It's hard to believe that we're getting to the halfway point of 2019! It seems as though it'd just gotten started, and here we are in mid-June already. Life is moving so quickly it seems. I guess it's a function of keeping busy. Anyway, last week was busy for sure. Here are some thoughts.
Cartoon Justice-Luna's Cafe, Sacramento; 6/10/19
Cartoon Justice had a different lineup than usual for this gig in the heat of Sacramento (100 degrees, I think), with reeds player Jaroba subbing for an out of town Kersti and new cellist Colleen Kelly T. A friendly vibe as usual at Luna's, with a lot of familiar faces to greet and chat with.
Shiva X-tet opened things up with some great improvised Jazz. A tough act to follow, but I feel as though Cartoon Justice held our own with our vision of shamanic Noise Jazz, starting off with one long half hour piece that we'd scripted out in rehearsal. We got to some pretty thick places within the music I think. It can be tough for people to sit through a long arc like that, and some folks did wander away. That's OK, though, we were getting our vibes on. We concluded with a somewhat shorter piece that ended with some really fun blasts of sheer energy, especially from my cymbals. Everyone seemed to like it, as we got good feedback. A fine feeling! Cartoon Justice ain't for everyone, but, again, that's fine. We're following our own muse. Many thanks to Tony Passarell for the really nice back line drum kit. Sweet!
Below: Cartoon Justice trance out (photo by and courtesy of Russ Tucker, thanks, Russ!)
Surplus 1980-The Eagle Tavern, San Francisco; 6/13/19
The Eagle Tavern is a great place. They are clearly trying really hard to be a supportive spot for local Rock groups in the San Francisco Bay Area. The staff is incredibly friendly and sweet. That said, guys, please get a better sound system.
After loading in from the cool night air of a San Francisco summertime night, I talked with Moe! before our set; he was pretty worried about the sound from the stage. This worry seemed to be borne out. Surplus 1980 had a tough time up there, at least some of us. From my perspective, it was hard to not have a vocal monitor by the drums. Things got really rocky during Failure of Commitment (shades of 2016 sets!), but we managed to soldier through. I feel like we tightened up towards the end of our roughly 45 minute set, but Moe! was despondent afterward. I dunno, sometimes a flawed, rocky set can be dramatically cool. For myself, I had fun trying to make the adjustments needed to get through it and try to sound OK. Not our best night from a technical level, but enjoyable on some other, nameless level. Perfection is sterile, and not all groups have to be so mannered.
Many thanks to Justin of Fancy Dad for letting me use his kit.
Below: Surplus 1980 sweating out a challenging live ordeal! (photo by and courtesy of Catsynth TV,
www.catsynth.com, thanks!)
Above: the first 15 minutes or so of Surplus 1980 at Eagle Tavern (video by Monkey King Video, thanks!)
So there you have it. A fun, challenging week of music, played in the heat of Sacramento and the coolness of summertime SF.
Weather extremes, emotional extremes, you have to be able to take them both in stride, especially in the weird world of independent music production.
Cartoon Justice had a different lineup than usual for this gig in the heat of Sacramento (100 degrees, I think), with reeds player Jaroba subbing for an out of town Kersti and new cellist Colleen Kelly T. A friendly vibe as usual at Luna's, with a lot of familiar faces to greet and chat with.
Shiva X-tet opened things up with some great improvised Jazz. A tough act to follow, but I feel as though Cartoon Justice held our own with our vision of shamanic Noise Jazz, starting off with one long half hour piece that we'd scripted out in rehearsal. We got to some pretty thick places within the music I think. It can be tough for people to sit through a long arc like that, and some folks did wander away. That's OK, though, we were getting our vibes on. We concluded with a somewhat shorter piece that ended with some really fun blasts of sheer energy, especially from my cymbals. Everyone seemed to like it, as we got good feedback. A fine feeling! Cartoon Justice ain't for everyone, but, again, that's fine. We're following our own muse. Many thanks to Tony Passarell for the really nice back line drum kit. Sweet!
Below: Cartoon Justice trance out (photo by and courtesy of Russ Tucker, thanks, Russ!)
The Eagle Tavern is a great place. They are clearly trying really hard to be a supportive spot for local Rock groups in the San Francisco Bay Area. The staff is incredibly friendly and sweet. That said, guys, please get a better sound system.
After loading in from the cool night air of a San Francisco summertime night, I talked with Moe! before our set; he was pretty worried about the sound from the stage. This worry seemed to be borne out. Surplus 1980 had a tough time up there, at least some of us. From my perspective, it was hard to not have a vocal monitor by the drums. Things got really rocky during Failure of Commitment (shades of 2016 sets!), but we managed to soldier through. I feel like we tightened up towards the end of our roughly 45 minute set, but Moe! was despondent afterward. I dunno, sometimes a flawed, rocky set can be dramatically cool. For myself, I had fun trying to make the adjustments needed to get through it and try to sound OK. Not our best night from a technical level, but enjoyable on some other, nameless level. Perfection is sterile, and not all groups have to be so mannered.
Many thanks to Justin of Fancy Dad for letting me use his kit.
Below: Surplus 1980 sweating out a challenging live ordeal! (photo by and courtesy of Catsynth TV,
www.catsynth.com, thanks!)
Above: the first 15 minutes or so of Surplus 1980 at Eagle Tavern (video by Monkey King Video, thanks!)
So there you have it. A fun, challenging week of music, played in the heat of Sacramento and the coolness of summertime SF.
Weather extremes, emotional extremes, you have to be able to take them both in stride, especially in the weird world of independent music production.
