tag:jeffpearcemusic.com,2005:/blogs/blogBlog2021-11-23T21:17:19-05:00Jeff Pearcefalsetag:jeffpearcemusic.com,2005:Post/68196872021-11-23T21:17:19-05:002023-10-16T10:56:37-04:00In Autumn<p><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393924/98ff327cfb2646e61bf136677e516015f08a81cd/original/in-autumn-cover.png/!!/meta:eyJzcmNCdWNrZXQiOiJiemdsZmlsZXMifQ==/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br><br><br>"In Autumn" is a follow-up EP, in effect, to my "In Winter" EP from early 2021- and the approach was the same: record a live set in my living room, to an audience of whoever happened to be there at the time: a wife, a daughter, or a slightly indifferent cat. </p>
<p>The songs i chose to include from this mini-concert recorded in the early days of Autumn, 2021, are a mixture of old and new, with a couple of surprises included. </p>
<p>As a preface: for almost two years, since right before the start of the pandemic, I've been working on my first Chapman Stick® album since 2008's "Rainshadow Sky". The upcoming album will be titled "Breathing Space", and will be released in early/mid 2022. All the songs on this EP are performed on two instruments: a Chapman Stick® and its younger brother, the SG12® ("SG"= "Stick Guitar") </p>
<p>1) Not Even the Sky- this song is from the upcoming "Breathing Space" album. The version for the album was recorded on the Chapman Stick, but i decided to try arranging this for the SG12. I was (very!) pleasantly surprised with the outcome. In fact, I kind of like this version better. So i might have a decision to make regarding the final song lineup for "Breathing Space"; i can sense the original version of this song looking at me and saying "come on, man- i thought we were friends!" </p>
<p>2) Sudden Light- this is a Chapman Stick version of "Sudden Light", from my year 2000 album "To The Shores of Heaven". MANY years ago- in 2005- i did a Stick version of this song at a show for The Gatherings Concert Series in Philadelphia. In fact, that was the only time i've played this song in a live setting- at least until i recorded this version. </p>
<p>3) The Garden- in recent months, the scariest way to start a written or spoken sentence is with the words "During the pandemic, I decided to....", because it's usually followed by ".... teach myself how to make bread, but ended up burning my house down" or "... build a couch cushion fortress in my living room and vowed to not come out ever again" or ".... binge watched the entire first season of 'Tiger King' on Netflix then took a month-long shower". </p>
<p>My statement probably falls somewhere in the middle of these things: During the pandemic, I decided to write some string quartets. And I wrote a LOT of these string quartets- and then not only taught myself how to play them on the Stick, but worked on the sound design necessary to make the end result sound reasonably like a string quartet. "The Garden" was one of my favorites of these quartets, and it's a "fun challenge" to play live. The main version of this song will be on "Breathing Space". </p>
<p>4) Fading Words for the Frost- in the words of some of my favorite philosophers: "....and now, for something completely different." </p>
<p>....actually, it's not TOO different... </p>
<p>"Fading Words for the Frost" is a medley of three songs from my 2012 piano album "In the Season of Fading Light"- only they're performed on the Chapman Stick, and it was another "fun challenge" to arrange this piece. I was surprised that these songs naturally fell together into a musically satisfying new piece, and i expect to include this medley in my live set, whenever "all is less crazy" again. </p>
<p>.... oh- and the songs included in this medley: "In the Season of Fading Light", "Words from the Rain", and "After the Frost". And the title of this piece came from those three songs as well.....</p>Jeff Pearcetag:jeffpearcemusic.com,2005:Post/65445912021-02-09T14:00:00-05:002021-02-10T09:17:31-05:00In Winter- 4 song EP<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://jeffpearcemusic.bandcamp.com/album/in-winter" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393924/3689a1ffd4c33abc10c73ee293789e2dadddd268/original/in-winter-smaller-for-newsletter.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></a><br><br>I've often told people that I don’t consider it “officially Winter” until there’s snow on the ground, and we didn’t get our first snow until January 30th. </p>
<p>As friends of mine have posted on social media recently, January 2021 was a long year. And to celebrate the Snow That Finally Came At The End Of January, I pulled out a couple of my guitars, and played a mini-concert for the captive audience of my wife and youngest daughter- and that mini-concert has now been released as "In Winter", a 4 song EP that is available on Bandcamp by clicking <a contents="HERE" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://jeffpearcemusic.bandcamp.com/album/in-winter" target="_blank">HERE</a> or by clicking on the album cover above this post. <br><br>The idea on January 30 was that I would play a couple of my winter pieces from years past, and maybe a longer, improvised piece. But there turned out to be a couple of musical surprises waiting for me.</p>
<p>1) “A View by the Fire” The first surprise: this song is in the same guitar tuning as “Winter Waltz”, and while doing a quick recording level test for “Winter Waltz”, this song literally popped out of my guitar. After the recording of all the songs was through, I played around with this song, trying to find a way to make it longer, since it’s only 1:40 long. However, the song strongly resisted (and eventually resented) such tampering; with each listen of the original recording, I was reminded that everything the song “needed” was there. </p>
