Oh, so much has occurred since my last blog entry. So much. Some would say TOO much. I wouldn't, but some would.
Anyway, Dave and I are back in the Capital Region of our lovely New York State. We have a number of shows coming up in the region (and I have one solo show coming up back in Cortland).
I shall talk a bit about them here I suppose. You can see dates and times listed on our Myspace.
Speaking of which, I should consult that as I continue this post so I don't include any incorrect information.
Ok, so . . .
September 6th, we are playing at dear-to-our-heart-of-hearts Coffee Planet! We haven't played there since last year's Christmas Eve show which was not on Christmas Eve at all. It should be a good time, as playing in windows is always enjoyable, and it's been a while since I've been able to read a nice, free copy of the Tuesday Edition. . .
But truly, I recommend Coffee Planet highly as a venue in which to see Almost Awake. It's a morning show (11AM), the food and drinks are great, and it's a nice, bright, welcoming environment. Plus, you can check out the lovely shops of downtown Ballston Spa after the show.
The next weekend, Sunday, September 13th, we'll be playing at a benefit event to raise awareness of and support research about Mitochondrial Disease. This is a very important event that we urge everyone to come out for. In addition to Almost Awake, Tom Lindsay and Michael Eck's duo, The Gospel Trian will be playing, there will be speakers and a remembrance walk. It is an all afternoon event which runs from 1PM to 5PM and takes place at the Crossings of Colonie (A lovely town park). The event is being organized by a group of people who knew and cared for Amanda Perrotta, a sixteen-year-old girl who died of Mitochondrial Disease in 2008. More information about Mitochondrial Disease, the event, and Amanda can be found on the Amanda's Journey website. There was also an article about Amanda and the event in the Spotlight Newspaper.
Skip forward to October and a two-show blow-out weekend!
Friday, October 23rd we will open up for our good friend Jeremy James at his CD release party at Bread and Jam in Cohoes (8PM). On Saturday the 24th we will play at Coffee Planet (11AM) once again.
In November, look forward to Almost Awake at a brand-new venue for us (well, Bread and Jam is a new venue too, but we're openers, so it doesn't entirely count. It does count a little). Anyway, the venue I'm talking about the Jonesville Store (November 21st, 6:30PM). It's in Jonesville, which is in Clifton Park.
I'll give you more details about the October and November shows when they come a tad closer.
Oh! And I can't forget to mentions that I (Casey J. Chapman) am playing alone (::sigh::) at Blue Frog in Cortland on Thursday, September 17th from noon to 1PM as part of the Lunch Tunes series. The last Lunch Tunes gig I played was so much fun, I just had to travel back to CNY for another one (and traffic court, but that's another story).
Ok, that wraps it up. Dave is looking antsy and pacing around so I suppose I should interact with him now.
The end.
*C*
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Blue Frog Folks
Dave and I like Blue Frog Coffeehouse. The people are wonderful, the coffee is excellent, and Dave has a thing for the brownies. I have a thing for the free refill on in-house coffee.
The Frog is like my home-away-from-home in Cortland. I go there every Saturday and some days during the week. I recognize most of the people there (although I certainly don't *speak* to them. That would be against my nature) and am always happy to see Karina, the owner, and talk for a little while.
It's like if you mixed Jed's and Coffee Planet and put them in Cortland, or something like that. And with a free refill and a piano and a sound system, and blue frogs.
But, getting to the point, I was there on Wednesday, drinking coffee, and Karina asked if Dave and I would like to play at their summer "Lunch Tunes" series. She said they were all booked for their Tuesday slots, but had tons of openings for Thursdays (noon to 1PM). Unfortunately, professional that he is, Dave is currently unavailable at that time. I, however, am entirely free, save packing.
So, I said I would play by myself. Fun! I get to play new stuff Dave and I haven't figured out yet! And no pressure, right?
Well, it turned out there was a good audience outside (I played in the outdoor seating area) AND Dave came down to watch on his lunch break. So, I couldn't actually try out completely new stuff, but playing by myself did allow me to experiment a little which was fun.
