Welcome to one of the most active flamenco sites on the Internet. Guests can read most posts but if you want to participate click here to register.
This site is dedicated to the memory of Paco de Lucía, Ron Mitchell, Guy Williams, Linda Elvira, Philip John Lee, Craig Eros, Ben Woods, David Serva and Tom Blackshear who went ahead of us.
We receive 12,200 visitors a month from 200 countries and 1.7 million page impressions a year. To advertise on this site please contact us.
|
|
|
A little slow around here?
|
You are logged in as Guest
|
|
Users viewing this topic: none
|
|
Login  | |
|
   
Miguel de Maria
Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ
|
 A little slow around here?
|
|
|
I didn´t want to say anything but there is a bit of scarcity of posts around here, don´t you all think? I´m quite addicted to flamenco, so I love to tune in to flamenco info, debate, etc. I decided to take another look at the FT site, and found the ambiance not to my taste, particularly because of glimpsing a few familar names we thankfully don´t have here. And then look at this!
¨Dudes and dudettes. Everybody chill. We all love Flamenco and are passionate about it, hence the flare ups. There's no reason to get all up in arms about anything here. Enjoy it for what it is (without a debate over "what it is" ;-) ). Just be glad there's a place to share your passion with other like-minded folks (regardless of small discrepancies in opinion).
I've stayed off of all the boards over the years, never once joining or voicing my existance. When this one came back up, for whatever reason I decided to stop lurking. I think I'll go back to it because people are just having too much difficulty with keeping differences of opinion getting out of hand. I don't want to get in on that action.
Bye for now.¨
Same old FT, huh? Well I can´t see myself going back, but in my opinion we need to get this board going, it´s kind of stifled. I love the guys here on FF, but we need you all to speak up! What´s going on in your flamenco life?
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Jul. 26 2003 12:52:46
 |
|
Thomas Whiteley
Posts: 786
Joined: Jul. 8 2003
From: San Francisco Bay Area
|
|
RE: A little slow around here? (in reply to Miguel de Maria)
|
|
|
Michael;
I saw the post you referred to on the FT. Then for kicks I went to the Hangover Forum and dug out Dimitris post of 6-16 to us and made a copy. Today I cannot access the Hangover Forum. Such is life. Well, things have changed on the FT as they have gone from almost 200 posts a day to a hand full. The content on the FT seems different but what does not change with time?
As for this forum there is a bit going on. Quality is better than quantity. I would not judge this forum or any other from the number of posts. There are some activities going on such as the group Tango, Patrick and I will be putting together a document to help explain different ways to record audio using a computer, people upload audio examples and receive comments, and there seems to be a good attitude expressed by everyone here.
Remember this is still a new forum and we are still getting things together. The best way to get something going is to ask questions or even give opinions.
I use flamenco as a means of stress relief. After working as a programmer at NUMMI in Fremont, California (Toyota and General Motors) I need some way to relax and flamenco sure helps me! We have lots of stress at work. An example of this is that 3 people died from heart attacks in April, two more had heart attacks but survived, and none had a history of heart trouble. If our production line stops it costs $36,000 a minute. My group writes the computer programs that run the production line. Our plant is 6 million square feet, three stories and has 5500 workers. Our electric bill for January was $1.5 million.
I mention these things because I live with it everyday. At age 61 I am so tired of the rat race. I have worked as an electronics engineer and programmer. Technology is a god that will drain your soul if you let it. Living in Silicon Valley (the land of GREED) can be very stressful.
So, what do I do to relax? Model trains, read, photography, flamenco and many other things. At present I am working a lot with my computer recording using my new Digital Audio Workstation (fancy word for computer), Buleria Handbook, and a few other projects – all of which use a computer! Man – I cannot get away from this stuff!
One more thing I am doing is trying to improve the audio quality of some recordings from Diego del Gastor that someone made many years ago. This is very interesting and if I can improve the audio quality that would be great for the person who owns the tapes.
_____________________________
Tom
http://home.comcast.net/~flamencoguitar/flamenco.html
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Jul. 26 2003 14:24:41
|
|
Merle
Posts: 218
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
|
|
RE: A little slow around here? (in reply to Miguel de Maria)
|
|
|
Maestro Michael, how's the lessons in Spain coming? You gonna be a verfied flamenco when you come back!
I've been busy trying to complete a practice CD for family and friends, and have not posted much lately. Anyway, as a beginner, I can't really offer anyone any meaningful advice/tips.
But, your post about your left hand got me to thinking about mine. So, I put on Oscar Herrero's 3rd video and watched all of his left hand practice examples. I have started to incorporated a new left hand technique each day during my daily technique practice, and I already see considerable difference!! The finger streaching exercises are great, and the ligado exercises are a bitch on your left hand, but, already I can tell the defference in volume and sound when I play a tarantos that uses lots of ligado.
