Author: Zingblog 2

Origami USA Convention 2015

Rewinding a bit, the annual Origami USA convention was a week ago. It was another great convention this year, although a bit more low-key than some. In addition to being a week earlier than usual, we were at a new venue, so I’m sure that had something to so with it. The place was Manhattan College in The Bronx. It’s nice and close to my house, with free parking. The campus is pretty hilly, however, with a whole lotta of steps to climb between buildings.

First thing I noticed was the exhibit hall was very nice, much better then the sub-basement at FIT. It had good lighting and was central to everything so we got lots and lots of visitors. I arrived there first to help cut up paper for the giant folding contest Sunday nite. Saturday when I showed up the exhibit hall was packed.

I had a whole lotta new stuff in my exhibit, mainly airplanes and spaceships from a new book I’ve begun working on. I designed about ten or twelve new models, and diagrammed six of them. I’d been working pretty hard at diagramming right up until the start of the convention, so most of my new models for the exhibit were folded just a day or two before the start.

I discovered a great new paper from the lode I got from Brian back in the wintertime. It’s called Metallic Lotka. He also calls it tissue foil, but it’s not the same as the handmade tissue you commonly find. Much thinner and stronger, and shiny on one side with just a bit of sparkle. Perfect for airplanes and spaceships. Only thing is I only had 30cm sheets, but I found out it comes in 40cm and 60cm sheets as well. I ordered a bunch and expect I’ll make the bulk of models to photograph for my book out of it. In the near-term I’m gonna fold some of my completed designs out the stuff for Centerfold in Ohio next month.

I taught two classes to test my new diagrams. One was intermediate airplanes and spaceships, and the other was complex. For both I passed out diagrams and folded along, which worked well. In the complex class I led with the biplane. Everyone got thru it and did a nice job, and I got some good feedback as to how to refine it. In the other class I taught my Art Demo Rocket, Retro Rocket, Supersonic Transport, and Jet Airliner. All of them went over quite well, and again I got some ideas on how to refine them.

Lots hanging out with origami friends. One night I got involved in a fairly deep discussion of the finer points of diagramming with John Montroll and Jason Ku. John’s diagramming style is fairly definitive to me and I use the majority of his conventions. Meanwhile Jason diagrams in the Japanese style and spent a year working at Origami House, whose books are perhaps the most high-quality in the world. They certainly tackle some of the most advanced models ever diagrammed. So that was really fascinating. The next night John sat down and read thru my diagrams and gave me a bunch pointers and things to consider. This comes at a good time since I’m just undertaking my second book.

Coming soon: pictures!

RUSH in the Garden

I saw Rush at Madison Square Garden last night. I swear they just keep better and better. This is the first time I’ve seen them in the Garden and it might’ve been the best Rush show yet. And that’s saying a lot. First time I saw them was back in the Moving Pictures era, and they’re the only band I’ve seen more than the Dead (and its isotopes).

Rush played for over three hours in two sets. The opener was a 10-minute-plus suite of songs from Clockwork Angels. From there it was into some more of their recent songs. The first 45 minutes was all 21st century schizoid heavy metal. After a while it became clear that they were working their way backward thru their discography. By an hour they were up to Roll the Bones. They skipped a good deal of their late 80’s and early 90’s synth era stuff, but that’s okay cuz they covered a lot of it last tour with a string section, to great effect. They did a few songs off Grace Under Pressure and Signals, including Losing It, with a guest violinist (an alumni of the Clockwork Angels String ensemble). Closed the first set with Subdivisions.

That left the second set to focus on their Moving Pictures and earlier stuff. They played quite a few songs I’d never heard them do live before (in addition to One Little Victory and Losing It in the first set.) The first big surprise was Jacob’s Ladder off Permanent Waves. Then they did a good chunk of the 20-minute epic Hemispheres, segueing into Cygnus X-1 from A Farewell to Kings. (They skipped La Villa Strangiato but I guess that’s okay cuz they did that 2 tours ago.) Then came a complete version Xanadu, with Alex on the doubleneck Gibson 6- and 12-string, and Geddy on the doubleneck Rik combo bass and guitar. This was followed up by condensed version of 2112, beyond just the overture and Temples of Syrinx, but skipping some of the slow bits in the middle. Like the Hemispheres/Cygnus medley and the opener, it was more than just a highlight and it held together compositionally as a complete extended work.

Going back even further, the first encore was Lakeside Park, and then into Anthem. From there it was What You’re Doing of course and closing with Working Man. My only disappointment was they skipped By-Tor and the Snow Dog, which is perhaps my all-time fave.