I ended "Downtown" (which you won't have heard, of course) and "River" (mine, not Joni's) a little differently, and opened the set with "Other Side of the World" by KT Tunstall, which I haven't done in the past. As always, "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" (Dylan) was odd without Dave's solo, but also extra fun to play. And I didn't play "Winter Blue" at all. But I guess that's because "Other Side of the World" has a similar sound and therefore they've become connected in my mind, so I can't really play both in one set, and this show was only one set.
--End Run-on Sentence--
But yes, it was fun. And people came specifically to hear my play, which I was surprised by, considering it was a one-hour show, basically on a street-corner, in the middle of the day. They all clapped and everything, and thanked me afterward. Apparently I'm easily impressed by normal crowd behaviour when playing by myself. Or maybe i've just been playing on the Commons so much recently that any sort of crowd behaviour is exciting to me.
In any case, the response was overwhelmingly positive and I hope those in attendence will be back for our AUGUST 21st show at 8PM at Blue Frog. That will be a true AA performance. And I expect we will have a bunch of unfamiliar songs for those of you who haven't caught our last few appearances or my many busking adventures down in Ithaca.
And then. . . . I will do another solo Lunch Tunes show on SEPTEMBER 17th at NOON at Blue Frog.
During those performances I will be calling AA the Court-Date-Duo and myself the Small-Claims-Songstress. You see, August 21st we have to go prosecute some fools in Cortland City Court for violating a contract and then on Septemver 17th I have to attempt to reduce the insult being added to my June 1st car accident injury.
Hurrah!
That's really all I have to say, except that I expect to write another entry about relocating to Halfmoon as soon as I pack some boxes and drink some coffee and sing the Welsh song "Moliannwn"
-C
The Frog is like my home-away-from-home in Cortland. I go there every Saturday and some days during the week. I recognize most of the people there (although I certainly don't *speak* to them. That would be against my nature) and am always happy to see Karina, the owner, and talk for a little while.
It's like if you mixed Jed's and Coffee Planet and put them in Cortland, or something like that. And with a free refill and a piano and a sound system, and blue frogs.
But, getting to the point, I was there on Wednesday, drinking coffee, and Karina asked if Dave and I would like to play at their summer "Lunch Tunes" series. She said they were all booked for their Tuesday slots, but had tons of openings for Thursdays (noon to 1PM). Unfortunately, professional that he is, Dave is currently unavailable at that time. I, however, am entirely free, save packing.
So, I said I would play by myself. Fun! I get to play new stuff Dave and I haven't figured out yet! And no pressure, right?
Well, it turned out there was a good audience outside (I played in the outdoor seating area) AND Dave came down to watch on his lunch break. So, I couldn't actually try out completely new stuff, but playing by myself did allow me to experiment a little which was fun.
I ended "Downtown" (which you won't have heard, of course) and "River" (mine, not Joni's) a little differently, and opened the set with "Other Side of the World" by KT Tunstall, which I haven't done in the past. As always, "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" (Dylan) was odd without Dave's solo, but also extra fun to play. And I didn't play "Winter Blue" at all. But I guess that's because "Other Side of the World" has a similar sound and therefore they've become connected in my mind, so I can't really play both in one set, and this show was only one set.
--End Run-on Sentence--
But yes, it was fun. And people came specifically to hear my play, which I was surprised by, considering it was a one-hour show, basically on a street-corner, in the middle of the day. They all clapped and everything, and thanked me afterward. Apparently I'm easily impressed by normal crowd behaviour when playing by myself. Or maybe i've just been playing on the Commons so much recently that any sort of crowd behaviour is exciting to me.
In any case, the response was overwhelmingly positive and I hope those in attendence will be back for our AUGUST 21st show at 8PM at Blue Frog. That will be a true AA performance. And I expect we will have a bunch of unfamiliar songs for those of you who haven't caught our last few appearances or my many busking adventures down in Ithaca.
And then. . . . I will do another solo Lunch Tunes show on SEPTEMBER 17th at NOON at Blue Frog.
During those performances I will be calling AA the Court-Date-Duo and myself the Small-Claims-Songstress. You see, August 21st we have to go prosecute some fools in Cortland City Court for violating a contract and then on Septemver 17th I have to attempt to reduce the insult being added to my June 1st car accident injury.
Hurrah!
