Band Name

I think I've found a name for my next band: Woodnut loves Chauncey.

And before you ask - yes, there really is a Woodnut and a Chauncey. Woodnut was a leader of the suffrage movement in Chicago and California. Chauncey was a surgeon in the Union Army and a frontier doctor.

Street Piper - How cool it that?

Today the George Washington University is holding an international travel fair across the street at the Marvin Center. I've been hearing bag pipes all morning. There is a piper in full regalia with a Scottish bagpipe playing in front of the entrance. It's been fascinating watching the host of students reacting to the piper - everything from snapping pictures with cell phones to crossing the street to avoid this strange beast.

5280 A Cappella - Estes Park Summerfest

We're out in Estes Park, Colorado for my Mother-in-law's family reunion. Last night we took advantage of child care and went to the Estes Park Summerfest concert. 5280 A Cappella was singing.
5280 A Cappella is a sextet of very talented vocalists. They sing pop and rock songs with very tight vocals rousing base and energetic rhythms. They covered a wide range of music from the Beatles to Robert Plant/Alison Krauss to Yes to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. I left with ideas of songs I would like to arrange for strings and add to my playlist.

The group is great live and interacts well with the audience. They are fun to watch and fun to interact with. To be fair I was with my wife and sisters-in-law and we threw ourselves into the music. We really enjoyed dancing and clapping along.

Here is their version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". If the live version from Estes Park Summerfest becomes available, I will post that as well. I'm hoping the recording will pick up the various jungle sounds added by the audience. Enjoy!




Check them out on the web:
https://www.facebook.com/5280acappella
http://www.5280acappella.com/

Baseball caps, burkas, and street musicians

While waiting for the metro the other day, I saw a young man with wild curly hair stuffed under a baseball cap. He was with a young woman in a burka. It was an odd juxtaposition of traditional and modern, conformist and rebellious.

The street musicians have swapped with the new season. We have a guitarist playing folk rock on Monday and Tuesday morning and a looping cellist in the afternoon. We've had a jazz trumpeter on Thursday. We'll see if it holds.

Michael Bacon on Cello

I am familiar with the Bacon Brothers mostly through Sandra Boyton's music. (It is the risk of having children and liking good music. Who wouldn't like such gems as the One Shoe Blues?) Michael and Kevin Bacon front a band and often play charity concerts. They recently played a benefit concert at Lisner Hall on George Washington University's campus where I work.

With passing curiosity I flipped through the publicity shots from the concert and saw Michael Bacon sitting behind an electric cello. Intrigued I did some research. This little gem reminds me of Appalachian Waltz by O'Connor, Ma, and Meyers, one of my all time favorite recordings of chamber music. Enjoy.

Applause by Lady Gaga for 5 Cellos - String Theory

I'm not a big Lady Gaga fan. I recognize she is a talented song writer, but it's just not my thing. I generally flip channels and move on to something else. That said, I really enjoyed this.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/9oc8jLgPsME" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Street Musicians and Flash Mobs

One of the benefits of commuting is I get to hear street musicians during my commute. I love the cantor call of Gospel tunes on Tuesday morning. Violin and Fiddle tunes as I rush into the Metro on Monday and the occasional chuckle on Thursday - like the day I ran past a sousaphone pay the theme to the Adams Family on my way to catch the commuter train.

For those of you in Fredericksburg - I'm participating in a flash mob for first Friday - we'll be playing Lennon and McCartney, Hendrix and the Cranberries. Swing by downtown Friday night and watch for us.

Cheers.

Elevator Music

This is just fun! Enjoy!

 

Check out Jae Chong's Youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/JaeChongMusic?feature=watch

Out of the Cold

Nathan Chan has been posting cello covers of pop songs. His technique is amazing. Here is his cover of Clocks by Coldplay:



You can find more about Nathan at his website and follow him on Youtube, Twitter, and FaceBook:
http://nathanchancello.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/nathanchancello?feature=watch
http://on.fb.me/nathanchancello
http://twitter.com/nathanchancello

Music is Fun

It's easy to forget music is supposed to be fun. So here are my picks to start out the New Year, both are amateur groups.

The first is from the Youtube channel Augmented Muse. It appears to be a group of friends who just like to get together and record jam sessions.



