to Kamloops for a couple of days. More info on that when it becomes available.
If you're interested in a lesson with either Bob or I or both, have any questions or need more info, please send me an email here (sticknews@stick.com) or to Jim Meyer (jim@parallaxinteractive.com). The Cellar show (3611 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC, www.cellarjazz.com) starts at 8 pm.
Take care,
Jim
From: StickNews [sticknews@stick.com]
Subject:Western Canada Stick Retreat 2005
Date: 01/31/05
Hello All,
Jim Meyer is hard at work again setting up the 2005 Western Canada Stick Retreat.
Details coming in fast and furious:
Date - May 13-15 (setup on May 12)
Location - The Haven on Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada (Near
Vancouver)(www.haven.ca)
Instruction - Greg Howard and Jim Reilly
Special Events - Stay Tuned
Cost - Not as much as you'd think stay tuned for that too.
More information coming soon. For more info now, contact Jim Meyer: jim@parallaxinteractive.com
Hope to see you there,
Jim (Reilly)
From: Ron Baggerman [rbaggerman@galaxygypsy.nl]
Subject: European Stick Seminar April 8-9-10 in Zaandam/Holland
Date: Thu 27/01/2005
Seems that this year will be even better than last year with more attendants and more teachers. We also have another big event: on Sundaynight 10 April the 5 Teachers will play with the Big Band of Singer/Stickist Frank Leurs.
You can find more information about the seminar here: www.galaxygypsy.nl/page.php?pid=en_262
And some information about the participants here: www.galaxygypsy.nl/page.php?pid=en_266
Hope to see you there,
Ron
From: Chris Crain [stickmusic@earthlink.net]
Subject: New StaffTab(tm)
Date: Thu 20/01/2005
Most of you are aware that I have a transcription of "Linus & Lucy" on my site. Well, due to popular demand, that transcription has been updated to StaffTab for Classic and MR tuning and is available for download. The arrangement is the same as my recorded version from my CD "No Words".
Chris Crain
stickmusic@earthlink.net
www.ChrisCrain.com
From: Svalocin [svalocin@yahoo.com]
Subject: Free download of a new Stick and guitar track
Date: Sat 29/01/2005
I have posted another new track at www.snakeheadtaskforce.com. Click on music and scroll down to the list of what is now 20 songs and a video, most of which feature The Stick.
The new track is called Collider.
This new track is a one-take improv that Matt, our new guitarist, and I composed, recorded and mastered in about 45 minutes. Once again "Capturing the Day".
Please let me know what you think.
This was the first piece I recorded using a custom made lap rest for The Stick, beautifully hand made woodwork, etched and engraved by a dear friend and given as a gift for the holidays. This is the finest Stick accessory I have ever seen. I will soon post photos of it on the snakeheadtaskforce.com site to show this marvellously beautiful work.
The track Collider, was inspired by the artwork and stories of Stickists Art Durkee and Howard German.
Thanks for listening.
Chuck Reynolds
www.snakeheadtaskforce.com
www.exploratorymusic.com
From: Nandav8@netscape.net
Subject: Live Stick in PA
Date: Sat 29/01/2005
I am continuing in my "opener" quest and really getting the Stick out to the amazed public! The wonderfully creative band, The Primatives, www.theprimativesrock.com, have made me their permanent opener and are very supportive of the Stick. Please check out their music at CDBaby.
Here's where I will be in February.
Saturday, Feb 5 - Cafe Bean ( 31 E. Wheeling St. in Washington, PA) 8:00 pm For more info and or directions call 724-228-1799 Chaz, the new owner, is very much into supporting the arts. Musicians, poets, storytellers, comedians, etc. are all welcome. All ages welcome.
Friday, Feb 11 & Feb 25 - the Coffee Den (1082 Bower Hill Rd. in the St. Clair Shops--across from St. Clair Hospital) 8:00pm Call 412-276-3365 for more info and directions. A friendly staff and good coffee and an excellent tea selection make for a very enjoyable atmosphere. It is primarily an acoustic open stage. All ages. Stu, the owner, is very Stick friendly and actually wants a Stick night to evolve. Anyone interested, please contact me.
Thurs, Feb; 17th - the Uptown Theatre 100 N. Main Street, Washington, PA 8:00pm Call (724)223-8101) for more info and directions. www.uptowntheatre.info. The theatre has been restored and reconfigured to include candle-lit tables and seating for 250 for most shows, and can scale up to 500.
