Goodbye to 2012 and Welcome to 2013

 

      This is Paul, the bass player and man behind the scenes of Fleetwood Mask.  It's finally my turn to share the story and some history of the band.

Fleetwood Mask is barely a year old and it is amazing to think back through everything we have done in 2012 and where we are going into 2013.

In November of 2011, I had an emotional holiday period, and was reflecting on how much I missed being in a band.  I remembered talking to Barbara about being Christine McVie for a Fleetwood Mac band with Claudette as Stevie and me as John.  Barb had never heard us, but agreed to come over and give it a try. 

We started with a few jam sessions at Casa de Jones-Rodrigues music room in late December 2011 and January of 2012.  We quickly went from a few people who liked Fleetwood Mac songs, to a group with a vision, in need of a Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood... some big shoes to fill, indeed!

Steve and Don agreed to give it a try, and we were on our way.  We practiced when we could, and I worked on pulling together a PA so the singers could hear themselves over the amps and drums.  Along the way, we learned that a glass of peppermint tea, a little red wine, or a shot of Jameson calmed the nerves and kept everyone happy until we were done for the day.

Somehow we managed to pull together an hours worth of songs and agreed to perform at a June benefit fundraiser for Don's little league organization. 

From the stage at the Englander in San Leandro, we shared a home grown PA with the other band, the San Leandroids, and had a successful opening show with encouragement from our friends and families.

In July, we saw Bella Donna, a Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac tribute band, perform at a local country club summer festival.  Claudette and Michelle bonded and I captured some of that "White Witch" magic with their auras getting to know each other after the show...

Through the rest of the summer, we did a few local bar gigs and added Debra as a backup vocalist.  We recorded a promo video with Karen at Tribute Video Productions and got our social media going...Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, oh my... if my mom could see me now?!

While scouting for places to play and record, we entered the Classic Cover Band competition against about 20 bands at Red House Studios.  

We won the Cup, and were rewarded with a well paying show at the Lafayette Art and Wine Festival, along with our first set of trophies. 

Into the fall, we played at the Twilight by the Lake Festival in Oakland, and managed to get in some family vacations.

We learned more songs, and started making plans for the new year.   We did a few more bar gigs and private parties and spent time getting to know other tribute bands like Pretending and Petty Theft...

Claudette sat in with Petty Theft at the Chicken Ranch Casino and they did a nice job on "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around".

 



At the end of 2012, we enjoyed a really fun New Years Eve party with many local musicians and tribute band players.  Fleetwood Mask played a few sets and we had a mixed jam session that went until early in the new year.  

2013 is shaping up to a big year for the band.  We already have festivals and club gigs lined up through the fall.  Our dedication to performing Fleetwood Mac's songs as they were created is what people seem to like.  Early this month, we decided to add Mark Varnes as a second guitar and backup vocalist who can add more texture to our sound and fill in the complex arrangements that Lindsey, Bob, Peter, Rick, and others laid down in the studio over the last 40 years.

Through 2013, we will expand our set lists bringing in more early Fleetwood Mac from the Peter Green and Bob Welch era.  We will add more new songs, too. With Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham and the full Fleetwood Mac band touring (less Christine McVie of course), there is a broad set of choices for us to create unique show compilations.

Thanks to everyone who has been with us through 2012 and into 2013.  This year is going to be a great year for live music and a fantastic year for Fleetwood Mask, too!

What's in Your Closet?

What’s in your closet?  Well, in my closet I have: an African drum called a Djembe, two Chinese flower drums, hand drums of various sizes, a rain stick from Bali, a stringed instrument from Thailand called a sueng, pan-pipes from Peru, recorders of all sizes, a two headed drum from India called a dhol, a tambourine from Turkey called a daf, glockenspiel, xylophones, metallophones, harmonicas in various keys, a jaw harp, a banjo, a guitar, an electric bass, two Yamaha synthesizers, a portable Hammond organ, an accordion and most recently an acoustic/electric mandolin.

I guess you could say that I’m a collector of instruments, or, as my husband says, an instrument whore.  I can’t seem to own enough instruments.  My weakness are the folk instruments like the accordion and flutes that are so universal.