<p>2) “Winter Waltz” “Winter Waltz” originally appeared as a piano piece on my 2012 album “In the Season of Fading Light”. And I’ve long thought it was one of the better songs I’ve written in my 28 years of releasing music. A few years back, I arranged this piano song for my guitar, and played the finished arrangement for a Living Room Concert, broadcast by the radio program Echoes. And then I never played it again, for whatever reason. For the literal living room concert in my house, I thought it would be fun to visit this piece again. </p>
<p>3) “Veil of Lake Snow” The original version of this song appeared on my year 2000 album “To the Shores of Heaven”, although that piece dates back to late 1996. The title and “feel” of the piece made it a perfect addition to this mini-concert, and it was fun to revisit after too many years of not playing it. The big surprise (surprise #2) came in the days following the recording of this piece- specifically when I compared the version I recorded in 2021 to the version I recorded in 1996. In the 1996 version, I could hear 29-year old Jeff, playing the song with a measure of optimism and hope. The 2021 version? There’s more “mileage” on this version; the interpretation of the piece is slower and gentler, with the plaintive kind of wistfulness that often presents itself whenever we choose to take a look backwards in life. </p>
<p>4) “Slowly Falling” While a lot of us think of snow as arriving only by storm, around here, more often than not, it starts by a very gentle, windless falling (and THEN turns into a full-blown “snow-nami”). This song is an ambient improvisation, created while watching the snow slowly falling, and shifting through the moods that such an event inspires in me. The delay loops I created this song with were set to let the notes I was playing to slowly fade out over time, while new notes were put over the top- notes that would ALSO fade over time. In that aspect, the music was reflecting the landscape, as I watched layers of snow covered by new layers of snow.</p>Jeff Pearcetag:jeffpearcemusic.com,2005:Post/64966622020-12-11T07:53:00-05:002022-03-16T08:02:01-04:00End of 2020, and a new song<p><a contents="" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://jeffpearcemusic.bandcamp.com/track/rainpath" style="" target="_blank"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/393924/077663dc56861089329e297cb2394c49c657c698/original/rainpath-cover.png/!!/b:W10=.png" class="size_l justify_center border_" /></a><br><span class="font_large">2020 is quickly coming to an end, after what has felt like a five-year journey (at least). I'd like to take this opportunity to do a couple of things- the first is to share my latest single- "Rainpath". It's available for "name your own price" at Bandcamp for the upcoming week (PLEASE select $0.00 for the price- if you're reading this, we're friends, I want you to have it). Click the image above to get to the Bandcamp page, or click <a contents="HERE" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://jeffpearcemusic.bandcamp.com/track/rainpath" target="_blank">HERE</a> If streaming is more your thing, you can stream "Rainpath" on <a contents="Spotify" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/album/0URM79y3iFKh1GgIBcN5IO?si=2i2_gyYCSCmpq04W3BQuvg" target="_blank">Spotify</a> and <a contents="Apple Music" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://music.apple.com/us/album/rainpath-single/1541952080" style="" target="_blank">Apple Music</a><br><br>The second thing: I'd like to take this opportunity to say a BIG THANK YOU to all of you who supported and encouraged me in what might be the craziest year I've ever experienced. Your emails and social media messages kept my spirits afloat on more than one occasion. I truly hope that my music provided a place and space of relaxation and peace for anyone who listened.<br><br>As we enter 2021, I'd also like to extend my thanks to some programs that provided above and beyond support and encouragement to me and my music this past year: <a contents="Journeyscapes" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.journeyscapesradio.com" target="_blank">Journeyscapes</a>, <a contents="Music from the Hearts of Space" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://v4.hos.com/home" target="_blank">Music from the Hearts of Space</a>, <a contents="New Age Sampler" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.uwsp.edu/wwsp/Pages/shows/newagesampler.aspx" target="_blank">New Age Sampler</a>, <a contents="SiriusXM Spa Channel" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.siriusxm.com/spa" target="_blank">SiriusXM Spa Channel</a>, and <a contents="Star's End" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.starsend.org" style="" target="_blank">Star's End</a> I have appreciated, very much, the warm reception these programs gave to my albums <a contents='"Archive 1: Songs for the Gathering"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://jeffpearcemusic.bandcamp.com/album/archive-1-songs-for-the-gathering" target="_blank">"Archive 1: Songs for the Gathering"</a> and <a contents='"Hidden Shores/Empty Beach"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://jeffpearcemusic.bandcamp.com/album/hidden-shores-empty-beach" style="" target="_blank">"Hidden Shores/Empty Beach"</a></span></p>
<p><span class="font_large">My wish is that you have a wonderful holiday season, and a peaceful 2021!<br><br>Jeff</span><br><br> </p>Jeff Pearcetag:jeffpearcemusic.com,2005:Post/61458102017-09-08T20:00:00-04:002022-01-31T13:33:09-05:00"How can I help?"
