And now…
I found David, Jez and Dana in the workshop on the 3rd floor of the Taipei Artists Village on Sunday afternoon, surrounded by some empty stools and a grand piano. Thumper showed up later, but Conor and Slim were out of the country, and Sandman couldn’t make it until later, so it was just us. I had no idea how a music workshop was supposed to work, and I don’t think many people there did either. So we just jammed on some tunes regardless of who was wandering by, and if anyone had any questions we would try to engage them. One family with small children enjoyed playing Thumper’s instruments for one song, and everyone seemed facinated by the washtub bass, which I’d placed on a piece of styrofoam so that it would make some sound on the carpet.
We took a break at one point, as nobody seemed to be coming in, and I started noodling around on the piano. A few minutes later I looked up to see about 30 people seated on the stools, all watching me. Oh shit, I thought; they think I’m actually doing something. I jumped up and went to get David back so we could play something that roughly corresponded to the literature about us spread out on the table by the door.
Eventually we had to stop for real, and took all of our stuff downstairs. I had a pizza at the cafe and waited for the shows to start. The first act was a percussion/digeridoo combo thing, mostly atmospheric music. Then Jez and Dana did a show. Sandman showed up, along with Jojo and Sandy Wee, and we took the stage. It was strange playing without Slim and Conor; the gaps they left were obvious, even though Jez and Dana did a great job helping fill them. It went well, but I was tired afterwards and went straight to bed after getting home afterwards.
I haven’t quite gotten back into the swing of things since I got back from Japan. I went to work this afternoon after over two weeks of time off, and had to resort to coffee to keep awake, though badminton last night perked me up somewhat. Work again tomorrow, and then four days off for the new year’s break. The days have been cloudy and full of rain, the kind of weather that makes staying inside all day an attractive prospect. Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and though I’ve gotten some invitations, I’m not sure if I’ll be doing anything special. I have no clue about 2009. I knew that 2008 would see a lot of new things: The elections of Ma Ying-jeou and Barack Obama, the Olympics in Beijing, finishing (my part in) the film, two trips to Tokyo and Osaka. I won some photography contests and said goodbye to my trusty motorcycle this year. But 2009 is just a blank to me.
How about “world peace” for 2009? 😀
Comment by Daniel — December 31, 2008 @ 6:20 am
keep writing and happy new year!
Comment by v — January 1, 2009 @ 8:07 am