Shows and Such
Here are some shots from some of the playing I've been doing. (I don't have photos of every show.)
(click on photos to make larger)
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Tambor Concorda -Teatro XVIII
This show was all drumming (African and Brazilian) with some singing/chanting. I was one of a few featured "guest artists". I was honored to have been invited to play the entire show, while the other guests played a couple songs. :-) It was a very fun and creative show - only a rough skeleton of a format, with everything else completely improvised by all the performers. I'd never seen their show and had NO idea what it was about. I did a sound check with the band right before the show, then when we were done I asked the leader, Anderson, what songs they would be playing, and I admitted that I really had no idea what their repertoire was. He just chuckled and said confidently, "I don't know either - just play what you feel when you feel it". I thought my limited Portuguese caused me to misunderstand. Is he kidding? What the hell is he talking about?! So I asked for clarification and got a similar answer (again with a playful chuckle). So, I just did what I normally do when I don't understand the Portuguese - just wait and see what happens. Well I quickly realized within the first song that he wasn't kidding, and I did, in fact, understand correctly. This was a show of improvised rhtyhms! There was no preset repertoire - WE created the repertoire on the fly! What a crazy ride - super exciting and way hip!!!
This show was all drumming (African and Brazilian) with some singing/chanting. I was one of a few featured "guest artists". I was honored to have been invited to play the entire show, while the other guests played a couple songs. :-) It was a very fun and creative show - only a rough skeleton of a format, with everything else completely improvised by all the performers. I'd never seen their show and had NO idea what it was about. I did a sound check with the band right before the show, then when we were done I asked the leader, Anderson, what songs they would be playing, and I admitted that I really had no idea what their repertoire was. He just chuckled and said confidently, "I don't know either - just play what you feel when you feel it". I thought my limited Portuguese caused me to misunderstand. Is he kidding? What the hell is he talking about?! So I asked for clarification and got a similar answer (again with a playful chuckle). So, I just did what I normally do when I don't understand the Portuguese - just wait and see what happens. Well I quickly realized within the first song that he wasn't kidding, and I did, in fact, understand correctly. This was a show of improvised rhtyhms! There was no preset repertoire - WE created the repertoire on the fly! What a crazy ride - super exciting and way hip!!!
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Marcia Short - Itaparica
This was in a huge outdoor plaza (for a few thousand people) on the nearby island of Itaparica. The singer, Marcia Short, is very popular in Bahia. I sat in on percussion for a song during this concert, playing alongside the two percussionists and drummer in this 9-pc band (right photo: I'm the short gringo in back). A variety of popular samba, reggae, pop and samba-reggae. Great band!! Right in the middle of the song, Marcia turned around and took a picture of me playing with her band. Hilarious! (I was honored.)
This was in a huge outdoor plaza (for a few thousand people) on the nearby island of Itaparica. The singer, Marcia Short, is very popular in Bahia. I sat in on percussion for a song during this concert, playing alongside the two percussionists and drummer in this 9-pc band (right photo: I'm the short gringo in back). A variety of popular samba, reggae, pop and samba-reggae. Great band!! Right in the middle of the song, Marcia turned around and took a picture of me playing with her band. Hilarious! (I was honored.)
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Xequerê and his Berimbau Orchestra
A friend of a friend has an orchestra of only berimbaus and voice. Wow! Incredibly unique and very creative! Berimbau is the dominant and always-present instrument used in capoeira. (It is the thing in the photo that looks like a broomstick with a ball attatched.) The stick is a very specific Brazilian wood, biriba, and the ball is a gourd - for resonation. (Read more about berimbau.) The orchestra actually tunes each berimbau to different, specific pitches so that they can collectively play melodies and chords. It's like a bell orchestra, but with berimbaus. (Berimbaus usually have somewhat random pitches, and do not play chords or melodies.) I sat in on a rehearsal, and we will hopefully be doing a show sometime together, with added steel drum. I hope it happens. It would be super fun to be involved with such an interesting and unique ensemble - unlike anything I've ever done!
A friend of a friend has an orchestra of only berimbaus and voice. Wow! Incredibly unique and very creative! Berimbau is the dominant and always-present instrument used in capoeira. (It is the thing in the photo that looks like a broomstick with a ball attatched.) The stick is a very specific Brazilian wood, biriba, and the ball is a gourd - for resonation. (Read more about berimbau.) The orchestra actually tunes each berimbau to different, specific pitches so that they can collectively play melodies and chords. It's like a bell orchestra, but with berimbaus. (Berimbaus usually have somewhat random pitches, and do not play chords or melodies.) I sat in on a rehearsal, and we will hopefully be doing a show sometime together, with added steel drum. I hope it happens. It would be super fun to be involved with such an interesting and unique ensemble - unlike anything I've ever done!
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Magary
Magary is currently one of the top singers and songwriters in the state of Bahia. He plays samba, reggae, pop, salsa. He heard about me and invited me to his rehearsal studio for a meet. He sent a driver to pick me up. Fortunately I happened to have heard some of his music around town prior to our meet. (A lot of bands in town cover his hits.) So he and his producer seemed impressed when the gringo from abroad busted out one of his tunes on the pan. He even took out his cell phone and video'd me playing his song. After our jam at the studio, he insisted I go with him and his friends back to his house because he wanted me to play for his music director who was going to meet us there in order to hear this weird, metal drum thing. We all hung out for awhile, then got the call from the MD that he was delayed and couldn't make it (true Brazilian fashion). Anyway, Magary invited me to play with him in at his show at a music club that weekend. (Though he plays on stages for up to 30,000 people, he also plays small venues around town, too.) Great band and a lot of fun!! He brought me up on stage to play a couple tunes with him, but we were all having such a blast, he kept me on stage for the duration of the show (another 45 minutes). Then he did his "showbiz exit" off the stage, and I closed the show with his band. I never did any rehearsals with him or his band, so I just played it all by ear (literally). I love the challenge! There's talk of doing more with him. We'll see?
