Blog
Grand Schemes
Big things are happening at Slap Happy! I have some big goals for this year, and the first two months have been off to a smashing start. If 2012 can keep up the momentum that January and February have set up, this is going to be an incredible year for the studio! Publicity Slap Happy was featured in the Your Hub section of the Denver Post on February 9th. Your Hub is a “ local news and citizen journalism” portion of the Denver Post that covers news from the entire Denver Metro area, which has been divided into 12 regions. Slap Happy was featured in the local business focus section for the South Metro region. Click here for the Your Hub Facebook...
Read MorePASIC 2011
Just a sampling of the awesomeness that was PASIC 2011. Mantra’s “Timber”, Poncho Sanchez, the Lucas Oil Stadium, Guitarra Azul, and more!
Read MoreNOTA live at MHVJ
At the beginning of November, 2009′s “The Sing Off” winners NOTA came to Denver for a live performance. This was a featured concert from the Mile High Vocal Jam, and a very enjoyable night. University of Denver’s Idiosingcrasies started the night off, followed by Simply Put. NOTA’s performance was full of energy and was a great show!
Read MoreSnapshots of PASIC: Focus Day
Focus Day for this year’s PASIC was “Five Decades of New Music for Percussion 1961-2011″, a topic chosen in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Percussive Arts Society. It really is amazing the vast repertoire that has developed over the last 50 years. Percussion has been around for centuries, and yet as a solo art form it seems so young in comparison with the other orchestral instruments. As a very general rule, I am not a big fan of “20th century” or “modern” music. That is not to say that I don’t like atonality, sound effects, or anything written in the last 100 years…but several of the pieces I heard on...
Read MoreSnapshots of PASIC: Reaction
Today, two days after the end of PASIC 2011, I finally feel like I have caught up on sleep. For the four days and four nights that I was in Indianapolis, it was a constant barrage of amazement, inspiration, and excitement. Even in those hours when I did get some sleep, my mind was racing, dreaming of the clinics and presentations I had taken part in, imagining the concerts I had seen. By the end of the trip I was exhausted mentally and physically, dying for my own bed, and unable to process the vast amounts of information I had taken in. Now I am starting to sort it all out. My luggage is unpacked, laundry is done, pictures are uploaded, and the massive pile of books,...
Read MoreGamelan workshop
Gamelan Tunas Mekar came to Slap Happy this weekend to give a hands-on gamelan workshop. At this workshop, participants were introduced to the instruments of the gamelan angklung (tuned to a four-toned scale in slendro tuning). They learned the role of each instrument and how it relates to the melody. Then, the basic dampening technique was explained and practiced before beginning to learn a basic melody. By the end of the session, the gangsa players had begun to play kotekans while the gong, ceng-ceng, and tawa-tawa locked everything into that original melody. We had a lot of fun, and will definitely be doing more workshops in the future. For more up to date...
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