One Fine Month

Well, as i sit here and type this, i can't help but look back and relfect on the last few weeks, and how much i valued the times that occured.

Generally speaking the last 6 years of my life have been something of a blur, mostly because it's been fairly negative stuff, and i've just rolled with it... Very little good has taken place.. yet in the last 4 weeks, it almost kind of made up for that.

I got to spend time around people whom give me hope that things aren't as bad as they seem, and that even if you're not looking to be a part of something or surrounded by positive energy, you can't avoid it (which is a good thing). I probably did more in the way of activities and socialising in the last 4 weeks then i have in the last two years.... Crazy to think what exactly i've been doing to pass the time and do that thing which most people do; live....

Raquy & her friends (from left to right: Lara, Adama, Raquy & Natalia) are just the nicest bunch of people a person could meet. Seriously, i've only known Raquy for a short amount of time, yet she & her friends have treated me better and welcomed me more then people i've known for over a decade, and even family members....

Also getting to hang with Master Rami was a real blast... And being part of a social group again was an interesting experience, one that i haven't had in over 8 years.... Time really does fly on by....

The girls flew out last night, and i have to say that it's going to take some time adjusting back to to my normal routine, of work... and well...... just work and being at home.... On the positive side, i'll make use of the time to get back into shape and regain the weight i lost over the last 3 months (this always happens to me during january/february, due to obvious reasons..) and to work and try to complete my upcoming album. I actually wrote a new piece after the girls left and i was sitting in the terminal waiting for my cousin to come out (he helped them with their excess weight issues for their luggage).

This experience has been what i needed i think... I've been in a real funk since December, and i wasn't sure what was going to happen or what to do.. since i felt myself slipping deeper and deeper... Spending time around Adama & Natalia was definately food for the soul, and i feel truly blessed that i had the chance to talk and be with them.

Ultimately i could go on all day about the experience and just how incredible these 4 women are... but i'm tired, and hardly anyone reads this fucking blog anyways....

I'll elaborate more when i'm in a more elo....eloqui.... fuck me.... i can't spell anymore (eloquiant?) I'll fucking elaborate when i can think of some cool shit to type.....

Intertwined and misaligned

Well, i just came back from Sinai on Sunday, bumed around on Monday, and did a half days worth of work today.....

It's been an interesting time for me, these last few weeks, extremely different from my normal routine. Unfortunately i feel a shift in my balance, and it's thrown me off somewhat about where my head is at.....

The time spent in Sinai was incredibly short, but in that small amount of time, just to disconnect and be at peace, or atleast try to be at peace... it was interesting. Being surrounded by good people has helped lift me up from the dirt that i was becoming accustomed to. Makes me wonder sometimes just how things work out for certain people.... and wether it's our own doing or not.

Ultimately i have so much crap i need to do but i can't find the focus to do it. I am supposed to be giving a concert on the 8th of april, but i'm toying with the idea of turning it into a masterclass, since there is absolutely no way in hell i'll be able to put together a full on program and get live musicians in on the music by then.

At some point i'll be resuming work on my album(s)... hopefully in the next few weeks.

Stay tuned for more info to come (probably this weekend).

Feeling the burn

Well, it's been an interesting few days... Albet thanks to the lack of proper sleep and rest, it all feels just like one big blur...

I've been busy, been mostly downtown, spent afew days in Alex, and being a boheimian extrodinaire. The "gang" from N.Y have been a blast to hang out with, albet i feel like i'm turning into the guest that won't leave..

We're all heading out to Sinai tommorow night for a few days, which is interesting because i've never been there before. Also, the gig last night was very cool.

I'll go into more details in my next post, when i'm able to think a coherent thought without it being clouded. As much as i hate insomnia.. i hate bad dreams even more....

Raquy Drum Show @ Ewart Hall 18th March

Hey All.
The Drum show is this wednesday. If you live in Cairo and are not too far away from Down Town, i suggest you check it out.

The show features pieces written by Raquy, performed by her group, demonstrating a command of the Dumbek (a.k.a the tabla) which is rarely seen in these parts.

The show is @ Ewart Memorial Hall, Sheikh Rahan ST, Just off Tahrir Square. Show starts at 8PM, and is FREE admission.

