tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85187805217031262552024-03-13T13:40:36.427-07:00Dan Hillman's BlogThe latest thoughts and news from Dan Hillman, woodwind session musician and teacher.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-58621539322355127762014-05-30T10:50:00.000-07:002014-08-27T10:50:47.640-07:00Otis Redding ShowSo I got a call from band mate and genius show fixer Alik Peters-Deacon last week asking if I fancied some horn section work at the well known music venue <a href="http://www.thewateringhole.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Watering Hole</a> in Cornwall.<br />
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"Cool," I said, "Who for?"<br />
"Otis Redding."<br />
"Erm, right. I thought he was dead?"<br />
"Yeah, but he had a son called Otis too and he wants a band put together."<br />
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When the reply came back I nearly lost it. This man's dad is pretty much the godfather of soul and after hearing we'd be playing all the classics like My Girl and Dock of the Bay it was pretty much the best thing ever.<br />
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The band I was going to be part of was made up of 8 guys and girls I've had the pleasure of knowing and working with around the South West for some time and I hadn't seen a few of them for a while so it was pretty exciting. Drummer <a href="http://www.garrykroll.com/" target="_blank">Gary Kroll</a> is a great guy and I've played with him on a few sessions, bassist Celso Rocha a Brazillian firecracker and at the time was part of <a href="http://www.freshlysqueezedfunk.co.uk/" target="_blank">Freshly Squeezed</a>. Alik the MD on guitar and Jacob Kodicek are also Freshly veterans and of course Simon Dobson the other <a href="http://www.badcorehorns.co.uk/" target="_blank">Badcore</a> Horn I spend most of my time playing next to. Backing vocals were a real treat to have and provided by <a href="http://www.alexhart.com/" target="_blank">Alex Hart</a>, a local country/pop songwriter and blue singer <a href="http://www.beccalangsford.com/" target="_blank">Becca Langsford</a>. Rehearsals sounded great and as Simon and myself had a few sessions on that weekend and a lot of material to get down we were running iPad music stands which worked fantastically.<br />
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Fast forward to the day of the show and we were at<a href="http://www.garethyoung.com/Cube_Recording/home.html" target="_blank"> Cube Studios</a> in Truro at lunchtime to run everything with Otis. We'd made some adjustments to the arrangements and were hoping he liked them. After setting up we were feeling pretty good and relaxed, then someone said "Otis is here," and suddenly the game faces came on.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GdH6HiZUnkQ/U_4X6bAZthI/AAAAAAAAAbM/2WWbapF4He0/s1600/Otis%2BRehearsal.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GdH6HiZUnkQ/U_4X6bAZthI/AAAAAAAAAbM/2WWbapF4He0/s1600/Otis%2BRehearsal.JPG" height="139" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rehearsing at Cube Studios</td></tr>
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Aviators, leather jacket, gold boots and left handed Strat, the dude looked every bit as soul as you'd expect. First thing he did was see if everyone knew Green Onions and had us jam it to size us up. Seemingly pleased with that we moved on to the main event and after a good number of hours adjusting and transposing he was happy and we packed up and headed to the venue.<br />
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We chatted for a while and the guy is the nicest dude ever. Totally humble about his beginnings and properly switched on about soul and music in general. The mood in the Watering Hole was crazy when the evening got underway. You could tell the crowd were dead excited and that definitely rubbed off on us. Otis meanwhile was in his dressing room sleeping off the flight like a pro.<br />
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Showtime, and as we played the opening track the man himself strides onto the stage wearing a sequined shirt with security on either side. For the whole set he commanded the stage, throwing solos around and weaving in bits of family history and at some points I saw people at the front in tears, it was an amazing experience. The end came all to soon and he was pretty<br />
much mobbed for autographs and photos until he left.<br />
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Afterwards he told us how impressed he was that a bunch of young guys from little old England could groove out so hard and how he'd love to take us across the Pond to play with him in the US. Turns out he'd had trouble getting session players together who worked and he liked the way we worked. There's a big festival due in 2015 and he wants us there. Needless to say I've got my passport ready for the call!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The band with Otis afterwards</td></tr>
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As cool shows go, that's way up there!<br />
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The day after was a drive to Cardiff to play with London collaboration,<a href="http://www.highcrosssociety.com/" target="_blank"> High Cross Society</a> as a last minute dep gig. It was great, but a long night that included sleeping in the car at an unremembered service station at something like 5am. Ooof.<br />
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Dan<br />
@frame_boy<br />
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-88760202333386983822014-01-03T08:43:00.000-08:002014-08-27T08:44:42.124-07:00New Reeds!<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Yo! Short update on the new brand of reeds I'm now totally digging. After years of being a Vandoren convert and playing on the standard blue packets, I then discovered the different flavours like ZZ, V16 and Java. I loved each type for a fair time until discovering the next. </div>
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V16's were brilliant and powerful, but lacked finesse. The ZZ's produced a lovely tone but gave me less power and I'd find they were blown out after a couple of particularly lively funk shows. The original Green Java's were the first variation I tried and I must admit I was never truly taken with them. They played a bit harder than the vanilla version, but nothing really leapt out. </div>
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<a href="http://static.music123.com/derivates/19/001/273/055/DV020_Jpg_Jumbo_501765.300_3_box_V.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static.music123.com/derivates/19/001/273/055/DV020_Jpg_Jumbo_501765.300_3_box_V.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>However I saw the Java Reds on <a href="http://reeds-direct.co.uk/">Reeds-Direct.co.uk</a> and gave them a go. They have an amazing balance of power and finesse, being great for both hard funk and smooth jazz. They bed in and warm up quickly, but like all reeds you do get some duds in the box. At the moment of writing on average 1 or 2 per box of 5 warp the minute they're wetted or are woolly sounding, but the rest are sharp and clear. </div>
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I play these at 2.5 on my Series II Selmer Tenor and plan to replace the ZZ's I'm running on my other horns when I run out.</div>
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Go well, </div>
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Dan</div>
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-35028500047104022212013-11-09T08:04:00.000-08:002014-08-27T09:47:43.718-07:00In Ear Monitor Review pt2So after a good while of using the system, I feel I can give a decent account of performing with it. To recap, it's the LD Systems MEI One wireless UHF In Ear Monitor I bought second hand from Gumtree. I wont include pictures to save space. Just refer to the previous post for those.<br />
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Setting up during soundcheck is easy. The Mackie DL1608 our regular sound engineer uses is easy to work with and with the sender unit set to mono, all it takes is a 1/4" jack to jack from aux to left input and that end of things is ready once plugged into the mains and the arial screwed in. Only problem is that if the stage power goes down (which happens an unfortunate amount on outdoor stages) then the unit needs to be turned back on again. This is no big problem, but if you or the engineer don't realise it can lead to a confusing bit of trouble shooting.<br />
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The belt pack takes 2 AA batteries and is pretty good for consumption. Averaging about 4 x 2 hour shows before showing signs of death. There's a LED onboard to let you know you're running low so keep a spare pair in the box! The pack is light and has a belt clip, no more bulky than any of the others I've seen. The only problem with this is that the rubber volume knob on top seems to catch on my clothes occasionally and turn the volume down which is a mild irritation! Other than that, the rest is all good and I've not had any signal dropouts, lag or poor sound.<br />
