From Nomad Musician to Normal Life

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In just about a week the bulk of our Cirque Du Soleil troupe will be moving from our rehearsal location in Montreal, Canada to Macau, China to open Cirque’s first resident show in China at the Sands Venetian on the Cotai Strip.

Below you’ll find an article about the transition for artists from nomads to regular jobbers with a home. Most of us are used to being on the road and traveling a lot. And because of the nature of being in entertainment – we tend to move from town to town a lot too. We do a run til it’s dry or until a better gig comes along – then we graze on greener pastures.

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The Canadian Hat Controversy

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So I had posted this photo last week of the Cirque band outside in Montreal, Canada. It was supposed to be one of those photos where people say, “Oh that’s cool, you’re playing with Cirque and there’s the band. Neat.”

Instead I get all these emails and notes saying, “Hey, how come every one is wearing a hat but you? Don’t you know it’s cold outside. Let me send you a hat.”

Thank you for the concern, but I don’t need one. Being Scandinavian, we are born with extra layers of blubber around our head. We’re not very smart because of that feature, but our heads are always warm.

That’s how we were able to row around the world pillaging you all. Now you know the secret.

Bye Bye Birdie rehearsal photos

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Here are some rehearsal photos from Bye Bye Birdie which I conducted at McIntyre Hall (Mount Vernon, WA) in November 2007.

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This was what I called the “keyboard army”. We had three keyboardists covering piano, strings and percussion bell parts. I opted use synth strings in favor of having a full sax and horn section. The music for Bye Bye Birdie at the time was supposed to sound rock, but it’s really more of a big band Broadway type sound.

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Full cast rehearsal with partial orchestra at a local gymnasium. Note to self, orchestra rehearsals do not work well in gymnasiums…

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First run-throughs with the pit orchestra.

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I think this is one of the orchestra members, Kyle, playing video games…

Montreal with Cirque – Week 3

Email received:

Thanks for the update! The Conrad I have come to know is a fairly private man and I respect this. I guess when you are dealing with a first class outfit, its first class all the way around.  If I can read between the lines, it looks like they foster a culture that allows all participants to move forward, not feeling compelled to stay in the box. Allowing musicians to create yet move as one.

You are a well traveled man from previous experiences. I suspect much of what you are experiencing is not foreign; different form and culture, but relative to traveling with Freddy and alike. The other things I am curious about are simply the place you are staying, is it an apartment or hotel? How is the food? What is grocery shopping like? I suspect you enjoy dinning out, expensive, a luxury you desire but relish this experience and are trying to take it all in at once. I appreciate the dialogue. Take care.

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Hi all!

I’ve received several emails wondering why I haven’t been posting on my blog much. Believe me, there are so many things I’d love to post about – but trying to remain true to keeping all the details of my current project under wraps.

I’ve been in Montreal for several weeks now at the Cirque Du Soleil headquarters rehearsing for their new show in Macao, China.

We’re staying in the heart of Montreal just a few blocks from St. Catherine street – a central party and shopping district. We each have our own apartment and they are very nice with a gym and swimming pool. I’ve been trying to hit the gym and pool on a regular basis (with varying degrees of success).

Within just a few blocks of us are dozens and dozens of restaurants from a wide variety of nationalities. Tonight we had Indian, a couple nights ago Thai – pretty much anything you can image – it’s very international.

In the downtown area merchants are very accomadating about speaking English – especially in the restaurants. The further away you get from downtown, it gets a little more difficult. But so far I’ve only had one person be outright rude that I wasn’t speaking French. Walking down the street and hearing people talk it seems about 80% French and 20% English.

What amuses me is that people seem to automatically know if you’re English – and will say “Excuse me” instead of speaking in French. (Maybe the Levi jeans are a giveaway and the “New York” winter hat). Black seems the popular color for Montreal winter wear. Seems that EVERYONE is wearing black. Maybe because it’s easier to see against the snow, or maybe everyone is just ultimately cool.

My personal opinion is that the people in Montreal are very easy on the eyes. A very good looking bunch of people. And of course they all seem sophisticated to me because they have French accents. So there you go – my superficial take on Montreal.

There are lots of smaller Mom and Pop type markets where we can buy fresh food to make at the apartment. Many of the normal brands you would see in the states with a little more international variety.

The musicians I’ve heard here are top notch. Last week I heard a band at Bistro JoJo with a guitar player that struck me as an up and coming SRV – and a B3 player that gave an incredible show. And this was just a local bar band. Maybe I got lucky – some local musicians turned me on to the club.

The whole Cirque experience has been very enjoyable so far. I really love my fellow band mates – players from the US, Australia, Sweden and Armenia. A great family to play in China with.

Many of the artists are planning on moving their families to China – and it turns out there were a lot of last minute marriages so people could immigrate their partners to China. Being single, I’m just looking forward to working hard for Cirque and I’ll see where my time and creativity lead me down the road.

Several people have asked me, “Won’t it be hard for you to do the same show night after night?”. Not at all. Every show is a brand new opening night and a chance to give your ultimate focus and passion. What’s greater than that? My interest is in the experience of people in the audience, not my own. I want each person in the audience to experience the opening night magic of Cirque. I would guess that most artists share that passion.

A shout out to my friends in Mount Vernon, WA and Southern California. This sure has been a fun ride so far…

Happy New Year from Mount Vernon WA

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From the New Year’s Eve Party (and my going away party) at the Conway Muse in Conway, WA. Pictured from left is notable impromptu orator Harold Paige, the effervescent and demanding director Jane Skinner, myself, and the McDreamy Mr. Skinner.

