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01/24/2005: "Studio gig yesterday"

It was the first time I ventured out into the cold all weekend. Yeah, I know, we Washingtonians are wimps when it comes to snow--only a few inches. I met up with my guitarist friend Ian McLain (pictured above) around Embassy Row.

We arrived at the client's studio and besides having frozen fingertips after being out in the cold, Ian and I were clueless about what we were going to be asked to play. The client wanted some fandango-de-huelva-like chord progression with an improvised melody. Very straightforward stuff, except as a flamenco guitarist I have this habit of playing the E-major final resolution chord with the flamenco-sounding minor-second dissonance. (for you non-musicians, a minor-second is a clashing sound like hitting a white key and the adjacent black key on a piano at the same time)

This dissonance is typical for flamenco, but this recording was meant for a classical audience so the client preferred that I play non-clashing version of E-major chord (i.e. with no F). So he said "Get the F out!" I understood what that meant in musical terms, but a second later we all realized the R-rated way those words can be interpreted and ended up laughing. But we needed the comic relief--doing so many takes of this recording was starting to drive us crazy.

After the studio gig, I said goodbye to Ian and visited a client/friend nearby who wanted to show me the performance space for an upcoming gig in late February. In this historic Tudor-style house, imagine the Great Hall (pictured below) at night with the chandelier lit and the fireplace roaring, tapas accompanied with white sangria (no red wine allowed here--it stains the floor) and 60 international students and their guests. Of course, the furniture will be rearranged so that we (myself and two dancers) can perform along the back wall in front of the tapestry. Bonus: the hardwood floor is perfect for flamenco. This night is going to be so much fun and of course I will have someone take pictures. Stay tuned!