Category: Articles

While on the net, I came across this article, 10 Gig Bag Essentials. While it is more geared towards Guitarists, there were some things that I also put in my “Gig Bag”. And what do people put in their “Gig Bag” nowadays anyhow?

Here is a list of things I keep in my “Gig Bag”.

• Spare Reeds – A low hanging fruit to be sure, but it does need saying that you should probably have extra reeds in the bag for all the instruments you are planning on playing at the gig. I generally keep two reeds for each instrument and if there is oboe involved, I bring a small reed emergency kit for oboe as well.
• Spare Neck Strap – I cannot remember the LAST TIME I forgot my neck strap. It must be close to 10 years now, but I do have another neck strap in the bag just in case.
• Tuner – “Back in the day” I’d carry a tuner in the bag. This has been replaced years ago by having an “App” on the iPhone to tune.
• Tape – Scotch tape is great to have in case something goes wrong on a horn.
• Multitool – There are a ton of multitools out there, and at some point I’ll find a better one and write about it, but having a multitool is great. The screw drivers are small enough to adjust the screws on most all the horns I take out. Pliers, knife….so many things you can use.
• Pencils/Pens/Highlighter – Some groups still use paper *gasp*. You need a device to write on paper. Usually a pencil. A pen is sometimes useful as well.
• Hearing Protection – Sometimes groups can play really loud. Protect your hearing.
• Battery Pack and Cables – A battery to charge your iPhone or iPad. You can also bring a power cable, but these battery pack things are like $20 and can fully charge your iPad and iPhone no problem.

Additional things to put in the bag if doing a gig that requires electronics. This would be like a R&B or Pop group gig, where you’d have a mic and stuff. Some groups have a dedicated “sound guy” so they might have some of these things, but it still is a good idea to have a set for yourself.
Extra microphone – I generally use a clip on Mic for gigs on saxophone, but I still have the trusty Sennheiser 421 in the bag (well, it’s in a box) just in case. This mic has saved my bacon a few times.
Extra XLR Cable – A lot of gigs don’t have a dedicated sound guy. It’s usually good to bring an extra XLR cable in addition to the one you should already be bringing with your microphone. At least 6 foot
Electrical Tape – In case something needs fixing
Gaffers Tape – This stuff is sorta like “Duct Tape” for musicians. It’s better and safer to usually tape down your cords once you are set up. It could be tragic if the bass player trips on the XLR cable and takes your sax with it’s bell mic with it.

Jason Lyon reviews Band in a Box

So props to PG Music, the somewhat earnest Canadian company behind this product. It seems to be increasingly proving, year on year, something we’ve all suspected (and perhaps dreaded). That most kinds of “blowing” music are really just about putting little bricks together in some kind of random fashion.

This program gets better every year, but I am still waiting for a redesigned interface for it….

From an SF Gate article:

Archbishop Franzo W. King, who co-founded the Fillmore district church, says he has received a three-day notice to vacate the space in the West Bay Conference Center, a meeting hall for hire. King says the center’s director, Floyd Trammell, has not accepted his rent of $1,600 per month for two years, and King is now waiting for the sheriff to serve eviction papers.

The real problem is the out of control rents happening in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lots of loop holes landlords are using to jack up the rent of people and businesses. It is really going to suck for these landlords when the tech bust happens and their properties sit unoccupied.

Interesting video for those of us who also double on oboe.

If you run Windows, Christmas is now here for you. PGMusic released Band in a Box 2016 for Windows. Lots of new stuff including over 200 new RealTracks (worth the price right there in my opinion), and various interface tweaks.

I do like how this program is starting to get more refined in it’s interface. It’s basic interface has been around since the Atari ST days.

  Fight Song by Rachel Platten for Eb instruments (101.0 KiB, 22 hits)
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  Fight Song by Rachel Platten forBb instruments (99.2 KiB, 14 hits)
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Anyone know who makes these cases?

Yup

From Mic.com:

It doesn’t look like anything at first. But as the arm of the printer slides back and forth, a violin slowly takes shape. It has all the elegance of that delicate instrument but has a thoroughly modern look. The violin is electric. It is perfectly clear. And its body was created entirely inside of a 3-D printer.

Last summer, I 3D printed a mouthpiece on my school’s 3D printer. It plays HORRIBLE.

From Pocono Record:

Jazz legend Phil Woods died Tuesday morning, according to Bensing-Thomas Funeral Home in Stroudsburg.
He was 83 years old.

Sad news. We lost one of the greatest alto saxophone players ever.

All About Jazz
NY Times
Jazzwax

There are a LOT of great Podcasts out there. One of them is Song Exploder. There is a great episode about the Game Of Thrones composition by Ramin Djawadi. Check it out.

Seems Phil Woods is retiring:

Well, it was indeed historic but for an unforseen reason: Before his last number, Mr. Woods, best known to the casual music listener as the soloist on Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are,” announced that it would be his last number. Ever.

Sad day.

Allaccess.com has a great interview with Gordon Goodwin posted. You should check it out.