Needless to say, the playing was first rate. All of them were on. Lots of amazing basswork by Geddy, and Alex just shined on guitar. I think Neil Peart has made up new parts, or at least or new interpretations of a lot of the old stuff. Or maybe he was just improvising and still that tight. Either way, he had a whole different kit for the second set, apparently a replica of his (or the original) kit from back in the day. Meanwhile Geddy has updated and streamlined his synth rig considerably over the years, and Alex is singing backup these days. Both Geddy and Alex changed their axes so often I doubt either of them used the same instrument for more than two songs the whole show. Seeing them trot out the ‘ol doublenecks, and Neil’s tubular bells, for Xanadu was particularly fun. (I guess Alex’s must be new; the story was his old one was stepped on by a circus elephant baskstage at Maple Leaf Gardens in the 80’s and they haven’t performed that number live since.)

Anyway, I was blown away by the whole thing, and Neil’s playing in particular. The light, laser, video and pyrotechnic show was amazing too. One number the whole stage was in flames. It was actually scary. My only criticism is the acoustics in the Garden smeared the upper treble so you couldn’t always here the guitar clearly.

The rumor is that this their last tour. I sure hope that turns out not to be the case.

Double Play

Last Saturday nite Left Hook played our second gig, at Dudley’s Bar and Marina. It was an excellent time. Some friends came out to see us (Hi Joyce and Lisa!), and at some very enthusiastic drunks at the bar. We played pretty much the same show as the first gig, with a few substitutions here and there. As with the first gig we only played about half our third set, but this time we decided to extend the second set rather then break and come back. Overall the band was both tighter and looser. More precise, more relaxed, more musical. According to our singer my sax playing was particularly smoking that night.

Audio and video coming soon. Meanwhile here’s some pictures from the show.

We don’t have any gigs lined up for the rest of the month, so now we’re gonna learn a bunch of new tunes, and get together some audio and video clips, put together a press kit and systematically pursue a higher level of gigs. The goal is to become a kick-ass bar band, and I think we have what it takes to do it.

Left Hook Web Update

I made some updates to the Left Hook website at http://lefthooknyc.com.

These include a link to follow us on Facebook, and some photos and video from our last gig. I’m in the process of making some medley montages of the show, but that’s a fussy and time consuming process cuz I’m learning new editing software on this one, so for now I’m just putting up one song, our cover of Can’t You Hear Me Knocking by the Stones. This was a highlight of the show and represents our sound as well as any number we do. I’m not sure if the video streams correctly on all devices, so if you click on the link I’d appreciate it if you drop me a line saying if it works for you, and if you’re on a computer or a phone, and what OS and what browser. Thanks and enjoy!

Meanwhile more video and pics coming soon, and another gig this Saturday.

It’s a Knockout!

The Left Hook debut show was last night, and it went great! I’m happy that all our planning and hard work is paying off. Everyone in the band is psyched too. It’s a great set, a great sound and a great group of musicians. I handpicked the lineup from the best musicians I know, all seasoned pros. It’s great that they all agreed to join, get along well, and are enthusiastic and onboard.

I’ve been with Gus, our drummer the longest. Really solid drummer, and loves old soul music in particular, just great with groves and pockets. It was just about a year ago The Relix broke up, and we’ve been trying to put together a new group ever since. Gus also has been handling the business side of things, for which I’m grateful, cuz I’ve been focusing on the music and sound side.

Meanwhile Ken came in just at the end of February and learned 40 songs in six weeks. Not too shabby. He was the bassist in the Day Trippers as well as 7 Jazz West, so it this point I’ve played quite a few gigs with him. Also known for his collection of vintage bases.

Mike Jefferson is our lead singer. He’s was in a band with Gus once before and joined us right after the Relix, and stayed on as we went thru a few bass and guitar players. A former heavyweight boxer, born and raised (partway) in England, he has a fondness for prog and folk rock, but can sing really well in a lot of styles. Very powerful voice. Just nails it on the Doors and James Brown, and all the soul stuff. He’s also a music journalist and beats us all hands-down in the music trivia walking encyclopedia department. And in true lead singer rockstar style, he was hitting on the ladies before the end of the first set.

Gary Bruce on guitar came in after sitting in with the jazz circle one day and before he got done with his first eight bars I knew he’d be great for this group. The kind of guitar player who loves Steely Dan and Rush! Right on.

Because this gig got rescheduled twice, we didn’t have alot of our own people come out. In fact it was just Jeannie, who was there to shoot video for us, and our friend Gary the trumpeter from the jazz group. But the place was half-full when we got there, and we had them by the time we finished the sound check.

It was a good test for a lot of things, including my new PA. I learned we need a good hour to set it up and soundcheck. I also learned it works really fucking amazingly. After the disaster Day Trippers gig last December I realized having control of the vocal sound is the most important thing for a club date.

