Practice time

I've found that as much as I enjoy practicing, especially with a goal in mind, I often find myself struggling with various items. I usually get frustrated with my tone, time, phrasing, or inability to get to through some passages. Last night was not an exception. It was a prime example of me getting peeved with different elements of my abilities. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to give up and pack it in. In fact, I enjoy going through these tough times. I find that these struggling points as growth (pardon the cheese). Even though while I am practicing, I'm vocally trying to "motivate" myself, I find it's helping me get over some mental hills. Anyway, there's a lot of hills on the way and it will always be an uphill battle, otherwise, I would be going nowhere fast.

Wibijazz'n Winter Showcase 2005

Here's the scoop to Wibi's Winter Showcase:

DATE: December 3rd 2005

TIME: 7:30pm

GEOLOGICAL LOCATION: Winters Dining Hall (Winters College, York U)

Come out and support these guys. Tons of fun. Tons of energy. Great Tones.

visit:
www.wibijazzn.com

Bass-ic Protection

One week ago, I decided to upgrade the gig bag that I had been using for the past eight years. The case of yester-year was a shade too snug for my double bass, had numerous holes and tears and had all but one of the handles torn off. On top of that, this was not the original case that this bass came in. The first cover was basically an over-sized garage rag with two broken buckle straps. Anyway, my new case is the Mooradian Standard Double Bass Bag. I'm a big fan of something that can hold everthing including my bass wheel and protects my double bass. Also, big thanks to the great people of The Sound Post for helping me with the bag... and everything else double bass related.

For more on these bags visit www.Mooradian.com or www.thesoundpost.com

email me at michael.penafiel@gmail.com

North York Concert Orchestra

Last night was my first practice with the North York Concert Orchestra. Overall, it went well. I haven't sight-read music in a while in a setting where it was a little quick paced. I enjoyed it a lot, even while I was stumbling through everything. I must say, the hardest part of joining was actually taking my first steps into the room with my double bass. It was a bit of a surreal feeling being the "new-kid-on-the-block" but it was a very relaxed setting that helped me feel less like a pig on roller skates. Anyway, I have a lot to work on and I need a little bit more confidence in my playing but otherwise, I think I will be okay.

Visit
www.nyco.on.ca

Practice. Little better than none

I found last night, due to different factors that were out of my control, that I could only practice for a few minutes. I must say, it is a little frustrating when you want to practice and once you feel like you're ready to get into the meaty stuff, it's time to pack it in. Oh well, at least I tried.

Finding Motivation

Finding motivation to practice can be hard, especially when you haven't been at it for a while. Little distractions begin to fill your time and slowly take over. Even to the point of becoming a priority. I, unfortunately, reached this apex and it has taken me a long time to re-focus and re-kindle my passion for the double bass.

Actually, it was a two-pronged effort that helped bring this into action. First, I decided to join a community orchestra. My greatest weakness on double bass has been classical playing and my arco technique. Being a person that enjoys challenges and discovering new things; I found this to be a suitable endeavor. I love learning new music and sight-reading, plus, I haven't played with a large group of people in many years. I now find that I am practicing every chance I get and there isn't a moment in the day where I cannot think about the many aspects of the double bass. I am currently looking at Bach's Suite1: Prelude for Cello. This piece of work is absolutely gorgeous and to be able to play on the double bass will take some time, but it is something I enjoy practicing. Just on a side note, compositions and etudes by Bach are great for study from a performance and theoretical standpoint if you are interested.

The second part of getting me motivated to practice was more of a materialistic maneuvere. I decided to purchase a brand new bow. Prior to this purchase, I had an old student bow that was never re-haired, was slightly warped and bent, but most importantly, was never taken care of. I am partially to blame for this but that could be due to my ignorace with this device. Over the years, I have developed a greater knowledge with taking care of this instrument which I will hopefully incorporate into my brand new bow. With regards to practicing, this has been one of the greatest pleasures. I never realized how easily playing arco would be with this tool. I felt more confident in my abilities and the tone that it produced was remarkable. Although my pocket and bank account are somewhat less burdened, my playing has reaped the benefits.

Anyway, I guess in some ways you can buy confidence.

Quote of the Week

"How can you say luck and chance are the same thing? Chance is the first step you take, luck is what comes afterwards" - Amy Tan

"How lucky do you think you will be when you land on Chance in Monopoly?" - BassBassDude

Angus Glen Half-Marathon Results

Well, I finished standing up.
It took me a while to post because I was trying to recover from the run. My finish time was 2:21 and I'm pretty sore but not as sore as I was expecting. The last 5k were the hardest. I thought I would try to push just a little at that point but then I found myself really hurting with 2k to go. Overall, I'm just happy to finish. I found that my breathing was fine throughout the race from holding back a bit. Overall, I think I held it together pretty well; it's my legs that pretty much died at the end. I wanted to push but they couldn't do it. I decieded before the race that I would take quick walking breaks when I hit a water station which helped a little but I really want to increase my tempo. The biggest challenge was the weather; more specifically, the wind. I usually can turn it up a bit on the downhills but all of those were negated by the wind. Oh well. I finished (10/10 in my category) and on the last kilometer into the clubhouse, finished strong.