That's really all I have to say, except that I expect to write another entry about relocating to Halfmoon as soon as I pack some boxes and drink some coffee and sing the Welsh song "Moliannwn"
-C
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Progress for goodness sake!
Dave and I finally rehearsed some new stuff.
As you know, i've been writing lots of new stuff. So, since all that material's been kicking around, playing our old stuff has gotten, well, old. But Dave didn't want to rehearse new stuff until we had a way to record our practice sessions. You see, when we figure stuff out together, we often forget what we arranged. Maybe it's because Dave's tricky and maybe it's because my notes are less-than-intelligible, but in any case, it's frustrating.
So, one of our plans for our tax-return money is buying a field recorder, and one of the things we could do with the field recorder is record our rehearsals. Then we wouldn't forget what we did. Well, we'd still forget, but there'd be a record. And Dave could work out backing vocals on his own time. You know, like, while I'm at church or growing a vegetable or something.
Our plan was to wait until we got this field recorder. But our tax-return hasn't come yet. And I sometimes play guitar during the day. And Dave was home sick. And we rehearsed.
So, now we have two new Casey/AA songs in the pipeline and two new covers (KT Tunstall and Jars of Clay) in the pipeline. It's fun.
Well, we actually debuted one of the songs at our Autumn Leaves show, but no one was there so it doesn't count.
Recording is also finished for Green Both Ways. If you have a picture of the NYC subway system you'd like us to consider for the cover, please forward it to casey(dot)almostawake(at)gmail(dot)com.
The End.
*C*
As you know, i've been writing lots of new stuff. So, since all that material's been kicking around, playing our old stuff has gotten, well, old. But Dave didn't want to rehearse new stuff until we had a way to record our practice sessions. You see, when we figure stuff out together, we often forget what we arranged. Maybe it's because Dave's tricky and maybe it's because my notes are less-than-intelligible, but in any case, it's frustrating.
So, one of our plans for our tax-return money is buying a field recorder, and one of the things we could do with the field recorder is record our rehearsals. Then we wouldn't forget what we did. Well, we'd still forget, but there'd be a record. And Dave could work out backing vocals on his own time. You know, like, while I'm at church or growing a vegetable or something.
Our plan was to wait until we got this field recorder. But our tax-return hasn't come yet. And I sometimes play guitar during the day. And Dave was home sick. And we rehearsed.
So, now we have two new Casey/AA songs in the pipeline and two new covers (KT Tunstall and Jars of Clay) in the pipeline. It's fun.
Well, we actually debuted one of the songs at our Autumn Leaves show, but no one was there so it doesn't count.
Recording is also finished for Green Both Ways. If you have a picture of the NYC subway system you'd like us to consider for the cover, please forward it to casey(dot)almostawake(at)gmail(dot)com.
The End.
*C*
Friday, March 13, 2009
Courting Cortland (or trying. . .)
Dave just did his booking magic again and booked us a show at the Blue Frog Coffeehouse in the big C (Cortland) for Friday April 3rd. It will be our second weekend show there (we also did a featured-act deal at the O.M.).
Hopefully some delightful folk from the city will come out and learn how much Almost Awake can improve their lives. We're really going to have to make an effort to woo the people of Cortland. We don't have the years of living here and the contacts that builds up that we had in Albany.
So We're going to have to work.
Especially when you are playing a tips show in a town where you don't have any sort of 'following' yet, you have to work.
I'm thinking newspaper event listings, 1/4 sheet flyers, all that. It will be fun! But then again, I'm feeling motivated today ;)
The least we can do is go to Lucky's and Blue Frog for open mic. that week.
It's not like it will kill us, our wallets or our spirits if there aren't many people in attendance at the show, but it sure would be nice to get a crowd.
When it comes down to it, I'm not nearly as self-assured and egotistical as I portray myself on stage. I really want people to like me, and even more so, my songs. So, I'd like people to come. Even if they don't like us, I'd like them to hear us. To give us a chance.
I want Cortland to see what Almost Awake has to offer. People may know Dave from the bank. They may know me from seeing me pushing around the twins in the double-stroller, but they don't really know either of us at all until they've seen us play music.
Musician. Artist. That's what I really am . . .how I want to be known.
I think it's how Dave wants to be known too.