<p>“How can I help?” <br><br>Whenever i release a new cd project, there will be people who write to me, asking this very question. The question, and the sentiment behind it, is VERY appreciated; I’ve been blessed with some wonderful “listeners of my music” over the years, and each new album I release verifies that. So I thought I’d write a note to answer that very question- because there are actually quite a few answers. <br><br>1) Buy my album. That’s probably what most musicians would say, including me. My album is available for pre-order on:<br> <span style="color:#ffffff"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Darker-Seasons-Jeff-Pearce/dp/B074BNFXYP/ref=zg_bsnr_36_7?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=JRN9DKM0A8F3QRCY7NF9" target="_blank" data-imported="1"><span style="color:#ffffff">Amazon.com</span></a> </span> <span style="color:#ffffff"> <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/from-the-darker-seasons/id1265426307" target="_blank" data-imported="1"><span style="color:#ffffff">iTunes</span></a> </span> <span style="color:#ffffff"> <a href="https://jeffpearcemusic.bandcamp.com/album/from-the-darker-seasons" target="_blank" data-imported="1"><span style="color:#ffffff">Bandcamp</span></a></span> <br><br>However- I know that for a lot of us, funds are tight. So with Bandcamp, since I directly control the prices, I’ve set the pre-order price pretty low: $7 for the cd, $5 for the digital download. I’ve heard some musicians say that you should NEVER price your albums low- that, by doing so, one “de-values” their own work. I disagree, however- pricing my album low for a pre-order lets my listeners know that I value THEM, and value their support. Whether you pre-order from Bandcamp, Amazon, or iTunes- just know that doing so will put you in a club i call “Friends of ambient musician, yours truly”- or “FOAMY-T”. And now that i think about it, that’s not that great of a name, i need to work on something better. <br><br>.... note to self: FOAMY-T might be a good pseudonym for a rap project. <br><br>.... note to self #2: see if you can get sponsorship with a company that makes chai lattes- that’s definitely “foamy tea”. <br><br>2) Stream my music. This one is a little controversial with some musicians, and my opinion on the subject is certainly not “THE” opinion on the subject- but it IS “mine”. And my opinion is streaming is here to stay. So if you have a Spotify account, you can go you my page- which is right <span style="color:#888888"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/74pi4wcNMJ20RYsbbEmA46" target="_blank" data-imported="1"><span style="color:#888888">HERE</span></a></span>- and listen to my music. And while you’re there, I’d appreciate it if you’d follow my page. Yes, what you’ve read online about streaming is true- I get about 6/10 of a penny when you listen to a song- which is a little less than 5 cents when you listen to an eight song album. Just stream that album 200 times, it comes out around the price of buying a cd.... <br><br>.... no, DON’T stream my album 200 times..... <br><br>3) Make a station of my music on Pandora. For those of you who use Pandora, all you have to do is go <span style="color:#888888"><a href="https://www.pandora.com/artist/jeff-pearce/ARJ9PhX3lJz4dbg" target="_blank" data-imported="1"><span style="color:#888888">HERE</span></a></span> and click the little “start station” play button. And the Pandora algorithms are pretty good at finding appropriate music from other artists to fill out the station- no Slayer or Howling Wolf songs will show up (PERSONALLY, I’d be ok with one of those following one of my space-guitar pieces, but it WOULD break up a gentle listening mood....) <br><br>4) Watch my YouTube videos. My YouTube page is <span style="color:#888888"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/jeffpearcemusic" target="_blank" data-imported="1"><span style="color:#888888">HERE</span></a></span>, and you can find a lot of videos that others have created all over the site. There’s not a lot of videos on my YouTube page at the moment, but there will be more, soon (that wasn’t meant to sound ominous....)<br><br> 5) Sign up for my website mailing list. You’ll find the “sign up for my mailing list!” section at the bottom of every page on this site. Don’t worry- i won’t exactly flood your inbox with spam; I’ve sent out a total of THREE mailing list messages in 2017. And if you sign up,you'll get a free 20 minute version of my song "Downdrift"!<br><br>6) If you haven’t already, like my <span style="color:#888888"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/jeffpearcemusic/" target="_blank" data-imported="1"><span style="color:#888888">Facebook Musician Page</span></a></span>. It’s the most reliable way for me to communicate my music related things on FB. Again- it won’t take up a lot of your time- I’m not exactly prolific with my social media posts. <br><br>As always, my thanks to you for your support, your well-wishes, and your help. <span class="_47e3 _5mfr" title="smile emoticon"><img src="https://static.xx.fbcdn.net/images/emoji.php/v9/fce/1/18/1f642.png" class="size_orig justify_inline border_" alt="" height="18" width="18" /></span></p>
