Just a note as to what's up on this site. It's not being updated that regularly, and I'm not sure if that's going to change anytime soon. Last August I returned to school to finish the degree program I'd started decades ago. I'm now a full-time student at Sonoma State University, studying Music with a focus on Music Education. Just the studying part is a big time commitment as it is, but then add the two to three hours of commuting time every weekday, and I'm not left with a lot of time for things like promoting, or pursuing my own project. I have at least another year and a half to go. 

I like Bandzoogle, and I enjoy having this site, but it's becoming difficult to justify having it when nearly all of the work that I do is as a sideperson. It's possible that I'm just going to drop the site and just post on social media, but for now I'm still here.

I've just added some upcoming shows to my calendar - check them out. I'd particularly like to call attention to the Djavan tribute I'm playing this Saturday with Laj Paiva and Catia Lund at BrasArte (Casa Cultura) in Berkeley - that's going to be a fun one!

Cheers,

John

New track available - "Solstice" - enjoy!

I've added a new track to my site - check out "Gosta De"  - a funky, tropical-ish kinda thing with me on bari and flute, and other stuff.

There's a new track available for free download on my site - put "Quick Dance" on auto-repeat at the gym for extra energy! Visit johnpatrickdouglas.com and check it out! 

Check out Funky In July - a lil' DIY project...

Some of the groups I work with send a "gig worksheet" (a.k.a. "call sheet") out to all band members before each gig. The worksheet will contain all information pertaining to that gig - info such as band member phone numbers, load-in times, dress, backline, venue contact information. I always appreciate it when I have all of this kind of info in one document, particularly if the gig is a wedding or a high-profile venue. Even if it isn't one of those, it's still great to have the data without having to go searching through a bunch of emails.

I've pulled the data fields off of one of these worksheets that I received (there's no info about the actual gig - just the fields that say what info was included on it), and come up with this Gig Worksheet Template. I would encourage any band leaders or managers to use something like this, even if there are fields for info that not all band members need. Using a single document to convey info about gigs can eliminate a lot of confusion, and make gigs easier to play.

Cheers!

A few weeks ago I found an interesting posting on Craigslist, looking for a saxophone, a voiceover artist, a guitarist, and some other types of musicians to record a comparison of different recording mics.

Now, I don't always look for gigs on CL, but you might recall that I answered one some time back that said something to the effect of, "Death Metal band seeks clarinet player for recording session" - obviously, I couldn't pass up something like that, and the result was my participation in A Thousand Dead's excellent "Portals" EP. I'm open to any interesting project that gets me into a recording studio, and this comparison recording session was pretty cool.

The recording was conducted by Matt McGlynn for his RecordingHacks.com website, which is all about recording equipment and techniques. The comparison is here, and their Facebook page is here. Before you go there expecting to hear me play a lot of different things, understand that what I really did was play the first part of the head of "My One And Only Love" about 30 or so times - exactly the same way (or as close to it as I could get). We did two recordings of each mic - one at about 18" from the bell of the horn, and another at about 12" to get the different effects. According to Matt, these are ribbon mics that are in the range starting at around $800.

You're probably going to be most interested in this if you're a recording engineer, or a real audiophile. If either or both of those describes you, then please check out Matt's website.

Cheers,

John 

 

Here are some things I have coming up:

• Tonight I'm playing with Grooveloz  (Fabio Reis, Giuseppe Pinto, Kiko Freitas, Eduardo Amado, and guests) at Revolution Café on 22nd between Mission and Valencia in SF - 9:30 start. Fun mix of American pop, Brazilian music, and whatever else comes up!
• Tomorrow I'm with the California Jazz Conservatory Big Band for a fun, free outdoor concert at 750 Ynez Circle Danville, CA 94526. 6:00pm to 8:00pm.
• I've been playing a lot with Afrolicious (dance, funk, world beat) lately, having just done a great weekend at High Sierra Music Fest in Quincy last weekend. Starting a four-night run with them at Hopmonk in Sebastopol on Thursday, The Chapel on Valencia in SF Friday, Bootleg HiFi in Los Angeles on Saturday, and The Casbah in San Diego on Sunday. Zongo Junction from Brooklyn will join us for those four dates.
• I'll be with the incomparable Donna D'Acuti at Seahorse in Sausalito on Thurs the 24th - 7:30pm
• Again w/Afrolicious at Ashkenaz Berkeley on Friday the 25th
• With James Moseley at 11:00am on Sat the 26th for San Quentin Day of Peace
• With Pulse Brasil on the 26th at Dunmuir Hellman Estate in Oakland for "An Intimate Evening" at 6:00pm
• With The Kelly Park Big Band at The Soundroom in Oakland on Sunday the 27th at 5:00pm
• With The Treble Makers on Wed the 30th for a contra dance (BACDS) at Grace North Church in Berkeley at 7:00pm

Please visit http://www.johnpatrickdouglas.com/calendar for upcoming gigs!

Here's an article on how to get more out of your practice time: lifehacker.com/5939374/a-better-way-to-practice.

I did a little interview with a reporter in Fairfield in preparation for the fundraiser I'll be playing at on October 6th for the Vallejo Downtown Arts Windows project. Here's the story: www.dailyrepublic.com/entertainment/quintet-will-provide-music-for-downtown-art-windows-project-fundraiser/