The second was sent to be my Father. There is a Parguayan student orchestra called the Landfill Harmonic. A Documentary is coming out explaining what they do and why. Here is the trailer:



NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas wrote The Landfill Harmonic: An Orchestra Built From Trash in response to the trailer. The movie has it's own website and FaceBook page:

• Landfill Harmonic | Landfill Harmonic is an upcoming feature-length ...
• Landfill Harmonic | Facebook

Fun Christmas Piece

This is Rachel playing Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming arranged by Mark Summer. It is one of the few recordings available on the Web.

 

I can't tell you much about Rachel, she's somewhere in the Chicago, Illinois. Here is the link to her youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/improvisingcellist?feature=watch  

If you are in Chicago - check out Rachel next time she's playing a gig.

If you are interested you can get copies of the sheet music it is available from  quite a few vendors. I purchased my copy from Shar Music, but is also available from Amazon, and everything Cello. Mark Summer made a recording of it on the Turtle Island String Quartet album, By the Fireside.

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Merry Christmas

I'm a sucker for a good arrangement of traditional Christmas carols this time of year. And O Come Emanuel is one of my favorite. Enjoy!

Fun with Pedals

InFusion Trio is a Hungarian cover band. Here is a fun video that give you a great look at using pedals. It looks a lot easier than it is. Enjoy!

Dragons in the Kitchen

My cello teacher pointed me to a video of Sarah Clanton Schaffer's Dragon's in the kitchen. She has a sweet voice - here songs are catchy quirky and intriguing and its cello! What more could you want? Sarah is definitely carving out a place in folk rock with her cello. Enjoy!

 
You can find more about Sarah on the web:
Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/cellotreearts
Site: http://www.cellotreearts.com/index.html
Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sarahclantonschaffer/i-mustache-you-a-question-cello-brate-my-1st-album

 And of course you can find her on Facebook.

 Cheers!

Sandy, Election Day and Latvians

Hurricane/Tropical Storm Sandy rolled over top of us last week.  We were spared to worst of it - we got much need rain and the fall leaves fell a little faster. Because, I didn't post last week, I'm going to post early this week.

Today is election day in the United States - if you are in the U. S. and are registered to vote, please remember to do so.

For today's video, I thought I would pull the cello trio Melo-M from Riga, Latvia. I first found these guys about five years ago because they were doing covers of old America pop songs, like the Final Count Down and Ghost Busters. Here is a cover of Misirlou from earlier this year:



There is a nice contrast between the very traditional beginning and the pop ending. Enjoy.

You can find Melo-M on the internet:

http://www.melo-m.lv
http://www.youtube.com/user/cellotriomelom?feature=watch

Tina Guo - Traditional

Tina Guo is carving out a place for herself as a cross-over cellist playing both classical and heavy-metal. This is a recent recording of a very romantic piece. Tina pulls a lot of emotion out of her cello.

Of course, I wonder if there were any complaints for the midnight serenade. (Yes, there are people who do not like cello music.) In any event this a beautiful piece of music beautifully played. Enjoy.


If you want more here is Tina's Web presence:

http://www.tinaguo.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/demix500 
https://twitter.com/Tinaguo

Break of Reality

Break of Reality is a rock quartet that started in Rochester, New York and is now based in New York City. I enjoy the band's innovative hard rock that makes a great use of the traditional sounds of cello.

The band has changed out members at least twice. The sound hasn't suffered.

Check out this live performance of a new song that will be on their next album.


For more here is Break of Reality online:

• http://www.breakofreality.com/
• http://www.youtube.com/user/BreakofReaIity

Blues Jam

Check out this Blues jam by MelloCello:



Any guesses on the pickup he's using? Check out his channel on youtube: mmellocello. There is some good blues.

Cello Street Quartet

Cello Street Quartet is a group from San Francisco. Their music reminds me a lot of my first private cello teacher, Allen Sher. Allen was a cellist for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. When I was taking cello from him, he was playing with a string quartet at upscale department stores. Of course, to keep people interested, the quartet would play pop music. I enjoy the mix of pop music and classical aesthetic. It something that I don't hear or see enough of.



You can find more about the Cello Street Quartet:

Site: http://cellostreetquartet.com
Youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/CelloStreetQuartet?feature=watch

Or  just try to catch them on the street, next time you're in San Francisco.

Dirty Cello - Cutie Pie

Rebecca Roudman is a cellist from San Francisco, who just seems to be having fun. This is her band, Dirty Cello, playing the original song, Cutie Pie. I just like it and it looks like so much fun to play. The style reminds me a lot of Mike Karoub.

 

 For more about Rebecca and Dirty Cello:
http://rebeccaroudman.com
http://dirtycello.com/
http://www.youtube.com/user/RebeccaRoudman?feature=watch