Jeff Pearcetag:jeffpearcemusic.com,2005:Post/61458092013-05-07T20:00:00-04:002021-04-22T10:22:31-04:00AMBIcon 2013- post-show reflections...
<p>In writing my post-event thoughts on AMBIcon 2013, I keep coming back to one simple sentence- "so much music, so little sleep". Now that I've had time to catch up a little on one (sleep) and reflect on the other (music), I can reasonably attempt to sort through my memories and get them in written form.<br><br>The event itself took place in the convention center attached to the very fine Embassy Suites in San Rafael, CA. The folks at Delicate Productions were hired to provide surround sound for the event, and they showed up at noon on Friday to start setting up in the main ballroom. I went to hang out in (what we were calling) the equipment room, and Robert Rich was already there. As usual, Robert had a big smile and a big hug at the ready. He made some comments that all of us musicians on the bill are like a crazy family that has a reunion every ten years or so at events like this.<br><br>Also showing up early on Friday was Tim Story, one of my oldest friends, and a friend who, despite only living five or so hours from me, I've managed not to see for about 19 years. And then Stephen Hill walked in. I have a long list of people who have been supportive of my career- dj's, music reviewers, concert promoters, other musicians- and Stephen is on that list, having been playing my music on Hearts of Space since my very first cd in 1993.<br><br>After a bit, all the musicians started rolling in- Steve Roach (yep, haven't seen him for ten years), Michael Stearns (known him for 17 years, met for the first time), Hans Christian (known him for a couple of years, never met)<br><br>Friday evening was a meet and greet time, for the musicians and the attendees to mix and mingle and eat tiny little finger foods which contained no calories whatsoever (it's a law of physics, practically, that finger foods have no calories, which is why you can eat 200 of those little beef wellington things and not gain a pound). It was nice to meet, face to face, some people that I've "known" for years, (like the incredibly musical Loren Nerell) and to meet new people. However, there was a bit of initial apprehension among the attendees in approaching the musicians (which led me to seek out the most apprehensive people and try to draw them in to any group conversation that was happening- "hey, I don't bite, and if I do, it's ok, because I've had my shots!"<br><br>…. yes, I actually said that, I think….<br><br>Friday night was my soundcheck, and, as the old adage goes, "everything that could go wrong, did go wrong". Fortunately, what went wrong was not on my end of things- the Delicate Production guys has a couple of pieces of wonky gear, which was quickly replaced (proving that they were a totally pro outfit by always having a back-up). Before long, I was playing music and it was sounding pretty nice.<br><br>A late friday night quickly became an early saturday morning, thanks to some nice conversations with listeners of my music, and I had to get some sleep, since the next day was "show day" for me.<br><br>(a personal aside: I hate the "F" word- "fans". Oh, Lord, how I hate that word- and I see it all the time on Facebook from other musicians- "I have fans, I want to thank my fans, I have fans, fans, fans!" No- you don't have "fans"- you have listeners. And see how nice of a shift that is? Suddenly, that vast mob of oompaa-loompas are actual PEOPLE who are supporting your musical endeavors. They are LISTENERS, and that puts the focus back on creating music, as opposed to stroking your ego while repeating over and over, "I have fans!")<br><br>Short night's sleep, and I was at the hotel restaurant Saturday morning for breakfast. The apprehension was starting to break, and other attendees were asking if they could sit at my table. Of course they could! I was glad they did- because, as a bonus, Mike G joined us. Mike runs an ambient music review website in Australia, and he is, in all respects, "one cool guy", and I'm glad I met him. I bumped into Phil Wilkerson and his wife in the hallway and had a nice chat. Phil's also a musician and it was fun to "talk shop" a little.