Thank you!

Thanks everyone for a great rehearsal yesterday! It really glued together, and I hope we can continue this way because it sounded great! I really felt the groove as it should be. Don't know why though, we had some new people on different instruments, and we also had 3 fantastic caixas that really put the groove down well. Fantastic.

Thanks to Denis and Will for purchasing authentic caixas, it makes a big difference in the sound!
Also thanks to Cedric and Fernando for helping out with singing the song! And to Melanie for helping out with the sound system!

Tonight's rehearsal

Hi all, we've got a jam-packed rehearsal tonight, it's going to be great. What I'd like to do tonight:

• revision of Funk (including beautyful agogo line)
• revision paradinhas
• revision samba-reggae / Olodum
• a song!!!! Includes one break we need to practice, and I'd like to work on tamborim lines, and some well-timed shaker lines. Also for all to get experience to play together with cavaquinho
• if we have time: another song: samba-reggae!
  

I'll also have a sign-in list for the upcoming Olodum workshops for you.

See you tonight - and please be on time as we've got a lot to do.

To our smokers...

This post is specifically for the smokers in the samba school.

A dutch insurer is now offering a special 'attractive' insurance to heavy smokers. Eligible smokers need to do a urine test to confirm they have smoked at least 5 cigarettes per day for at least 5 years. I won't translate all the details, but of course this insurance is based on the significantly reduced life expectancy.

I'm sure the few smokers in our samba school already get sick of me encouraging them to stop. However, articles like the above again make it painfully clear how bad this habit is.

I hereby offer all current smokers in the samba school 6 months of free classes if they decide to stop before the end of March and keep it up.

Olodum workshops

Here are the details for the Olodum workshops on Sunday 16 March. There's two workshops:

• Intermediate: 10.30am - 12.30pm
• Advanced: 1pm - 3pm

Both workshops are $40 (each).

I suggest we all book together - let me know which workshop(s) you want to attend and I'll book us in.

Thanks for your greetings

Lynne kindly dropped in a lovely birthday card for me that everyone had signed last Thursday night. Thanks so much! I am really touched. So far, I haven't had a lot of time to brood over my advanced great old age, because I've been having too much fun. :)

See you next Thursday, and thanks again.

Patty

Thursday Night Pictures

Folk here are some pictures and video snippets of last Thursday practice, because I though we always have pictures of our gigs but we never capture what we do for the bulk of the time.

Link to pcassa web pictures for you http://picasaweb.google.com/BlizWizz/2008TypicalSambaPracticeNight

International Women's Day - Time to haul out the Pink&Greens?

Hi all!
I just wish to flag with you the date of March 8, International Women's Day, also known as Paul's birthday, and a probable gig. It's a Logan one (I'm almost waiting for the groans) and location is the Logan Women's Health and Wellbeing Centre - there is a celebration there, which will be a bit of an opening for them as well, as they have just moved location. Not sure what it will be yet, but those who have heard about our playing there have shown excitement at the prospect. Maybe a workshop as well as performance, but not drawn out or anything. Should be easy, relaxed and fun.

There will be other stuff going on as well throughout the day (10-2 I think), like bellydancing, yoga I think, martial arts, health presentations, secret women's business (just joking, all are welcome). At the beginning I am told there will be a smoking ceremony (I will be in my prime) to ward off evil spirits (uh oh), so those who are into the more mystical and ethereal you might want to get there when it kicks off (10am I think). I would love for you to be there if you can, as I think it would be nice to have a first gig for the year such as this where we can just do our thang. Will be a performance and maybe a workshop. Give or take.

And especially if Paul can make it, we should have birthday celebrations too! Just want to see if people can make it. Happy to organise something.

More "Uncharted"

Another song on video - enjoy!

move!

Ok, so they didn't actually use the beam, and I never managed to get that 2nd Surdo through customs. And that after it took a substantial amount of time to convince the airline that the surdo really was my handbag. Oh well, we did get everything else, and we managed to block the road for large parts of the day!

Where is Marcel now? Here is Marcel now!