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Ear buds however are another story. Whether the drummer I bought the kit from ran them at high volumes (don't worry, I did clean them thoroughly,) or whether they sounded like they do out of the box I'm not sure, but they aren't the best sounding examples. The top end lacks some crispness and the bass power isn't great either. They can pump out the volume for definite and you can hear what you need to over even the most ridiculous of stage sounds, but you're not going to get the delicate highs and lows. I've tried them on other devices and they do still sound the same. Still, the isolation is good and I come away from shows without ringing ears and having had a damned good monitor sound. Most irritating however is the fitting. The driver housings are metal and this means weighty, which means quality right? Fine, but when the ends are the same kind of rubber that the cheap high-street buds use, you find them falling out mid-performance at the mere hint of sweat or movement.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pMoi9ZWugqI/U_3yrf5d45I/AAAAAAAAAaw/Rps13Imr1c4/s1600/shure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pMoi9ZWugqI/U_3yrf5d45I/AAAAAAAAAaw/Rps13Imr1c4/s1600/shure.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>So, the supplied buds are fine, but if and when I have a spare £300-500 I'll definitely be looking at the Shure SE range. I've heard nothing but good things about them from session players and with 3 drivers per ear and an over ear fitment on the 535 model (Pictured) I believe this will make the whole system work on a par with the Sennheiser units still for a much lower price overall.<br />
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To finish, the iPhone compatibility with the Mackie sound system via the Mackie app allows me to manage my own monitor mix live. We've had a few teething troubles with mismatched updates between devices, but overall it's been fantastic as no-one is better suited to getting the mix I want than me and avoids the usual back and forth for fine tuning.<br />
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I'm definitely enjoying the fact I'm getting the mix I want when I want and protecting my hearing at the same time. Band mates occasionally say they feel I'm more isolated with them in, but I think it's something to get used to and learn to work with as my ears are important to me. Happy hearing!<br />
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Dan<br />
@frame_boyDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-78027440972236888152013-08-29T06:15:00.000-07:002013-08-30T06:47:21.396-07:00In Ear Monitor Review - LD MEI ONEHi, my name is Dan and I'm a Gumtree addict. There, I said it. The buying and selling website is a good place to find music gear at knock down prices, and I've done it again. I bought some IEMs.<br />
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As a working musician I've realised how important it is to protect my ears and recently with the more powerful sound system my regular band use these days I've been looking into hearing protection.<br />
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I've been doing a lot of research and not found many sax players going into detail about their monitoring setups and experiences so figured perhaps it was time I did.<br />
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I've tried plugs. Not expensive ones though as going full tilt into any form of hearing protection is costly and I've heard some horn players have some issues with plugs and the occlusion effect. The 'head sound' you get when pressure changes inside your plugged ears when you play.<br />
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<a href="http://www.safewearuk.com/big_pics%5Cfoam_ear_plugs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.safewearuk.com/big_pics%5Cfoam_ear_plugs.jpg" width="200" /></a>Industrial foam plugs were ok, they're kind of like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut though and it really <br />
isolates you from the rest of the band. They feel fine in your ears even if they do take a while to expand and settle in. You're definitely protecting yourself from high sound levels and you are able to hear the sax, but the cost is getting any real clarity from anything else and more often than not I'd find myself taking one or both out to feel more 'connected'.<br />
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The Christmas tree style ones often marketed as 'music' or 'surfer' ear plugs are more of the same. The plastic material they're made from makes them less comfortable and more likely to lose their place in your ears. Also, they seem to block less frequencies too. I still feel clear eared after a gig, but the sound is somehow 'off' when using them.<br />
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So, to the crux. I've been looking into budget IEM systems. As assured as I was that Sennheiser and Shure combinations are the industry standard, the wireless systems themselves cost £500 and the best earpieces are £300. This is great and I'm sure they're the best out there, but if I find out I don't get along with them I've spent close to a thousand pounds to get there.<br />
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T.Bone and LD Systems both make some budget IEM's and on doing some research online, I've found that they share a lot of components between both companies and their upper and lower price range models.<br />
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You can get brand new reasonable quality setups for about £350 from both companies with very similar specs. LD also do a super low priced one called an MEI ONE for £130. It was one of these that I found on Gumtree going for £90.<br />
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I figured that was a reasonable price and if nothing came of it, I've not lost too much. I also reasoned I could spend the cash I saved on some half decent Shure earbuds if all went well.<br />
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To the gear.....<br />
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Sender Unit:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_zNAG1B3yb8/Uh4zRpslBQI/AAAAAAAAARQ/1lk3eBIJ_uU/s1600/IMG_1957%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_zNAG1B3yb8/Uh4zRpslBQI/AAAAAAAAARQ/1lk3eBIJ_uU/s320/IMG_1957%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rear of Sender</td></tr>
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Weighty, feels solid and made of metal which is good. I've felt plastic units similar to this before and they don't inspire much confidence. The aerial is separate and has an extension cable which is a nice feature. On the front are headphone out and seperate volume, an pair of AF input level meters to show how much audio is being pushed through the unit, and a power button.<br />
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Rear has two balance multi XLR/jack inputs for ya engineer to pipe stuff to you through. You can have stereo or mono and it's all switchable and the volume of both inputs is adjustable.<br />
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Belt Pack:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yg5EiS-MSWQ/Uh4zZoa7s1I/AAAAAAAAARY/4sEkAS3B6P8/s1600/IMG_1958%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yg5EiS-MSWQ/Uh4zZoa7s1I/AAAAAAAAARY/4sEkAS3B6P8/s320/IMG_1958%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Belt Pack</td></tr>
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Plastic, light, takes two AA batteries, which is nice because they're the same as the EWI so I don't have to carry around two different sizes. Small flexible aerial on it, 3.5mm jack input for your 'phones and a volume/power pot too. That's great, to give yourself a little more control if things get out of hand or the engineer falls asleep.<br />
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Headphones:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-toynqkGCPPg/Uh42EVR2TuI/AAAAAAAAARs/OT-qdmVdPis/s1600/IMG_1959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-toynqkGCPPg/Uh42EVR2TuI/AAAAAAAAARs/OT-qdmVdPis/s320/IMG_1959.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headphones</td></tr>
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They feel really solid, far more than I was expecting. They're metal body and rubber cushioned, fit well in my ears and aren't too obtrusive. The jack is metal cased and once again feels pretty well built too.<br />
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The quality seems reasonable, I think this is possibly due to the previous owner (I did clean them thoroughly!) He was a drummer in a rock band and it feels like some top end has gone out for a while and might be some time. This could of course be the 'phones themselves, but the mids and bass sound great.<br />
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The whole thing:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R2kH31ybMeQ/Uh4zLYn6lLI/AAAAAAAAARI/WsmiKUJztLo/s1600/IMG_1956%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R2kH31ybMeQ/Uh4zLYn6lLI/AAAAAAAAARI/WsmiKUJztLo/s320/IMG_1956%5B1%5D.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front of the Sender</td></tr>
