Category Archives: Cello

Tired And Cranky

Well, the crock pot directions weren’t kidding when they say “trim the fat from the meat”. Normally when you trim fat, you trim excess fat because most meats benefit from a bit of fat marbled throughout to help keep it from drying out during the cooking process. Next time I’ll trim all the fat, because what little fat was left ended up melting over everything. Greasy carrots and potatoes are not what I had in mind when I made this pot roast. Lesson learned. Apart from that it was delicious, and I’m looking forward to experimenting with other things. And possibly the best part of dinner was that I could feed the roast and vegetables to Liam, so he ate exactly what we ate last night. And wow, did he ever eat a lot of it.

The further away the gig gets, the less happy I am with it. I’m certainly not looking forward to the recording. Most of me just wants to forget it and remember Invisible’s portion of the evening. Goodness knows my body remembers it; I haven’t danced in, well, possibly over a decade (save for the dancing to Sheena Is A Punk Rocker during Invisible’s sound check last October) and things started to be rather ow last night. And I have a bruise across the top of the palm of my bow hand, and my little finger on the same hand was swollen when I got home on Saturday night, but those are from the hand locking during the second song of the set and forcing me to switch my bow hold. It gave me a lot of trouble, which I’d expected, but I didn’t anticipate having to deal with it so early on.

I finished Bellwether the morning after I’d started to reread it. Now I’m rereading Lincoln’s Dreams, and I’m almost finished that too. I’ll have to reread Connie Willis’ short fiction next, because I recently reread Passage and Doomsday Book not long before that. I seem to have lent my copy of Remake to someone, because it’s not on the shelf.

Everyone’s tired and cranky here. Liam keeps waking up in the middle of the night, and I know it’s because of his teeth, but there’s not much more we can do than give him Tylenol and cuddle him while he screams. And once he’s up and finished his bout of hard crying, he’s really awake so he wants to eat a full meal of milk and play for a bit before going back to sleep. And then it’s only nap-length sleep, so he’s up bright and early to begin his day. Do these teeth need a formal invitation or something? They’re taking their damn time.

I’m currently fighting the need to crawl into bed with a pile of books, a cat, and a pot of tea to ignore baby and husband today. (Apart from the obvious reasons why this won’t work, ai731 is coming over today.)

Standing Room Only

I don’t know how many people ended up attending last night’s show. I do know that more chairs had to be brought in, and it ended up being standing room only.

I find it interesting that when I woke up this morning I was thinking, “Wow, what a great concert I attended last night” as opposed to, “Oh yeah, I played a gig.” That’s what happens when you open for a kick-ass band like Invisible. They wipe all memory of your own set away. Not that I needed much help in that area; I remember the first three songs of our set really clearly (excellent! fast! precise! fun!), and then everything goes mysteriously missing until the dismantling of the set and unplugging of the instruments. Which is probably good for me, because I know there were things that went wrong for me, and if I can’t remember them then I can’t get upset about them. Oddly enough, I clearly remember thinking that things were slipping away from me during the Boom Desjardins song, and just letting it go and not stressing because there wasn’t anything I could do. But I don’t remember the actual music in the middle or latter part of the set, other than Moon Over Bourbon Street. (I can’t even blame it on alcohol, because I had only three sips of my whiskey sour post-performance before having to stop, because my stomach and head started doing odd things as a result of the sound and the crowds. Of course, we were sitting right in front between the speakers for Invisible’s double-length set, and I did dance rather hard for a bit, so that may have contributed to the odd nausea.) I had fun during our set too, though. I’d’ve had more if that song hadn’t gotten away from me, but we enjoyed ourselves. And there’s plenty of proof that the audience doesn’t know when things go wrong. It’s just because we know the songs we’re doing so well that when we make a mistake it stands out with flashing neon lights and sirens to us. I’d like to do some simpler songs that allow us to have fun and be relaxed as well. Our covers tend to be of complicated stuff that sounds brilliant but that requires a lot of concentration. Having fun and being relaxed is a good goal to strive for, I think.

We thoroughly enjoyed Invisible’s set, from the Johnny Cash through the originals. I’m so glad this gig was recorded. (And no, it won’t be available for public consumption; it’s a learning tool for the bands.) We sang, we danced, we cheered!