<br><br>Saturday morning at 10 was the artist panel discussion, and was also the first time I met Stephan Micus. I had loved his music since the mid-80's, and was thrilled to meet this musical genius and legend. <br><br>…. I know that some of my more "business oriented" new age music friends are sniffing "but he's not been on the new age charts- and he doesn't use big name radio promoters". Nope- he just has a career that any sane musician would consider themselves lucky to have (having recorded for well over 30 years on that little, no-name ECM label) and a talent that would eventually render all of us other AMBIcon musicians speechless after his Sunday performance- which I will get to…<br><br>The panel discussion started, and, thanks to the kindness and generosity of Scott Rouse, the discussion (as well as all the AMBIcon concerts) was streamed over the internet, and was free to anyone who wanted to watch online. And that meant my wife and daughters were able to watch and laugh when Stephen Hill introduced me with a comment involving my refusal to wear big boy pants. What can I say? I dress casual when appearing on stage in a panel discussion in California in May- that's always been my rule….<br><br>I was surprised at how well the panel discussion went, and I decided to mentally "take notes", because it's not that often that there's so much experience- musically and otherwise- on stage. Stephen Hill, when directing a question to me, mentioned that I was sort of the "baby" of the group, which is true, but odd, considering that the "baby" of the group is 45 years old and has "only" been releasing cd's for 20 years. I had mentioned that my start, musically, was a little different than the other folks onstage, since I had been listening to Hearts of Space well before I started releasing my own music, whereas Hearts of Space came after the other musicians' musical beginnings. And I probably said some things I shouldn't have, since I recall a lot of laughing during my answer segment.<br><br>…. another aside: I called my wife after the panel discussion, and she said "Robert Rich is SO well-spoken". And she's right- there's one question he answered with the kind of grace and dignity that he has in his music. i also remember being QUITE impressed with an answer Hans gave when an audience member asked about the role of spirituality in music.<br><br>After the panel discussion, I ate half of a lunch, did half of a sound check, and was ready for my show at 2 pm. People have asked me if I get nervous before I play a show, and I answer, honestly, "yes, I'm a little nervous, but I'm mostly anxious to get started". And once I started playing, all went well- partially because of some preparation on my part, but also because of, quite possibly, the best audience I've ever played in front of. They were SO supportive- there's nothing like playing a show where you feel the audience is "rooting for you" from even before the first note.<br><br>So I played my set (which clocked at just over an hour- all of the musicians had between 60 and 75 minutes to play their music), and would once in a while emerge from a kind of musically induced trance and notice how "intently" I was being listened to- this audience was full of virtuoso listeners, and I don't say that in a glib way- they really were superb listeners. They didn't even run out of the place when I started playing my guitar with a paintbrush (a note to everyone who attended: if I could have gotten that sound without using a paintbrush, trust me- I would have, because I know it looks geeky for me to play like that in a live setting)<br><br>It couldn't have all gone perfect, though, and about halfway through my set, I was startled out of my trance by some smooth jazz music- very quiet, but still there. It turns out that some Embassy Suites employee turned on the sound in the ballroom ceiling speakers, one of which was right above my head. The Delicate Productions sound guy, I was told later, shot out of the room, found the power supply for the ballroom speakers, and did unthinkably violent things to it, rendering it a large, expensive doorstop.<br><br>I closed my set with a newly arranged version of Brian Eno's lovely "An Ending (Ascent)". I've played this for a few years on Chapman Stick, but wondered if it would work on electric guitar. I felt pretty pleased with the version, and might do it again someday. After the song, some enthusiastic applause, which turned into a standing ovation, which left a big lump in my throat and caused me to quickly leave the stage before the waterworks started.<br><br>Again- it was a great crowd, and I appreciated the generous and kind feedback. But the feedback from the other AMBIcon musicians was unexpected- since I wasn't expecting them to attend my set! It was tough enough to play my set knowing that an ambient guitar legend like Carl Weingarten was in the crowd, but had I known that Stephan Micus, Steve Roach, Robert Rich, etc… was in the crowd? I don't know if I could have gone on stage.<br><br>Then I went out to the main lobby and who did I see? Forrest Fang! HE was in the audience?!?!? Man, I am GLAD I didn't know that- he's a superb musician who has been at this music thing far longer than I. He was hanging out with Carl Weingarten, and they were both very gracious with their feedback.