Mofo Party Band - First Audition

Wednesday night I had my first audition to play with The Mofo Party Band.

These guys are out of Fresno and mean business. Their upright bass player announced he was leaving the group and with little hesitation I jumped on the chance to try for it.

The audition went very well despite being tense. There were some details I had to pick up on the spot but they were very patient with me. John, the vocal/harp player, said it's no problem to stop for the details. They pay great attention to the little things.

After the audition they sounded very positive and asked me back for a second practice next week. In the meantime I've worked on polishing what I've been playing hoping to secure the role.

I really like these guys and where they are going. They do a lot of shows out of town which is appealing to me.

I'll keep the blog updated on the latest!

Happy Holidays!!!!!

Arsy-Varsy

arsy-varsy (AR-see VAR-see) adjective, adverb

Upside-down, backward, preposterous.

[A facetious rhyming compound of arse (a variant or ass); perhaps
coined after vice versa, from Latin versus, from vertere (to turn).]

-Anu Garg (garg wordsmith.org)

"The sense of things being arsy-varsy persists at this first make-up
session."
Simon Callow; Shooting the Actor; Picador; 2003.

The art behind a name

Art is effective when it provokes an emotion or feeling in the audience. Here's what some marketing names trigger for me:

- iPod: a collection of something that belongs to me...a capsule from another location..
- google: a mind boggling number of things.
- xbox: extreme, crossing or intersection of something cool

- zune: LAME, best thing I can relate is a rhyme "dune"

Inspiration for 2007

Reflecting on 2006, I've reached a milestone which will lead me into 2007 with clarity. Here are some quotes that have inspired me:

"We adore chaos because we love to produce order."
M. C. Escher

"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."
Michelangelo

"Design, in its broadest sense, is the enabler of the digital era - it's a process that creates order out of chaos, that renders technology usable to business. Design means being good, not just looking good."
Clement Mok

"A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist."
Louis Nizer

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint', then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced."
Vincent van Gogh

"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it."
Salvador Dali

Forearm failures

Over the weekend I played two shows. During the first show I noticed cramping and pains in my right forearm. For the second show the camping was strong enough to hold back my playing.

When I first started playing the upright bass I would get cramps but soreness would go away. This morning I still have the pain from this weekend. I hope it doesn't turn into anything serious.

I really need to do a better job with stretches and taking care of my hands before and after playing.

Speaking of hands, someone from the audience called mine "Butterfly Hands" cause of the sweeping motion created by the slap technique. I thought that was creative.