Unfortunately when I got home I couldn’t fall into a deep sleep despite how tired I was; I kept skipping the surface and waking up. And then Liam woke up at five o’clock, so I had a total of something like three hours of sleep. And the baby’s out of sorts today as well; no sign of teeth yet. Argh.

We’re trying the crock pot we got for Christmas for the first time today. Pot roast: just the thing for a dark rainy spring day.

Gig Minus Five Hours And Counting

We had a good, solid dress rehearsal this morning where we got some blank-memory moments out of our systems, committed music (there were goosebumps!), and were in general pleased with how things happened. I am personally satisfied with my bits in the IBFKATCS. I’m looking forward to the gig tonight.

I had my first soft-serve ice cream cone of the year yesterday. Chocolate and vanilla swirl, dipped in hard chocolate coating. Delicious.

And happy Earth Day to all!

Friday

Since my original engagement was cancelled last night, I joined the impromptu open rehearsal some of the band was having at the studio. There, in the words of the lovely and talented Mousme, “we beat the instrumental of J’Veux pas vieillir into bloody submission, and lo, all was right with the world once more.” I threw my bow at the floor three times in frustrated despair during the beating, however. (Kids, don’t try this at home. I have four low-end bows; I can afford to do stupid things that can damage the equipment in question. And now it occurs to me that I have a heavier bow that would probably better serve my purposes in the band, instead of my lightish all-purpose one I use for orchestra. Note to self: Get the hard case and all the extra bows out of storage from the in-laws’ basement. Bonus: I can finally give t! my old three-quarter fibreglass bow to mess about with as well.)

So, The Instrumental Bit Formerly Known As The Cello Solo will happen. It may not be as pretty as I would like it to be, but it will happen. (And assuaging my gnashiness with the knowledge that it will be over before the audience figures out what bit it is does no good, of course.) Ceri and Mousme were absolutely rock-solid supportive and patient friends last night as we did it over, and over, and over. They even recorded their bits onto tape for me to practice against at home, as I can play the damn thing when no one else is playing with me; it’s listening to the other stuff going on at the same time that throws me. It will be fine, of course; I’ll be the only one who knows it’s not as good as I want it to be.

Tomorrow is full of dress rehearsal, moving equipment, setting up the space, and sound checks. HRH gets to watch Liam during the day while I do music-stuff, until Liam’s grandma takes over the babysitting in the late afternoon.

I had an excellent morning/early afternoon today with ai731, having my hair professionally highlighted (and I have it on good authority that it looks “really, really, really gorgeous”, although I can’t tell because I can’t see it from the correct angles, darn it all), doing lunch, and helping out with corset refitting. We ran errands together yesterday afternoon as well, and I picked up the most adorable little boom stand for the supplemental microphone that’s only about eighteen inches tall. Now I don’t feel as if there’s something looming over me when I sit between the supplemental mic and the amp.

Book roundup: I’ve finally finished Rose of the World by Jude Fisher, the final book in an epic fantasy trilogy, and the end kind of trailed away. I think it lacked punch because the climax was being told from the POV of over six characters, and things kept skipping around. The momentum was lost over about a hundred pages. Anyway, when I realised I was just turning pages to get to the next plot point, I put it down for a couple of days and reread Pratchett’s Witches Abroad instead. I’m always surprised at how quickly this book is over: it’s a very smooth read, and full of truths about basic stories and how they play themselves out again and again. And while discussing Connie Willis with Ceri and Mousme last night I decided to reread Bellwether, so I started that this morning.

Now: more practicing, a warm bath, then bed! And my fingers are crossed for Liam sleeping through the night, for everyone’s benefit. He had a bad night last night. I want these new teeth of his to finally appear and be done with it.

Currently Reading, Writing, Hearing, & Playing

What am I doing in offline life? Take a look at what I’ve been reading, writing, listening to, rehearsing, and mark down when I’ll next be performing with one of the groups with which I play!