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I got my horn out in my studio and routed my mic (Rode NT2-A) and some jazz backing tracks through the MEI ONE and got to work. Getting the levels right was a bit of a pain, but that comes with practice. Sound was great and I can definitely work with this. No 'head sound' in there and once the mix was there it was a pleasure. There was nothing like the background noise of a real stage and the live test will have to wait 'til the weekend, but so far so good!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mackie My Fader App</td></tr>
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Our sound man, Mike Osbourne if you want to check him out, has started running a Mackie DL rig with an iPad controlling the whole thing. This means that with the My Fader app on my iPhone I can manage my own monitor levels without having to worry him. Looking forward to the weekend!<br />
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Rundown of how it was to come next week!<br />
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Hope that was of interest to you,<br />
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Dan.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-16184911222415190022013-08-28T07:12:00.000-07:002013-08-28T07:14:34.694-07:00Yet again I am an awful bloggist!Wow, so yeah, this diary of musical escapades really hasn't worked very well. The problem with chronicling life is that you have to 'do' some life to chronicle it and therefore reduce the amount of chronicling time you have. Still, never mind!<br />
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So as you, dear reader, can imagine, plenty of things have happened since 10 months past. I'll try to compress things a little to save eye strain.<br />
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<b>The bunch of funk meisters</b> <a href="http://www.freshlysqueezedfunk.co.uk/" target="_blank">Freshly</a> have been working on originals and we've got a small collection brewing away nicely. Our eminent Brazilian bassist Rokko and as we recently found out, producer, has been stocking up one some mean hardware. Neve and SSL mic pre's, AKG 414s, Logic interfaces and all sorts have been secretly piling up at his doorstep and he unveiled them to us not so long ago. Also, keyboarder Trip Hazard has the most awesome crib there ever was. Options of the piano room with choice of 2 full size grands and crazy sculptures and also a mill to ourselves.<br />
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Unfortunately a week before we were due to record our guitar/synth man Alik had his Novation Mininova stolen after rehearsal. This put a rather large downer on the whole thing, but being a small village and after a few heartfelt notes, the synth was returned by a mystery man, no questions asked. Pretty cool really.<br />
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With Rokko and Trip's powers combined we made a nice little studio for a week and got to work. We stayed up far too late and started way too early every morning, but in the end we've got something we're all hugely proud of. We couldn't have asked for better surroundings either, table tennis, chasing chickens, kayaking down weirs, playing Dungeons and Dragons (terribly and drunkenly) and to top it off Trip's dad is some kind of Czec master chef.<br />
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You can see what transpired <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-fDmHdS8us" target="_blank">here</a> and the tunes will come soon.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0YX_iIlXMwA/Uh4AgwTKelI/AAAAAAAAAQc/QgCtvsi9i8k/s1600/IMG_1946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0YX_iIlXMwA/Uh4AgwTKelI/AAAAAAAAAQc/QgCtvsi9i8k/s200/IMG_1946.JPG" width="183" /></a><b>The Seahawks</b> love releasing new stuff and yet another tasty album us out with some mixes and remixes I've had the pleasure of playing on. Have a look at this beauty! Coloured vinyl to go with the picture disc from last year!<br />
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<b><a href="http://badcorehorns.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Badcore Horns</a> </b>have been busy too and a fair number of works we've been on have been released to the world now at long last....<br />
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<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.granvillesessions.com/" target="_blank">Granville Sessions</a> have put their album Forward on Bandcamp, we laid down trumpet and saxes on this and there are some huge moments in the first track March and ridiculous baritone in The Next One.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>We're all over <a href="http://www.electricswingcircus.com/" target="_blank">Electric Swing Circus</a>' release too and they've sampled us for live use meaning we probably featured a bit at Glasto this year ;)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>The hush hush bit of work we did for Madness has now been released and you can hear us on their live DVD of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hss540gBS_A" target="_blank">Oui Oui</a> etc... Links fail me but check it out for sure!</li>
</ul>
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<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3vskk0vWH0I/Uh4DrZlowVI/AAAAAAAAAQw/iCdaqWnE9gg/s1600/Snapseed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3vskk0vWH0I/Uh4DrZlowVI/AAAAAAAAAQw/iCdaqWnE9gg/s320/Snapseed.jpg" width="185" /></a>Our latest project was for rock band <a href="http://thisiscanterbury.com/" target="_blank">Canturbury</a>. If you like a cross between good old British rock and Muse you'll be on to a winner. I spent a ridiculous night there with the usual crew, band and a London based string section. We ended up drinking wine and playing Countries, if you've never played it you'll find it the most irritating game 'till you get the rules. I was also coerced into waking Pete up with some sexy sax action (See Picture). He was not as excited as we were. We discovered Peter Miles, producer extraordinaire is also <a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/petermiles" target="_blank">Peter Miles</a>, Ugandan rapper. It kinda explains all the mystery hits on his website from Africa...<br />
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<br />
<b>So, term starts again</b> in a few weeks, I'm now teaching sax, clarinet, flute, uke, guitar, drums and piano. Worried much? Naaaaah!<br />
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<br />
<b>Oh! Almost forgot,</b> we got a jazz night started in the local pub following in the footsteps of local legend Tony Harris. It's started getting quite a reputation and we've had loads of guests get involved! It's pretty rough and ready and mostly a bit of fun. Check our version of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhQwYwreb4k" target="_blank">All Blues</a>. <br />
<br />
<br />
Dan.<br />
<br />
PS, I'm going to be reviewing a wireless IEM unit over the weekend. Check it out!Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-69908351935930750802012-10-16T04:43:00.000-07:002012-10-16T04:43:49.440-07:00Teaching, Brixton and Websites!'Sup!<br />
<br />
It's been some time since my last report, but there's been plenty going on at DHQ and since this is as much a journal for me to keep track of things as a news feed for the website I'll go back to where we left off which was just after the Granville Sessions session at Pete's studio...<br />
<br />
The weekend after that, with an already packed schedule of funk with <a href="http://www.freshlysqueezedfunk.co.uk/" target="_blank">Freshly</a>, myself and my bongo brother Blades were seconded into an afternoon of Sax & Bongos vs a troupe of DJ's for some Exeter University folk to gyrate to. There were some good moments with lithe sunlit students giving it the beans to our stylings, and some not so good ones where one of the sickest drop builds I've ever had the privilige of rashing over crashed on it's arse when one of the ill-fated vinyl pushers accidentally slammed into a slowdance number by accident just as the current track had reached it's crescendo.<br />
<br />
Still, we got paid, pushed some business cards about and set off on a 50 mile trip to Bude for a funk gig in Thom York's local boozer. Tasty.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6dmuNFbqyLk/UH1CxWNXtyI/AAAAAAAAAMM/pcMzpRnC28A/s1600/527825_10151020713302723_486272260_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6dmuNFbqyLk/UH1CxWNXtyI/AAAAAAAAAMM/pcMzpRnC28A/s200/527825_10151020713302723_486272260_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's learning time y'all....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The following week was my first one of teaching groups of primary school kids clarinet and what a baptism of fire that was. Imagine the sound you made when you first ever had a go at a non piano instrument. Awful wasn't it? Believe it or not, even your humble narrator when first blessed with a clarinet of his own to blow began with such honkings that nearby geese would head for the hills. Now times this by 20. Still, being of calm body and mind I have brought my little padawans, some numbering as many as 36 at one go, up to the point where they're kicking some one note tunes to backing tracks. Let's hope this continues as I'm expected to put them into a concert to show their relevent parentals/guardians/captors how well they're doing and I'm hoping for Bach sonatas from each and every one of them! <br />
