davidatkinson.ca

Hey there sports fans.

For those of you living under a rock, I play in a wicked funk outfit called The Disease.  This band has been working hard for years, and we are finally starting to break out.  Last Monday we played at The Opera House for a label showcase hosted by Hotboxxx Records; one of the many unofficial Canadian Music Week shows.  The odds were stacked against us that night - the rest of the bill was mostly singer-songwriters, and we were slated to go last.  In order to be allowed to play we had to bring out a minimum of 20 guests, and for 11:30 on a Monday night, at $15 a head, for a short 30-minute set, it can be hard to get your fans to come out.

Add to this the fact that immediately before taking the stage, we discovered that Chad’s cymbal bag got jacked by accident by a drummer in a previous band.  In the end, the FOH sound guy came running with a pair of cymbals acquired from who-knows-where, and so, all buzzing from the stress and ire, we took the stage by storm and ripped it up in a way that we have never ripped it up before.

Here is a cut from our set.  I would like to call attention to a few details:  First of all, introducing Nevin Dunn, our newest member, on tenor sax.  He brings the hype SNL sound that every funk band needs, and the whole horn section has stepped up several notches in response.  Second of all, this show marked the very first time that Mike and I gave a shot at singing backup vocals.  While we are just beginners, I’m fairly chuffed at the way they sound.  Finally, for any existing Disease fans, you may notice that this tune, (along with several others,) has been re-arranged from the bottom up.  In this particular cut, I contributed a whole new bridge section.  (I also contributed by adding in a sax solo in lieu of the two keyboard solos - who likes keyboard solos anyway?)

Ok, so not only did we sound our best, but what happened?  Well, we won the free studio time, won the free songwriting workshop, as well as garnered attention from the label reps that were present: we received an urgent message to call them first thing in the morning.  Add to all that that the owner of The Opera House, (one of Toronto’s biggest and best venues,) loved us enough that he asked for an encore, and is now trying to find Friday night opportunities for us there.  The results could not have been better.

Riding the high of such a good show, I decided to completely revamp our band website, which you can check out at thedisease.ca.  Now we are officially gearing up for recording our 2009 EP, which we are hoping to drop in July.  Stay tuned, because this band is finally starting to go places, and those places are good.

Welcome to the first post of 2009!

I had a wonderful visit home to Ottawa for the holidays, and while I was there I brought back a couple microphones to do some recording on the piano in my Mum’s living room.  It was nice to just set the mics up and be able to sit down and play whenever something hit me.

The following is an improvisation based on a theme by Hermeto Pascoal.  The original piece is the November 13th entry from Pascoal’s Calendario do Som - a book of 365 works (one for each day of the year) that was comissioned by the Brazilian ministry of culture.  Of course very few of those works have been recorded, so my interpretation is simply my own take on the melody,with an emphasis on rhythmic variation.  The theme itself appears in the last cycle or two.

Improvisations on a theme by Hermeto Pascoal

Also for your enjoyment, I would like to present a track by my new favourite band - Pure Finesse.  Led by Mike Simpson and featuring a bunch of talented musicians from the Toronto area, this band literally sounds like a blend of James Brown and Black Sabbath.  The following recorded was tracked and mixed entirely by yours truly.

Pure Finesse live at the Rearview Mirror (formerly Bread & Circus) Nov 19 2008

Forever Old School

Thurston Moore

Enjoy the new tracks!

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Excerpts from my Solo Performance 5/6 recording session at Humber College. Includes two jazz standards (Misty and There Is No Greater Love) and Franz Liszt’s Benediction de Dieu dans la Solitude.

It occured to me that I haven’t included anything from the Disease album yet.  These recordings ended up meaning a lot to me because not only was this long-awaited first release, it’s also the first album I had the opportunity to produce.

Get Up

Sugar Honey

Disco Yarn

Silq (our hidden track, one I’m particularly proud of)

You can buy the album from indiepool.com or download it from iTunes.

Recorded for Jordan’s Solo Perf 5/6 class at Humber College.