Fete de la Musique - well done!

Well done everyone, despite the rain and the resulting lack of a real crowd, you all did very well indeed! Applause for Belinda, Fiona and Peter, it was their first gig with us!!!

And now for the next one....!

Reminder - Fete de la Musique this Sunday

All are invited, please let me know if you haven't done so yet.

• When: Sunday 21 June 2009, 11am - 12.30am, please be there 10.30am
• Where: New Farm Park "rotonda" (the music pavilion close to the road next to the river)
• Dress: Mangueira shirts, white pants, and/or creative pink/green
  

I'd love for all of you to be there - it's a big park ;-)

It has been suggested to have a picnic after this, I think this is an excellent idea. We can also play some pagode during this if you're up to it!

Marcio Local

Check this group out. They play good samba using daggy musical instruments such as the melodica, " ukelele" ( according to the translation ) and spoons ( wood ).


Have problem uploading the clip

Ile Aiye

These chaps seem to enjoy themselves, indeed.

. . . Surdo Limbo dancing anyone ?

Hot banana news!

*** Hot news ***

Patty just sent me an email regarding Fete de la Musique this Sunday, she is going to dress up as a banana! I really look forward to it!

Gig - Fete de la Musique

As you are hopefully aware, we again have been invited to play at this year's Fete de la Musique. Last year we played in Queen Street mall, and this year we'll play at Newfarm Park:

• When: Sunday 21 June 2009, 11am - 12.30am
• Where: New Farm Park "rotonda" (the music pavilion close to the road next to the river)
• Dress: Mangueira shirts, white pants, and/or creative pink/green
  

I'd love for all of you to be there - it's a big park ;-)

Please drop me an email to let me know if you will or will not play.

It has been suggested to have a picnic after this, I think this is an excellent idea. We can also play some pagode during this if you're up to it!

Brisamba on Brisbane City Council site

Please check us out on the following Fete de la Musique site. We're on front page !

Fete de la Musique: June 21st

After all the talk on the previous blog, are we doing any gig for the Fete de la Musique this year ?

Songs!!!!

Just letting you know I decided to bite the bullet: I just ordered an amplifier that we can use to connect to the big speakers in the Polish Club. This means that, hopefully from next week, finally we will be able to rehearse all kind of different songs, with vocal(s) and cavaquinho(s), and beautiful, beautiful arrangements.

This will be the start of a new era within the samba school, with focus shifting from just percussion to using percussion in combination with songs. You will not be bored. We will still practice rhythms, even new rhythms, so you should see this as an extension, not a replacement, of what we do. As I said, this will result in much more variety and this can lead to some big things in the future.

In the short term, this means that our lovely tamborim section will need to rehearse the songs that I arranged last year, and that I'll have to work on new arrangements. Also, we need to extend the tamborim section with people that will nail these advanced arrangements and that can either already read sheet music or that are prepared to learn. Let me know!

Regarding songs, I am very much open for suggestions on what other songs to make arrangements for. Again, let me know!

I am excited!

Stimulus Package and MARCEL

A quote from the ABC :

" . . . The Government has come under fire since the Tax Office revealed 16,000 cash payments were made to deceased estates as part of the economic stimulus package.

Another 27,000 cheques were made out to those living overseas.

The Opposition says that is $40 million that will not reach the Australian economy. "

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/28/2583249.htm

. . . Marcel, please do the right thing and send us $AUD 900.00 worth of Samba musical instrument . . . . ASIO and the ATO are looking for you, Marcel.

Bringing instruments to class

Just a suggestion for people bringing their own instruments to class (which I encourage and appreciate): please label them, to avoid confusion. I find a good way is with a permanent marker somewhere on the inside of the instrument.

ever thought of borrowing some tips from american marching drumming?! They got discipline! and still at high school!

Gig this Friday 29 May

We have been invited to perform at the Sunnybank State High School this Friday 29 May.

Where: Sunnybank State High School, 9 Gager Street, Sunnybank
When: Friday 29 May, perform 8:15pm sharp, be there 7:30pm
Dress code: Mangueira T-shirts

It's going to be a short & sharp gig, I think I want to play without any break, magically moving from one rhythm to the next. We need to play at 8.15pm sharp, no room for messing around as they have a very tight schedule!

Please let me know if you want to play by email or by reply to this post!

Rehearsal tonight

Just a quick note that I checked with the Polish Club and there's no problem with water there, so I hope to see you all tonight nice & dry!

Also I look forward to seeing Patty, Brian and Claire in their special garments!

Great percussion intro!

Announcing ... a great gig!

OK the press release has gone out today. So, Brisbane Roar is playing Celtic in SunCorp stadium on Sunday 12 July as part of Queensland Roars against Racism (QRAR).

We've done QRAR twice before, so why is this so much bigger?

• It's pretty much certain to be a sell-out, so 52,500 people or so will see us live
• It's going to be broadcast nationally and internationally

But what's really great, and a great honour for me personally, is that I have been asked by Multicultural Affairs Queensland to be the artistic director for half-time entertainment. I have been asked to completely create, arrange and manage a 6.5 minute 'percussion spectacular' at half-time, with not just the Samba School, but with other Brisbane percussion groups as well, with at least 100 drummers on the field. There's some further details that are still classified but you start getting the idea I hope.

So it's going to be an interesting two months, with a lot of creative thinking, arranging, rehearsing and project managing.

I'm looking forward to it! And I hope so are you! More details over the next few weeks...

Major event coming up

Here's a very early heads up about an event we might be involved in on Sunday 12 July.

For confidentiality reasons I am not able to say anything more at this stage, but if it all goes ahead this might be the biggest thing we've ever done.

If you think you may want to be part of this, please keep this date available.

More details next week, after the press release has gone out... ;-)

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Message from Lynne:

I was just wondering if any one from the Samba school is interested in tickets to see Ladysmith Black Mambazo on Monday June 29? Unfortunately there are no group discount price for this performance. All tickets are $82.90.

If anyone is interested they can email me at salsam3 [at] hotmail.com

Thanks
Lynne McLachlan

Ruben plays Cajón (box)

Fete de la Musique?

If we are going to FdlM, what I want to know is "where"? Any place but that nest of vipers, Queen St Mall, with its retailers who hate noise.

What about on a Citycat ferry? We could go up and down the river - or get off one ferry after a while and go back in the other direction on a different ferry.

That would be a HOOT! Imagine the faces of ferry patrons when they get to a jetty and hear us coming down the gangplank.

MWAAHAAHAAAA!!!