<br />
The next weekend where September shuffles off and October starts to make going outside a bit of a chore was also one where I was not blowing my horn, so I did what the normals do when a free weekend comes along and planned a getaway. 'To Surrey' I thought, and thusly took my better half, the intrepid Red Baroness home to meet my family for the first time on their own territory and to wish my father a happy birthday...<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-34mXapTUhLU/UH1DfF1c43I/AAAAAAAAAMc/6vOlIfaBUik/s1600/photo+%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-34mXapTUhLU/UH1DfF1c43I/AAAAAAAAAMc/6vOlIfaBUik/s200/photo+%25281%2529.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You're not driving that anywhere...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
...Turns out a birthday it was, but happy it was not. At about 3-4am Friday morning and 80 miles out from our destintation on the most deserted country 'A' road we could have chosen, a lorry had a blowout in front of us and the resulting debris took our car off the road in action movie style. After the police and rescue people sorted the car out, my dearest father, who's birthday was becoming less happy by the minute, drove out to our stricken selves and ferried us not only home, but around most of London for the weekend too. Legend. <br />
<br />
Also, and back to the point in hand, music, the boys from <a href="http://www.granvillesessions.com/" target="_blank">Granville Sessions</a> were playing in Brixton and gave me a shout to see if I'd kick some bari with them on stage, so I plugged Hootenanny's into Google and found it was a mere half hour away from my lodgings. Obviously I couldn't pass up the chance to turn a non gigging weekend into a gigging one, and rocked up there ready to smash a wicked set and introduce my good lady to dirty London hiphop at the same time.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6rv2XRpkFAg/UH1DMdV5sUI/AAAAAAAAAMU/donsoCkLeYI/s1600/579564_981061694370_743619216_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="144" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6rv2XRpkFAg/UH1DMdV5sUI/AAAAAAAAAMU/donsoCkLeYI/s200/579564_981061694370_743619216_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing bari Granville in Brixton</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Needless to say the venue was amazing, the crowd were up for it, and African Head Charge who were on after us astonished me by being the most stereotypical Jamaican reggae band I've ever witnessed first hand. All older chaps with dreads and beards, accents so thick you could cut them with a knife, illicit domio games in the green room, and speaking of green, they were definitely advocates of da 'erb. Them chaps could play too, would have stayed and skanked all night if I didn't have a weekend of sightseeing to do!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8DeR-r-2k74/UH1DlrDl6GI/AAAAAAAAAMk/dzlyrCC1Kuc/s1600/photo+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8DeR-r-2k74/UH1DlrDl6GI/AAAAAAAAAMk/dzlyrCC1Kuc/s200/photo+%25282%2529.JPG" title="" width="149" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luke, topless conductor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Moving on, the <a href="http://www.badcorehorns.co.uk/" target="_blank">Badcore Horns</a> and our very dear friend and keyboard wonder <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ThePJPBand" target="_blank">Pat Pearson</a> were back with Pete at Middle Farm again last Thursday, this time working for<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP_ffad2fkc" target="_blank"> Luke Concannon</a> of Nizlopi fame. His solo album is set to be a corker and, in my opinion anyway, every track I've heard from it has chart potential. Not only did Si and myself lay down everything from jolly soul stuff to Sigur Ross style moody pads, we all got stuck in with some gang vocals, so listen out for that one.<br />
<br />
We ended up having the night there so we could spend hours getting the parts sounding just right and after a hearty home cooked meal and beer we all slipped into an 18 minute jam with the recently arrived slide guitarist from London who's name currently escapes me. There's a video and I'll get hold of it if it kills me (which judging on the difficulties of moving 1.5 gig of data it may well do). After that we tried jamming one of Lukes unprepared songs but decided it was too much muso gratofication to use for much so we'll keep that back until the real one is released. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/535711_546292812054579_1486751765_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/535711_546292812054579_1486751765_n.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shirt modelled by Alex Norgate</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Oh that reminds me, on the promo side of things. I've been busy weaving some dreams and made a real website for Badcore. Myspace was nice, but the glitches, limitations and downright retro-ness of the whole thing was getting to me so <a href="http://www.badcorehorns.co.uk/">www.badcorehorns.co.uk</a> was born. Along those lines, <a href="http://www.freshlysqueezed.co.uk/" target="_blank">Freshly Squeezed</a> have finally got our act together and have a run of rather lovely T-shirts for sale as well as a small number of original tunes in the bag. We're just waiting to get ourselves a new permenant bass player since our legend of a young gun Jake Galvin left to carry on his degree course far far away. If you play, and play good, do get in touch!<br />
<br />
Sorry for the essay but I did try and make it readable,<br />
<br />
Love,<br />
<br />
D.<br />
<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-47959979632931566882012-09-02T19:40:00.000-07:002012-09-02T19:43:49.118-07:00August Roundup: More releases, Videos and SessionsAs usual in the life of a working muso things come in waves. Sometimes ups, sometimes downs. Between the biggies you usually find yourself kicking around trying to plan for new projects, work on some current things you should have thought about sooner and grinding out a living with the regular stuff that pays the bills. However the ups usually make up for all the waiting and make you love your profession again and August has been pretty good as far as that goes...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YLznRf8cxFY/UEQDYB6HvnI/AAAAAAAAAL0/xR0-jlhMN30/s1600/IMG_1346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YLznRf8cxFY/UEQDYB6HvnI/AAAAAAAAAL0/xR0-jlhMN30/s200/IMG_1346.JPG" width="200" /></a>So first up our old favourites the Seahawks have just released their next album 'Aqua Disco' with yours truly on woodwind and faithful music compadre, Alik Peters getting chordal with it. I've shown some pictures of the process on some earlier blogs and now you can hear/own it for yourself. If you like mellow swirlies and vintage beats have a look on <a href="http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/products/Seahawks-AquaDisco-OceanMoon-85135.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Piccadilly Records</span></a> and grab a copy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Next are those Bristol based jazz junkies, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/jagharps" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Jag Harps</span></a> and after our well documented trip to Real World Studios a few months ago to record the headline track 'New York', we finally have the video back from the shop for all to see. Check out the bunch of talented chaps I'm lucky enough to hang with and watch out for some one take wonder-soloing towards the end. Must say I was totally bricking it during filming but forced myself to keep it below the surface 'till the end.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/47715261?portrait=0&color=ffffff" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="500"></iframe>
</div>
<br />
The <a href="http://www.myspace.com/badcorehorns" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Badcore Horns</span>,</a> horn section for hire, were out once again in duo form with founder members, myself and comrade in arms <a href="http://peacekidxxx.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Si Dobson</span></a> down at Middle Farm Studios in Devon. Under the watchful eye of Pete Miles, we spanked some chunky brass lines out over the massive tunes of London based hiphop group <a href="http://www.granvillesessions.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Granville Sessions</span></a>. They're not quite mainstream yet, but by Gods they should be and I highly recommend you have a listen to the material they have out at the moment.<br />
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;"><object height="360px" width="425px"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><param name="movie" value="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=108960293,t=1,mt=video"/><embed src="http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=108960293,t=1,mt=video" width="425" height="360" allowFullScreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: Verdana; font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/573342347" style="font: Verdana;"></a><a href="http://www.myspace.com/573342347">The Badcore Horns</a><span style="color: #999999;"> | </span><a href="http://www.myspace.com/music/videos">Myspace Music Videos</a></span></div>