Herrero teaches several good left hand practice techniques, and if you don't have this vedio, try to get it. It is well worth it, IMO.
In the next few coming weeks, I'm going to watch the 1st and 2nd vedio and pick up new practice techniques, and review what I have already learned to make sure that I'm playing correctly. Every time I watch these vedios, I alway come away with something new, or something that I missed or overlooked.
Anyway, come home safe, marry that wonderful girl of yours, send me any babies that you two may not want, and get out and show Arizona some real flamenco!! ;>)
Merle
_____________________________
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Jul. 26 2003 16:30:08
|
|
Miguel de Maria
Posts: 3532
Joined: Oct. 20 2003
From: Phoenix, AZ
|
|
RE: A little slow around here? (in reply to Miguel de Maria)
|
|
|
Wow, I go to Marchena for half a day and get back and there´s a monton of posts! Great! I don´t mind paying an extra .60€ to read them all, either.
Last night some friends and I took the 7 oclock to Marchena, which is maybe 30 min. away from Sevilla, to see the 13th annual Festival de la Guitarra, which this year is an homage to Pepe de Marchena (whoever that is). The bus ride took us an hour and a half, as we were taking the scenic route and got to see lots of nice Spanish tenements and run down factories.
Now Marchena is a lovely little town! Imagine barrio Santa Cruz, but cleaner and without tourists. We roved around for an hour looking for a place to eat, until finally someone led us to the back of this splendid, turn of the century hotel to a charming little bar, filled with people in suits and celebrating a wedding. It was amazing how nice the people who worked there were to us, giving food recommendations and putting on Jose Merce for us. I didn´t know what to make of it until I realize that in Marchena they must not get very many tourists, and so they were genuinely curious about us. Every guy who worked there must have asked us how we liked our food. Anyone who has ever been to Spain must know that the service there must be among the worst in the world. But these guys were really nice to us!
Then we walked to the festival, up some old cobbled stairs through the Arco de las Rosas, through an old Moorish wall some fifty feet high, into an elevated part of the town. There was a plaza, with a beautiful iglesia with a high belltower, with the stage set up right in front of the door. Rows and rows of wooden seats and some guys drilling holes into the side of the church in order to hang up a tapestry completed the scene.
We ran into Miguel Angel Cortes, one of my teachers at the school, and he informed us the festival would last to 3 or 4 in the morning at least!
Enrique de Melchor and Jose Menese were the headliners, but Enrique was a no-show. As a result, Jose Postigo, who also teaches at my school, did the opening guitar solo, a marvel of heavy handed picado and machine like alzapua por solea. Postigo must be a local boy, because all the old timers were shouting his name and giving him lots of jaleo.
Then there was an interminable period dominated by what must have been home town musicians, amateurs. I won´t mentar nombres but this was some of the worst flamenco I have ever seen, a gentleman who had not evolved past Ramon Montoya and who could´t play a single compas without flubbing a note or two, a bunch of amateur singers who screamed loud and who would only sing libre (presumably because they were unable to sing in compas?).
Then some woman named Merchora something came up with Postigo, just fabulous. These performers do this trick that I love. They are singing and then they leave the mic and just do it acoustic. Immediatedly the whole plaza goes completely quiet, the guitarist has to back off of the mic real fast, and then the singer does a copla without amplification. It´s quite impressive and always an emotional moment.
Then Jose Menese came on with Jose Postigo. Menese has a funny mannerism in that when he gets really into it, he reaches out and grabs the guitarist. I saw him do that to my teacher Eduardo Rebollar, who was surprised and everyone on stage was smiling. Last night, he didn´t grab Postigo very hard but just laid his hand on his leg sometimes.
After Menese was a gentleman named Arcangel, who is young and charismatic and can really, really sing. If you like cante I would humbly suggest getting this young man´s CD, for he has a great voice and personality. The ladies in our group fell in love with him! I did too! He was accompanied by Miguel Cortes, one of my teachers, who played well, in the only modern style at the whole festival. However, his playing lacked rhythmic drive and a lot of his falsetas kind of sucked. Still, a good performance because of the singer.
We waited for the bus and it came at 6 am more or less on the dot. My old, nasty bed with the springs poking my back never felt so good! (except when I got home from the other festival two weeks ago!)
|
|
|
|
REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date Jul. 27 2003 12:55:39
|
|
 New Messages |
 No New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/ New Messages |
 Hot Topic w/o New Messages |
 Locked w/ New Messages |
 Locked w/o New Messages |
|
Post New Thread
Reply to Message
Post New Poll
Submit Vote
Delete My Own Post
Delete My Own Thread
Rate Posts
|
|
|
Forum Software powered by ASP Playground Advanced Edition 2.0.5
Copyright © 2000 - 2003 ASPPlayground.NET |
0.0625 secs.
|
Printable Version
