I trust all is well with you and yours!
Today marks five years since the day that I sent my doctoral thesis away to be marked. It took nearly six years to write, and the final product wound up containing 98,525 words in a book spanning 505 pages including about 100 pages of transcription. This occurred after three consecutive nights without sleep due to a major Microsoft Word style/formatting issue that nearly derailed the whole thing. Fortunately I recovered from the formatting issue and was able to submit.
Foolishly, I went teaching that afternoon after handing the thing in, and I kept dozing off in lessons. Would've been better off going straight to bed. When I was done teaching, and even more foolishly, I had to drive home. Why didn't I think of booking a cab or catching a train? Anyway, when I went into the nearest café to order a strong coffee, the barista took one look at me and said, 'let me guess, you need a triple shot, right?!' No one has ever offered me a triple shot before or since! So I drank my coffee, and as I was crossing the Harbour Bridge I started having aural hallucinations that the sound my car engine was making was in fact as though I were listening to a big band and string orchestra with arrangements by Penderecki, featuring Ornette Coleman & Freddie Mercury as soloists. I came to the sudden insight that my car had indeed sounded like that the whole ten years I'd been driving it!
Fortunately, shortly after I started hearing these sounds, I realised I was freaking out, and just concentrated on not running anyone off the road. I made it home safely & then passed out for a few days.
I can't wait to hear submission stories from all my current doctoral candidate friends :)
People often ask me, 'what's the latest?' Or, 'what's coming up?' I never really know how to answer those questions on the fly, so I'm happy to bring you an update on the latest, and on what's coming up with the aid of my trusty calendar.
August Gigs
Read on for details of our next Sydney gig in early October at Foundry 616. It'll be our last gig before we play at the Wangaratta Jazz Festival on Melbourne Cup weekend.
I also enjoyed filling in for the great Hamish Stuart with John Leigh Calder at Low 302 in Surry Hills. John is unique in the music world. He has a recognisable singing style that I really like. Coupled with his bass playing and you have a truly unique artist. Some weeks featured Mike Pensini on piano, and others featured Aaron Blakey - two great pianists. Each time, "The Major" David Glyde blew his tenor and soprano saxophones as though it were to be his last ever gig. What an inspiration.
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge and S6 edge+ : The 5 Percenters
A couple of weeks ago I took my drums into the studio for an enjoyable session laying down some grooves and sounds under the direction of composer/maestro Hylton Mowday for Samsung's new '5 percent' ad campaign that you've probably by now seen pop up all over your social pages and on tele.
Check it out here - we had some fun that day!
Trioflight album mixes underway
One beautiful, collaborative piano trio that I'm particularly proud to be a part of is called Trioflight with Nick Southcott and Max Alduca - formerly Three Fall. We recorded our first album in June and those tracks are being mixed by Simon Todkill at Studio 301 as I write this. We were very lucky to win the Cranbrook Music Studio Recording Competition earlier in the year, which very generously provides us with a complete album production using the wonderful Cranbrook Studio facilities including a Steinway grand piano and some of the best microphones I've ever heard. All ably engineered by the amazing Roger Lock. We'll be launching the album later in the year, so please, come on over and 'like' our Facebook musician/band page where we'll be keeping you up-to-date about the launch, and future gigs.
PERCUSScene Interview
I'm proud to be featured on the cover of the current Jul/Aug/Sep edition PERCUSScene (#15) alongside my old friends Danny Susnjar and Darren Moore, as well as new friends Alex Stopa, Nat Grant, Vanessa Tomlinson, Tim Jones & Louise Devenish for the feature article 'Is there a doctor in the house' by Gary France. Each of us has a doctorate in music, and the interviews discuss different aspects of being a drummer engaged in doctoral study. PERCUSScene #15 is a part of DRUMScene #81 (featuring Grant Collins on the cover). You can find a print copy in your local newsagency, or order a print and/or digital copy here: http://www.drumscene.com.au/
It'll be great to get together with Ten Part Invention again for our first gig since a triumphant return in March after a couple of years off. The band's founder and former drummer, the irrepressible, indefatigable and extraordinary John Pochée will be joining us on the night to celebrate his 75th birthday. Do come along and pinch me to remind me that I'm not dreaming, and I still won't believe that I have the honour and pleasure of trying to fill John's massively-un-fillable-by-anyone-else shoes. It's going to be a big night! Tickets available here.
Dave Goodman Quartet @ Foundry 616, Sydney, 7 Oct, 8:30 PM
Have a great month, and I hope to see you out and about. I'd love to hear from you, so please feel free to leave a comment below, or send me an email. If you'd like to receive these messages as well as special offers for mailing list members only delivered directly to your email inbox, please join my mailing list by visiting http://davegoodman.com.au/signup - you'll also receive a free download copy of my new track 'Entelechies'.