The sound system has two 1000-watt main speakers. I optimized for lightness, since you gotta get ‘em in and out of the car and up onto poles. Then there’s a pair of 300 watt stage monitors. I didn’t know if this would provide enough coverage, especially for the drums in the back, but everyone could hear just fine. I was running the mixer from the stage, but once the soundcheck was over I literally didn’t have to do anything and could just relax and focus on performing. The mixer, BTW, I chose for it’s built-in compressors in the channel preamps, it’s onboard reverb/chorus/delay effects that saved us from having to schlep another piece of gear, and it’s separate monitor buss. All in all it worked great, and we got that fat live vocal sound I was really after.

Once we got underway it was pretty clear the people at the bar were really digging it. Must’ve been the right place for this kind of music. We opened with a couple funk numbers – Them Changes by Buddy Miles and I Got You by James Brown. Good horn tunes, right in our zone. Then it was some classic rock to show off our harmony singing – No Matter What by Badfinger and When I Saw Her Standing There. Next was the Blue Öyster Cult classic Burning for You, with yours truly on lead vocals. Then a couple of organ songs – Hush by Deep Purple and Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf, followed by Gary doing a little SRV Pride and Joy. Then it was back to soul music with Knock on Wood and Get Ready. We ended the set with Can You Hear Me Knocking by the Stones, which turned out to be a real highlight.

The second set opened with We’re An American Band, and on to (Ain’t Nothin’ But a) House Party, and switching to sax for Domino. I sang lead on You May Be Right, and then Drift Away with Gary on lead vocals, and some random chick from the bar who looked and sounded a lot like Katy Perry sitting on background vocals. I guess she’d been hitting on Mike or vice versa, but she really could sing. Then it was Love Me Two Times, which was a bit rough for structure, and Pretzel Logic which was a bit rough for tempo and feel. We closed the set strong with a string of soul numbers – Devil With a Blue Dress/Good Golly, Dance to the Music, Hold on I’m Coming and Soul Man.

The first two sets ran an hour each, so the last set was shortened a bit. Songs included Come Together, Long Train Running with me on lead vocals, Rikki Don’t Loose the Number with Gary on lead vocals, Miami 2017 with me on lead vocals again, then In the Midnight Hour, Mustang Sally, and closing with Roadhouse Blues.

They invited us back to play again, and possibly do a regular gig there. So ya, good feelings all around. And we got it on video so we can put together some material for the web site and to try and get new gigs. Meanwhile we have a show in two weeks at Dudley’s in New Rochelle. Gonna spend the next couple rehearsals tweaking and tightening. Come out and see us on May 9!

Rocket Science

The thing about simplicity in art (or anything else I suppose) is that it’s actually harder than complexity. My natural tendency as a folder is toward the complex. It’s effortless in a way to keep on going, adding more detail, until you have what you want. But I’ve learned a lot from doing my first book, and I want to have enough simple to intermediate models to open it up to a wider appeal. To get to simple, you have to remove and remove until you get to what’s truly essential. Sometimes this involves jettisoning things you think are really important only to find they don’t matter at all.

Today I spent my time experimenting with simple rocket designs. The major insight was to make avoid the puffing-out phase, that is to make an X rather than and O when seen from above. It’s funny cuz I was corresponding with a colleague, explaining my goals for the new book, when a new design approach hit me mid-sentance. Came up with two or three good models that can be folded in 10 minutes or less. Also past the halfway point in model count, so that means to me critical mass.

Buzzy Tonic Unplugged

I was going thru my archives and found some video from a gig Erik and I did at a Froyo place a few years back. This was the first live show I did for an audience in over ten years, and it’s the one the made me want to get back into playing live again. It’s not the best sound, or the best venue, or even the best performance, but it’s still interesting, if for nothing else than to see how things have progressed.

We did two set, each consisting of half covers and half originals. I must say I haven’t thought about Erik’s originals (part 2) in a long time but they’re great songs and it’s great to hear them again.

Part 1 . Part 2 . Part 3 . Part 4

Taking the Easy Way Out

A bunch of news on the music front. First, it’s time to say goodbye to the Day Trippers, at least for the time being. Here’s one last video from our inaugural gig last August at Heights Fests in Berkeley Heights, NJ.

http://zingman.com/music/daytrippers/DT_HF_montage01.mov

Second, it looks like originals band, Buzzy Tonic is actually getting off the ground. I jammed last weekend with Charlie Guitar, and brought in young Wolfgang on bass. We got thru four songs together and all agree the songs sound good and the project is worth pursuing. Charlie calls Heat Wave “the crazy one”, but Wolfgang had no trouble keeping up. Now it looks like we may have a drummer to complete the lineup. Charlie reached out to a friend of his who listened to my demos and likes the songs, and agreed to come by next session, which will be next week. Not sure how long it’ll take to get a set together, but it’ll be fun. I suppose to really do justice to the records I’ll need to add a sax player, but that’s still down the line a ways.

Third, with Left Hook now getting our set together and looking for gigs, I put together a web page for the group:

http://zingman.com/music/lefthook.php

This part of a new round of updates to my site. Much more exciting stuff soon!