Wednesday, January 2, 2008

New Ears Eve

Wednesday, January 2, 2008
8 comments

The decor in The Space on Front Street where The Swinging Orangutangs jammed in the new year was a visual feast. We had Far Eastern rugs and tapestries. There were ropes of colored lights, candles, flashing stage lighting, digital projectors set on Visualizer, a swingin' 60's gel projector, and even a sliver disco ball. Everyone was wearing their glittery best swanky threads and the dancing, well, it looked like a contortionists' convention inside the WD-40 factory.

But for me the best part of the night was totally aural. We made music that was as transcendent as it was trance-inducing for us and the revelers all 'round us. That is not a boastful brag, mind you. I am simply saying that every once in a great while, the music comes out of you in a natural flow. And if you are tuned into this flow, you know to stay out of the way and let it happen. Because if you mess with the flow, it can quickly become a trickle.

The Swinging Orangutangs have had their fair share of "flow" nights in our 15 or so years of music making. But Monday night's performance ranks right up there with the best ever. And I think the reason is ears—we had 12 ears all tuned in to the same frequency. Everyone in the band listens really well and tries to blend what they're doing in with what everyone else is doing. On New Year's Eve, by the second verse of the second song I knew we'd brought along our A-game. We all felt it, grinned big grins, and relaxed back into the music, letting it take over.

At numerous moments during the night, Andy Hall (drums) and Clay Paschal (bass) were linked up like fraternal twins, utterly locked in to what the other was doing. Five or six times, Julie and Jessica sang some harmonies that sounded so good that I got chills. And Vinnie and I managed to get dual guitar riffs going spontaneously that sounded awesome even though we'd never practiced them and never even thought of doing them until that exact moment.

It was a special night of making music with good friends. And we get to make more this Friday night at The Marietta Brewing Company, starting at 9 pm. Good seats still available, but my guess is the dance floor will be full.

Here are some images from New Year's Eve 2007, captured by Official Orangutangs' Shutterbug Shila Wilson. If you haven't already, check out Julie's blog entry.

And O how they danced. . .

We were dancing, too.


Rock steady Andy Hall on drums.


Clay Paschal (and his giant brain) laying down the Down Low on blurry five-string bass.

Vincenzo Serephino Mele is anything but mellow on lead guitar.


This was Jessica Baldwin's debut in a rock band. She plays keyboards and sings better than the birds.


Julie Zickefoose (The Golden Larynx of Whipple) was her amazing self, but even more amped up by the vibe.


This is me, hitting the high power chords of "Rewind Myself" one of the original songs we did.

One of our hosts, Zane, brought his traditional Fish House Punch to the party. This is supposedly something they drank in Colonial Times in America where every conceivable type of alcohol was poured into a punch bowl. In Colonial Times the life expectancy was something like 17.6 years. Perhaps we have Fish House Punch to thanks for that. Anyway, I managed to stay away from the punch. However, I witnessed several party people glugging down large glasses.

This probably made the band look to them like this:
The Swinging Orangutangs viewed through Punch Goggles.

8 comments:

On January 2, 2008 at 10:34 PM shila said...

Oh yeah, I think there were some punch goggles out there! Thanks for an evening that wore holes in my dancing shoes. It was indeed, an aural feast.

On January 2, 2008 at 10:40 PM Bill of the Birds said...

Sheels. Thx for your ossum photos, amiga.

On January 3, 2008 at 4:57 AM Trixie said...

Any gigs other than Friday night soon? Hmmm...

On January 3, 2008 at 6:41 AM Jayne said...

How cool to even be a part of something that clicks so well it seems as if you've been doing with those people forever. So wish we could have all been there with you guys!

On January 3, 2008 at 7:58 PM Heron said...

Sounds like pure magic and an unforgetable experience. Wish I had been there. The pictures of the event are fabulous, kudos to Shila !

When the time is right, your fans would love to hear an audio clip of the new Swinging OrangutanGs.

Wishing you all an outrageously good time at the next gig !

On January 4, 2008 at 7:58 AM Mary said...

Many of us have asked about an audio. Possible?

What a wonderful gift to be in tune with each other and just go with the flow of music (minus Fish House Punch - ewwww).

On January 4, 2008 at 8:52 AM Julie Zickefoose said...

You could smell the Fish House Punch from the dance floor--smelled like floor polish. I'll be sluggin' hot tea for the gig tonight. Five out of six Orangs picked up a nice head cold on New Year's Eve. Kiss kiss! Just what you want when you're going for the high notes.


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