<br><br>So- one concert down, and a half of a concert to go, since I was going to be sitting in with Tim Story for part of his set later that evening.<br><br>I had told people that I was there to play a concert, and once that was done, I was there to attend "master classes" from all the other musicians, and that's the mode I switched into when Robert Rich started playing. I've opened for Robert quite a few times over the years, and he's always been fabulous musically, but this time, there was something new I noticed- an incredible sense of "pacing" in his set. I told him later that he really seemed to develop each piece fully, but then not work it too long, before moving on to a next section. Some people think that it's the "big" things that make a great musician- big sound, loud, dynamic things- those are nice. But the subtleties are where the life is, to my ears, at least, and Robert has mastered those.<br><br>After Robert's set, Tim Story and I did a quick soundcheck, I had a quick dinner, and then the evening shows started. I've known Tim Story since the spring of 1988, when I was a junior in college and had sent him a note after purchasing his fine Windham Hill album "Glass Green". Tim would eventually master my first cd, and I've been in his musical debt ever since.<br><br>The first part of Tim's set featured a great new version of "The Lure of Silence" from "Glass Green", and a couple of new pieces, one of which had quite a few people wiping away tears by the end of it. Then I joined Tim on stage and contributed some ambient guitar to quite a few pieces from his "Beguiled" cd. We switched instruments- meaning Tim was playing my guitar and I was playing his keyboards- for a song he did with the incredible Dwight Ashley called "Poppies (For Irene)", then we switched back to our original instruments for the closing song, "Glass Green". I didn't mangle Tim's beautiful songs (not too bad, at least), and I considered that a success!<br><br>After a short break, it was time for Michael Stearns' set. Michael is one of those "legends" in ambient music, and his set proved why. Like Robert Rich, Michael designed his own surround sound presentation, and it was a magnificent listening experience; musically, it was superb, as everyone expected, but sonically, it was incredibly immersive; Tim Story and I talked after Michael's set, and we agreed that this one segment, which had thunder circling the room on the speakers, was one of the cooler bits of sound design we'd ever heard.<br><br>Since I was officially "done" as a performer, Saturday night was all about relaxation, and that relaxation SHOULD have involved going to my room, taking a nice long bath, and listening to some music before going to sleep. Instead, I ended up in Robert Rich's room. Robert is a man of many interests, and he took up wine-making a few years ago. I don't have the palate to appreciate wine or any other alcohol, but Robert's a friend, and I wanted to sample his labor of love. Others showed up, Robert poured the wine, and everyone was most enthusiastic about it's taste. I took my half a sip, swallowed it, and what can I say? I hated it, as expected. On the other hand, I didn't taste any anti-freeze, and that's truly a sign that Robert used high quality ingredients!<br><br>Sunday morning started off with an alarm, and me saying "I stayed up WAY too late last night". I had breakfast, and, again, I had more company at the table. This whole "wall" between musician and attendee was breaking down quite nicely, which is a great thing. Mark Prendergast was giving a presentation based on his fine book "The Ambient Century", and I knew that I could only catch a little of it because I needed to start packing my gear so it could be shipped back to Indiana the following week. Instead of staying for five minutes, I stayed for- well, a whole lot longer- it was a fascinating and well-put-together presentation about the history of ambient music.<br><br>It was lunch time, and this time I was at a table with the aforementioned Mike G and Mellisa (who I had met saturday afternoon). Then I dashed back to the ballroom and caught Stephan Micus' set. I sat next to Forrest Fang, and we were both looking forward to a great set.<br><br>We were NOT disappointed, I've seen a lot of concerts, but this one might have been the very best I've ever experienced. There's such a purity of sound in Stephan's music, but there's also a purity of soul, and both came through in his concert. One man on stage, with a few acoustic instruments and a microphone, took the audience on quite a journey. Upon the end of the concert, I saw Robert Rich and Michael Stearns leaving the hall, and we all just looked at each other and shook our heads. Someone said "well, THAT put everything into perspective".