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<br />
If that was enough to whet your whistle then check back soon and I'll update the blog when their new stuff is released. Also, the <a href="http://lenasmithband.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: orange;">Lena Smith Band</span></a> in Plymouth have booked us in to record on their album soon at Beliefspace Studios so more on that too!<br />
<br />
Freshly Squeezed are still cracking out the funk too. We're currently working on some actual real material of our own but it's sill a way off from performance yet. Until then we'll stay funky and most definitely orange.<br />
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I'll leave you with a photo of us recently looking our best and strutting our stuff.<br />
<br />
Until next time...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/304650_10152037475185184_698260459_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/304650_10152037475185184_698260459_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
Dan.<br />
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<br />Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-21752873100976495942012-06-20T08:17:00.002-07:002012-06-20T08:20:25.867-07:00Gigs all over the place and recording at Pete'sHey all, it's been a manic few weeks down here in the sunny South West with a lot of music going on. As is customary in the life of a self employed musician things can come and go in waves and this was one hell of a wave.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s720x720/598812_426525644034856_1464255515_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s720x720/598812_426525644034856_1464255515_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jag Harps at Thekla</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It began at the end of May doing an issue launch for <a href="http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/bristol-issue-launch-may-2012" target="_blank">Vice magazine</a> aboard the Thekla up in Bristol. The Jag Harps were a studio based band first and foremost but our debut live performance outside in the real world went without a hitch and kicked the rest of the night off preparing for Breton's big performance.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/s720x720/246555_10150817679377723_1599248829_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/s720x720/246555_10150817679377723_1599248829_n.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freshly on the road again</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Then the funk machine Freshly Squeezed had lined up 11 gigs during the following week. We were on the road a whole load playing everywhere from Salcombe and Plymouth right up to Glastonbury and Birmighham. We were kept busy with student unions, clubs and a wedding too. Not bad for a week's work!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/s720x720/538293_10150845992927723_262553631_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/s720x720/538293_10150845992927723_262553631_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real World Studios</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Lastly the Jag Harps managed to swing some time in<a href="http://realworldstudios.com/" target="_blank"> Real World Studios</a> at the weekend. Set in awesome surroundings outside Bath, RW is Peter Gabriel's brainchild and we were lucky enough to get to play in it. The sheer amount of gear to gawp at meant we started a little later than planned, but have laid downs some live studio recordings and shot some video too. I'm waiting to hear back from Graham and the engineer to see what we came up with. If it sounds as ace as it felt then we're in for a treat.<br />
<br />
Oh, and I'll be taking on group teaching clarinet in primary schools at the beginning of the new term which will be good experience.If all goes well I'll be looking to do a lot more of that in the future.<br />
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That's all for now!<br />
<br />
Dan.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-45125298163418963742012-06-03T05:25:00.001-07:002012-06-03T05:41:22.303-07:00Quantum IroningWhen you're running massively behind for a gig and you're all together in the band bus, the conversation tends to start falling apart quicker than the schedule for the festival you've just messed up. <br />
<br />
Today's mental wanderings have tuned to ways to speed up 3 tonnes of vehicle and we've decided that grabbing the fabric of space time and pulling us along might just about do it. This of course means we'd be leaving huge crumples in time behind us making 2011 much longer, leaving 2012 with a few less weeks and generally messing history up for all of us. <br />
<br />
Thusly to repair the damage we'd need to construct a quantum Corby trouser press to flatten things out again. What do you think? Quantum ironing sounds plausible to me. Then again I'm sleep deprived. It's probably best to leave this where it is. Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-48392668511599707442012-06-02T17:53:00.001-07:002012-06-02T17:54:06.913-07:00Recording For SeahawksOver the past two days I've been laying down some sweet horn sounds for the Seahawks once again. We've lived amongst a nest of cables and vintage gear putting together some crazy sounds. <br />
<br />
Bringing flute and the whole hog of saxes in on this bad boy has been great and working with hot musos laying down Rhodes, sitar, guitar and percussion is most entertaining. Can't wait to hear the final mix. <br />
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There's talk of taking this very studio based group out on the road with their agent promising gigs up North. The fun's going to be translating it into a live ensemble. <br />
<br />
Album to follow! <br />
<br />
Cheers,<br />
<br />
D<br />
<br />
<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-t2SmtWDfCe0/T8kJXw78iNI/AAAAAAAAALY/2p5KrHLIB6Y/s640/blogger-image--1732344324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-t2SmtWDfCe0/T8kJXw78iNI/AAAAAAAAALY/2p5KrHLIB6Y/s640/blogger-image--1732344324.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nA5z9dHthCI/T8kJZLg8ZnI/AAAAAAAAALg/MpGda1Tug6s/s640/blogger-image--630615461.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-nA5z9dHthCI/T8kJZLg8ZnI/AAAAAAAAALg/MpGda1Tug6s/s640/blogger-image--630615461.jpg" /></a></div>Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-12247621389501720972012-02-05T06:55:00.000-08:002012-02-05T06:55:06.634-08:00Hey hey,<br />
<br />
New year is well under way and things are a-changing down in Cornish land. The DH base of operations has moved and I'm now set up with a new studio space that won't suffer as much from the changeable weather conditions in this lovely part of the world. The new site design is ready to upload, just need a spare hour to transfer the files across!<br />
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I'm about to head out and record some new demo tracks for the Mala Jazz Duo and will return with some lovely new material to get things going as well as then being able to finalise everything else. Maybe upload some cool pictures too.<br />
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Anyway, just for fun, check out these two groups. I'm all about seeing bands use studio sounding technology in a live environment and these guys are a perfect example.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eDsDDJJhrJs/TdwZkrqbaDI/AAAAAAAABaA/zwGqIB6nRfM/s1600/caravan_palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eDsDDJJhrJs/TdwZkrqbaDI/AAAAAAAABaA/zwGqIB6nRfM/s200/caravan_palace.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Caravan palace are a group of French electro-swingers, getting the balance of old school samples and dirty synths. Awesome stuff. Check this video out <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxFavVMZofo" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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There would be a picture here, but Blogger deemed it too much of an effort, so pictureless I shall venture forth to Hidden Orchestra. UK based and awesome, these guys have loads of different session players in on top of their MPC/double drummers setup and make some great sample sounding tunes. Listen to Wandering <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3ppF0evyH0" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Enjoy,<br />