This isn't a normal tabla type performance, since the music features contemporary techniques, rhythms, and grooves & dynamics which are highly infectious and hypnotic.

Raquy won't be doing any shows till either the summer, or next year here in Cairo, so it's not something you want to miss out on.

All my students, from MUSC 280 and 180, you know that you are to attend this concert. No exceptions. See you all there! More details of what i've been up to in the last few days to come later when i have a moment. Adios!

One Fine Day...

Usually in a persons life, there are only a handful of defining moments that occur, which we relive in our minds... usually because we know of the profound effect it has had on us. For me i've only had a handful of these, and in all honesty most of them have been on the other side of the spectrum (ie. bad, painful, soul-breaking).

Tonight was one of the few that will always remain in my mind as a truly amazing evening which i'm sure will be the result of positive actions soon made by myself in the coming days.

I got to see a guitar player whom i've known of for a very long time, and admired and been inspired by many a time, but never imagined i'd get to see live... and of all places in Cairo Egpt.

I am of course talking about the virtuoso musician Stanley Jordan.

Stanley is one of these people that trancends mere lables. Calling Stanley a guitar player would be like calling a gunshot to the head a minor flesh wound... Stanley has transcended the concept of being a player.... he doesn't play the instrument... he is at One with the instrument.

Watching Stanley perform, you see the music flowing through and from himself... His soul is communicating with every ounce of movement and inflection.. He's not bound by the instrument, but freed by it.

Musically to call Stanley a jazz musician would be a gross misjudgement.... Stanley is just a musician, not bound by his instrument or his influences or the surrounding world of music... Stanley has found his sound, and it is simply music, pure, formless, and encompassing all the art forms which allow a musician to express and create something unique.

The workshop included pieces he is known for, and afew which i hadn't heard or seen before. For me, i think my euphoric state reached it's peak when Mr.Jordan walked over to the piano and proceeded to play the guitar and piano, at the same time. He did not do so for flamboyance.. he did so for the composition... to have the guitar and piano become one sound, one instrument if you will.......and that's exactly what i heard.. these beautiful dynamic phrases intertwining... it's almost as if the two instruments were alive and were living out a moment of clarity....

I've seen and met allot of astounding musicians... but Stanley hands down is something else entirely... only way i could describe it would be to say that he is the Paginnini (not sure i spelt that right!) of guitar. Paginnini Did things on the violin which made the audience assume he was the devil.. Now.. Stanley is way too nice of a guy for that... But what he did on the instrument today was truly just beyond what people do on guitar.

I've been playing for 11 years... my two handed abilities are not up to scratch... and i know that even if i did spend 8 hours a day practicing... i'd just get tendonistis... I couldn't fathom where to being to build such a full connection with the music & the instrument. And in all reality if by some miracle i manage to get atleast 1/10 of that ability... in all reality.. i'd just be mimicking instead of creating.. which i guess will be my excuse for not trying to achieve such a unique command of the instrument.

After the concert, after bumping into some friends, i went over to the blue nile, where i met raquy!! was great seeing her, and meeting her two friends, Natalia & Adamaa. I had a beer for dinner since my head was a mess... and after helping the ladies with their luggage, got my sorry ass back to heliopolis and typed this lond winded thread. It's 3am... i have work in afew hours... guess it's going to be another sleepless night. Actually i could try and get some sleep, but i know that's not going to happen. so intead of kidding myself, i might have some Baileys Irish Cream, listen to Jeff Buckleys Grace, and think soothing thoughts.....

Thanks Bill for coming with me tonight! And thanks to you Stanley, I'll remember this night with fond memories for as long as i am allowed to.

Rain, ill Again, Mundane,

Howdy. That's a shot of the library building at night, when it rained on Monday. I was on campus for a meeting, and turned out there was no 8:15 bus.. it was 8pm.. I'd missed it by about 3 minutes, and got caught in the rain, till the 9:15 bus....

In retrospect it was kinda cool to be out in the rain, considering just last week i'd performed "Echoes Of Rain" for the faculty showcase. I was pleased by how that went.. I'd never played it live infront of a silent audience, so i'm glad i managed to play it without screwing it up.....
On a duller note though, I'm fairly Ill.. and managed to break my voice on Tuesday, from a mix of having a cold/flu from being out in the rain, and for lecturing for like 5 hours. I had to take Wednesday off because i literally had no voice whatsoever... But i had to go in on Thursday.