A little late for Happy New Years – but I just got the picture. There was a great band at the party with good jazz jams and even a fireworks show. I sure will miss Mount Vernon and the wonderful people here!

Memories of Mount Vernon WA

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My friend Suzann just sent me this montage of some shows I’ve conducted while in Mount Vernon, WA. I can make out Elton John’s AIDA, Seussical, Disney’s High School Musical, Rocky Horror Show and Brigadoon. (The penguin outfit is what I wore in Seussical).

In a couple days I leave for Montreal, Canada to join the creation process for Cirque Du Soleil’s new show in China. Thanks Suzann for the good Mount Vernon, WA memories!

One of Suzann’s favorite sounds (and mine too!) is the sound of an orchestra tuning. I got extra brownie points with her when I had her brought down into the pit to sit in the middle of the Brigadoon orchestra while they tuned.

“A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.”
– Donna Roberts

Victoria’s View on the Christmas Gloria

Article by Vicki McCarty about my Christmas Gloria which debuted Christmas Eve 2007.

Victoria’s View

“Drop off the music you got Wednesday and pick up the new packet.  Conrad has revised it”!  Huh?  Our jaws dropped in disbelief…how can that be?  We just got it and have only had one rehearsal…and we’re singing it tonight!!!    We took note of the sign on the front door and shook our heads.  This was turning into a memorable Christmas – in more than one way.  I could not have imagined this kind of Christmas Eve even a few years ago.  We entered and emptied the notebook with the music we had just picked up 5 days ago.  We were still reeling from the announcement our young music director had made just 2 weeks earlier.  “I’m thinking of writing a new piece of music for Christmas in a week – just like Bach and Mozart used to do!”   He went on to explain that it was common for them to write something new every week for church the next week.  So, he sat down and did it himself, just to see if it was possible.  I could not help but think what confidence he had in our choir – to think we could perform it after just one long practice – and do it in Latin – that took some confidence.

Two hours later, the service began.  Could we do it – the small group of musicians gathered together – we rehearsed it through twice with the orchestra – then our moment came.  A quiet fell over the congregation – and the first performance of Conrad Askland’s Christmas Gloria in D was born.  And it was beautiful.   A true Christmas miracle happened that night.  A wondrous story was told again, and became new and real to all there.  It was heralded with a beautiful new composition written to announce the glory of God.  A new Bach had done the impossible – composed, rehearsed, and presented his new work.  And we got to be there for the event.

We returned home to a house with no decorations, no tree, no dinner, and only the two of us.  But our heads were still ringing with the sound of Gloria in Excelsis Deo.   A memorable Christmas – in so many ways.  Move over Bach and Beethoven – there’s a new kid in town.

With caring,

Victoria

Yamaha S90 ES – Best Touch Keyboard

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I spent several hours at Guitar Center in Seattle, WA yesterday playing all of their 88-key keyboards. I was looking for the best overall controller; a keyboard that I could play legit piano on, but also fast synth runs, control zones and utilize aftertouch for samples. The internal sounds were not important to me.

From their selection I like the Yamaha S90 ES best for overall touch for all applications as a controller keyboard. Players that have to do piano and complex synth on the same board know what a challenge this can be. For piano tracks you need the weighted action so you don’t realize it’s not a “real” piano, and for synth you need a quick action to do the fast sixteenth note runs without getting bogged down.

Some nice extra perks on the Yamaha S90 ES include four zone control sliders on the front that are easily accessible for mixing samples. Also has variable velocity curves for different styles of playing (light for synth work and heavier for legit piano feel). When I clicked on the Performance bank to just check out the sounds too, I was surprised that I really dug the internal drum samples. Found myself actually jamming for a bit with the grooves and most important of all: Forgetting I was playing a synth, not a piano. To me that’s the bottom line. If I have to think about the instrument, it’s no good to me. I need to get lost in the feel and lines of what I’m doing.

And a little plug for Guitar Center. As much bad press as they get for customer service, I had a salesman who got me all the manuals for everything I wanted and was there to answer any question I had. I never felt like I was bothering him. I’m not exactly a salesman’s dream at a music store – I’m very picky, always want to read manuals and don’t care for small talk. Thank you to Jovonn who helped me out.

Often people ask me what the best keyboard is to get. You really can’t go wrong with any board by Roland, Yamaha or Korg. In general, Korg has the best variety of sounds and Yamaha has the best feel. But my overall favorite is usually Roland, so I was surprised to see that a Yamaha board won my heart (I own several keyboards by all three manufacturers).

OVERVIEW

Is the S90 ES an 88-note weighted action digital piano with the sonic flexibility of a synth or a synthesizer with the best sounding piano samples ever available? Actually, it’s the perfect balance of both. The new multi-velocity stereo samples of Yamaha’s hand-built S700 grand piano, the damper reverb effects, and half damper capability all ensure the S90 ES has the most expressive acoustic piano sound Yamaha has ever offered in a synthesizer.

The 128-note polyphony tone generator based on the award winning Motif ES (including 8 inserts, 2 system and separate mastering effects) and Studio Connections, mLAN, and PLG expandability give it all the sonic power and control flexibility of our Motif ES workstation lineup. The new S90 ES, the perfect balance of synthesizer and piano.