Yesterday was one of the most musical packed days I've had in a long time. It began at the Sync Up conference presented by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation which is a program created for the Louisiana entertainment industry. I came across this conference on April 22 when I was browsing the internet trying to find more information about the music used in the new HBO series Treme. When I found information about the conference, it said they were bringing "top leaders of the international music festival industry and key figures in the world of film, television, videogames and other media", they didn't realize that those "top leaders" just so happened to be ALL my idols. The key leaders: David Simon (creator of Treme), Blake Leyh (music supervisor for Treme), Kevin Griffin (lead singer of Better Than Ezra), John Comerford (producer of "Icons Among Us: jazz in present tense) and the man who exemplifies everything I want to be....Gary Calamar, music supervisor for True Blood, Six Feet Under, Weeds, House, Dexter, etc. Music supervision is my ideal job, and when the description for the conference was finding or making the right music for film and TV is an abstract art with real-world changes - tight budgets, tighter deadlines and the daunting task fo making images sing with emotion, I knew I had to go. So I went, and I don't think I've ever focused so intently on anything in my entire life. Every word that came out of Gary Calamar's mouth is permanently imprinted in my brain. This man is who I strive to be, just listen to him talk:
Anyways, Gary Calamar was just one of the people in the music supervision field that I had a chance to talk with. But post-conference, I went into the bathroom of the New Orleans Museum of Art, changed into my bathing suit, shorts, and rain boots and went on my way over to JAZZ FEST! This was one of the first festivals I wasn't working at so I finally got to just sit back and enjoy the music. And at any music festival, there are always those new band discoveries that catch your ear as you walk by a tent and yesterday that band was Bill Summers and Jazalsa. They were so animated on stage playing and dancing. It was a fun show to watch. Here's a little bit of what they're like but it does them no justice After Jazalsa, I worked my way to catch a bit of The Meters, but left after only a few songs to reserve a front row center spot to see My Morning Jacket. Now, I've seen a lot of shows and heard all types of set lists for bands I enjoy, but no set list was better than MMJ. The first few songs in order were: "One Big Holiday", "Gideon", "Off The Record", and then "I'm Amazed". It was just hit after hit. Then the Preservation Hall Jazz Band came on and jammed with MMJ for the last few songs. It was a dream come true to witness this. But Jazz Fest came to an end, we walked the long way back to our car, headed back to campus, and just before I was about to call it quits for the night, I decide to see one more thing.
My high school buddy Peter goes to Tulane and we both like to share our different New Orleans experiences. He takes me out with his Tulane friends to Tulane festivities, etc. and I take him out with my Loyola friends to see Loyola festivities. So last night, I decide to take Peter out to see some of the local New Orleans instrumental scene. I am a "music before lyrics" person, without a doubt, and have always enjoyed instrumental songs over songs with lyrics. So when I came to New Orleans and heard about their instrumental music scene, I had to check it out. I had never seen anything like it before. It's like the instruments are all speaking at once, yet it's not "just noise", it's brilliantly orchestrated music that intertwines. One of my favorite Loyola bands is High in One Eye (also favorite band name), so last night I took Peter to see them. At first I was worried he wouldn't understand it and not like it, but fortunately I was wrong. He couldn't believe that this music is out there. We got to the show just in time to see a bit of the other band Rabbit who I really really enjoyed and I will definitely make an effort to see them again. I love hearing new local music and the local New Orleans scene is just substantially more talented than any other local scene I've had the pleasure of watching. High in One Eye came on, and as always, played faster and louder than any band I've ever seen. Here's one of my favorites from them:Overall, yesterday was a pleasant day. Got to see my idol, not a drop of rain fell on my head while at Jazz fest, got front row spots to see MMJ and supported some of my favorite local bands.
