MASH Marching Band brings the heat..... And Meadville drumline supplies the spice.

You may know that I've asked my band director if I could write the drum feature for next year's show as my senior project. She graciously accepted the offer. As of now I have a good section of it done and revised, even played it for the drum section. But of course I must endeavor a bit further than that. Following the regular corps-style section of drumming, there will be a break into an entirely different funky Latin section. Or shall we say, Spicy (the theme for next year is "Hot"). The problem is that I'm a white guy living out in the country where there is a hoedown for every 10-gallon hat and a metal mosh for every pair of skinny jeans. But Latin? It's a dead language to everyone else, and here it might as well be a style of music that never even lived in the first place. A tad frustrating, but I am determined to watch videos on YouTube and practice what Salsas and Mambos I can on the drumset until something comes into my head that will get the Friday night football crowd onto its feet. 'Cause we're pretty sure the football team wont be doin' it..... OH SNAP!!

Jason Mraz is the man

So I am pretty much an avid concertgoer now. I know my way around Americas stages and stadiums. I went to see Jason Mraz on Monday. Anybody who knows a thing about me knows that I'm real tight with my man Jason. I've known this guy since "The Remedy" first got radio airplay and I have pretty much memorized all of his recorded work since then. The first time I saw him was down the street from my house at Shaffer auditorium at Allegheny College. This time was at the Time Warner Cable Amphitheater in Cleveland, Ohio. With a few friends and a whole bunch of snacks in our "party van", we headed to the city tickets in hand, ready to have a good time. The only major disappointment was that I made the mistake of ordering general admission tickets, which seemed to be a good move at the time based on my prior knowledge of the seating arrangement at TWCA (when I saw the Killers, there were no seats). But alas, they had rearranged the seats to that the people who were generally admitted could only stand in the far back (behind rows of seats) or on the sides, not even under the tent. After being deeply saddened by the situation in the far back, we sought a bit of redemption around the sides, leaning over the fences and looking past the beams and pillars that held the great tent in place. This view was a bit better, quite suitable for the opening acts, but since we paid nearly as much as those with the seats, we generally felt as though we deserved to be a bit more involved in this party. The thing to do was to go around to the other side. And lo!! A gap in the fence did appear!! I was on the inside by the start of his third song, found a seat for myself, and later, the rest of the group. We were practically making small talk and joking around with the guards while they checked others' tickets. The quality of the experience increased dramatically. Jason's energy and enthusiasm was extremely engaging (alliteration!), and of course hearing the music live somehow made me appreciate it even more. With the addition of operatic interludes, lyrics translated into other languages, and freestyle rap (featuring Jason's opening artists K'Naan and G.Love), even the most recognizable of his repertoire became something completely new. Not to mention the brass section that was smokin' all night long! And to top it all off, Jason presented a new view on the customary encore performance, running through the crowd onto a smaller stage in the center of everything, nightclub style. And guess who snuck in to the very front of that little ordeal? Me. Though I was on the very outside, I somehow made a move that got me within a few feet of the man himself without much trouble. It was as if it was meant to be. His final songs were some of the best, and nobody in the audience could doubt that a fantastic time was had by all. So here's to you, Jason Mraz, in the hope that you will continue to make great music and put on unforgettable performances, you are the man.

Let the marching begin!!!

So I'm finished rocking out in Los Angels, through gallivanting around the bay area, done being puzzled by classical music in Oberlin, and am now back in Meadville for the remainder of the summer. What happens now? Marching band is what happens, of course. Yesterday marked the last day of the first week of band camp, a five hour a day marching extravaganza in which we aim to finish all of the drill for our show and learn the music along with it. This is often exciting, and never fails to be thoroughly tiring as well. This first week was a serious workout, but we are well on our way to finishing the first two songs and it is all looking good so far. Being the section leader of the drum section, I was especially concerned about how well the line was holding up with so many new people. I am happy to say that we are off to a good start. With much help from drumline guru Duane Banks, we have made it quite far in a week and will keep progressing all season. I am especially excited for next week because so many people have been gone this last week, and they will all hopefully be coming back for the end of band camp. There is no way that we'll pull everything together and make the show look great with nearly half our members missing on a daily basis. This is one problem that the MASH band still needs to overcome this year and in the future. One thing I know for sure is that the entire drumline will be present and ready for action next week, and I can wait to perfect our cadences and learn some sweet moves to put in the show. I know its gonna be big, loud, and rocking!

