To add to the busy past semester/season I’ve had, my group, Human Equivalent, got the rare opportunity of being invited to play at the London Jazz Festival, which happens yearly November-time. At 6pm, on November 13th 2009, at the Front Room Stage in the Southbank Center, we played our set and I speak for everyone in the band when I say that it was an amazing and inspirational concert for us.
Along with the overall professionalism of Serious Music and everyone involved in the London Jazz Festival, the turn-out and overall atmosphere of the concert was beyond our expectations. Before any concert I’ve given, there’s always that hour before when you weigh-up every factor of the situation you’re about to go into: the stage, the room, the audience that begins to trickle through the doors, the focus of the band, the set of music you’ve chosen… There are times when you believe that any one of these factors could alter the state of play, if it’s not ‘perfect’ or if it’s a little bit ‘different’ from your last concert. If November 13th wasn’t an example of a band adapting to each factor, so much so to create the atmosphere they needed, I don’t know what is!
One of the factors we have to thank is the audience. As blogged by one observer, we managed to accumulate five times the audience they usually get at the Front Room. I’m going to assume most people enjoyed the music, seeing as all seats were taken and roughly another 50-100 people were still standing (or dancing!).
Along with this performance on the Friday, we were invited to work with the community music school Groove Academy, in Hampton (run by Angela and Mark Ramsey), where we gave a workshop during the day for the kids and then gave a mini concert in the evening, with a wee jam session at the end. Again, this was a great experience for us: the kids were all very enthusiastic and ready to try out some of the styles we had discussed within our own music. We want to thank Groove Academy and the Ramseys for their hospitality and support, during the whole weekend!
Since we were about 3 years old, me and my friend Rudi have been good mates. Musically, we’ve always been interested in the forward-looking waves of the contemporary. I guess you could say I took more of purely instrumental route, whilst he delved into the treasurehouse of the electronic realm. Since he began, I’ve always had an ear open to what he does and it looks like now, his shining hour has arrived. Picked up by record label Planet Mu (http://www.planet-mu.com/news) earlier this year, Rudi set out to produce tune-upon-tune of whole Electro-bliss and create his current album Great Western Laymen.
Rudi’s work was recently featured on a couple of Radio 1 shows, including Mary Anne Hobbs’ early, early morning Experimental Show. You can hear me featured on the tune Missa Per Brevis (which was also featured on the show – ace!). You can check out his work at the following: www.myspace.com/rudizygadlo
Well, it’s been a while since my last swathe of news updates but, boy, I have a lot to report. From October 4th-13th, Berklee sent the Patrick Kunka Quartet to the Lorraine area of France, to the Nancy Jazz Pulsations Music Festival. We partook in giving workshops, playing gigs almost every night and traveling around the area non-stop for the time we were there. Busy is a bit of an under-rated word for the week, but it was a lot of fun and a good laugh. You can check out more of our goings-on on Berklee’s Tour Blog: http://www.berkleeontour.com/category/france
April is going to be a VERY busy time for my band, Human Equivalent. We’re recording our next big album in NYC (more on that soon) and will doing a few shows. One show that I really want to tell you about is a Fundraiser that my friend is putting together as her final project for her Degree. It’s on Tuesday 7th April, at All Asia, Cambridge MA, at 9.30pm. The Fundraiser is for Diabetes Research, an important issue for my friend and, having been diagnosed with PCOS a couple of years ago myself, a very relevant issue for me too. So, for any of you in the Boston area next month, please come and hear some awesome music and support a good cause! More funding needs to go towards awareness of and research into Diabetes and related illnesses, so if you come and donate, I’ll personally give you a big hug