Sure, it took a while, but this is where Dionne and I are now. The house in the middle, second floor from the top. Right on the Amstel river. Yes, that is Amstel as in Amsterdam, and Amstel beer, but no, that doesn't mean you can drink the river water. As a matter of fact, I'd advise against swimming in it too, unless you're a British tourist of course. In which case I say be my guest, mate!

Of course you're all very welcome to come and stay, although I'd have to warn you that the size on the picture is very close to the actual size...

Marcel
ps: jees, are you lot boooring. Thank god for shakerdiva or all of the postings would be boring stuff here!

Message from Celia of Vulcana

Hi All,
Now that the year is well under way again and we have all had time to digest what is was that we all got up to so successfully for a considerable part of lives in 2007 I’d love to invite you all to a Sunday afternoon gathering to recall our triumphs and to share thoughts on the process of making Uncharted. We’d love to hear your feedback on the whole event and to catch up on what you’ve all been up to.
I’m suggesting Sunday 17 Feb at 2pm. If you bring a small plate to share, we’ll provide beverages and picnic rugs and we could meet on the lawn directly opposite the Studio rehearsal room. I’ll make sure we have a rain plan in place!
We don’t have the final edit of the DVD but editing is underway, but I will be able to give you all copies of photos of the show.
Let me know if you can come and I look forward to seeing you all.
Cheers
Celia

Not Brazil, but Bulerias

Here is some amazing talent - if we could only play with as much passion as she dances with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7oAqvYTww4&NR=1

Agogo workshop

Primavera Pegs

How do you like my new clothes pegs? I saw them at Big W and decided I definitely needed more pegs. :)

Da DAAAA! Rio Carnaval results for 2008

Champions: Beija-Flor - 399.3 pts
2nd Salgueiro 398 pts
3rd Grande Rio 396.9 pts
4th Portela 396.8 pts
5th Unidos da Tijuca 396.5 pts
6th Imperatriz 396.5 pts
7th Viradouro 396 pts
8th Mocidade 395.1 pts
9th Vila Isabel 394.6 pts
10th Mangueira 393.9 pts
11th Porto da Pedra 388.2 pts
12th Sao Clemente 387.5 pts

Documentary on Samba tonight

There's a documentary on at SBS tonight 10pm:

Samba! follows the six month build up to Rio's famous carnival. Beneath the light and glitter, a battle is underway between the carnival's aging founders and the new businessmen with different interest that now run it. Is carnival nowadays still a pure celebration of popular art, or has it become big business and a tough competition? Who really owns the biggest party on earth?

Olodum's Afro-Brazilian workshop March 15th&16th

Stay tune for Olodum's workshops on March 15th & 16th. Elliott Orr will confirm venue and time later. I'll keep you all posted.

" Inner Cow " released

Thank you Remko for listening and responding to our comments earlier in the blog.

The first rehearsal of the year was fun with the a-go-go bell lesson. My " inner cow " has been released ! . . . . and now Melanie's suggestion on a songbook . I should have asked for us to have a free massage after each performance ?!?!

Peace , Love, and MOOoooooh !

Discussion on the creation of our 'Samba Schoolbook'

I pitched the idea last to Remko that a 'Schoolbook' (not sure what to call it) might be a good idea and we pitched around quite a lot of idea's last night about what this might comprise of. Essentially it would be the collection of the songs we play with a CD per song in a ring binder with the elements decomposed in a way that folk can play along to it at home. As new songs are created we get issued a new page for our book given out at the class. The data would be standardised in presentation and format, and presented in a way that people of all levels of musical ability can quickly pick up. Plus other stuff! Remko asked me to take this on and project manage the creation of said item. So this is a call for all your input to create the best collection of information we can first pass. I have some idea's but I really need all your inputs. What I need at this stage is some indication of the information types that you think should be included. i.e. Song Name, Area of Brasil it comes from, the feel of the song, etc. The idea is that this would be given to each new member and to all existing members to boot strap our learning and take us to a new level of professionalism quickly.