Elephant in the Room - Saltimbanco Blooper

Expecting the unexpected during a live show is a good rule of thumb. So when you don't expect the thing that you might not be expecting to happen, and an unexpected event unexpectedly occurs, it could show up in the most unexpected way.

Take for example my sometimes-problemactic keyboard setup that I "inherited" upon joining this show which I mention in the previous post. There are intermittent occurrences that I experience on it, i.e. sounds mysteriously being erased; a ton of reverb/echo may all of a sudden appear somewhere; and my favorite one: the wrong sound at the wrong time which is what happened the other day.

In our double-wire act, the music starts with some powerful taiko drums. Then I slowly bring up in volume a drone played with my left hand. Following that, I wait for our horn player, Paul Hanson, to turn on his talk-back microphone and count "1-2-3" as he and I begin the melody together (he plays electronic drum pads in the intro). Lately, Paul's been turning on his mic earlier than normal, and since he's had a cold and the Big Top has been very dusty, he tends to cough, hack and make other non-human-like screeching noises before counting me in which the entire band enjoys. He knows it's gross but it makes us laugh.

So we're playing the melody, I'm changing chords in my left hand when I hear what I think might be Paul coughing up a hair ball in our talk back mic. Our bassist, Marc Soheir and I both look at each other confused, then look back at Paul who is shaking his head as if to say, "Nope! That wasn't me!" Hmmm...then what the hell was that sound?

Then we hear it again and I realize it happened on the same notes I played with my left hand. Was it a scream? Was it some animal noise. I grimaced as I was about to hit the same octave D in my left hand, and sure enough, there is was - the elephant sample from the previous act - the clown act...blasting at FULL VOLUME for everyone to hear. This 3rd time I hit the D and it sounded and I quickly let off the note so it was only half an elephant. I knew it would, but I just had to check again. I'm one of those people that sees a "wet paint" sign as can't resist touching the paint to see if it's still wet. Everyone on stage and backstage had a good laugh.

Check out the clip:

If It Ain't Broke, Break It

Anything out of the ordinary is a welcome thing for me on my current gig. I do 10 three-hour shows every week with one day off. It's the same show over and over again. It's a lot of fun though because we (the band) are constantly entertaining ourselves on stage and the inside jokes never stop.

However, I must be careful of what I wish for, because yesterday, I certainly got it. Our bandleader, Marc Sohier, came up to me an hour and a half before the first of two shows and said, "Armen, we have a problem." See, I was having lunch/dinner with my wife and just relaxing in the dining area. I was planning on finishing our meal, doing a sound check, putting on my makeup, and then starting the show. "They were cleaning the inside of one of your sound modules (Korg Wavestation A/D for those of you keeping score) and the tech removed the battery that keeps all your sounds in memory when the unit is turned off. So all your sounds are gone." Because I "inherited" this keyboard rig and was told that everything was backed up, I never double-checked to see if in fact there was a backup. Apparently, there were two backups made for this unit, but they were no where to be found.

In short, I looked at my wife, smiled, and said, "I've gotta go." I went into the type of calm that I would imagine one experiences as the plane is going to crash into the ground and they quietly accept their own death. I became very focused because I knew that I would probably have to program new sounds for the entire show in a matter of 30 minutes. Usually, you could spend days programming sounds on this unit for a show like this. This is a sound module that I'm not familiar with, but if you've programmed any synthesizers in the last 10 years, it wouldn't be too hard to figure out. It's amazing how quickly you can learn how to program one of these things when you're under the gun.

I did the best I could, made it through the sound check, put on my make up in 20 minutes (usually takes 45-60 min.), the show went on as I continued to tweak sound patches during the show, and I received kudos from the Marc. Whew! Marc came up with a great phrase during one of the shows when things were going haywire, and I'm going to use it right now: This was "too much situation."

Barbatuques Workshop - Sao Paulo, Brazil

The "body percussion" workshop we were invited to yesterday morning was awesome. Fernando Barba, the founder of the group, Barbatuques, was the one that headed the workshop, It was a mix of learning different techniques and rhythms...creating different tones and sounds with different types of claps and slaps, with your hand on your chest, legs, head, across your cheeks, over your lips, and in front of your mouth...stomping your feet. It was very therapeutic and even meditative at time.

We started off learning how to make 3 different tones from clapping: bass claps, mid-pitch claps, and a high-pitch claps. Then we formed circles and created rhythms in groups. About 20 of us from Saltimbanco were there. (click on pics to enlarge)

We can't wait to get in!