I am a kindergarten through 8th grade general music teacher.  My students are accustomed to me playing different types of instruments in our music lessons.  They learn how to play small patterns of rhythm, melody and harmony (ostinati) on xylophones and metallophones, and various kinds of percussion and how to play as an ensemble and therefore accompany themselves in school programs.  I enjoy introducing  different kinds of instruments and showing them how they work.  I don’t always know how to play the instrument but that never stops me.

Some years ago I was teaching in an East Bay private school and had a particularly surly and uncooperative group of 8th graders.  There were 42 of them!  One day I brought in a case and just set it down in front of the class making no mention of it.  Naturally hands went up . . . “what’s in the case?”  My response, “Oh this?  Let’s get through the lesson today and IF there is time, I’ll show you.”  That was the most cooperative, attentive and productive lesson we ever had.  The time came for the unveiling of the mystery.  I hoisted up the case onto a desk -- whew! It was so heavy!  I clicked open the clasps -- you could have heard a pin drop.  I slowly opened the case and pulled out . . . . an enormous concert sized accordion!  The gasps, the woe’s, and then the realization “hey, that’s what Erkel plays!”  I showed them how it worked and we took turns wearing it (especially the boys because it was so heavy), pushing buttons, and pulling on the bellows.  I asked them if they thought I could play the accordion and they all said “NO WAY” and I said, “true but is that going to stop me from playing for you?”  they said “NO WAY”.

In Fleetwood Mask, the opportunity to play mandolin on a a couple songs has come up.  I have a mandolin now.  Do I know how to play it?  Not really!  Will that stop me from playing it?  NO WAY!  Now I need to find out how to squeeze in bagpipes.  I don’t have those yet and I MUST have them!

Barbara Martin

Learning I’m So Afraid…and Keeping it Real

I heard this song for the first time while viewing the live performance on The Dance DVD.  As is often the case with songs written and sung by Lindsey Buckingham, the sincerity of the lyrics and heartfelt authenticity behind the extended solo are unmistakably personal - this is classic Lindsey.  I don’t know the specific nature of his struggle, but it was clear to me that if I’m going to sing and play this song with any emotional legitimacy, I’m going to have to tap in to something that’s all mine to make the words painfully personal.  This is not a song you can sing based on technical precision; rather, it’s a song you must sing with your heart.  As I said, it’s classic Lindsey.

I don’t mean to get too heavy about this, but as a tribute band we’re looking for every opportunity to capture what’s authentic.  In learning “I’m So Afraid”, my journey as a recovering addict allows me to make these lyrics incredibly personal. Phrases like “I’ve been alone all the years, so many ways to count the tears” and “I’m so afraid I’ll live and I’ll fall and I’ll die” are not overly dramatic. They are simply honest and true as I look back on my life before 1995 and getting clean. 

The lyrics are only half the story.  The slow, heavy tempo and use of minor chords give the song a haunting characteristic to match the painful lyrics.  Lindsey drives hard through two verses and passion-filled choruses before punctuating the song with an extended guitar solo in classic-rock fashion.  Unlike Lindsey, I use a pick for most of my solos. Nonetheless, this dramatic melody (partially based on pentatonic scale) allows me build the solo, climbing up the neck toward a crescendo hanging on a high, screaming bend in classic Lindsey style.  This climax exemplifies the painful release of all the memories and associated fears that go with being in recovery.  As I said, to be authentic I had to make it mine.

Steve

Stevie gets a wardrobe change!!!!!!

Hi All!

Stevie is having her seamstress Miss "M" step in for a bit of Costume  re designing this week! After all for Ms. Nicks its all about the shawls! So working with my designer, we are incorporating a few more shawls in our sets! "Stand Back " will have  the traditional and amazing gold polka dot and black fringe shaw,l while the Gold Dust shawl will be revamped into a more rocking Gold Glitter! And Stevie will have a new red layed chiffon beaded skirt to send the audience into a trance when she twirls!

To our fellow Maskers, what was YOUR favorite shawl/outfit that Stevie wore and why????