So, I hope people come. I think we can make their night better. I'm going to promote the show.
The end.
*C*
Hopefully some delightful folk from the city will come out and learn how much Almost Awake can improve their lives. We're really going to have to make an effort to woo the people of Cortland. We don't have the years of living here and the contacts that builds up that we had in Albany.
So We're going to have to work.
Especially when you are playing a tips show in a town where you don't have any sort of 'following' yet, you have to work.
I'm thinking newspaper event listings, 1/4 sheet flyers, all that. It will be fun! But then again, I'm feeling motivated today ;)
The least we can do is go to Lucky's and Blue Frog for open mic. that week.
It's not like it will kill us, our wallets or our spirits if there aren't many people in attendance at the show, but it sure would be nice to get a crowd.
When it comes down to it, I'm not nearly as self-assured and egotistical as I portray myself on stage. I really want people to like me, and even more so, my songs. So, I'd like people to come. Even if they don't like us, I'd like them to hear us. To give us a chance.
I want Cortland to see what Almost Awake has to offer. People may know Dave from the bank. They may know me from seeing me pushing around the twins in the double-stroller, but they don't really know either of us at all until they've seen us play music.
Musician. Artist. That's what I really am . . .how I want to be known.
I think it's how Dave wants to be known too.
So, I hope people come. I think we can make their night better. I'm going to promote the show.
The end.
*C*
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
AA in ITHACA this SUNDAY 3/15
Hello all! I hope you liked the last two blogs! I liked writing them!
I want to tell everyone that Almost Awake will be making our return to Ithaca after over two years away from their fabulous music scene! We'll be bringing our acousical sounds back to the Commons at the Owl Cafe at Autumn Leaves Books. Our show will be this Sunday (3/15-- the Ides of March! Ominous. . .) from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Autumn Leaves is located at 115 The Commons. The cafe is on the second floor. The second floor is mostly open to the main level, so you'll be able to browse their full selection of new and used books without sacrificing a good, long AA listen. The cafe offers an array of organic, fair trade teas and coffees as well as baked goods, soups, sandwiches and many vegetarian and vegan options. Click on the Autumn Leaves link above and scroll down to see a picture.
If you're not familiar with Ithaca, the Commons is an outdoor pedestrian-only street similar to Church Street in Burlington, VT. There's no parking there, obviously, since there's no driving, but street parking is free on weekends and all City parking garages (one is extra close) are free for the first hour and one dollar per hour thereafter. (Don't tell anyone I let you in on this, but I've never had to pay in the garages on the weekend. Even though I take a ticket when I go in, there is no attendant and the gate always opens when I try to leave. . .take that as you will.)
Anyway, it is bound to be a fun show. We will be selling CD's as always, and will gladly give you small stake in our souls if you give us a hefty tip. Small-bill-tippers only get an IOU for a cookie. I may play the mandolin if Dave can find his egg-shaker.
The end.
*C*
I want to tell everyone that Almost Awake will be making our return to Ithaca after over two years away from their fabulous music scene! We'll be bringing our acousical sounds back to the Commons at the Owl Cafe at Autumn Leaves Books. Our show will be this Sunday (3/15-- the Ides of March! Ominous. . .) from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Autumn Leaves is located at 115 The Commons. The cafe is on the second floor. The second floor is mostly open to the main level, so you'll be able to browse their full selection of new and used books without sacrificing a good, long AA listen. The cafe offers an array of organic, fair trade teas and coffees as well as baked goods, soups, sandwiches and many vegetarian and vegan options. Click on the Autumn Leaves link above and scroll down to see a picture.
If you're not familiar with Ithaca, the Commons is an outdoor pedestrian-only street similar to Church Street in Burlington, VT. There's no parking there, obviously, since there's no driving, but street parking is free on weekends and all City parking garages (one is extra close) are free for the first hour and one dollar per hour thereafter. (Don't tell anyone I let you in on this, but I've never had to pay in the garages on the weekend. Even though I take a ticket when I go in, there is no attendant and the gate always opens when I try to leave. . .take that as you will.)
Anyway, it is bound to be a fun show. We will be selling CD's as always, and will gladly give you small stake in our souls if you give us a hefty tip. Small-bill-tippers only get an IOU for a cookie. I may play the mandolin if Dave can find his egg-shaker.