<br><br>(I had a chance to tell Stephan how much I had enjoyed his set, and you would have thought I paid him the highest compliment in the world. I don't know if I've met someone as kind, gentle and humble as Stephan. On Saturday night, I had asked him if he would mind autographing one of his cd's for me, and he just looked at me and smiled, and then said, with his beautiful German accent, "Yes, I will autograph a cd for you". Leyla Hill was watching this unabashed demonstration of fan-boyishness on my part, and was smiling ear to ear. Stephan asked why she was smiling, and she said, "I just love seeing this".)<br><br>After a break, everyone was back in the hall for the Steve Roach set. It was everything that people expect from Steve Roach- quiet parts, loud parts, acoustic didgeridoo and electronic everything else- but there were also plenty of surprises. Steve's music gave the surround system a workout, and the music took everyone from the desert to the sky to deep space to past, present, and future times. I've always thought that Steve was a Delta blues player, it's just that those Deltas are on Jupiter. He worked in subtle desert ambiences into the music, and, like Robert's set, it was a master class, only this time, a class in how to use dynamics to evoke a visceral experience with the audience.<br><br>Another break to decompress and grab some supper at the (really quite good) hotel restaurant- again, with a table full of good dinner company.<br><br>There were some people at the concert who had not heard of Hans Christian. I can promise you that those people are now among his biggest musical admirers. He took the audience on an hour long journey with his cello and some other "world" instruments that he seems to have mastered as much as the cello. I've told people that his set was probably the most musical use of "looping" I've ever experienced. Again, the other AMBIcon musicians in attendance were floored by what we saw.<br><br>Another break, another concert, this time with Stellamara- a "local" world-music influenced ensemble led by Sonja Drakulich. They were presenting more of a "down-tempo" set, and it fit well with the other AMBIcon sets. Sonja might be the "voice" and leader of Stellamara (and WHAT a voice!), but she was very generous with the spotlight, making sure that the other members of the group had some solo spots to show off their (considerable) ability. The crowd loved them.<br><br>Stephen Hill called all the artists to the stage, and we had a final farewell. Hands were shaken, pictures were taken, hugs exchanged- a lovely way to end AMBIcon 2013.<br><br>Since I was leaving early, I went straight to bed and didn't think about packing my luggage- which was a mistake and made for a hectic morning. I was at the hotel restaurant Monday morning at 6:30 for breakfast, and sat with Michael Stearns and his (really great) 12 year old son Andrew. We both talked about how much fun we'd had, and how great the shows were. <br><br>After checking out, I caught a shuttle to the airport- a shuttle I shared with three AMBIcon attendees. So you can probably guess what we talked about on the way to San Francisco international. We were all in agreement that an event like AMBIcon recharges the batteries of both the attendees and the musicians, and that an event like this should happen more often.<br><br>Now that it's all over, there were two things that surprised me about AMBIcon:<br><br>1) As I previously mentioned, all of the musicians attended all of the other musician's sets. I've not seen this happen before. Usually, musicians will hang out in the green room and feel like big stars while the other guys are on stage. Not in this case. To know that musicians of that caliber watched my set? It humbles me, but, as previously mentioned, it was probably for the best I didn't know about it at the time…<br><br>2) the total lack of "music business" networking. There were no radio promotion people there trying to smooth-talk potential new clients, no record label guys (ok, Sam Rosenthal was there, but he was considered "one of us" by all the musicians, since he's also a fine ambient musician)- it was nothing but music, music, and more music. For anyone interested in contributing to the health of the ambient music genre (or whatever you want to call it), you can't go wrong presenting something like AMBIcon, where the sole focus is connecting the musicians and the listeners. Sure, if you want to wheel and deal inside an ego-fueled echo chamber, create an event where it's all about business and vultures- that approach is a popular one, in business, art, education, and so many other categories. But don't be surprised when the "general public" stays far away.<br><br>Upon returning home, I was pleasantly surprised by the emails and social media comments about my set at AMBIcon, and I am now trying to carve a path to each and every email and comment. In the end, I saw a bunch of old friends, and made some new ones, while hearing a whole lot of music, and getting very little sleep. </p>
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Jeff Pearce