Categories: uncategorized
Date: 10 December 2006 08:55:29
Where to start where to start...?
Part 1: The beginning.
A while ago I was approached by someone at the council to see if we could supply bands for a rocked up Christmas Carol event in the town centre. I was surprised by this because... well, it's an unusual thing to be asked for. A delightful thing to my mind, yet teen rock music is not to everyones taste. Anyhow I said I could get 5 - 12 bands fairly easily from the art centre and we began some gentle planning... Then for the past two months we've been encouraging the kids to write and perform their own tracks to perform and record...
There have been more than a few hiccups. We've been moved a couple of times and ended up, fortunately in the best possible venue (the bandstand in Woking in front of Toys R Us) and there have been all sorts of logistical issues to overcome but all told it ran... well... not smoothly but then again I didn't go overmad through it all.
Then, last week, we did a 7 hour stint in the recording studio at the arts centre (2 hours set up, 3 hours recording, 2 hours set downand mixing) with all of the bands going through on something of a production line playing their songs twice and picking the best take. It wasn't ideal in ways, just the way that time and cookies crumble, and there was a lot of pressure on the kids, guys and gals to perform, and they ALL did brilliantly. Again a couple of road bumps, nothing insurmountable.
Yesterday: Started at 8 getting stuff packed up, 9.30 at the bandstand setting up the equipment, one argument with someone that'll get resolved later, generally things went pretty much to plan. Had to do one mad dash to the centre to get something (a fifteen min drive there and back) and we were up and running about half an hour late...
((part 2 later on, need to get ready for church youth group now.))