The end.
*C*
Friday, March 06, 2009
Some other thoughts
As I said in my last post, I've been writing a lot of songs recently. I keep thinking in 3/4 time, so that's a little limiting and redundant, but I'm trying to work past it. I'm also trying to keep Dave in mind when I write because I tend to get into phases where my songs either sound like they need drum-set or nothing but guitar and voice. Needless to say, that's not too kind or helpful to the djembe master.
I wrote another song about the mohawk/erie a few weeks ago. It's the sequel to Clinton's Ditch I guess. It's in C and not a waltz, and used a capo until I lost my capo, not that you care. You don't want to know what key my song you've never heard is in, do you? Well, it's too late. I'm far to lazy and self-centered to delete that whole paragraph. The additional text makes me look intelligent-- like I have things to say.
But I wrote some other songs too. As you can guess, they are depressing. But, despite the desperation/angst-infused lyrics, I am not planning on snuffing myself any time soon, so you can count that as one point for home team! I am the home team. The visiting team is made up of people who doubt my artistic genius.
I took up playing the mandolin for a while, but then I stopped for a while, took some artistic photos of it, posted them on facebook, and went back to the guitar. I also learned how to play some delightful bluegrass numbers I'd be happy to jam with you on if ever we meet around a campfire at a fest.
Dave found a djembe stand that would allow him to stand up while playing. This is more comfortable and stable, he says. I, however, worry that he would be taller than me then, and I would not be the center of attention. Luckily the stand is quite expensive so it has not been purchased. He is looking into buying a lovely, sturdy, handcrafted djembe bag though. Both items were discovered at a drum store in Ithaca. Imagine that.
Cortland is a fun adventure. You may not understand how a place can be an adventure, but this one is. It's like jungle land at Great Escape, except it's not the jungle and it hasn't been replaced by Looney-Tunes-ville or Wiggles-world or whatever is there now.
There are a lot of neat places in Cortland. A lot of Cortland reminds me of a larger Mechanicville.
And similar to my oh-so-metro hometown, few of these neat places have live music.
Some do though.
If you feel like visiting them on the web, they are
Lucky's (Monday open mic!)
Blue Frog (Thursday open mic!)
Stone Lounge (Patio!)
Dryden Community Center Cafe (actually in Dryden.)
Homer Center for the Arts (actually in Homer.)
I mean, there are some churches and the youth center and whatnot, but i haven't linked to them because I am elitist and hate community organizations, as you know, as well as Christians and young people.
(If you didn't realize that was a joke, you are a fool and I hope you fall into a mud puddle that is actually filled with dissolved poo. I am egalitarian, love the community, am Christian and spent most of my own youth working to empower youth . . . so there!)
So, this isn't a particularly meaningful post from an Almost Awake perspective. I just wanted to let anyone who reads this know about what is going on musically in Cortland. I'll probably post more about it in the near future.
I also wanted to say that if you want to know what being a professional musician is like (it's quite glamorous!), check out the Times Union blog written by our good friends and fabulous musicians Mel and Rich of the band Sirsy. Dave says we have a lot in common, so if you want to see what Almost Awake would be like if they were cooler and rocked and had shows and fans, check it out.
Seriously though, Sirsy is the best. I don't think i've never seen anyone make a gazebo in Halfmoon rock just as much as Rev. Hall. They are unparalleled musicians and fabulous people to boot. Check them out if you can.
That's it for now. I am off to use my superior intellect to better the world by brewing the perfect cup of pumpkin-pie-spice coffee.
The End
*C*
I wrote another song about the mohawk/erie a few weeks ago. It's the sequel to Clinton's Ditch I guess. It's in C and not a waltz, and used a capo until I lost my capo, not that you care. You don't want to know what key my song you've never heard is in, do you? Well, it's too late. I'm far to lazy and self-centered to delete that whole paragraph. The additional text makes me look intelligent-- like I have things to say.
But I wrote some other songs too. As you can guess, they are depressing. But, despite the desperation/angst-infused lyrics, I am not planning on snuffing myself any time soon, so you can count that as one point for home team! I am the home team. The visiting team is made up of people who doubt my artistic genius.