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D.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-75485216828240008512011-12-02T08:44:00.001-08:002011-12-02T10:01:17.195-08:00Releases!Finally some tunage out and about! I've been waiting to see these come to fruition for a while now, but here they are...<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f0eaAVhc5NQ/TtkP8Qx0frI/AAAAAAAAAGE/g3Qb80hlWYI/s1600/4104340297-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f0eaAVhc5NQ/TtkP8Qx0frI/AAAAAAAAAGE/g3Qb80hlWYI/s200/4104340297-1.jpg" width="200" /></a>First is a slim EP released by the Jag Harps written by Graham Rutherford. Simon 'Peacekid' Dobson and myself provided some brass on this and it sounds lovely. There's talk of touring it and adding some more tunes so here's hoping! It's called Theta Waves, check it out and buy it <a href="http://jagharps.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Next up is a full album by the Seahawks called Invisible Sunrise. Its's spacey as hell and clearly making some people very happy as it's apparently hit number 29 in Rough Cut Records album charts. I'm credited with wielding the 'space horn' on there due to the crazy effects we were working with, but it's sounding great! You can listen and buy it on iTunes <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/invisible-sunrise-deluxe-edition/id472978988" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Also played on an album in production for a folk singer called Mr Paddy. Nice sounding stuff that I'll hopfully be able to demo soon.<br />
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Lastly, few more of my own up on <a href="http://www.soundcloud.com/dan-hillman" target="_blank">www.soudcloud.com.dan-hillman</a> and I've got some vocal talent coming in soon to lay their skills down!<br />
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Hope you like,<br />
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Take care,<br />
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Dan.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-6976743689909238092011-11-01T12:01:00.000-07:002011-11-01T12:03:41.168-07:00Videos ahoy!Yo readers of the lost ark, here be some videos I done made of me done making music a few days ago. Your life will never be the same after watching me parp around on a baritone sax or show you my lovely samples that I tooted and thusly plonked.<br />
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I've been looking to merge my love of electronic tinkering and saxy good times for a while and came up with recording a harmonised line and mashing it about a bit to come up with new ideas. Checkum out here:<br />
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Also here's me recording the baritone sax solo in my new offering to the world. It's nice and jazzy and I thought it was a pretty good first take so I kept it and uploaded it. Videoing recording sessions is a great way for me to keep a record of what I've been up to, demo my skills and show you that there still remains a live element to my music even through the veil of electromagic. Go forth and watch:<br />
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I hope that was worth a few minutes of your life, come back next time!<br />
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D.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-44282161139538382892011-10-31T12:05:00.000-07:002011-10-31T12:05:43.639-07:00Taking tablets and doing art...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://bamboopenandtouch.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/bamboo8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://bamboopenandtouch.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/bamboo8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I bought myself a present last week for being such a good boy. It's an A6 rectangle of lovely that is the Bamboo Pen & Touch tablet. I can honestly say that it's the most awesome replacement for a mouse the world has ever seen. Not only is it completely battery free, but the tablet canvas can relate to the proportions of the screen letting you pinpoint accurately where you want to draw/click/whatever and of course if that doesn't do it for you, you can always switch to the multitouch interface instead. Mmmmm gestures....<br />
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Anyway, to get to the point I've been drawing. In an attempt to keep misery at bay for the remaining two weeks of my good lady's 3 months in India I had a go at sketching a side profile and giving it some digital wizardry. This one was heavily inspired by <a href="http://www.diegofernandez.daportfolio.com/">Diego Fernandez</a> who has far greater skills than I. Still, the Red Baroness seems to like it and that's the main thing. I'll hopefully keep getting better as I get more comfortable with using the tablet, more to come!<br />
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Peace,<br />
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D.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-35291125144658884522011-10-26T17:50:00.000-07:002011-10-27T12:53:11.075-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/305162_10150323781667723_500297722_8586287_1264080810_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/305162_10150323781667723_500297722_8586287_1264080810_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I've been keeping busy over the past month as I hope the picture (insert) suggests. The life of a wandering minstrel is never a steady one, but as the funk has dipped slightly, other things have peaked.<br />
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Monday nights are now spent keeping a finger to the pulse of the student population at Mosaic in Exeter by playing sax to funky house beats courtesy of <a href="http://www.4playevents.com/">4Play Events</a>. It appears that as the weeks go by I bear witness to more and more of the weird and wonderful. After a few sessions getting the feel of the place and putting up with the tedium of in-house engineers wanting to crank every piece of gear to the point of redline I arrive one time to see the entire ground floor covered in turf (yes, really) and another to see snake charmers plying the crowd with their serpentine friends! I'm intrigued to see what's next....<br />
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As far as my own music goes, I've been getting my teeth into dubstep in a big way having decided to remix a chilled electronic tune I've been producing with a local singer/songwriter. It looks like the cheeky, wobbly bastard child of UK garage has fallen from favour amongst the punters, but that makes it all the more appealing to me. I've been forced to learn so much about music production in this short space of time and there are so many concepts to get my head around. I also have a couple of Cinematic Orchestra inspired light jazzy tracks almost ready to go apart from needing some soul vocal samples laid down. I've had some interest from a video producer looking for soundtracks, but I'm currently waiting for more info on that one. Check my <a href="http://www.soundcloud.com/dan-hillman">Soundcloud</a> for more of my work.<br />
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In other news The <a href="http://www.seahawks77.wordpress.com/">Seahawks</a> album I've been working on has been for trial pressings, the artwork is done thanks to the same dude who does the Super Furry's stuff and a boatload of remixes are already in the pipes. Can't wait to get my hands on a copy!<br />
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Lastly, Graham Rutherford, the jazzy swine who dragged me to Bristol to jam on a few of his tracks a few moons ago has been in the studio for the last day mixing the album down. Got a call this morning asking for some last minute additions to a tune in the vein of David McCallum's track 'The Edge'. Some big dark woodwind chords and flute tooting to top it off. I recorded a video of my first go at tacking down some lead stuff on soprano sax to get a feel for what it needed which can be seen here on Vimeo:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/31168468?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&color=ff9933" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="400"></iframe></div><br />
That's all for now, take care,<br />
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Dan.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-80295377250217776302011-09-14T16:02:00.000-07:002011-09-14T16:02:08.767-07:00A few cool updates...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.1stbassrecords.com/images/categories/vinyl-default.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="http://www.1stbassrecords.com/images/categories/vinyl-default.gif" width="200" /></a></div>Hello Internet how goes it?<br />
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I've been keeping busy of the past few months getting involved in some pretty neat projects and the payoff should be just around the corner, namely some lovely releases!<br />
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First off, our good old friends the Seahawks are on the brink of publishing and album featuring yours truly after some severe low-fi messing. Think decades of reverb and mind bending delays and you're still nowhere near how awesomely sonically massive these tracks are. The guitar/vocoder/sop sax mashing in 2 tracks has paid off particularly well.<br />
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Secondly, Bristol based guitarist extraordinaire Graham Rutherford has either put together a fat EP or skinny LP depending on your moral bent and in our debut as the Badcore Horns (mercenary brass section for hire) myself and the rather capable Simon 'Peacekid' Dobson stepped up to the plate and jazzed all over the place. After selling his prize guitar to fund the project, it'll be pressed into the black stuff in a month or so and hopefully we'll hear how the hard work paid off!<br />
