Perf_de_Castro
07-24-2006, 09:40 AM
Hi all!
Just got back from a 3 week trip in the Philippines. My wife, 2 boys and I went there to meet up with family, friends and relatives... the grandparents were beside themselves with joy! :D
It also turned out to be a working vacation for me: I taught a guitar workshop, hosted am Jam session, went on radio to promote the LEYTE CD ( http://www.leytecd.org ) and performed for the freshmen guitar students at my old school. Below are some pics from the trip:
Before I focused on 10 string and Classical Guitar, I was a pretty well-known rock guitarist back in the Philippines. So some guitar guys from a Philippine Music Forum requested that I give a guitar workshop for some of their members. The following pics will show me wielding a Fender Stratocaster (an instrument as far away from my Ramirez 10 string as one can get!)
http://photos.perfdecastro.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_2869.JPG
http://photos.perfdecastro.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_2872.JPG
http://photos.perfdecastro.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_2870.JPG
I gave a 3 hour lecture/demo on positioning, hand care, exercises, fingerboard mastery and improvisation and soloing concepts. I could see the participant's eyes almost glaze over from information overload nearing the end of the 3rd hour! :lol: But time was tight and I wanted to give them as much as I could.
Here's another fun night:
http://photos.perfdecastro.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_102_0136.JPG
http://photos.perfdecastro.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_102_0129.JPG
http://photos.perfdecastro.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_pjeb0002.jpg
Other members from the same forum organized a Jam session at one of the clubs. The venue name is "Purple Haze" and it's got some of the coolest and very rare Hendrix memorabilia in there. There's one photo of Jimi playing a lefty hollowbody guitar (which I have NEVER seen before)...how cool is that!?! 8)
Unfortunately, the event attracted mostly guitar players... and only ONE bass player and TWO drummers!!!! So I jumped in when them guys got tired heheheh lotsafun banging away at a foreign instrument and they did tell me to just stick to playing guitar in the future! :lol:
To steer things back to CG:
http://photos.perfdecastro.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_P7180093.JPG
This was an informal performance I did at my old school, The PWU School of Music. The audience were mostly freshmen guitar majors of the school as well as some upperclassmen and some guests from the nearby schools. I played the following pieces:
- Fantasie and Allegro (S.L. Weiss)
- Prelude Etnika and Tocatta (L.R. Kasilag)
- Madronos (F.M. Torroba)
- Vals #4, op. 8 (A.B. Mangore)
- Canco Trista (P. Talarn)
- Gran Jota (F. Tarrega)
In between pieces, I answered questions about my career, my adventures here in the US, technique, my guitar and several other topics. It was a great experience and it felt good knowing that I've somehow inspired those students to keep at their studies. Hopefully at least one of them gets to be among the Philippines' future concert guitarists.
Lastly, a friend of mine opened a recording studio while I was gone and he has a great setup: boutique outboard gear (Avalon mic pre, Focusrite Liquid Channel, Manley compessor, Neumann tube mic, assorted AKG, Shure, Neumann, Sennheiser mics, 02R 24/96 mixing console, a super PC running Nuendo, ADAT 24/96)
He offered me some FREE recording time. And I wasn't about to turn him down :wink: So in between all these events, I managed to record 10 pieces, enough for a CD. I'm in the middle of mixing/mastering the material so I guess it's about a couple of months before I get to release them as a CD. Will surely let you guys know when I do. ;)
Welp, if you've read this far, thanks for taking time to read about my recent adventures and I hope you enjoyed it!
All the best!
PERF
http://www.perfdecastro.com
Just got back from a 3 week trip in the Philippines. My wife, 2 boys and I went there to meet up with family, friends and relatives... the grandparents were beside themselves with joy! :D
It also turned out to be a working vacation for me: I taught a guitar workshop, hosted am Jam session, went on radio to promote the LEYTE CD ( http://www.leytecd.org ) and performed for the freshmen guitar students at my old school. Below are some pics from the trip:
Before I focused on 10 string and Classical Guitar, I was a pretty well-known rock guitarist back in the Philippines. So some guitar guys from a Philippine Music Forum requested that I give a guitar workshop for some of their members. The following pics will show me wielding a Fender Stratocaster (an instrument as far away from my Ramirez 10 string as one can get!)
http://photos.perfdecastro.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_2869.JPG
http://photos.perfdecastro.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_2872.JPG
http://photos.perfdecastro.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_IMG_2870.JPG
I gave a 3 hour lecture/demo on positioning, hand care, exercises, fingerboard mastery and improvisation and soloing concepts. I could see the participant's eyes almost glaze over from information overload nearing the end of the 3rd hour! :lol: But time was tight and I wanted to give them as much as I could.
Here's another fun night:
http://photos.perfdecastro.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_102_0136.JPG
http://photos.perfdecastro.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_102_0129.JPG
http://photos.perfdecastro.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_pjeb0002.jpg
Other members from the same forum organized a Jam session at one of the clubs. The venue name is "Purple Haze" and it's got some of the coolest and very rare Hendrix memorabilia in there. There's one photo of Jimi playing a lefty hollowbody guitar (which I have NEVER seen before)...how cool is that!?! 8)
Unfortunately, the event attracted mostly guitar players... and only ONE bass player and TWO drummers!!!! So I jumped in when them guys got tired heheheh lotsafun banging away at a foreign instrument and they did tell me to just stick to playing guitar in the future! :lol:
To steer things back to CG:
http://photos.perfdecastro.com/albums/userpics/10001/normal_P7180093.JPG
This was an informal performance I did at my old school, The PWU School of Music. The audience were mostly freshmen guitar majors of the school as well as some upperclassmen and some guests from the nearby schools. I played the following pieces:
- Fantasie and Allegro (S.L. Weiss)
- Prelude Etnika and Tocatta (L.R. Kasilag)
- Madronos (F.M. Torroba)
- Vals #4, op. 8 (A.B. Mangore)
- Canco Trista (P. Talarn)
- Gran Jota (F. Tarrega)
In between pieces, I answered questions about my career, my adventures here in the US, technique, my guitar and several other topics. It was a great experience and it felt good knowing that I've somehow inspired those students to keep at their studies. Hopefully at least one of them gets to be among the Philippines' future concert guitarists.
Lastly, a friend of mine opened a recording studio while I was gone and he has a great setup: boutique outboard gear (Avalon mic pre, Focusrite Liquid Channel, Manley compessor, Neumann tube mic, assorted AKG, Shure, Neumann, Sennheiser mics, 02R 24/96 mixing console, a super PC running Nuendo, ADAT 24/96)
He offered me some FREE recording time. And I wasn't about to turn him down :wink: So in between all these events, I managed to record 10 pieces, enough for a CD. I'm in the middle of mixing/mastering the material so I guess it's about a couple of months before I get to release them as a CD. Will surely let you guys know when I do. ;)
Welp, if you've read this far, thanks for taking time to read about my recent adventures and I hope you enjoyed it!
All the best!
PERF
http://www.perfdecastro.com