Rocking out at Musician's Institute

its late and I'm a bit tired from rocking out (or watching others rock out) all day, so i will try to make this quick, and please excuse any errors. There is no doubt that I've had a fantastic time at Musician's Institute this week. From the open jams to the guest artist concert, even the technique classes, it was all worthwhile. I basically want to run through a few cool things that have gone down here so that we don't get too far behind. Surprisingly, the first day of camp was the least hectic. The process of registering was a bit hectic, but when that was over we got to chillax and watch Dan "the man" Gilbert and a bunch of other MI teachers rock out in the concert hall. It was an excellent show and an appropriate way to start off the week. We transitioned smoothly to the first couple of classes and visited the registrar more than enough times in order to get schedules sorted out. The very next day I got to meet my band! I was a bit worried because all those changes may have put me in a band with people of unfortunate musical persuasion (bad taste. Metalheads.). Luckily, I ended making a connection with a couple of great characters, two friends from Barbados who were more into alternative rock and wanted to play something more on the complicated side. SCORE! We were joined by a seriously shredding Italian and slightly older dude from the LA area. When we began rehearsing Radiohead's Paranoid Android, the others seemed to immediately appreciate my style. This made me happy. The next few days got a bit more complicated. We began checking out the various seminars and jam sessions that were happening at the Institute. I was suddenly quite busy, ironically there was barely enough time left to find a practice room. At the end of the week, every group formed during the camp got a chance to perform in the professional grade concert hall. What excited me most about this was that (other than the fact that my group was killer) the advanced lighting and screens on both sides could make one feel like a true rockstar. I have a feeling that the crowd loved us as well. Can't wait to get the DVD of our performance to show the friends back home! Unfortunately, I must conclude this so that I may pack for my flight to Sacramento tomorrow, but email me or text me if you want to know any more of the rockin' details! PEACE.

Recording

Needless to say, all of my band mates and I had a great time recording demos for our original songs. Our first studio venture wasn't in a real studio, that would be far too expensive and un-smalltown-like. So instead we recorded in my basement, a far more suitable atmosphere. Our main goal was to make recordings of the four originals we know well before I left for Musician's Institute in LA. Since I am still here, it is evident that we succeeded. But I believe that the success was more than just finishing four songs in just over a week. In a way, we discovered a bit more about our musical styles individually, and as a group. Since recording, not unlike live performance, is a musical skill that can only be mastered by repetition, our next session will undoubtedly be better than our last. I am sure of this because when we next record, the drums and bass will go down first followed by guitars and vocals. Don't forget about the piano, brass, strings, and extra percussion that will be added to enhance the sound. Eventually there will be a good EP that we can sell at our shows, and I really want to pull out all the stops. Nobody really knows what is gonna go down though, we just hope for the best. In the meantime go to our band myspace and listen in to what we have done so far. Feedback is always appreciated, and thanks a lot for the support
!

Tally Hall

Have you ever heard of the band Tally Hall Well I hadn't either until one day when a friend from Rochester sent me a message about going to see a band he really likes in Pittsburgh. Of course, I was immediately interested and soon found myself on Google and YouTube checking out these mysterious "Tally Hall" people. And I was in for quite a treat. This group knows no genre boundaries, with hip-hop jams and country tunes, both equally effective. So, in short, I was like, "yea, this show is gonna be sweet!" It was a Wednesday afternoon when myself and two friends from Rochester crammed into the back of their Prius and took off to Pittsburgh. Considering that the back seat of a Prius isn't entirely fit for three teenage boys, it was somewhat of a long ride, but still fun. When we got there, it was absolutely necessary to wander through a labyrinth of hallways to find the theater entrance, with was undoubtedly one of the more obscure places I've ever been too. We sat through not one, but two opening acts before Tally Hall took the stage. Mercifully, the third didn't show up. Tally Hall's show was just as eclectic and unusual as I figured it would be, but what I didn't expect was how darned funny it was. From randomly interacting with audience members to the "technical difficulties breakdown", the show was as amusing as it was entertaining. The five members of "The Hall" wore their classic uniform, white button down shirt with black vest and dress pants. Each one of them has their own color tie. I beleive this references their hilarious and unusual web show, "Tally Hall's Internet Show", which can involve anything from clay-mation music videos to dancing with a man dressed as a gorilla on a street corner. After the show, I purchased their album, "Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum", and noticed the excellent cover art and how each member had their own page in the liner notes. When the band came out to greet their fans, I asked each of them to sign by their names. They were all quite nice and just as funny as onstage. The ride back was cramped and I was super tired the next day, but it was totally worth it. Tally Hall is now one of my new favorite bands. You should check them out!!