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Details on the releases will be posted as soon as confirmation is recieved!<br />
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Other things to keep your ears peeled for are further appearances from The Badcore Horns once we've locked down 5 players we're happy to take to the studio for demo recording and a possible new sax vs DJ residency up in Exeter to keep the students entertained of a week night!<br />
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That's all for now though. More soon.<br />
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Peace and tooting.<br />
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DDanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-945443555287896072011-05-28T06:58:00.000-07:002011-05-28T07:01:53.895-07:00Yacht rock, remixing some filth and the death of a legend.Just a quick weekend update of the DHC world.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.rubadub.co.uk/mediaLibrary/images/english/104164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.rubadub.co.uk/mediaLibrary/images/english/104164.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Seahawks Logo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>On Friday I found myself at the Cornish basecamp of <a href="http://www.lorecordings.com/">Lo Recordings</a> working with Jon Tye and his go-to chord monster Alik PD on some pretty far out stuff for their <a href="http://seahawks77.wordpress.com/">Seahawks project</a>. It's been put into the rather interesting catagory of 'yacht rock' for it's chilled summery vibes which I rather like and it's certainly different to the norm with it's mix of lo-fi delays and reverbs and left field approach to vocals and instrumentation.<br />
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This all resulted in a rather tasty recording session, routing my beloved soprano sax, (weapon of choice for many previous recordings with the Lo crew,) through a harmoniser unit controlled by Alik on guitar. We got some pretty good sounds out of it, from a straight up sax with an intelligent chorus behind to some weird breath controlled guitar chords using the sax to trigger them. I'll keep details vague for now as we work some more with it, here's hoping to see that setup used live in the coming months!<br />
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On a more personal note, I'm sallying forth on another of <a href="http://soundcloud.com/dan-hillman/war-dubstep-remix-1">my dubstep remixes</a>, this time in response to a challenge from Hoo Ha over at <a href="http://hoohafashions.blogspot.com/">Hoo Ha Fashions</a> who digs the tune<a href="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CC4QtwIwAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DgNDccgakPvo&rct=j&q=pigbag&ei=8fvgTce6JJSYhQfgtrjZBg&usg=AFQjCNF2F_zUcPE39tmpOUBpfFrbRErEfQ&sig2=LFUxuqVy_gXyl2gBKkJbTQ&cad=rja"> Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag</a>. It's one of those tracks that makes the sax famous and there's plenty of scope for getting grimy so bear with me and check it out when I post it!<br />
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Finally, as you all probably know by now <a href="http://www.clashmusic.com/news/gil-scott-heron-passes-away">Gil Scott Heron has passed</a> on to the great gig in the sky. As an instigator of rap in the jazz/funk genre he's greatly influenced much of the music I've grown to love, big love. He will be missed.<br />
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Dan.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-77478969369723672992011-05-24T14:46:00.000-07:002011-05-24T14:46:50.342-07:00So music education doesn't matter anymore?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.turnaroundweek.com/assets/Images/empty-wallet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.turnaroundweek.com/assets/Images/empty-wallet.jpg" /></a></div>It appears music in the UK is <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/tomserviceblog/2010/feb/26/music-education-cuts">having a bit of trouble</a>. As a musician in the South West looking for a bit of work via public sector I have found out how much of a PITA it is.<br />
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So, a few weeks ago I decided to really try and push the teaching side of my business a bit more. I saw how well some of my colleagues were doing out of private lessons and it's not as if I don't have enough spare time.<br />
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I thought that working through an agency or county music service would be a good place to start and definitely look good on the old CV so after doing some research and finding a number of prospective places, I boldy got in touch with a bunch of them via phone and email...<br />
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...only to receive; some no replies, a few straight up 'no's and a rather large amount of places telling me that they'd happily put me on their books, but wouldn't be able to take me on in any professional capacity due to funding problems. <br />
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At first I thought it was a reasonable start to 'be on their books' until I really thought about what that meant, namely, having my digits scribbled on the back of a bit of paper or in a notepad document to placate me and having them filed away somewhere and ignored. That's great, but of no immediate use to a starving musician with knowledge to push into peoples heads.<br />
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After failing with that route I tried going straight to the schools and from that was recommended to contact a chap with a .gov.uk email address that dealt with music in the South West. I briskly sent him an email telling him my woes, and he briskly replied with his own to add to mine. Now this, dear reader, is where my problem lies... He told me that:<br />
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</div><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="color: red;"><span class="845070810-19052011"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">1. Plymouth City Council have placed a moratorium on recruitment. We are not permitted to take on staff irrespective of any requirement for tutors.</span></strong></span></div><span style="color: red;"> </span><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="color: red;"><span class="845070810-19052011"><strong></strong></span> </div><span style="color: red;"> </span><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="color: red;"><span class="845070810-19052011"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial;">2. All Music Services currently face an uncertain future as the Government decides the way forward with music in schools.</span></strong></span></div><div align="left" dir="ltr"><span class="845070810-19052011"><strong><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"> </span></strong></span></div><div align="left" dir="ltr">Now I don't know if it's just me being silly because of my recent investigations, but doesn't that sound bloody ridiculous? I have no problem with the fellow I spoke to, but he seemed like a great guy working for a stupid system.</div><div align="left" dir="ltr"> </div><div align="left" dir="ltr"> Firstly, they're not allowed to recruit anyone even if they need them? Great strategy there for sure. Alan Sugar would be proud. I mean, I can understand not needing a few peripatetic music teachers, especially ones encouraging the blowing of noisy tubes, but it sounds like they mean <u>anyone</u>, irrespective of their trade. Secondly, I don't really understand what options there are regarding the 'way forward with music in schools'. I thought that when you were in school you were allowed to pick an instrument and then get to make noises with it for a certain amount of time. If you wished to have lessons you could, if you didn't you still had to spend 45 minutes a week in class being told about other people who made noises with instruments. Your choice. It's not like they're going to remove it from the national curriculum.....or are they?</div><div align="left" dir="ltr"><span class="845070810-19052011"><strong><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;"><br />
</span></strong></span></div><div align="left" dir="ltr">So what mostly boggles me is where did the money that <i>was</i> being spent on music go? It was doing alright 10-15 years ago when I was a wee lad so what happened? I know, I know, economic downturn....blahblahsnore, but if them folks at city hall have enough cash to get up to no good with expenses scandals, why not do some good too? It's not just music that's suffering either, a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/mar/25/public-sector-cuts-where-will-they-hit">whole smorgasboard of other services are getting it in the neck as well</a>. Perhaps downsizing a few things here and there is ok, but when did music become so unimportant? More people than ever will be going to music festivals this summer and the number of tracks being downloaded is still huge so someone out there still thinks music is worthwhile!</div><div align="left" dir="ltr"><br />