Susan (my wife), me, Fernando Barba, Serge Maheux (Saltimbanco's drummer)


At the end of the workshop 10 of Barbatuques members performed for us giving us a little taste of what they are all about and a wonderful memory. It was an incredible experience.

Giving us a performance after the workshop


Video: Barbatuques workshop performance


They'll be coming to the Cirque du Soleil site in a couple weeks and get to try some of the things our acrobats do in the show.

Barbatuques Pizza Party - Sao Paulo, Brazil

About 25-30 of us from Saltimbanco were at a pizza party last night in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was hosted by a "body percussion" ensemble called Barbatuques (BAR-ba-tooks) founded by Fernando Barba. They had planned a workshop for us the next day, and this party was a good way for us to meet and hang out.

We ate wood-fired pizza in the backyard cooked in their homemade igloo-shaped pizza oven. The sweet smell of grilled vegetables, meat and pizza filled the air. There was sugar cane growing in the back yard. Everyone was smiling, laughing, eating, drinking, and after a couple hours, a jam session took place in their cozy kitchen. It was a great evening!

We were all looking forward to the workshop our new friends were going to give us the next day! (click on pics to enlarge)

Katia & Raja


Dimitri Making the pizzas! Yum!!




Carlos showing us his pandeiro technique


Fernando (guitar) and me jammin' in the kitchen




Video: The Kitchen Jam!

Camburi Beach - Brazil

We had a double-dark last week (2 days off) while in Sao Paulo Brazil with Cirque. 8 of us decided to rent 2 cars and take a little road trip about 3 hours north of Sao Paulo in a little beach town called Camburi. There were coconut and banana trees on the beach. It was beautiful! We found quaint little pousada which is where we stayed for 2 nights.

It was so relaxing. We finally had a chance to really chill out, eat some delicious food, drink passion fruit caipirinhas and clear our minds.

Click on the pics to enlarge.
















Panoramic Video - Camburi Beach

Stryper Backstage at Saltimbanco

I had met Kenny Lewis on my myspace.com page and found out that he would be in Sao Paulo Brazil as the front-of-house sound man for the band Stryper. He stopped by our show (Saltimbanco) and brought along a few of the boys in the band:

Guitarist Oz Fox, me, Singer/guitarist Michael Sweet, Kenny Lewis, Michael Sweet, Jr.


It was very cool meeting these guys for the short time they were here.

Sao Paulo - Nutty Law for Father's Day

You're going to love this one. It Sao Paulo, Brazil, there is a law that allows petty criminals to be relased from jail on Father's Day. The day was this past Sunday. They are supposed to turn themselves back in, which most of them do believe it or not. There were only 10% of those who didn't return last year, but those who don't return still wreak havoc according to the people that live here. On Mother's day, they were shooting at police, robbing businesses, etc.

Backstage at the Cirque du Soleil site, there was a warning posted that suggested we don't go out that night and not use public transportation. The people that live here think it's a whacky law, but "it's the Brazilian way" they say.

Below is a post from the U.S. Embassy Website:

_________________________________

Warden Message: August 12-14

U.S. Embassy Brasilia, Brazil

August 09, 2006

This coming weekend, August 12-14, prisoners are expected to be released from jail in observation of Brazilian Father's Day. A similar furlough occurred over Mother’s Day weekend in May resulted in widespread violence throughout the State of São Paulo, disrupting public transportation and physically damaging many banks and businesses. There is no indication at this time that violence of this magnitude will occur again this weekend or, if it does, that it will spread beyond Sao Paulo. The potential for violence does exist, however. We advise American citizens to check news reports and take normal precautions to protect themselves against crime.

For the latest security information, Americans traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Internet web site at http://travel.state.gov/ where the current Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, Travel Warnings and Public Announcements can be found. Up to date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States, or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). American citizens traveling or residing overseas are encouraged to register with the appropriate U.S. Embassy or Consulate on the State Department's travel registration website at https://travelregistration.state.gov/.

In case of an emergency, please contact the Consular Section of the Embassy in Brasilia at Avenida das Nações, Lote 3, telephone 55 (61) 3312-7000, after-hours telephone 55 (61) 3312-7400.

Saltimbanco Premier - Sao Paulo

We had our premier in Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 3, 2006 for Saltimbanco. It was a great opening, considering that we had been off for seven weeks and were working out a bit of the "rust" that developed during our time off.

Here's my makeup station:


Putting on my makeup:


It was great to get back to playing with this amazing group
of musicians!
Left to Right: Benoit Martin, Marc Sohier, Serge Maheux, me,
Paul Hanson


Premier Party photo: me and Ren Jun. She's a 17-yr old double-high-wire artist from China.


My new hat.