The Killers

This is getting ridiculous. I'm going to be doing tons of crazy awesome stuff and nobody will know about it but me. So lets get caught up, shall we?
I went to a couple awesome concerts this month that I really need to talk about.
The first was on my birthday. That's right. The Killers came to Cleveland on my freaking birthday!! It was the best thing ever. We got there just on time to be early and had a fancy birthday dinner of pizza, chicken tenders and french fries from one of the concession stands at the Time Warner Cable Amphitheater. My friend Jay tried to get as far up front as he could (before people started getting severely angry). Jayme and I had no choice but to chase him, and we ended up dead center and about 10 yards from the stage. Hooray for us! First we waited for a little while, then watched the opening act, Chairlift. They were very different and had an interesting sound, even though they only had three people and the drummer had to keep switching to bass. Next was the super exciting part!!!! We stood and waited for hours. Like a really long time. Fast forward to when they finally got on stage and the rain stopped. Brandon Flowers and his crew had a commanding stage presence and got the whole crowd into it almost immediately. The lights were incredible, and the sound was almost overpowering at certain parts. In fact most of their stuff either lit up or was reflective, including the monitors and the amps. When they stared shooting sparks that was really cool too. Of course, they played some of the best songs that had been recorded in recent history. Certainly the best concert I've been to so far. But I'll be going back to the Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre to see Jason Mraz this summer!!!

Band Trip (sorry I'm so behind on this one)

If you haven't noticed, I have been doing a lot of pretty awesome stuff as of lately. In an effort to not get too far behind on blogging this awesomeness, I present to you The Story of the MASH Band's Trip to Virginia/DC, abridged.

Lets just say it was a really long bus ride. A fun bus ride, but still a long one. And the band bus is unlike any other buses that anybody rides on at any time, because the people on it are just that cool. I would say the most fun part is when we attempt to play card games between two rows of seats. Fast forward to our arrival at the parade that very same day. There was much rushing around to unload all manner of uniforms, hat boxes, and insturments from the lower compartments of the bus. After warming up we set out on the long journey to the beginning of the parade. On our way we saw a lot of other cool bands, some of which had way more stuff than we did, some sounded way better than we did, some just looked better than us. But not all of them. By the time we made it to the start we everyone was more than ready to get going. I was fairly impressed by our overall performance. We made straight lines, our turns looked good, and naturally we sounded quite good as well. Of course, the drumline was tight and precise the entire time. By the end everybody was significantly tired out, and we all celebrated by drinking cold water and changing out of our uniforms upon reaching the bus. Then we drove aimlessly around the Virginia countryside until we found the hotel.

May I take this opportunity to.....

may i take this opportunity to direct you to some videos of my band playing?? I really thing you will enjoy this! We've been working really hard and have come a long way. Check it out!! This is the YouTube Channel.

BUT if you are to lazy to go there yourself, here are some embedded videos that are a lot of fun!

UNPLUGGED!

Update: "Conspiracy Theory" (the awesome indie band that I am in, which you should totally know about by now) played unplugged at a local bakery a mere week after kicking but at Battle of the Bands. We knew very little, but we played a lot. It was good fun, and the afterparty was quite hilarious. BUT ENOUGH WORDS!!!! Let the music speak for itself.....

And by the way......

