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Gig Journal - July 17, 2002 Softpro Gig A computer bookstore may seem like an odd place for a solo guitar gig, but in this case it was perfect. Why a bookstore? For a couple of years I've been playing solo and duo gigs in many of the Barnes & Noble and Borders stores around New England, and in smaller, independent bookstores. Those who want to listen can listen; those who want background music get background music. But why a computer bookstore? While I was at Berklee, I worked full-time as a musician/teacher and moonlighted as a software developer. Now I work full-time as a software developer and moonlight as a musician. Playing in a computer bookstore allowed me to combine three things I love: music, books, and computers. How did I get the gig? Softpro books is in Burlington, Mass, near where I work, and I often drop in there on my lunch hour. Recently I've noticed there is always a tasty jazz CD playing. One day it was Johnny Hartman and John Coltrane, My One and Only Love. Often it's a solo guitar CD, frequently one of Joe Pass's solo CDs. I decided to send an email to the owner, Rick, suggesting an evening of solo jazz guitar. We exchanged emails. Turns out he's a fan of solo guitar, and an amateur guitarist. A week later, I dropped off a CD and promo package and talked to Rick. We tentatively set a night in July. We agreed we'd probably not draw much of a crowd, it being summer, but I know a few software engineers who I thought might drop by. We agreed we'd try it as a dry run, and if we both felt comfortable, schedule something for the fall, when we might draw a better crowd. He was excited about having live music. We talked about where I'd set up. At the back of the store is an open area with a curved wall. This is where authors lead their book discussions, and this is where I'd play. The Gig I decided to use my "good" amp – the 1965 Ampeg B-15. Since Rick was a guitar fan, I thought he'd enjoy it. When I got there and started setting up the amp, Rick said, "That's a real museum piece, isn't it?" I told him about how I'd bought it new in '65, on the advice of another guitar player, who had said, "You just bought an amp that will last you the rest of your life." He was right – at least so far. I finished setting up and played a few notes to check the acoustics. What a treat! The room was warm and full-sounding. Later I discovered that this was not an accident. It turns out that Rick is also an architect. He showed me some photos of a house that he had designed and been involved with building. Big, open rooms, lots of wood, unusual shapes. He was well-educated in room acoustics. Either that or he just had a knack. Rick had designed the interior of the bookstore. It was one long room, with shelves along both sides, and rows of shelves distributed at various angles in the middle. The shelves were deep, so there was plenty of exposed wood to resonate. The columns that held up the ceiling were round, with a diameter of maybe two feet, so these were good for dispersing the low frequencies. The ceiling had various nooks and crannies for indirect lighting, so these were good for dispersing the high frequencies. The rounded wall at the back of the room sent the sound evenly all the way to the front of the store. Playing in that room was like playing inside a giant violin. Lessons learned Looking back, there are three things I would do differently. First, I would remember to bring my stool. Rick provided me with a chair, but that's not the same. The stool has several advantages. It's more comfortable, allowing me to shift my weight sometimes to my legs. It's higher, so it gives me more visibility -- an important consideration when I'm at the back of the room. It also gets my ears up above the amp, closer to where the listeners' ears are, since, in a bookstore, many customers are standing. Second, I would move a little further away from the wall and the amp. It's tempting to bathe in the sound coming from the amp, but it's important to listen to the sound that the audience is hearing. Third, for the sound check, I would use the 25-foot patch cord and walk around the room a bit, listening as I played, making sure to include single notes, small chords and large chords, and to cover the whole range of the instrument. Probably not necessary in that great-sounding room, but a good exercise anyway. Sets I started the first set, as always, with "Here's That Rainy Day", but I took longer to improvise lines, arpeggios, and chords as an intro, just basking in the sound, before settling into time and playing the head. By this time there were a few people in the store and some sat in the row of chairs Rick had set up near my "stage". After a few tunes I got applause, which surprised me. Usually that doesn't happen in bookstores because the music is just background and people are self-conscious about disturbing the readers with applause. But as it turned out, there were a couple of guitar players there and they let me know they were listening and enjoying. On my first break, one guy who had been sitting and listening -- and applauding -- came up to me and explained that he was a guitarist. We chatted about pick-and-finger technique and what-not. He bought a copy of Act One; it gives me pleasure to know that he will listen to it appreciatively. Can't ask for more than that! In the second set I did more single-line improvisation than usual, knowing that I had a good audience and a good room. Rick especially liked "Softly As In a Morning Sunrise" and "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", two tunes where stretch out a bit. I played several short sets. Often on solo gigs I need to play long sets to keep the music flowing as a more or less constant background, and that's very hard on the left hand. So short sets and short breaks are ideal. Moving lines In the last set I played something pretty up-tempo -- I don't remember what -- and it came out well. I segued into "My Funny Valentine" for contrast. I always play the head mostly as a single line mixed with double-stops, and a few chords. For the middle chorus, I play a set of voicings, arpeggiated, over a bass line. Given the warmth of the room, the chords sounded luscious; it felt unusually good. As I was packing up, Rick said, "That was great. Tracey was back there weeping at 'My Funny Valentine'." Good night On the way out, Tracey held the door for me. She said, "I can't tell you how much I enjoyed that. Sometimes I think that musicians don't understand how emotionally draining it is for the audience." It was a good night. I learned a lot. |
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