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Von Cello Email List! (vol. 3)
Dear Von Cello List Members,
Let me start things off by welcoming the many new members from the State University of New York at Potsdam. Thanks for signing up!
I took a trip all the way up state almost to the Canadian border to Potsdam, a nice university town with a river running through it. I gave two clinics for the music students and faculty. I demonstrated the sounds that I get from my Yamaha electric cello, and then we had a reading session through my Oxford ensemble music. The students were great. Many thanks go to Phil Carnavale of Yamaha for setting up the Yamaha showcase day and running it so well.
One highlight was meeting the viola professor, Ken Martinson, who did some fine playing himself on his electric viola. He said he was interested in transcribing some of my cello etudes for viola! We may work together again. I would love to come back.
Another highlight was the drive that I took along the northernmost road in New York state. My favorite landmark was a store called, "Groceries, Guns and Guitars"! I headed into Vermont and saw “Phil Lesh and Friends” with my old friends Neal and Wendy. Lesh was great and so was the experience of sitting (I mean standing and dancing) with the die hard dead heads in the first row. (Can’t wait to get back on that stage!)
The trip continued with hikes in the Green mountains and the Catskills. The fall foliage was fantastic!
If I missed adding anyone from Potsdam, send them to my email list sign up page: http://www.voncello.com/mailing.htm
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I want to thank everyone who went to listen to my page on mp3.com, and especially those who bought a CD. The Cello Player’s Rap reached #3 on the Alternative Hip Hop chart! Quite an achievement. I think it would have gone higher, but then I left for Potsdam and being unable to continue publicizing it, it started coming back down. It made me realize that staying on top of mp3.com takes work. I’m rethinking exactly how to approach this in the future. In the meantime, if another song takes off, I’ll let you know. It was fun watching it rise! Kind of like having a song moving up the charts on the radio. Speaking about radio...I have now been added to 11 stations on mp3.com! To visit them, go to: http://www.mp3.com/voncello and press the tab that says, Stations Now Playing, then click on the various stations.
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The decision is final (at least for now): Von Cello will be a power trio! The instrumentation: cello, bass and drums. We tried adding a percussionist, but the sounds were too traditional. We tried adding a guitar, but it seemed to conflict with the cello. When needed, the cello can cover the “lead guitar” function and Andy, our bass player, can use foot pedals to cover the rhythm cello function. We considered a keyboard, but John, our drummer, also has a Roland Octapad, which can trigger synthesized sounds. So it seems that with three we can still cover all bases and go out there with a lean, mean, playing machine. Anyone got any gigs? :)
The power trio idea also brings to mind other trios of the past such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream. Someone asked if that intimidated me. Actually, I welcome the comparisons. More on the band in the next issue.
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I am now being featured on a couple of websites.
CD Street, one of the internets’ best music distribution sites, has featured me under modern classical. To check it out go to:
http://www.cdstreet.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?Modern_Classical
On the left side you will notice my CD cover. Click on it to view my page.
I have been asked to be a writer for MusicDish, a top internet website and Ezine for music industry information. The site features their writers with pictures and bios.
To see mine, go to:
http://musicdish.com/contributors/index.php3
Scroll down to the bottom and click on my picture. Or go directly to:
http://musicdish.com/contributors/voncello/index.php3
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THE ENDPIN
(The endpin is the metal piece attached to the bottom of a cello, so in this final section I will pin some final thoughts.)
These are the final few days when the leaves are still on the trees. Fall color begins with yellows and greens. Then it peaks with reds and golds. It ends with rusts, mustards and browns. If you haven’t yet, take a day off to enjoy it. Soon the trees will be bare.
One thing always impressed me about the leaves, it’s how they go out in a blaze of glory before they meet their end. I think people can do the same. We can grow to our fullest potential as we age.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Von Cello
http://www.voncello.com
http://www.mp3.com/voncello
http://www.cdstreet.com/cgi-bin/artisthome_db.cgi?116440
http://musicdish.com/contributors/voncello/index.php3
Mailinglist Archive
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