Here is a video from battle of the bands!!!! This is the last song we played at the show, Sunshine of your Love by Cream. It features John on Bass/Lead Vocals, Sutter (Hey that's me!!) on the drums, Ian on rhythm guitar and Jay on Lead guitar. The quality isn't great (it was dark and such...) but I still think its a cool video. Thanks to my dad for being the cameraman! Enjoy!!

Conspiracy Theory plays "Sunshine of your love"

Bandfest? Band show? Band of the week? No! Band Battle!!!

My band "Conspiracy Theory" totally rocked battle of the bands last night in Saegertown. We hadn't really played any other shows, so this was very new, and it was the first time there had even been a battle at this random place on the edge of nowhere. When we got there, it was raining and muddy and we unpacked our outrageous amounts of stuff into a back area of the dance hall. There were about 9 drum sets all set up against the wall, which makes sense because there were 9 bands there. And the people started coming in pretty soon. And there were plenty of people there. Lots of our friends, and lots of people that I think nobody recognized. It was cool though, because all our friends were there and they would all get so see us play for the first time. Then it got sort of uncool. Because we had to play seventh. And all of our devoted fans had to wait through a LOT of really unusual stuff (at least unusual for them)in order to hear us. AND THEN WE GOT BUMPED BACK by some freaking thrasher band from Ohio so we had to play EIGHTH and wait around even longer!! Plus, everybody was taking forever even though there was supposed to be a 20 minute limit, everybody seemed to think that they had 20 minutes just to set up. so we went waaaaaaaaay late, but it was all worth it because we played a good show, and everybody loved it, and we won!!! Hopefully people will want to come see us at the creative crust next Saturday playing unplugged.

District Jazz heck yea!

Me and my friend Jake should be appointed to the official council of things that the band should get. On Thursday after school we left for Titusville to attend the PMEA district 2 jazz festival. The high school in hepatitusville (I didn't just say that)was surprisingly nice, and quite large, which I learned the hard way. Plus, the band director is a drummer, so they must be pretty good. Anyways, we went off to our respective bands and began rehearsing Thursday night. I was of course merely the auxiliary percussionist, so my parts were not to complicated, but getting it all together was one heck of a task!! First I moved the set of vibes that had wheels, which was fine until the motor nearly fell off. Then I grabbed the congas, which have the most outrageously broken stand so that it takes two people to carry the darn thing ten yards. Then I grabbed the only music stand available, which was clearly not meant to be used due to the fact that it was broken.
Thursday was a mere introduction for the jazz bands, Friday was a crazy day-long rehearsal extravaganza. This is when I learned firsthand how big the Titusville high school really is. I mean I was hauling equipment back and forth between the band room, auditorium, and board room, all of which were as far apart as physically possible while still being in the same state. If I haven't mentioned it yet, the auxiliary percussionists get the honor of being in two bands. So we practiced for thirteen hours straight and got real good for Saturday's show.
The best part was that I got to play a solo. An honest-to-god vibraphone solo!!! How do I do it?
The show on Saturday went quite well. Me and my congas don't always seem like the most exciting thing, but the vibes solo made it all worthwhile. Especially since it was on one of my favorite songs, by one of the greatest vibraphone players the world has ever known, Milt Jackson. And my friend Jake up in band 1 (yea, he is pretty good) was not only rocking the trumpet parts, but also the flugel horn. THE FULGEL HORN!! That was pretty freaking cool I would say. I'll get the recording soon, very excited to hear how it turned out.
So where was I? Something about the official council of things the band needs to get. Oh I remember now. Our band director is very good about getting things that she thinks the band needs, but sometimes it can be tricky trying to get her to think just the right thing. That is where me and Jake come in. We play something, and if its good, she most certainly should get it for the band!! Things recently added to the list....
1) Vibraphone
2) Flugel Horn

It's a Conspiracy....