Guitar classes i can reschedule or miss if i'm Ill, but actual classes i cannot miss without prior notice, and have to make them up. So i went in, and since it's a sight reading class i managed to get by. That's the beauty of the language of music, it doesn't need words. After having one of the students read out a note explaining the situation, I proceeded to clap out some basic quarter note and eighth note rhythms, which the students had to transcribe.

Aside from afew students, i was suprised to see just how bad it went. Allot of the students aren't studying enough, and when my voice returns, i'll be sure to make that point on tuesday.....

The worst part though was when i moved onto scales... i wrote out a scale and they had to tell me what major scale it was.... it seems none of them has bothered to memorise the Circle of Fifths & Fourths....... Very tedious trying to get students to learn stuff which makes their studies easier...

Unfortunately i can see as plain as day that a large percent of the people in that room took the course looking for an easy grade, and didn't expect the amount of work involved, or a professor with high standards, who's not a push over.... Infact i've made it quiet clear.... i don't care if a student wants to jerk off... bottom line though when i flunk em... don't come whining to me about it...........

I've been working on the zentar allot, but i'm not going to go into details till i actually get the bloody thing to work.

Also on a brighter note, Raquy Danziger, Middle Eastern Drumming Extrodinaire is coming from istanbul next week or so, so it'll be great to see her again and catch up. Later in the month Rami Is also coming, so it'll be good times for me this month. No more being a reclusive studio rat....

Just hope my health picks up... last 3 months have been a real bitch....

The new semester begins...

And i'm already not in the mood....
My infection has cleared up thankfully (was getting into serious/life threatening territory), and is in the healing stages... so hopefully there won't be any complications...

The new semester has commenced, earlier then last year.. last year it was the 4th, this year the 1st, which caught me abit off guard i must admit... Not that i particularly care...

I'm going to be taking it much more easier then i have, since i've seen how i'm rewarded for my efforts by the AUC administration.... This semester, a far more laid back, but take no prisoners attitude is in motion.

That said i do seem to have a good bunch of kids in both the sight reading class & the guitar tuition course. An interesting mix if you will... albet we'll have to see as the semester progresses to see wether they have what it takes to keep up with the programs that i teach, which are a mix of practical musicianship & more advanced stuff which requires the students to be taking their studies far more seriously then before. This semester i am being far more tough on this kinda thing, because i cannot be bothered to deal with slackers anymore.... waste of my fucking time... believe it or not i do actually have better things to do....

I'm currently mixing the new track i wrote especially for tommorow... yep... that's right....tommorow is the Faculty Showcase for the PVA faculty. Last year i was asked to participate in this one since it was well recieved.... this year i will be playing "Echoes of Rain" & the new piece with a Saxophonist by the name of Tamer Fahmy. It's been interesting since i've never written or played with sax...

I've spent allot of time on it actually since originally it sounded like garbage, and i was not keen on performing bad music infront of my peers, whom are respected musicians and are putting together a very tight show apparently. Naturally if it were up to me, i would have ducked out.. since the rest of the faculty are mostly classical musicians performing classical music... so i really do feel out of place at these things... although at this point in my life i have no ego left that would make me actually care about something like that. I just don't like being the Odd-Ball so to speak.... Plus we have to wear a tie and jacket.........electric guitar + Tie & Jacket = Mega Dork!

Once again though, i'm not fussed since it's not a DFZ gig or anything... should be interesting none the less. I wasn't too worried about it since it was only for the board of trustees... but now it's open to the general public... not that i see anyone coming, but none the less that raises the stakes up abit... just a smidgen.... yeah... where's that ego when i need it?

I'm planning on writing more in the upcoming weeks, one for my follow up album (vocals this time...), two for this project which i've wanted to do for awhile... i'll be fusing electronic stuff with middle eastern type stuff... so.. now i have a sax guy (he likes to play oriental stuff), and an Qanun player (a damn good one at that....).... So i'll be writing like crazy, and building my fretless guitar and hopefully put a record together.

So, two records, this semester, a showcase, books to read, courses to teach, students to inspire, and a few pizzas and cheeseburgers to devour...........sigh............it's ALLLLLLLLL GOOOOD!