Chapter 22: Working with Tom Jackson Productions and Amy Wolter

Posted by admin on July 6th, 2010 | 1 Comment »

This week I am going to post a blog post by Amy Wolter, the live music producer from Tom Jackson productions that we flew in from Nashville to work with us on our show last week.  She wrote a post about the experience on her own blog and I liked it so I’m going to repost it

Here is the link to it: http://bit.ly/9xXEu6

On a personal note, the experience was a very worthwhile one.  One of the things that Amy helped us understand as band is how to step out of our “musician heads” and step into the head of being a member of the audience.  Most audience members don’t speak the same musical language that musicians speak, so they will actually HEAR something better when they can SEE it.  Amy helped show us how to SHOW the audience what we were playing which at first, made some of us uncomfortable or feel insecure.  However as the band leader I encouraged everybody to take risks and trust Amy’s expertise in the subject of Live Performance Production and as we continued to work, we started to get more comfortable with some of the movement we were doing.  Even simple things like walking to the front of the stage to take a solo or highlight a bass line made huge differences.

Our first show since our work with Amy is tomorrow night in Burlington VT.  We are excited to see how our connection with our audience benefits from this work and are eager to share it with you all.

Stay tuned…

Is it Lame To Get Teary Watching “How The Grinch Stole Christmas?”

Posted by admin on December 9th, 2009 | No Comments »

Because I just did.

The old cartoon version that is.

I read a book a while ago by renowned playwright David Mamet called “The Three Uses of the Knife.”  He said something about how the purpose of art is to “inspire cleansing awe.”  That’s not a direct quote, but I remember that phrase, “cleansing awe.”

And I have just been cleansingly awed so to speak by the Grinch and how his tiny heart…three sizes too small, grew three sizes larger with the spirit of christmast.

So what is it about this timeless piece of art that resonates so deeply with people?  I watched it with a five year old and a seven year old and we equally awed by the end…and when I was 7 years old myself I loved it just as much as I do now.

I think it stricks a chord in so many people because I believe we all yearn for deep connection with the infinite well that lies within our heart…and we all, especially new yorkers who are caught so deeply in the hustle and bussle of going and going and going, have a tendancy to be slightly grinchy, slightly closed down in that area of our lives.  And great art…amazing art can blast through our layers of resistance and remind us of something that lies deeper within.  Thats what the Grinch just did to me.  So thank you Dr. Suess and Chuck Jones.