MY FELLOW ROMANS!!! I've just been chillaxin' here and figured I'd check in with you before I get waaaaay to busy. So even though my digital recorder is sorta broken and I am having trouble convincing the band director to let my band practice in her room during school, all is not lost just yet. This week I'm going to the District 2 Jazz festival in......TITUSVILLE!!!!! (where?)
That's right, all the way out into the middle of nowhere is right where I will be headed come this Thursday to bust out my mad vibraphone, conga, and other incendiary auxiliary percussion skills for a couple days of jazzin' out! I will have to bring another set of clothes as well as a nice suit, practice with a bunch of people I don't know on insturments that I have never played before, and even stay at some other house....not entirely sure I can handle it, but I'll be gettin' back to you.
In other news, I am also in a rock band, and instead of getting together once year at some random school in the middle of nowhere (like Titusville), we get together in my basement every weekend. And we're pretty awesome. We even have our own clothing line (a sure sign of awesomeness). You should check it out RIGHT FREAKING NOW!!!!



Thats all. Actually I'm not quite done yet.
As you can imagine I do not always have good things to write about. I need I-deas. Got an good idea? Got a crappy idea? Send it to quow@windstream.net and I will dish out some wisdom on whatever randomness you can throw at me. Bring it on!!!!

New Microphones!!

Got new microphones at World of Music today!! Some seriously good timing: We go up to see my drum teacher's senior recital, and there happens to be a ridiculous sale at World of Music. And I had it all planned out anyways. It was a perfect opportunity to pick up a pair of Shure SM 57s that are so well known in the music industry as excellent instrument mics. Normally these would be close to 100 bucks each, but everything was 15% off! Now I was totally prepared to pay for these with my hard-saved cash, but my mom thought it made more sense to just pay for it with my college education fund.......
Cool.
And I have no idea where the money came from to get my sister a new baritone saxophone, but that is exactly what they did, and now we have a gigantic case sitting in our living room. And my, does that thing sound cool! Not the case, the saxophone. I mean its pretty much almost as tall as her.
SO hopefully I will soon get myself together to use these great mics and lay down some sweet drum tracks for the awesome songs that my band plays. I'll let you know when it all gets a workin'!

Band of the week- Grammy edition

In honor of the 51st Grammy awards that are happening tonight, I have decided to do a special Band of the Week section with some of my favorite nominees. Here is the lowdown.

Coldplay- I do believe that this is the year's most nominated band, hoping to win in categories such as Album of the year, record of the year, best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals, and more. Most of these nominations are for Viva la Vida, as an album or a song. I believe that Viva la Vida is one of the slickest and most interesting albums in recent years, certainly coldplay's best yet. But they should absolutely NOT win song of the year, for a reason I will state soon.

Jason Mraz- He is the reason that Viva la Vida should be denied song of the year. Mraz has been a favorite of mine since his debut, waiting for my rocket to come, and his more recent we sing, we dance, we steal things is even better. Plus, everybody has got to love "I'm yours". Come on now!

Radiohead- With nominations including album of the year and best rock vocal performance, I'd say the band that epitomizes alternative rock in the 21st century should get a bit of recognition.

The Jonas Brothers- JONAS BROTHERS WTF?

An assignment

I finally get to record a piece for a dance studio! My old english teacher and current dance teacher has a song for one of the dances that is not long enough. I'd been bothering her about recording something for her, and since the song had such a good beat she said that she'd let me do an intro so the whole thing is long enough. The song is very scaled down, mostly drum and bass with the vocal lead. I'll definitely do a heavy backbeat, probably layer in some other complementary rhythms and a bass part.Thinking I'll even use brushes and stuff. But I am a whole lot better with rhythm than melody, so I don't know how much I want to go for any other insturments. Some guitar would be nice though. Just easy filler. Violin maybe?

BANDFEST.

Watching a show with a half dozen amazing marching bands is the kind of thing that might happen in the morning and leave you wondering what to do with the rest of your day. Every year Pasadena City College hosts a band show of all the marching bands that have had the honor of playing in the Rose Parade bestowed upon them by a guy with kind of a funny name. Over the break I went to one of these "Bandfest" shows to check out the scene. And what a scene it was. Not only did the bands have a significant audience, but I don't doubt that all of them deserved it. From Homewood Alabama to Pasadena City College and all sorts of places in between, and even the national honor band of top musicians from around the nation, we had entertainment all over the place. I noted some particularly unusual things as far as bands go that grabbed my interest. The band from Science Hill high school with their clarinet soloist in a Gershwin tribute, the Patriot band from Homewood with 3 drumsets in the the pit and a fantastic Rockettes esque dance line, and which band was the one that played California Dreamin'? Let us not forget the band of America and their Latin guitarist, garbage can percussionists (undoubtedly MASH drumline wanna-bees), string ensemble and dancing sousaphones. I suppose it was humbling to say the least. From a band point of view, our band is good and we have a lot of fun but couldn't possibly be playing at that level anytime soon. From a personal point of view, I don't think I've ever seen that many sousaphones in one place. Have I even seen more that one or two together? Our band barely even has any low brass! It was still an amazing show, and there is no doubt that I'm more inspired than ever to be the best musician possible. Enjoy the pictures!!

