I mentioned yesterday that the “pre-premiere” of “Asphalt Cocktail” is this coming Tuesday night at Michigan State. I just heard their most recent rehearsal recording, and I think this piece is going to be… ballsy. Ballsy, groovy, and loud. It may not be “Turbine” loud, but it’s up there. (My blurb for the piece may be, in the style of those stupid Blockbuster recommendations, “If you disliked Turbine, you’ll HATE Asphalt Cocktail!”)

I just learned that immediately following the performance, I’m heading to a little get-together where I will get to sample The Asphalt Cocktail. Yes, John Madden, Director of the Spartan Marching Band, has created a cocktail to go with the piece. I am SO excited. Recipe to follow!

This is getting posted all over the place, and I’m a follower, so I’m sharing it, too.  It’s pretty awesome, particularly if you’ve ever seen Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.  I remember seeing this movie when I was young and really being struck most by the scene where they put the nasty slug things in the ears.  It’s nice to finally see that moment honored with operatic singing.

div#main{overflow:visible;}

After posting yesterday about the “found percussion” I’m using in my new middle school piece, I came across this article in today’s Chicago Sun Times.  The article is about Vadim Karpinos, who plays timpani and assorted percussion in the Chicago Symphony.  The story speaks specifically to this idea that just about anything can be percussion:

For one Symphony Center concert, Karpinos bought some “instruments” at the Home Depot and local thrift stores. His job during a performance of chamber music by Hungarian composer Gyorgy Ligeti was to smash stuff on stage — glasses, dishes and a wooden box. “I enjoyed that quite a bit. It’s great stress relief.”
That performance was a return to his musical roots. “I just loved banging on things — pots and pans and old LP records,” he said. “My parents saw that my interest wasn’t going away, so my father made me a drum set out of an ironing board and some old tin cans.”

Don’t worry. I won’t be asking students to smash glasses. A trip to Home Depot is probably not out of the question, though…