I want to thank all the Stick players, especially Greg and Jim Reilly, for their encouraging and supportive e-mails over the last couple of weeks. We have a great community. I encourage everyone to just make it happen- convince that restaurant they need some live music on an off night, jump up on that open stage, or even sit in with friends. My confidence has grown by leaps and bounds. I am playing and tackling songs I never thought I could. Start simple and play simple- if the song is well written, a single tapped bass note held out can fill the bill, while you play the melody. And, to quote Spinal Tap, turn it up- I found my touch became lighter and I discovered dynamics. It provided me the opportunity to play softer, and pull the audience in to lean in and listen more.
keep tappin'
Dave Brosky - Pittsburgh, PA
From: Greg Howard [Stickist@aol.com]
Subject:Greg Howard in Virginia Feb 4 and 5
Date: Sun 30/01/2005
I've got two duo shows with drummer Matt Wyatt this week:
Fri, Feb 4, Lynchburg, VA, Jazz St 8:00
Fri, Feb 5, Lynchburg, VA, Jazz St 8:00
More info at:
www.greghoward.com/events/2502
Thanks for supporting live music!
Happy Tapping,
Greg
From: Qua Veda [exalted@easystreet.com]
Subject: For Sale: Rane SP13 Stick Preamp
Date:Tue 25/01/2005
You are probably familiar with the Rane SP13 two-channel preamp specially designed for the Stick. Here is the link to all the details and articles about how it can be used in a variety of configurations. http://www.stick.com/accessories/sp13/ It has been used only in dust and smoke free environment and is in super condition.
It is the newest version (Rane made an input impedance modification at the request of Stick Enterprises).
It comes with the power supply, manual, stereo cord, and box.
Asking $380.
You can email me directly at exalted@easystreet.com.
-Qua
From: dasara [dasara@sprynet.com]
Subject: Stick For Sale
Date:Fri 14/01/2005
FOR SALE:
Chapman Grand Stick #1411. Purple Heart Wood with light gauge strings.Rounded frets with synth pickup. Excellent condition, touched twice. Includes gig bag and cable.
Asking$2200.
Please respond to dasara@sprynet.com
GET YOUR FINGERS TAPPING
From: SteveAFran@aol.com
Subject: Steve's Spinal Column #2
Date: Sat 22/01/05
Flat five! No, this is not Robert Fripp's London apartment. It is however a powerful tool for chord substitutions. Let's do the math.
First realize that in creative music we have the ability to alter a chord from within its makeup. Gm7 can become Gm9, the extension adding flavor.
A dominant chord can be extended or altered. A G7 can be made into G7b5 and usually works. Here are two chords with their variations:
G7 = G B D F Db7 = Db F Ab Cb
G7b5 = G B Db F Db7b5 = Db F Abb Cb (or Db F G B)
As you can see G7b5 = D7b, note for note. So G7 becomes G7b5. G7b5 gets renamed Db7b5 because enharmonically they're equal. The Db7b5 is replaced be Db7.
Therefore, by taking this path, G7 is replaced by Db7, which is a flatted fifth away.
In a progression then:
/ Dm7 G7 / Cmaj7 /
Becomes:
/ Dm7 Db7 / Cmaj7 / (the Db7 substitutes for the G7)
The progression now is chromatic.
Let's go further...
From: Ron Baggerman [rbaggerman@galaxygypsy.nl]
Subject: Etude with Attitude
Date: Mon 17/01/2005
Etude with Attitude
By Ron Baggerman
I start with a simple bass part and then it grows into a more complex, fuller, better sounding one.
Ex 1.This first simple arrangement is in series. By in series I mean that the left hand plays a whole note (holds it down) and the right hand follows with quarter notes.
Ex.2 Now the etude becomes more parallel. By parallel I mean that when the right hands plays a (quarter) note, the left hand plays a (quarter) note at the same time.
Ex.3 In this last arrangement, the left hands plays eights, while the right hands plays fourths. So on every note of the right hand, the left hand plays 2 notes.
More Here...
TALES FROM THE ROAD
From: Rob Martino [rpmtino@yahoo.com]
Subject:Holiday Stick story
Date: Wed 05/01/2005
So my wife and I are driving from Virginia to my parents house north of Boston the day after Christmas, and things are fine until we hit a massive snowstorm in Connecticut. Large patches of black ice are causing problems, and the car in front of me does two 360 degree spins before sliding to a stop in the breakdown lane. Even with traffic going 20 MPH, I start to lose control of the car a couple times, and the sides on the highway are littered with vehicles (one overturned), and in a stretch of a few miles we must have passed at least 10 vehicles which were being attended to by various police cruisers and fire trucks (which seemed to be going from accident to accident to make sure everyone was alright).
So I agree with my wife's advice that we should stop rather than brave it out until Boston, and since we are close to the Massachusetts border she calls an inn in Sturbridge that we had been to a couple years earlier. The have plenty of rooms available. We make our way to the inn slowly through some dark wooded roads (nothing but white snow everywhere).