Keep Practicin'

Stairway via ElectricBass
Originally uploaded by BassBassDude.

Check this guy out.

http://www.devilducky.com

Although, I think anything more that a 6-string bass seems a little excessive. Granted, that's my opinion.

Quote of the Week

"He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt, and his only mission each time he went up was to come down alive." -Joseph Heller

"Your mission should you choose to accept it is to climb a mountain. Don't fall again." -BassBassDude

Angus Glen Half-Marathon

Angus Glen Clubhouse
Originally uploaded by BassBassDude.

Angus Glen Half-Marathon is just around the corner. November 6th to be exact. I'm excited and a little nervous but it should be a good time. I'm hoping for a good time and most importantly, finishing. Once I see cross that finish line by the Club house I'll be happy.

Arranging Time

With Christmas just around the corner, I've got to have an arrangement done, fast. My experience tells me that keeping my ideas to a minimum and trying to keep it simple will be the best thing in this situation. I'm back at it with the choir thing, althought the numbers are going to be a little bit smaller. Here's hoping for a tighter sound since the Spring.

Quote of the Week

"You must first be who you really are, then, do what you need to do, in order to have what you want" -Margaret Young

"You must be first to be first if you want to be first" -BassBassDude

M-Pact next Wednesday

I have to say. These guys are good. I mean they are really good. They came to Toronto a while back and they'll be back once more.

WHEN: Wednesday, October 12th
WHERE: Clinton's Tavern, (Bloor Street, south side, just east of Christie)
WHAT: m-pact, with very special opening guest, Wibi
DOORS: 8:30pm
TICKETS: $12 at the door

visit
m-pact.com

Wedding Show

Looks like I'll be at the Toronto Wedding Show. Details to follow.

Cadence Last Night

Great Show.

That's pretty much all I can sum up at this time. Last night, a capella quartet Cadence had their CD release party at the Lula Lounge in Toronto and it was fantastic. Hosted by Heather Bambrick, the foursome brought their A-game that night by mixing in some of their old material with their new releases along with their energy and humour. A mix of jazz, pop and rock, Ross, Carl, Kevin and Dylan did a great job and was enjoyed by all.

Murphy's Law - Electric Bass

Let me know if something like this has ever happened to you.

I had a gig up in Orangeville where I had to bring both my electric and upright basses. While setting up, I had everything up and running and I was ready to go. To my luck, Murphy's Law decided to rear its ugly had. Five minutes before it was time to play, I plugged my electric bass into my amp and all I got was this enormous low-end buzz. I unplugged the electric and tried again. Once again, the loud buzz would not dissapear. I unplugged once again and attepted at fiddleing with the input socket on the electric to see if that would help. Again I plugged in and again the buzz returned. Thinking it was my brand-new 1/4" cable, I experimented by plugging the cable into my upright; no problem. I plugged back into the electric and began fiddling around with the input jack. I found that the buzz would cut in and out. I deduced that the problem was the input jack. With only seconds before playing I informed my band-mates that I would be playing my acoustic bass all night. I plugged back into upright acoustic and dove right into our first set.

Everything went well and all the clients were happy. I was especially pleased with the way I played on my upright that evening. Next stop, the music store to find a new electric.

Holding back

I have a potential gig tonight back and Day & Night (weather permitting) and tomorrow I will be playing for about four hours at a wedding reception. I must tell you, I'm thinking that I will have to hold back and pace myself on Friday night in order to last for four hours on Saturday night. I've never liked playing passively, but it will be in the back of my mind while I play tonight. Anyway, here's hoping I don't develop new blisters until after Saturday night.

Gig - "Day&Night"

This Friday September 16, I will be playing at Day&Night Restaurant which is located one block West of Brimley on Steeles in Scarborough. We start at 9pm and we go until midnight. It will be a mix of Jazz, old-school R&B and pop. Come by and say hi.

Hope to see you there.

Cadence CD Release Party

"TWENTY FOR ONE"
CD LAUNCH
Tuesday, September 20th
The Lula Lounge
1585 Dundas St. West, Toronto

These four guys are great. Fun, energetic and entertaining. I'v had the pleasure of singing with these guys back in my tenure with Wibijazzn' while at York U. I'm just happy that I can beat them all in billiards.
See you there.

If you'd like to learn more about Cadence, visit their website at cadence-unplugged.com