It’s hard to imagine that it’s been nearly 6 months since my last update! As happens, life has been very busy and I’ve found myself inundated with work.
I’ve found myself in the employ of a couple of singers who have commissioned some original arrangements. This time, however, in addition to writing the arrangements, I will end up on at least two of the recordings! (I will update on this at in a later post.)
Arranging music is a very fun and creative experience for me, but it’s also a scary one. There are few things more daunting to an artist than to stare at a blank page and me told to “be creative”. To paraphrase Maria Schneider, one can often feel a great compulsion to clean one’s sock drawer when starting a new project. Luckily, once I get those creative juices flowing, I often find myself completely absorbed in the project.
While arranging is a great outlet for creativity, I’ve also been performing with astounding regularity for much of the past six months.
Soular typically plays at least once or twice a week during the year, but during the summer months we find ourselves especially busy. Wedding season is now upon us and we’re playing as many as 10 weddings in a calendar month. It’s a great opportunity for the band to solidify the already fantastic musical rapport we already share as well as to learn new material.
Dueling Pianos has also been great and I perform there as often as my schedule allows, which is about 3-4 times a month. It’s been a great opportunity to increase the size and breadth of my repertoire. I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to perform for large groups of people and to play opposite some really experienced entertainers.
Statlers continues to be a phenomenal experience. I resumed my old Wednesday night gig in October and when the New Year arrived, management asked if I would switch to Thursday to give myself greater exposure. Since then I’ve been playing to larger and livelier audiences, and some amazing local musicians have been making a point to come out and play with me fairly frequently! It’s not unusual for a bassist and a percussionist to be on stage with me on Thursdays, and I love it!
Statlers has also begun a new open mic night on Mondays, dedicated to a music theatre crowd. Hosted by the amazingly talented Jeni Walls and myself, “SINGular Sensation” is a night that showcases some of Toronto’s young up-and-coming talent as well as seasoned professionals. As Mondays are often a “dark day” for theaters, we’ve had several special guests from major shows playing around town (Billy Elliott, The Lion King) as well as smaller productions who want to promote their shows (Fallen Rock Productions’ “Rent”, Against the Grain’s “La Boheme”, etc.).
A little bit of TV time doesn’t hurt, either. I recently appeared on Breakfast Television to accompany several contestants for the “Senior Star Talent Show”, a competition for seniors aged 65 and older.
All in all, my recent playing experiences have given me the opportunity to meet and work with other incredibly talented artists from around Toronto; to be constantly challenged to sight-read some very complicated material; and also every opportunity to perform!
…And I love every minute of it!