I took up playing the mandolin for a while, but then I stopped for a while, took some artistic photos of it, posted them on facebook, and went back to the guitar. I also learned how to play some delightful bluegrass numbers I'd be happy to jam with you on if ever we meet around a campfire at a fest.
Dave found a djembe stand that would allow him to stand up while playing. This is more comfortable and stable, he says. I, however, worry that he would be taller than me then, and I would not be the center of attention. Luckily the stand is quite expensive so it has not been purchased. He is looking into buying a lovely, sturdy, handcrafted djembe bag though. Both items were discovered at a drum store in Ithaca. Imagine that.
Cortland is a fun adventure. You may not understand how a place can be an adventure, but this one is. It's like jungle land at Great Escape, except it's not the jungle and it hasn't been replaced by Looney-Tunes-ville or Wiggles-world or whatever is there now.
There are a lot of neat places in Cortland. A lot of Cortland reminds me of a larger Mechanicville.
And similar to my oh-so-metro hometown, few of these neat places have live music.
Some do though.
If you feel like visiting them on the web, they are
Lucky's (Monday open mic!)
Blue Frog (Thursday open mic!)
Stone Lounge (Patio!)
Dryden Community Center Cafe (actually in Dryden.)
Homer Center for the Arts (actually in Homer.)
I mean, there are some churches and the youth center and whatnot, but i haven't linked to them because I am elitist and hate community organizations, as you know, as well as Christians and young people.
(If you didn't realize that was a joke, you are a fool and I hope you fall into a mud puddle that is actually filled with dissolved poo. I am egalitarian, love the community, am Christian and spent most of my own youth working to empower youth . . . so there!)
So, this isn't a particularly meaningful post from an Almost Awake perspective. I just wanted to let anyone who reads this know about what is going on musically in Cortland. I'll probably post more about it in the near future.
I also wanted to say that if you want to know what being a professional musician is like (it's quite glamorous!), check out the Times Union blog written by our good friends and fabulous musicians Mel and Rich of the band Sirsy. Dave says we have a lot in common, so if you want to see what Almost Awake would be like if they were cooler and rocked and had shows and fans, check it out.
Seriously though, Sirsy is the best. I don't think i've never seen anyone make a gazebo in Halfmoon rock just as much as Rev. Hall. They are unparalleled musicians and fabulous people to boot. Check them out if you can.
That's it for now. I am off to use my superior intellect to better the world by brewing the perfect cup of pumpkin-pie-spice coffee.
The End
*C*
Ithaca, here we come
This Saturday (Tomorrow!), Dave and I are headed to Ithaca to drop off some press kits. The winter, early sunset and our distorted perception of the distance between C-town and I-town led us to wait until now to make this much-needed step toward Almost Awake Ithaca Domination.
But now, it is time.
Sure, we are going to be there anyway, picking up my injured and healed Larrivee, but. . .
It is time.
I'll be printing out the press kits tonight I hope. Unless I print them out tomorrow.
As it happens, Green Both Ways only has one thing left to be recorded (suspended cymbal on a track) and a special effect has been added to one of the songs, so it's practically in post-production.
We've just got to get to NYC to take a cover photo!
Also, I've written a butt-load (yep, i said butt-load) of new songs. Listen for them at shows this spring.
The gears of genius involving a possible future open mic in the Cortland-Tompkins County area are turning in the heads of we at the headquarters, too.
And I lost my Capo somewhere in my house.
The end.
*C*
But now, it is time.
Sure, we are going to be there anyway, picking up my injured and healed Larrivee, but. . .
It is time.
I'll be printing out the press kits tonight I hope. Unless I print them out tomorrow.
As it happens, Green Both Ways only has one thing left to be recorded (suspended cymbal on a track) and a special effect has been added to one of the songs, so it's practically in post-production.
We've just got to get to NYC to take a cover photo!
Also, I've written a butt-load (yep, i said butt-load) of new songs. Listen for them at shows this spring.
The gears of genius involving a possible future open mic in the Cortland-Tompkins County area are turning in the heads of we at the headquarters, too.
And I lost my Capo somewhere in my house.
The end.
*C*
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