Last Updated: January 21, 2008

    READING:

Reading Now:

Striding Folly by Dorothy L Sayers
Gold Bug Variations by Richard Powers

Vivaldi’s Virgins by Barbara Quick (stalled)

Recently Read:

Virgin Earth by Philippa Gregory
The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
Earthly Joys by Philippa Gregory
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
The Druidry Handbook by John Michael Greer
Dust by Elizabeth Bear
Daughter of Venice by Donna Jo Napoli
Beatrix Potter: A Life In Nature by Linda Lear
You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop by John Scalzi
The Cipher by Diana Pharaoh Francis

  • Past Reading List
      • WRITING:

    Contracted:
    untitled hearth magic book: delivery April 2008, projected release date April 2009
    Pagan Pregnancy: A Spiritual Journey from Maiden to Mother: release date July 2008

    Uncontracted:

    Wings & Ashes: novelette in first draft (begun August 2007)
    The Moments of Being Pandora: YA urban fantasy novel, first rewrite, final four chapters in draft (begun November 2004)
    Swan Sister: adult novel, first draft (35% complete) (begun January 2006)
    Il Maestro e le Figlie di Coro: YA historical novel, first draft (75% complete) (begun November 2006)
    Creating the Muse (also referred to as ‘The Poppy Book’, or tongue-in-cheek as The Great Canadian Novel or GCN): adult novel, in rewrites (and the last four chapters may as well be a first draft, as the end has to be so drastically changed) (begun July 2002)

    Many Names: complete YA novel, submitted without representation December 2007 (written November 2002 – late 2003)
    Balsamic Moon: adult novel, on hold; requires final two chapters (written November 2003)

      LISTENING:

    A Distant Bell Caroline LaVelle
    Pride & Prejudice film score – Dario Marinelli

      RECENTLY SEEN:

    Shrek the Third – dir. Chris Miller et al, 2007
    The Golden Compass – dir. Chris Weitz, 2007
    The Cat Returns – dir. Hiroyuki Morita, 2002

      REHEARSING:

    Lakeshore Chamber Orchestra:

    Symphony no. 1 – Gounod
    Overture to The Caliph of Baghdad – Francois Adrien Boieldieu
    Pavane РFaur̩
    Pavane pour une infante defunct – Ravel
    Aires de danse dans le style ancien from Le roi s’amuse – Delibes

    Random Colour:

    Current Set List: covers of Leonard Cohen, Metallica, The Tragically Hip, Loreena McKennitt and more!

      PERFORMING:

    Lakeshore Chamber Orchestra:

    early April 2008
    details TBA

    Random Colour:
    ~ currently on hiatus ~

    Sunday Music

    Last night’s concert was excellent — very tight. Fantastic work from everyone, particularly our section of Cello-Playing Mice. When things go well, the evening always flys by and the two hours are over before I know it. Although my legs falling asleep from the wooden chair being just a smidge too high were a definite indication of time passing. Halfway through the symphony in the second half, I rearranged my legs so that they were stretched to the left and crossed at the ankles instead of feet flat on the floor, one knee on either side of the cello. Unorthodox, but it helped for a bit. Thanks again to everyone who came out — it always means a lot to me.

    The Random Colour meeting was terrific as well, particularly since we ended up working out music not once but twice for one song, and acing the second (up until the part where we have to modulate at the bridge, that is; we decided to work on that at home since I had to flee to eat and change for the other concert). I’m impressed with how well we worked together, particularly for those who’d never played with others before (or played their instrument!). The girls have decided that bowing the cello sounds pretty darned cool in the second song we worked, so I’ll mess about with that in the other songs at home to see what happens.

    Good thing we’d casually looked at amps and pick-ups earlier, because as soon as Ceri started tuning her sax both the stringed instruments realised that we’d need to amp simply in order to be heard. My inexpensive cello pick-up is already on order; I doubt it will be here for the next rehearsal this weekend, but then, I won’t have an amp either, so that’s fine. I won’t be able to get the baby amp, either, until HRH’s EI snarl gets worked out, which, gods willing, will be this week. The girls are meeting every weekend from now till Invisible’s mid-June concert in order to really ace a couple of songs; we have less time than they did for their first gig, and we’ve chosen harder songs (enthusiastic overacheivers that we are).

    Today: errands; more edits; some green witch work.

    (d) none of the above

    All hail t!, who through asking me about the programme for the upcoming Canada Day concert led me to discover that the right sidebar wasn’t rendering the middle third at all in Internet Explorer.

    It’s been fixed. The culprit? A tildy in a decorative position. I kid you not.

    If you use IE, please, please get yourself something more reliable, and less asinine. I recommend Mozilla’s Firefox – quick to download, small program takes up less space, and it’s free. If you’ve never used tabs, be prepared to experience a world of wonder.

    Click on the pretty icon and read up on it. Give it a go.

    Get Firefox!