Different Skies: Day 3
We did the TV show today – the Behringer mixer we tried out last night was actually broken, which we figured out 45 seconds before airtime (ack!). We ended up soloing all the channels, which got us a mono mix good enough to allow us to perform.
Worse: the mixer, once we got it set up, started making little ‘fzt…ftzt…crackle” noises while the previous interview was going (our gear was set up off on the side). Mike had to crawl under the table and try to unplug the speakers. Problem was, he unplugged the audio, not the power, so the speakers immediately began going “HNNNNNNNNN” at full volume. He had to grab the cones to silence the speakers … and unplug the power with his teeth, while lying underneath the table in a tangle of audio and power cables. The wonders of live TV.
The actual performance itself went perfectly well, not a problem at all with the actual music itself. Oh yes: and this was my first ever live performance. Woo hoo!
Back at Arcosanti, we went through a lot of the candidate pieces today, and most of them worked really well. We timed out to about an hour and 15 minutes already; it’ll be interesting to see how it all works out in the end. I’ve volunteered for quite a number of the pieces, playing everything from vibes to Java-generated algorithmic noise, and a surprising amount of percussion, both electronic and real live dumbek. I should invest in a decent microphone for next year (and for my own performances) so I can play the drum along with my own stuff.