As we go to check in, the innkeeper notices my Stick case and asks what it is. He is genuinely interested as I show it to him, and when I ask if he is a musician he informs me that he and his sons perform Celtic music and tap dance routinely at the inn. He asks if I can plug it in and show him how to play it, so he brings me to the stage in the main dining area and I fumble my way through a couple things I've been working on. He goes to get his sons, and before I know it we are having this big jam session (and my wife and I hadn't even been to the room yet). My lack of playing with other people quickly reveals my lack of timing but it's a neat experience nonetheless, and my wife even had the video camera to remember the moment.
One of those neat unplanned experiences that you feel like were just meant to happen. :-)
Cheers,
Rob Martino
www.robmartino.com
www.wavearts.com
From: StickNews
Subject: Stick Players in Europe
Dare: Wed 05/01/2005
It's time to meet the Europeans.
Somehow between his playing, teaching, performing, writing and his work as one of the European representatives for Stick Enterprises Ron Baggerman found the time to interview some up and coming and more seasoned veterans on the European Stick scene.
Ron recently sent StickNews some links to his more recent interviews.
Check them here
From: StickNews [sticknews@stick.com]
Subject: NAMM 2005
Date: January 19-23, 2005
Imagine the world's largest music store. Everything you could possibly imagine is there-any guitar, bass, drum, instrument, effect, piece of software, toy you could think of, plus innumerable musical creations you didn't even know existed. Now imagine that this store is staffed with intelligent, upbeat staff that don't ignore you when you walk in the door, staff that not only answers any question you throw at them but are also genuinely happy to be there. Then imagine you are trying out a new instrument, a Chapman Stick perhaps, and you look over your shoulder to see one of your heroes, let's say Tony Levin maybe, standing beside you checking out the latest Sticks too. Then you turn around and see Stevie Wonder running down the aisle with full entourage in tow.
This is NAMM.
NAMM (the National Association of Music Merchandisers) has held their annual trade show for the last 103 years. Each year builders, manufactures, designers and companies show off their latest and greatest products for an audience of buyers, musicians, press and fans.
Stick Enterprises attended their first NAMM show in 1974, sharing a booth with Walter Woods amplifiers. Every year, save one, Sticks and Stick players have been prominently featured, displayed and played at NAMM. This year was no exception.
READ ON AND CHECK OUT THE PICS:
From: StickNews [sticknews@stick.com]
Subject: Stick Night 2005
Date: 01/31/05
Stick Night 2005
The Knitting Factory AlterKnit Lounge, Jan. 21, 2005
I feel sorry for the people, particularly the folks who do the sound, when we do these Stick Nights. It's no big deal for us, we're used to showing up en mass, Sticks in hand, most with a small personal mountain of gear, all looking for some place to plug it in. But the poor sound people must think they're finally being asked to make amends for some of the bad karma they've incurred over a past life or two.
On Friday, January 21, 2005 the Stick players took over the AlterKnit Lounge at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood, CA. The room was small, packed all night long and it got a little toasty with all those bodies but it sounded great, had a nice vibe to it, a big enough stage to accommodate each player' s needs and was intimate without being claustrophobic. And just being in the heart of the Sunset Strip gigging on a Friday night was pretty cool in itself.
This year's line up was truly outstanding. I was honoured to be one of the performers. With Larry Tuttle & Novi Novog's String Planet, Don Schiff, Greg Howard, Tom Griesgraber & Darren Debree, Emmett Chapman, Steve Adelson, Bob Culbertson, Nema Rezai & Merge, and me on the bill I could go on for days and still have trouble finding a weak link.
The highlights were many.
Here are a few
PARTING SHOTS
Well, not much to say after all that's preceded. Except to once again remind you to keep those submissions coming in. I have a feeling about 2005, there is some serious momentum building, good things are going to happen.
What's next? Watch for reports from all the seminars and gigs currently in the works. We're also working on some reviews of a host of exciting new CDs, including new music from Jim Kam, Mauricio Manchon and Leo Gosselin. There are also some other projects in the works that I'm really excited about and I look forward to sharing with everyone.
That's it. Thanks for reading.
Take care,
Jim
Please send your posts and responses to: sticknews@stick.com.
Copyright 2007 by Jim Reilly, all rights reserved, except where noted. The opinions expressed by subscribers and contributors to this digest are not necessarily those of the publisher. Any business transactions arranged by readers of StickNews are solely their responsibility, and not those of Jim Reilly.
Stick and Chapman Stick are registered trademarks of Stick Enterprises, Inc., and are used in the title of this digest with permission.
Archives of previous Sticknews Digests can be found at sticknews/archives.
End of StickNews #271.