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Continued EF musings: Music everywhere
10 years ago
General
Here's a great example of the butterfly effect in my life. Shortly after I got my suit, I went to Midwest Furfest 2011. At the time I was experimenting with a toy piano on a marching harness, but it proved to be a less than ideal solution for several reasons. Without any real goal or direction, I grabbed my old Gibson ES120 and went parading through the halls, playing random stuff. I eventually met up with Vin, and the following snippet was captured for the ages...
Later on that day I started playing "Party Rock Anthem" on the hallway piano (because that's what one did back in 2011) and the resulting dance mob earned me a scolding from hotel security because we were blocking the fire exits. The story got mildly exaggerated, spread from there, and led to my first official solo appearance three months later at Texas Furry Fiesta, which led to my 2013 Orlando Fringe show, which led to the outrageously good time of EF 21 in 2015.
Every fur con I've ever been to, even the tiniest ones, has had musicians lurking about. In great part, they've been lone wolves, not sure how to collaborate with others or perhaps even unwilling to do so. Many simply play their solipsistic songs in the halls without even trying to engage or even acknowledge an audience. I wish them well, but I don't have any patience with it. I just don't understand why anyone would bother. So I've always gravitated towards those who actively seek out the crowds to give them the immersive experience.
Sure, it was fun playing with Bandthro on the big stage. But I couldn't help but feel that there were at least two bands worth of musicians who could have been, at very least, the opening band (yes, Matt, I love that song). And at this con, they jumped at every opportunity. My jam session panel has never been so well-attended. The stage outside the main ballroom was constantly full of intrepid jammers; they played their own songs, cover songs, and spontaneous jams. And when they drew a crowd, they played to it. I saw a classically trained pianist give a dazzling hallway recital while others sat around in a semicircle in rapt attention. A few of the guys who'd attended my jam session panel held on tight, successfully, during Fox's Saturday night jam. At the campfire I visited at length with a flute-playing fursuiter; he's ready to take his skills to the next level of visibility.
I've never experienced so much democracy (not quite the right word but it's evocative if not 100% accurate) among the musical members of this fandom. It's the closest I think I've come to feeling what, say, the dancer fur community feels. It's as if a community is actually, finally, coalescing. And if it's been this way at EF the whole time and I was simply unaware, well, then, I'd like to figure out a way to export the experience to U.S. cons.
By the way, we recently invited Vin to make a comeback...
And now I'm going to sit back and listen to what all y'all come up with.
Later on that day I started playing "Party Rock Anthem" on the hallway piano (because that's what one did back in 2011) and the resulting dance mob earned me a scolding from hotel security because we were blocking the fire exits. The story got mildly exaggerated, spread from there, and led to my first official solo appearance three months later at Texas Furry Fiesta, which led to my 2013 Orlando Fringe show, which led to the outrageously good time of EF 21 in 2015.
Every fur con I've ever been to, even the tiniest ones, has had musicians lurking about. In great part, they've been lone wolves, not sure how to collaborate with others or perhaps even unwilling to do so. Many simply play their solipsistic songs in the halls without even trying to engage or even acknowledge an audience. I wish them well, but I don't have any patience with it. I just don't understand why anyone would bother. So I've always gravitated towards those who actively seek out the crowds to give them the immersive experience.
Sure, it was fun playing with Bandthro on the big stage. But I couldn't help but feel that there were at least two bands worth of musicians who could have been, at very least, the opening band (yes, Matt, I love that song). And at this con, they jumped at every opportunity. My jam session panel has never been so well-attended. The stage outside the main ballroom was constantly full of intrepid jammers; they played their own songs, cover songs, and spontaneous jams. And when they drew a crowd, they played to it. I saw a classically trained pianist give a dazzling hallway recital while others sat around in a semicircle in rapt attention. A few of the guys who'd attended my jam session panel held on tight, successfully, during Fox's Saturday night jam. At the campfire I visited at length with a flute-playing fursuiter; he's ready to take his skills to the next level of visibility.
I've never experienced so much democracy (not quite the right word but it's evocative if not 100% accurate) among the musical members of this fandom. It's the closest I think I've come to feeling what, say, the dancer fur community feels. It's as if a community is actually, finally, coalescing. And if it's been this way at EF the whole time and I was simply unaware, well, then, I'd like to figure out a way to export the experience to U.S. cons.
By the way, we recently invited Vin to make a comeback...
And now I'm going to sit back and listen to what all y'all come up with.
I also want to have a hard rock/psychobilly furry rock band to play shows at cons but honestly, I don't see that happening anytime soon because of logistics and actually getting furs together to practice enough to be good lol.
V.