PDC Event at the Marriott Marquis featuring Platinum

The gig was in the giant, long Marquis Ballroom at the Marriott Marquis.  The event was for AGA’s Annual Professional Development Conference & Exposition (PDC) this week. In its 60th year, the conference is known as the premier education and networking event for government financial managers and accountability professionals.  These people sound a little boring and stuffy on paper, but they came to party and dance the night away.  Platinum held court with our friend Jeff Burniski, aka DJ Jeff B spinning vinyl before, after, & during our breaks.  We had a deluxe projection screen with our respective logos & psychedelic graphics being broadcast to all who could see the stage.  A very classy way to spend a Wednesday evening in the ATL.

We rehearsed the night before at Crossover Studios in an attempt to tighten up some loose ends and learn some new tunes.  We went over some oldies with which to open the show: Jailhouse Rock, All Shook Up, and Rock Around the Clock.  Guess what?  I ended up singing Rock Around the Clock!  Once in a while, I end up taking one that no one else cares to do.  My first attempt was rather poor.  What's hard about this song is that the vocal doesn't get much time to breathe, so I have to plan accordingly.  The song really needs a deliciously strong upright slap bass.  I'm convinced after listening closely to the Bill Haley version (is there any other that matters?  This song, reportedly written in 1951 & recorded by Bill Haley and His Comets in 1954, was the birth of rock 'n roll!  Something to consider.) that a great slap bass sound can really only be obtained with gut strings.  Hmm.  Maybe I could look into this.  So complicated, really, since it's a common thing to mix the gut & steel strings as well (ie steel E & A with gut D & G, for instance).  So anyways, I wish I had worked it up on upright.  The performance came across great, I thought, with a rehearsal again at soundcheck.  I utiltized my Line 6 Relay G30 wireless unit that I picked up back in the spring.  Good news there is that 2 fresh AA batteries got me through soundcheck as well as the 4 hour gig.  I had about 3 times during the night when I lost signal for about 1 or 2 notes.  Not sure why, but being in the Marquis downtown could have been a factor, with multiple wireless frequencies bouncing around.  So, I was able to step up to the front of the stage to sing that song.  Yeah!  Hard song to sing for me, very arpeggiated, you know?  Another song we worked up was Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke", down a half-step to Bb, mind you.  The unison breaks are of the most concern, naturally.  It's been tightened up, but I'm still not completely comfortable quite yet.  Other highlights from the show included the Old Skool Medley with the Digital Underground romp "The Humpty Dance", which has that kooky octave jumping bass line in it - I use an octave effect to make it as dubby-sounding as I can.  The original was in Eb but we do it in D, since that's how Glen taught it to me.  All in all, this was a very positive and powerful gig for us.  My new Eden amp has been pushed rather hard these last few outings.  It has been overloading, with the red lights coming on, no matter what I do.  The fix will come on the following gig, which I'll explain on the new post...