Naturally, 300 of the most talented high school musicians from around the country can be difficult to get into one shot. This is about half.



Just figured I'd put a picture of us in here to. 'Cuz we are still pretty awesome.

Another trip to NYC!!!

So I went to New York City (or "The City" as New Yorkers call it) with the music department. Which was pretty darn amazing I gotta say. We rode on this giant Anderson bus that had cushy seats and armrests and personal footrests and air conditioning. This was probably a good thing since the ride was nearly 10 hours. So there was lots of hanging around, listening to music, watching movies and just general merriment. And plenty of sleeping to go with it. Personally, I played about a bajillion games of Texas hold 'em on my Zune, which now features that and other addicting games. Another one is Hexic, which is also very fun online (although it features obnoxious noises that cannot be turned of and are currently interrupting Charlie Parker). But the point is, we eventually got there. Which as you all know is half the fun. Our first stop was Battery Park, where we spent a few seconds to meet up with a friend from camp who lives in the city and buy a knockoff purse or two. Dinner was at the movie equivalent of Hard Rock cafe, the fun was in and around times square, and the show was at radio city music hall. Really, the show was called "The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular". I really cannot think of a word to describe it. But afterwards one of the directors shouted some random street numbers as we left in all the hustle and bustle, and I managed to get to 51st and 6th (or whatever it was) with a group of friends that I happened to be with at the time. And what do you do once you get back to a hotel in New Jersey after a whole day of driving and watching musicals? HAVE A PIZZA PARTY!!! Indeed, in the city we truly rock and roll all night and party every day. Or maybe it was the other way around....

The next day was to full of doing stuff I cant even recall anything in a specific order. We had free breakfast. We went to 5th avenue. Shop windows on fifth avenue are like car shows of the fashion world, there is all sorts of nice expensive stuff that is fun to look at, but nobody is really going to buy or use it. Also, when its as cold as it was and you ever go to Starbucks, don't get a cold drink! The only thing i recognized on the menu was vanilla frappacinno. So I ordered one. I was chilled from the inside out, but it was totally worth it! We had hot dogs from a street vendor. HAIRSPRAY WAS AMAZING!!!! lots of excitement and energy there. And when we where outside the theatre after, Harvey Firestein (Edna) walked past our group. And I totally saw him in person (sans dress and fat suit)!! I speculated that if the extremely good-looking dude who played Link had just happened to leave the theatre at that time, half our group would have attacked and raped him. I mean they were swooning big time man! Anyways, I got a nice fedora, and ice cream later, and managed to get other people to donate some of their food. Unfortunately, I couldn't convince the guy in that one store to give me a tie for less than $25 (I only had $20!). I guess bartering is just for the creepy dudes outside. So it was very fun. And there was some fail. And food. And a really funny-smelling handbag. And lots of drunk people dressed as Santa. We truly can be amused by anything. After all, it is the music department.

NYC Trip!!!! Goin' to the city....

I'm just writing in this blog entry real quick before I go to sleep. Tomorrow (Friday) morning I will be waking up bright and early (5:30 AM) to get on a bus with a bunch of other crazy kids from the music department of my high school and we'll haul off to NYC. I guarantee you that I will be taking many, many pictures (500+) and having many good times, inside jokes, and FAILs to go with them. I will try to account as much of it as I can. Though I may not be able to get to blogging from my cell (I'll try!), I will definitely have Twitter updated often, so keep an eye on that!------>

Peace out! Catch y'all later!!

_Sutter_