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. Adventures
with the Chapman Stick and Guillermo Cides
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Hello,
I hope this finds you all well and happy. It pleases me greatly
to be asked to write
about the Chapman Stick and my adventures with Guillermo Cides.
The Chapman Stick is an unusual instrument; I feel it
holds special gifts
for those fortunate enough to encounter and spend
some time with this
instrument and its colorful, closely-knit community of Stickists.
I believe it is rare to find such a non-competitive community of generous
musicians such as this, all willing to teach and learn from one
another. For me,
the Chapman Stick has always been about international friendship; it has
a way of bringing this world and the people in it together
for valuable moments
in time. Through performing and travelling with this instrument--I have
met many people and places that will always remain
in my heart.
One can come to
the Chapman Stick from any area of music. I came to
it as a lover of
rhythm, drums, percussion and bass. I play mostly bass
with it, heavy on
the percussion and rhythm; I put major effects and looping
techniques on the
melody strings to make them more approachable for
me and the tap-style
lends itself beautifully to more rhythmic compositions.
There is something
there for everyone with this instrument. The more
advanced players
of the Chapman Stick can produce the sounds of a full
orchestra or band
as solo artists.
I remember preparing
for an opening concert for the Tony Levin Band;
he was playing with
Larry
Fast and Jerry Marotta at the time. It was the
very first concert
in which I played the 10-string Chapman Stick. I was
trembling at the
thought of performing before Tony--the man that made the Chapman Stick
popular in the U.s. through his work with Peter Gabriel.
I survived the concert
and believe it was due to the magic of the Stick that
Tony later became
a guest artist on two of my albums with Oxygene8 and
that years later
I found myself in Europe joining Guillermo Cides and Jerry Marotta on their
European tour.
Guillermo Cides
is a highly accomplished Chapman Stick player and
musician, an intuitive
teacher and a dear friend. I thank him greatly for his
friendship and for
giving wings to my dreams of becoming an international
performer.
It was Guillermo that gave me my first opportunity to perform in
Europe and South
America. I have since played and toured with Guillermo
and his projects
with many great musicians such as Argentinean drummer,
Alex Leys,
drummers Gerard Mallorqui and Roger Blavia from Spain,
bassist Pepe
Bao from Spain, Zanfona-Hurdy Gurdy player, Adrià Grandia,
also from Spain
and as mentioned previously, Jerry Marotta from the U.s.
When schedules permit,
Guillermo is also a guest artist in a project close
to my heart---OXYGENE8
with drummer Kiko King from Mexico, guitarists
Claudio Cordero
from Chile and Federico Miranda from Costa Rica
and the Chapman
Stick and I from the U.s.
Guillermo and I
collaborated on a very special album, "Not
Different But Not
the Same",
with life-long friend, drummer Tim Alexander and many other
special guests such
as Tony Levin, Trey Gunn and Joe Mendelson,
Steve Parrish
and Baby Face Zoalaga. It is an album I will always be
proud of--Guille
and I worked closely together with musical files being sent
into cyberspace
and returning from all corners of the world.
I must say that
after meeting Guillermo Cides, my life was just never the
same. We've
had many adventures--travelling, making music, having
philosophical talks;
we have laughed and cried together.
We shared rough
times and good times on the road and then also many
of the 'perfect
tours' that every musician hopes for--that made us feel
invincible, like
we were really sharing the music with everyone for the
purest of reasons!
We have played large venues and small and have met
so many wonderful,
kind people that listened to our music, broke bread
with and opened
up their hearts and homes to us--that it brings tears to my
eyes now as I write.
I have much love and respect for all those I have met
and shared a bit
of life with on these magical Stick tours! Thank you and
I love you. One
of my fondest memories with Guillermo includes opening
for the amazing
Trey Gunn and Joe Mendelson's project, QUODIA, when
we all played in
Argentina. I remembered we all went to a Tango club after
the concert and
Trey and Joe took part in the Tango lessons being given
there.... such fun!
Important to me was the tour Guillermo and I did through
Patagonia. The land
was quiet, remote, yet the music was so greatly
received and the
people and sponsors so kind. We played for 'youth at
risk' kids and I
believe I fell in love with every one of the them. In parts of
Patagonia, there
is a high rate of poverty. Access to internet or cell phones
is often non-existent
and rare are opportunities for entertainment and social
contact outside
these isolated communities. There is a high rate of teenage
suicide. If
I ever questioned my motives for playing music and performing,
it was there in
Patagonia that I would never question them again. It was
that tour that would
be one of my most rewarding tours with Guille.
I also remember
the tour through Spain and then on to Argentina that took
us to so many venues
that I think we played nearly every night. The sweet
memory of this tour
was that Guillermo's dear Father was our driver!
He was an awesome
road manager.... what fun!
I remember playing
in Cantabria, in the North of Spain.... a city that actually
reminded me of Switzerland.
The big theatre was so cold that Guille and
I stood in the dressing
room wrapped up in coats, scarfs and gloves--our
teeth were chattering,
it was so cold--so we started jumping up and down,
laughing so hard
just trying to keep warm!
One evening Guille
and I played in Cordoba, Argentina. Guillermo dedicated
the show to his
beautiful Parents, who came to see us play. That day,
Guille's Mother
brought us the best home-made empenadas I have ever
tasted! On
this tour, Guille and I were playing with Adrià Grandia,
presenting another
unusual instrument from the Middle Ages, the Zanfona
or Hurdy-Gurdy.
For this special concert, I wore a more formal dress and
hi-heels.
The concert was great, Guille was playing his heart out for his
Parents and it was
time for Guillermo to solo. I had been in the front of the
stage singing and
started walking to the side so as to give the solo its most
full attention.
BUT......... my hi-heel became stuck in a crack in the wooden
stage floor and
I couldn't move! I was stuck there. So........ I left
my shoe
in the middle of
the stage and walked away with one shoe on and one shoe
off and the boys
just kept playing away!
The Chapman Stick
connects us from all parts of the world; and in closing,
I wish to say that
I will always look at the Chapman Stick as more than just
a musical instrument.
For me, it is an eloquent ambassador of humanity,
brotherhood and
international friendship. It has a way of bringing this world
and the people in
it together for valuable moments in time.
I feel I have an
extended family because I chose the Chapman Stick, or
should I say --because
it chose me.
Thank you, Epakta,
for all your support of the music and for the invitation
to write about my
adventures with the Chapman Stick and Guillermo Cides.
Thank you, Emmett
Chapman, for creating an instrument that has become
such a unique and
gracious global ambassador.
Wishing you all
much peace and love. Peace to Our World.
Love, Linda
.
Thank you so much
Linda, for being so friendly and wonderful.
Epakta. |
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