Alex DeGrassi in a different venue

[auntlynnie]

Hey there TGers,
I'm putting this under IGC because it is somewhat related to that.

Last night (Thursday, Oct. 3rd), My husband & I, and Chan and his wife, Bonnie, all met up in Dover, Delaware to see Alex DeGrassi play the score for the 1934 silent film, A story of. Floating. Weeds by Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu. Back in 2006 Alex had been commissioned to compose a score for this film and he has performed it live about 25 times. The focus is all on the movie, so Alex was playing in the dark and we couldn't observe his technique, but Chan recognized some of the things that he had talked about at the IGC session.

I am not a silent film buff, in fact I've hardly ever watched one. But this one seemed to have very sophisticated acting for the time, and the genre, and it became a very compelling story set against Alex's score. The film was 88 minutes long, and when asked if it was an arduous task to play for that long, he replied that though there were themes for each character, and for many other scenes and elements in the movie, there is certainly room for improvisation, so there are moments that are less demanding. He also said that each time he performs it, it is different.

We all probably would have stayed and asked a lot more questions, but we had each traveled 2 & 1/2 hours to attend, so we had a long ride home that night.
Still, it was an entirely different performance than I had ever experienced before and I feel really lucky that Chan found out about it and told me.
Lynn

[sbutler]

Too Cool Lynn. You got a couple weeks off and then saw Alex, I got to see Tommy E in Kansas City when I got home.

I'll bet that was very entertaining to hear Alex in action (so to speak).

Scott

[auntlynnie]

Yes, and how was Tommy Emmanual?

I imagine he is always worth the drive!

Lynn

[michelew]

WOW Lynn. That sounds so unique and wonderful. I wish I could have joined you.

Thanks for the report.

Shel

[Music Junkie]

Lynn: That sounds awesome. I am not much of a silent film fan, myself, but I would certainly go see something like that! Very cool that you met up with Chan as well. What a community we have here.

[ptraeger]

Glad you both could experience such a unique performance. Even better you and Chan could be there together.

Were you able to visit with Alex?

[lueders]

Lynn, that sounds really cool! I only know of Alex D. through his ACOUSTIC GUITAR Magazine columns...(and BOY are those well done..usually the best in each issue) Yep, you
folks sure had a brain trust of fret-meister gurus at the IGC. (STILL JEALOUS)

A year or so ago I saw a guitarist (Marc Ribot) perform a similar soundtrack for Charlie Chaplin's silent film THE KID. It was amazing! I'm sure this was a well done.

Cori

[auntlynnie]

ptraeger - we visited with Alex just for a short time because we all had long drives ahead of us. But he did remember us from camp.

Cori - Alex said that he had also done 2 short Chaplin films - he said they were easier because they were comedies and maybe the music wasn't so critical.

Shel - it would have been wonderful to have you there! Someday....

Jason - yes, I am so grateful for this community.

Lynn

[sbutler]

auntlynnie wrote:

Yes, and how was Tommy Emmanual? Oh I was very disappointed. I think what we saw on the stage was a computer re-enactment. No human could possibly do what I saw that night. Yep, 2.5 hrs down I-70 was in keeping with my MO. It seems like lately, all I do is drive. But your right, this one was worth it.
Scott

I imagine he is always worth the drive!

Lynn