Here’s a pic of the new malletech love vibe - it will be available in March 09, but the prototype was at their booth at PASIC. It’s profusely addictive to play! It’s revolutionary (no motor - vibrato is done via a clever contraption on the pedal!) and I need one, thus, the wealthy readers of this most noble blog shall feel indubitably inclined to sponsor me one of these —- gimme money now you tight b*****ds!!!!!!!!!!
My great friend and mallet monster Jeremy Fitzsimons has a new CD out with the music of Gareth Farr!
A MUST-BUY: it’s pure lush and Jeremy is phenomenal (as well as the other musicians on it!)
Composer Rodrigo Sigal pointing out how his piece should sound like (most probably not the way I play it!) We had fun today in Morelia, Mexico, at the Conservatorio de las Rosas (where I did a class the whole afternoon with the most avid and keen young percussionist in the planet). Also met Javier Alvarez, new director of the conservatoire. Hadn’t seen him for 12 years!
With Rodrigo, we did a long session sampling vibes for his upcoming piece for vibes and electronics. Very exciting ideas and looking forward to the ride - the piece will be part of my triple CD (ambitious hey?!) of works for wood + electronics, metal + eletronics, skins + electronics. Apparently it will crack my fingers open, but wouldn’t expect anything else from Rodrigo!
Rodrigo Sigal and Pedro Carneiro
This dood SOOOO kicks my arse - go, Tiago, gooooo!
I’ll have whatever he had for breakfast!
Fellow marimbist Thomas Burritt has written a nice warm-up for marimba, download here and warm away!
Fritz Hauser is coming into town in the next few days. Check out his gig, here. Fritz is a legend and you gotta be dumb not to attend…
In case you really need to send me a late birthday present, here’s a hint 
http://www.marimbas.com/fs.php#used
A vintage Musser Canterbury Marimba 4.3 octaves - it’s got my name written all over it. But I got two marimbas already, can’t afford a third one and got no room for it. One can dream though!
A nice article on marimba, at the nytimes website.
This is a bit of a private joke (you had to be there) that I shared with my good friend in Japan, Kiyoko. We headed for a coffee at Starbucks at Sapporo train station (last month during the tour in Japan) and we ask for a “short latte” and a “tall cappuccino”. There were 3 girls working in there, and of course being Japanese means that, for a westerner they looked like they were 13/14. Once we ordered, they repeated this out loud three times (though they were standing less than a meter to each other). I tried to recreate this moment of hilarity and recorded this myself, but had to do a little pitch shift in order to sound closer to the actual thing. It was phenomenally funny and we laughed for about 20 mins. And we learnt about a new composer called Toru Cappuccino: a japanese/italian avant-garde composer, for sure!
greetings from melbourne airport! details of tour later on, as well as some photos! getting ready for melbourne / singapore / london / madrid, where I shall arrive fresh and ready for a recording! more soon!
Vibes, marimba and coffee: what else does one need in a dressing room!?
I had forgotten about this concert (where I ran into a glass door afterwards and ended up in hospital with a very damaged nose - how can you forget a concert like that!), but my good friend Ivan Franco uploaded some footage onto youtube. Includes his midi-stick maneuvers!
And I love the acoustics of this church: I have a CD of marimba and live sampling with Vítor Joaquim planned there. About 7 seconds of reverb, but some of the most beautifully liquid reverbs you will hear: Igreja de Santigo, Castelo de Palmela.
Please check it out and watch the video - well worth watching to the very end!
I am now back from Japan, it was a great tour and had a great time hanging with the greatest friends Kiyoko, Mariko and Chieko. Made a lot of noise in several different places, teaching, playing, conducting, etc.
Also met a cool guy and top notch marimbist: Kunihiko Komori and we had the fastest meeting ever (I had just arrived from a meeting with some old chums of Takemitsu, very enlightening: and was late for a rehearsal already!) and managed to squeeze 3 hours of conversation into 30 minutes, whilst eating miso ra-men. Marimba talk and delicious food hey? - heaven for me. Here’s a pic from our meeting.
Meanwhile I am back from Porto, where my concert with the national orchestra was cancelled due to the unexpected death of a musician of the orchestra - very sad news indeed. Concert is postponed for late November this year, same concerto and indeed the mother of all marimba concerti: Alejandro Viñao’s ferocious Marimba Concerto, from 1993.
I am off in a few days, to Australia and New Zealand for a couple of weeks (concerti, recitals, chamber, teaching), so I hope to come back and drop a line or two soon…
Love this old style playing. Clarity, musicianship and elan - Great solo!
My friends at gepsoft, a company headed by Portuguese brain power but based in Bristol, UK, have just released a new version of their exciting software - click below for more information:
This and the Kilpatrick video make me weep!
Click here to view my squad http://www.fotolog.com/hellisk
The master of all masters of all master of all masters: click below for an utter dribble….
Since the callus competition has been such a success (not!), I post the first one - who’s next?!
Has they got bones, or is they made of plutonium?In case you are a drummer, percussionist, speed freak, or… please click here for tear relief
Marimba vintage, of the highest order, served with style, mood, plight, temper, eloquence, demeaneor, savoir faire and gentility. And yes, the bass player is on acid
Its true. Marimba is an alcoholic beverage of the worst kind. Please click here to see this video. The effect of the marimba is a dangerous one: people in the vicinity become dizzy and feeling an urgency to perform a silly dance. It happens to me when I play to much complex music in the season……
Now… these guys deserve a t-shirt!!!! I am gonna make sure I get some S sized t-shirts made as well, and get these kids address! Go wonder why the Japanese are such natural marimbists? Here is the living proof:
Click here to watch the marimba ponies videos!
Absolutely top notch — and the cymbal player is fantastic!
I did NOT know this existed: WORLDS FASTEST DRUMMER (WFD): how ignorant can one be!
Forget about the NBA, MBL, NHL or whatever: this is the real deal. And of capital importance to musical aesthetics, development of human soul and generally saving the planet. And please do not, above all, do not confuse the real WFD with other WFD’s of minor importance, such as: World Development Federation, World Dart Federation, Windows Drive Foundation, eteceteraaaaaa…
AND I learnt all about Art Verdi (perhaps related to the composer), who was the first person in history to break 1,100 strokes in 60 seconds — but, did he use four mallets???? AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Can I apply for this WFD with four mallets???? Cause I can do a mean set of double lateral rolls (12 43 12 43, etc, quite a lot…) and reckon I can poop all over that world record!!
Get all set and ready to check out Art’s triplets!
After years of thinking I had the biggest marimba around, I realised in ain’t true…. planet marimba are making the largest contrabass marimba around. Just check the photo below — mighty and impressive. I need one of these… actually, make it a dozen!
Marimba players worldwide, unite! I am going to host, from today onwards a competition for the biggest & most impressive marimba calluses –> with no discrimination whatsoever: all calluses accepted (marimba calluses, not others!) be it traditional, musser, burton, stevens or your grip! These will all be posted on this blog and the 1st prize is: well, the prize is… I’ll think of somethin’…!!!
My brand new t-shirt has been designed and is soon to be printed and ready to go. Only for friends and people suffering of AMD (acute marimba disorder) and/or RFMD (repetitive four mallet disfunction). Logo is below and yes, it is true, you can’t buy it — you have to earn the right to wear it (i.e. you are a family member and feel obliged to wear it, or you’re just plain marimba sick…and there are quite a few of us around…):
