The Jon Davis Tour

This past weekend I was on tour with the Jon Davis Band.  It was a crazy and wonderful time.  We played at the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield near Ottowa.  The vibe was not so happening there for many reasons, and we did not play up to par, but the hang afterwards was amazing.  We stayed the night with Jon's godfather.  He and his wife live in a cottage-like house, and their lifestyle is an inspiration.  Super comfortable home with lots of books, and all organic foods.  Yum!  

The next day we drove many hours to play at Rivoli on Queen Street in Toronto.  We had a super long and effective sound-check, and played very well.  I was very happy to see some friends who I had met in Banff, and they let me crash on their couch, which was more comfortable than my Montreal bed.  Amazing, the 2 nights on tour, I slept better than I had slept for the past month.  I had a coffee in Toronto, and I must say, I am spoiled living in Little Italy, and I am afraid that I have become a circumstantial coffee snob.  

The ride back from Toronto to Montreal, things got interesting, to say the least.  The van had most of the gear, Jon, and Adam, our drummer.  I was riding with our guitar player, Jim Bland, in his car.  About half way from Toronto to Montreal, the car all of a sudden started sounding very sick.  We pulled over, and when we tried to start the car again, it made a terrifying noise, so we decided to let it be.  We called CAA, a tow truck came, and towed us to the nearest garage.  They think the fan belt went kaput.  Drag.  We took a taxi to a train station, and got back to Gare Central in Montreal before the Metro closed.  It was a long and confusing trip back, but Jim and I were super relaxed, and were able to discuss philosophical discourse for the hours we were delayed.  No problems, as Dani says.  Life is made up of these little happenings.  The head space you are in defines you.  It could have been a major drag, but the first thing that happened when the car broke down was Jim started to laugh.

On The CTV News

Jon Davis - Beautiful Snow from Alain Pilon on Vimeo.

Jon Davis CD Release

JON DAVIS CD RELEASE
WITH FULL BAND AND STRING QUARTET
Mar 1, Montreal / Mar 5 Wakefield / Mar 6 Toronto (details below)
(please/s'il vous plait see/voir press release en francais and in English and/et poster attached)

Sunday, March 1
SALA ROSSA • 4848 boul. St-Laurent • Montreal
Presented by Hello Darlin' Productions
Doors 7:30 Music 8PM • Admission $10
Opening act Mike Evin

Thursday, March 5
BLACK SHEEP INN • 420 Riverside Drive • Wakefield
Doors 8PM Music 8:30PM • Admission $10 ($20 includes CD)
Opening acts Honeyman and the Brothers Farr / The Shamrocks

Friday, March 6
THE RIVOLI • 334 Queen Street West • Toronto
Doors 8PM Music 9PM • Admission $10 ($20 includes CD)
Opening act Jadea Kelly

FOR RESERVATIONS EMAIL: davises@sympatico.ca


JON DAVIS BAND
Jon Davis - voice, guitar, piano
Jim Bland - electric guitar
Adam Miller - drums
Jake Leckie - upright bass
and STRING QUARTET
Brigitte Dajczer - 1st violin
John Young - 2nd violin
Pemi Paull - viola
Michael Spleit - cello

Using the I Ching to guide my practice

I recently attended a master class given by drummer Jim Black.  He emphasized the importance of being able to distinguish between long (3 eighth notes) and short (2 eighth notes).  A rhythm in 7/8 could be thought of as short-short-long, and a rhythm in 11/8 could be thought of as long-long-short-short-long.  I wanted to incorporate this into my daily practice.

In a previous blog entry, I described how I practice all the scales I know in all keys in a span of 6 weeks, practicing 3 scales a day in 2 different keys.  I wanted to have a similar grid to practice time signatures and intervals.  But, the question was how to practice a different time signature with a different interval in a different scale in different keys without getting completely confused?  Randomness.

I turned to the ancient oracle, the I Ching.  I use the 3 coins method of building hexagrams.  I toss 3 coins 6 times, and that determines what time signature I will practice, and in what intervals.  This can apply to the scales and keys I am practicing that day.  For example, today's coin tosses were "K'un" and "Sun," meaning I was to practice 7th degree intervals in the time signature 13/8.  I was able to apply that to today's scales, Lydian, Harmonic Minor, and Augmented, in F and B.  It was also interesting to hear major or dominant 7ths arpeggiate (increasing in pitch F, E, Eb, D).  All determined by chance!

Today's Hexagram, Kuan, describes "contemplation."

Last night I met some amazing Cuban musicians at Les Bobards.  Their bass player, Rene, had hurt his hand in a car accident, and I had the great pleasure of sitting in and playing some tumbao when he needed a rest.  Other than that, the French is coming along, I am setting up the Montreal Organic Sound Lab Studio, and playing my ass off.  Every monday night, we play and host a jam session at L'Escalier.  This past weekend I met some great classical musicians at a warehouse party down in Old Montreal.  The opening band played a Philip Glass quartet.  People were sitting on the floor, listening, digging on it, and I was like "I have arrived!"

Interview with Dolphin

Check it!

Interview with Dolphin

Making it happen in Montreal

I moved to Montreal 3 weeks ago, and so far I am enjoying my time, and discovering many things about this city.  I has been frigid out, but that hasn't stopped me from going out on the scene.  I have played at the weekly jam sessions at Grumpy's, and Diese Onze, and I have been hosting a weekly monday jazz jam at L'Escalier.  The Kalmunity collective rocks urban beats and slam poetry every tuesday night in my neighborhood.  It reminds me of What The Fuck Jam Session in Barcelona.  Monday thru Thursday mornings, I attend a French class (free, thank you Quebec!), and I have been pursuing every avenue and door that I find.  

The Blaze keeps me posted on his performances.  I listened to him play at Upstairs with the Malcolm Sailor Quartet, and tonight I will see him playing with Tune-Yards at Il Motore.  I also attended the Turtle Boy CD release party (I live with their drummer!), and have been setting up sessions with many of the folks I have met.  My friend Andy is building a recording studio close to me with ProTools HD and a grand piano.  What more do you need?  It is an exciting project, and I look forward to seeing and hearing how things turn out in the coming months.  

Last Friday I played some dirty funk at a "mustache" party.  See handlebars-and-patch above.  I am starting my own project.  I am envisioning some instrumental dance music - Fela Kuti, Cachao, Skatalites, Jorge Ben, Piazzolla, and a rocking version of Danses Des Petits Cygnes from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake (bring the ballet into the bar!).  Instrumentation?  

So much has happened in such a small amount of time.  I am still figuring many things out, but I take it day by day.  In the same week, I drank the most amazing coffee, and ate the best bagel I have ever had.  It has been pretty amazing to be in Canada watching the American political and economic situation.  Are you guys alright down there?

Susan, Melissa, and Jake at 2640

Check out this page with some pics and audio from our concert in Baltimore!

Link: 2640 January 10