</div><div align="left" dir="ltr">So, the upshot is, I'll be looking in the private sector instead and bypassing music services simply beacuse they're only looking to keep themselves afloat in these uncertain times and have no spare time to put into expanding. </div><div align="left" dir="ltr"><br />
</div><div align="left" dir="ltr">Look out for me in a <a href="http://plymouth.gumtree.com/plymouth/28/73602228.html">shop window near you</a>!</div><div align="left" dir="ltr"><br />
</div><div align="left" dir="ltr">Dan.</div>Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-79753395086353565842011-03-03T08:46:00.000-08:002011-03-03T08:46:16.575-08:00New track: Motion<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been a while, but you know how it is when you're trying to keep your head above water in the world. Certain things fall by the wayside and unfortunately an online diary of events in my musical world is the least of my priorities. I have recently moved to a new location and finally managed to squirrel away some space for a dedicated studio at home thus avoiding a trip to Band HQ ever time there are some horns to toot.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So yeah, I dusted off my old trumpet and once again set forth to learn it. 'It's not like I play enough wind instruments already' I said to my Self and my Self just grumbled and requested a tea. I could already get a sound from it and pick a few different harmonics on each position, it's just figuring out what note is where. Anyway, a quick skip to the end and instead of sitting down and learning properly, I ended up recording some stuff instead. It turns out that a cheap trumpet, an SM58 and some standard reverb sound quite good with no EQ needed. A complete and rather irritating opposite of my beloved top-of-the-range saxophone.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I then built a track around some of the licks I'd recorded and after a few days tinkering came up with a nearly finished product. I always make a point to learn something or use something new in each work and this is no different. On listening to Flite by The Cinematic Orchestra late one night, I started to home in on the pedalled vibraphone sample and wondered how they had gone about making it sound like it did. I tried to replicate it by recording a series of sax phrases at the same speed of the track but on a faster tempo setting, then slicing the desired parts and putting them into a granular loop player to give a disjointed an uneven yet tempo matched sound. The outcome wasn't what I had intended, but I like the effect and for that reason chose to keep it in. All other instruments are pretty standard, got the usual Rhodes, piano and synthetic/real bass combo with a layered brass secion, some textures behind and samples taken from a CERES TV news broadcast about the 2011 New Zealand Earthquake. All the instruments were played by me.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's the linky:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://soundcloud.com/dan-hillman/motion">http://soundcloud.com/dan-hillman/motion</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll be bringing back the loop work soon after relocating to my new studio and will try to keep improving where I can.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">FINÉ.</span>Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-51527073866644417162010-10-24T19:47:00.000-07:002010-10-24T19:47:28.426-07:00New YouTube videos!Good day one and all...<br />
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So here it is, my first post with an actual bit of musical content, huzzah! I've just uploaded 3 videos to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/DaxOnTheSax">my YouTube channel</a> for the eyes and ears of the viewing public.<br />
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They are examples of my work on live looping that I've been working on for a little while. Using Ambiloop:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="345" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_odq88nbq_X8/TMNjz0lXARI/AAAAAAAAACo/FClqfGmsShI/s400/Capture.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ambiloop with my custom skin.</td></tr>
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It's a free piece of kit you can download online if you search for it, supporting 8 individually controllable tracks that can be overlayed, multiplied, divided and edited on the fly to an almost infinite degree and a fully customisable interface, this means you can map every control to a keystroke or MIDI action. Pretty good for homebrew gear only a few megs in size!<br />
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The nice effects are courtesy of the pedalboard I put together for live performances. While there are still some teething troubles with the live side of things, controlled environments like my studio are a great place to mess around without foldback interference!<br />
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I'm running the pedals from an FX send of a smaller floor mounted desk to keep the mic level up and not interfere with the clean signal.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_odq88nbq_X8/TMTuFDEQJ3I/AAAAAAAAACs/4B0LqrniBr8/s320/iPhone+433.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first incarnation of the board. It's a lot tidier now...and blacker.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_odq88nbq_X8/TMTuFDEQJ3I/AAAAAAAAACs/4B0LqrniBr8/s1600/iPhone+433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div> For delay I use a Boss DD-7 with tap tempo pedal sporting variable delay times of up to 60 seconds that can be infinitely overlayed for a cheap loop effect, analogue tape delay, modulation and reverse delay effects too.<br />
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Envelope filter wah comes from an Electro Harmonix Q-Tron which is a major feedback hazard, but is great when you get the drive and Q settings right.<br />
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Lastly, and my personal favourite is the Electro Harmonix POG. It's an octaver that spits out the octave above and below your actual note as well as the note itself. Their volumes are all independantly adjustable, allowing you to pull out your own note from the mix and just give out booming bass or screaming high notes! Hard to find on the high street and quite expensive, but worth every penny.<br />
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Once again, check out the videos on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/DaxOnTheSax">my YouTube channel</a> and see what you think. It's still early days and once I get more comfortable with the interface and all the instrument swapping things should be a bit slicker.<br />
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Good night.<br />
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Dan.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8518780521703126255.post-14900819796600794502010-10-17T05:44:00.000-07:002010-10-17T05:44:18.429-07:00#1So, first post and all....<br />
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DHC is just about up and running and I saw a blog as a the best way to add some dynamic online content to the business and keep track of progress. Dan Hillman Creative is a little idea of mine started this year to help me bring together my design and music into one big lovely chunk of media creativity. It's like Ben and Jerry's ice cream with all the different yummy things making up an even yummier whole, but instead of stuffing mouths I'll be gently prodding the eyes and ears of anyone foolish enough to venture further.<br />
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I have several interesting projects underway and I hope to be able to share them soon. On the art front, I have been improving my work on vector graphics due to their versatile nature and clean look that I hope will take my design in some new directions, allowing the use of hand drawing and scanning. It gives you a far more personal edge when getting creative, but lovers of trees would probably prefer it if I shelled out on a tablet interface instead!<br />
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The music side of things sees some new ideas for my album that hopefully won't take too long to flourish into some more of the same chilled-out loveliness already available to hear <a href="http://www.myspace.com/danhillman">here</a>. Also I'm tweaking 4 dirty tracks for the funk band to get stuck into and with any luck you may hear them if you're out and about in Plymouth or the surrounding areas in the coming months. As well as trying to set up a few small projects, (unnamed as of yet,) I have been enjoyed playing with myself (tee hee hee) in some live looping sessions at our studio. What began as an excuse to test out and get to grips with my live FX rig I use with the sax at gigs suddenly became a bit of an addiction last week and once I finish synching the audio with the video I can post up the results of the first few tries.<br />
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Anyway, I'll leave it there as too much writing without much shiny media will probably bore net junkies and artsy types to tears, but if you can bear to wait, it might just be worthwhile...<br />
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Dan H.Danhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12185371146900395530noreply@blogger.com0