Magary is currently one of the top singers and songwriters in the state of Bahia. He plays samba, reggae, pop, salsa. He heard about me and invited me to his rehearsal studio for a meet. He sent a driver to pick me up. Fortunately I happened to have heard some of his music around town prior to our meet. (A lot of bands in town cover his hits.) So he and his producer seemed impressed when the gringo from abroad busted out one of his tunes on the pan. He even took out his cell phone and video'd me playing his song. After our jam at the studio, he insisted I go with him and his friends back to his house because he wanted me to play for his music director who was going to meet us there in order to hear this weird, metal drum thing. We all hung out for awhile, then got the call from the MD that he was delayed and couldn't make it (true Brazilian fashion). Anyway, Magary invited me to play with him in at his show at a music club that weekend. (Though he plays on stages for up to 30,000 people, he also plays small venues around town, too.) Great band and a lot of fun!! He brought me up on stage to play a couple tunes with him, but we were all having such a blast, he kept me on stage for the duration of the show (another 45 minutes). Then he did his "showbiz exit" off the stage, and I closed the show with his band. I never did any rehearsals with him or his band, so I just played it all by ear (literally). I love the challenge! There's talk of doing more with him. We'll see?
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Renan Ribeiro
Renen is another well-known singer and songwriter in Bahia. In fact, he has written songs for Carlinhos Brown and Daniela Mercury. This was a very popular music club, São Jorge, and I was invited to sit-in on a couple tunes with this rockin' 8-pc band. What a blast!! In fact, the guitarist in this band also plays with Magary (above), and he's the one that told Magary about me. Cool, eh!
Renen is another well-known singer and songwriter in Bahia. In fact, he has written songs for Carlinhos Brown and Daniela Mercury. This was a very popular music club, São Jorge, and I was invited to sit-in on a couple tunes with this rockin' 8-pc band. What a blast!! In fact, the guitarist in this band also plays with Magary (above), and he's the one that told Magary about me. Cool, eh!
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Tambor ConcordaWe had so much fun at the first show, they invited me back to do another show with them! Another great time! And because the show is almost completely improvised, it was a totally different show this time. I think I'll be doing their remaining 1 or 2 shows booked at that theater, too. BTW - At this very moment, while editing this page, I just saw yesterday's newspaper which has the entire front page of the entertainment section devoted to this band and their unique music project. Half of the page is a photo of us on stage (I drew a little yellow arrow so you could find me), and the other half of the page is the story that talks about the band leader and his musical vision. Hey, I got a mention, "... with Frank Fakinos, and his incredible steel drum". Super cool, man!!
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Banda Açucar This was a high energy, 8-pc Salsa band! Super fun!! I particularly dug all the percussion (4 percussionists)! Another night of winging it. I played the entire show with them at this outdoor music cafe at one of the most popular praças (plazas) in Pelourinho (the music hub of Salvador). Their tunes were very tricky - not your normal 2-chord salsa tunes. So I did what any musician who is in-over-his-head should do... "When in doubt, drop out". So when the music got way to intricate to figure out or even try to fake it, I just stopped playing, jumped around, smiled and waited for a comfortable entrance. We all had a lot of fun. I loved the energy of these groovy, enthusiastic players!! |
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Jorge Farofa
This show was at one of many outdoor music venues around Pelourinho. I squeezed off a photo before I was called up to the stage (you can see my pan on the right). The band played a few tunes, then brought me up to play the remaining 2 hours of the show. The guys in this 8-pc samba band are all seasoned pros and had such a great groove!! This was legit samba, man! As usual, I didn't know most of the songs, though, so I just played by ear. But I knew it was going to be a fun night when, during sound check, the bass player was busting out some Jean Luc Ponty! I'm really having a lot of fun doing these kinds of gigs with all these great local players! |
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Museo de Arte Moderno da Bahia
I was invited to play this show at a very hip, seaside, outdoor venue (an old, historic, group of buildings) that is now the Museum of Modern Art of Bahia. Around 1,200 very enthusiastic spectators in attendance. Jazz and Samba - another fun night of music improvisation. There is a "house band", and during the course of the night they bring up various special guest musicians to join the band for a song. I was honored to play the whole last hour of the show with the house band. (They tried to kick me off, but I just wouldn't leave! Haha!) Very groovy, super creative, passionate players. A lot of fun!! Oh, and dig the JumboTron in the upper left corner of the left photo! It's got a close up of my pan. (OK, so it's more like a MiniTron, but still very exciting none the less!!) I've been invited to be a part of the band for some future shows, and I look forward to joining them again!
I was invited to play this show at a very hip, seaside, outdoor venue (an old, historic, group of buildings) that is now the Museum of Modern Art of Bahia. Around 1,200 very enthusiastic spectators in attendance. Jazz and Samba - another fun night of music improvisation. There is a "house band", and during the course of the night they bring up various special guest musicians to join the band for a song. I was honored to play the whole last hour of the show with the house band. (They tried to kick me off, but I just wouldn't leave! Haha!) Very groovy, super creative, passionate players. A lot of fun!! Oh, and dig the JumboTron in the upper left corner of the left photo! It's got a close up of my pan. (OK, so it's more like a MiniTron, but still very exciting none the less!!) I've been invited to be a part of the band for some future shows, and I look forward to joining them again!
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