Going Public with the Mando

With a bit of prodding, I've brought my mandolin out in public. I started practicing it in earnest about six months ago, when I upgraded my mando from a toy to a real instrument. I still couldn't be happier with that upgrade, and I've been practicing it pretty much every day, and I know I'm getting better.

Noodling at the Folk Fest

My friends at the acoustic jams know I've been playing, as do my acoustic band-mates, and both groups have urged me to bring it and play. That's been a scary thought, as I don't want to embarrass myself. I'm a good bass player and a passable guitar player, but still a novice mandolin player. But both groups are friendly and supportive, and the time seemed right. I brought it to the Folk Fest, though I played mostly guitar at the campfire jams - then last Sunday I brought it to the monthly acoustic jam. I played about half the songs on guitar and half on mandolin (picking the songs with easier chords for mandolin), and it worked out great.

Last week at band practice, I was urged to bring the mandolin to the next practice. I've been asked that before and never brought it - but today I did. We talked about songs in our set list where I might play it, and I played it on a couple of songs. The reaction was good! We'll talk more specifically about where it might fit, and how to amplify it, and I might even play it on some songs at the gig (which, *gulp*, is two weeks from today!) We'll see - I may still chicken out. But I feel like I've crossed a threshold, and can actually play some fairly simple things for public consumption. It's exciting. :-)

Rosewood Online

We've been playing around with recording, and have been looking for a good way to post MP3 files. A little Googling turned up SoundCloud. We now have a site at https://soundcloud.com/rosewoodmusic/, and I posted two MP3's from our last rehearsal (electronic drums were added afterwards.)

It looks like a nice site. The MP3's can be listened to from the site itself - but more importantly, they can be posted to a Facebook wall, or embedded in a web page or blog post, like so:

Upcoming Gigs

A music-filled summer is turning into a music-filled fall. I've probably only mentioned a hundred times how happy I am to be part of the Rosewood Trio...but what's one more mention? It's just a blast to be playing with such a professional-sounding group. We have another gig coming up, on a Sunday afternoon in October at the Inn at St. Peter's. This is right next door to the bakery where we played twice this summer, and it's where we went to celebrate with a glass of wine after the bakery gigs. It's a fancy restaurant with a big outdoor deck, and we'll be playing for four hours out on the deck.

Breakfall (the electric band) is still in a state of flux. We've been playing some as a trio, and have just been too busy to look for a fourth person (though we'll start that soon.) That hasn't stopped us from having our own gig though. Eric, our guitarist, is getting married in October, and his bride-to-be wants us to play a short set at the reception. So he's picked a list of songs that sound okay as a trio, and we'll rock the house. He's also mentioned a song he might want to do as a surprise to his bride, and we'll be happy to play whatever he wants on his day.

Stay tuned for gig reports.