jmh123

of course you know what happened to the last person who signed her posts that way.

She barked like a duck??

It's cool, Thankful. We just didn't want to foster further discussion about CV rules/admin notes, etc. I appreciate that it wasn't your intention to do so. /not an admin

For those who can't see CV to see AAIT's pix, here's one. WOAH!!

BWAH--then there's this from cloopy at CH:

No smut is an interruption, play! (Neither is just plain pretty, funny, wild emoticons, or any other thing.) It's hilarious--thanks for bringing it back.

Thanks--both of you! :F_05BL17blowkiss:

ETA: Just found this nice definition googling countermelody: counterpoint.

Back to my LAA question, for those who know musical terminology, could the voice/cello duet be described as contrapuntal? (I've been doing some research. The cello doesn't have a melody line that's as complex as the voice's melody, but it isn't a harmonic accompaniment either. So counterpoint might be an accurate description??)

Got nuttin' about baseball, but here's some pics of Clay making people laugh:

Those are from ClayFan2003 posted at CB.

OMG...I just read this page and realize that I'm doing a half-assed job at my assignment! I've only downloaded the audio versions of MOAM at the concerts. There are some concerts where there is only one person's recording and that's all I downloaded. I don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' no audio from video (chirps Prissy in GWTW)

So I'm just gonna listen to the audio versions that I have and then I'll worry about the rest "tahmahrah" (says Scarlett in GWTW.)

Someone else can always make audio from a video if the versions you recommend don't have mp3s posted already. Scarlett always posts audio, as does spot, but jojoct doesn't, and her stuff is good. MBlovesClay gets good sound, and her mp3s are posted, likewise jtgranny, LauraQ, and 4192spooky; some of dlh7777's mp3s have a bit rate of only 64, so her sound may be better those might indicate. I think most of the folks with good audio have mp3s available these days, but do check out jojoct's videos if you can.

Back to Clay's instrument. I love what somebody way back there said about Clay's musical artistry and talent---I only took one year of piano way back when and have never had vocal training other than a semester of a voice class in college, but I've always sung in choirs and actually did gigs during my 20's as a 'professional' singer with a group and with a lone guitarist in smokey nightclubs...heh. There are so many things about Clay's voice that I appreciate (although not all things---he sometimes has a harsh, ear-blasting nasal quality, IMO)...and I do recognize how adept he is at harmonizing and thinking on his big feet when he needs to mesh with an orchestra or accompanist...

One thing I'd like to ask the musical pundits here....on LAA, sometimes the timing seems odd to me---that maybe Clay is coming back in a little too early or maybe the cellist is a hair late or something...is that just my ear or is it designed to be that way? Or am I hearing things that are/aren't there?

Not a pundit, but I agree about LAA. That's what I was trying to get at with my earlier question.

Clay's harmonies are amazing, and I think one of the reasons he appreciates Q & A is for their ability to harmonize.

Speaking for myself only of course... I spoke CAPs name out of respect for another human being. I don't like labeling people. She has a name and it's not "Booer".

And I'll just stick my foot out here and ask why it's ok to bring an admin post from another board here? I happen to appreciate and respect dudley's position and her post, if that's what we're supposed to do with it here... weigh in.

Yup, as a not-a-mod/not-an-admin I have to agree. We're fun and free-spirited because we're teeny, and things just get worked out without the need for a lot of modding. CV has rules befitting a board of that size and if FCA ever got to be that big, we'd have the same sorts of issues CV has and we'd have to figure out some more formal way of dealing with them. Least that's how I see it. Some of y'all who are used to CV probably have no idea what a change has been wrought on a little board like this just by having 75 new members in a week.

I have been scheduling fall lessons ever since I wrote the previous post, but I see you folks are doing some great analysis. Just gives me an excuse to run the Orlando show again ... EEEEE!!! While I wait for some call backs, here are a few thoughts ...

One of my favorite solos -- and I'm prejudiced because it's my major instrument -- is the oboe on "Everything I Have." There were some excellent oboists in the tour orchestras, as well as on the album.

Of course, two other obvious solos are the cello in LAA and the great little sax ride at the end of "Perfect Strangers." You can see Clay give these soloists props in several concerts. Puggmom, a high school alto saxophonist in the OFC Blogs, and I have debated the fact that the sax sounds more like a soprano than an alto.

I love the sound of French Horns, and you can really hear them soar in the countermelodies of "West Wing."

Clay's voice fits so beautifully with an orchestra, but I think he knows some of his fans would like another "band" tour with the new CD. Probably if the new songs include upbeat/edgy material, his next CD tour will reflect that. I NEVER extrapolate, so this is not factual.

I am an instrumental music major, but I love the way Clay sings harmony. He makes the ideal duet partner in that he lets the solo part take the lead. My mother, a vocal ed major, appreciated this, too. Until her death in 2005, she had to hear Clay's voice every single time I visited her in the nursing home. And every time, she sang harmony for him the same way, "a la Clay Aiken."

YIKES, this was written before I saw Gibby's -- just corrected that from Giddy, LOL! -- question about my favorite orchestras of the tour. I didn't download all of them, so I'm counting on you guys. For sure, the last one because they were together for four shows. I think I remember that Chautauqua was really good. Seems like I remember that Raleigh was not, probably due to some of those heat-related tuning problems.

I would love to the see the manuscript for "The Classics." Heck, I'd like to see one for the whole show.

Caro

YIKES, this was written before I saw Gibby's -- just corrected that from Giddy, LOL! -- question about my favorite orchestras of the tour. I didn't download all of them, so I'm counting on you guys. For sure, the last one because they were together for four shows. I think I remember that Chautauqua was really good. Seems like I remember that Raleigh was not, probably due to some of those heat-related tuning problems.

Caro

Oooh, I enjoyed your entire post! And I agree with all of your points. Your 'Giddy' typo is hilarious!

I'm an instrumentalist, too - I play piano and keyboards. But I've also taken voice lessons, and I sing back up quite a bit. And since I play for lots of vocalists, I get to hear their voice coaches talking to them about technique and performance all of the time. Makes me appreciate Clay's instrument so much. I mean, his voice. *snerk* I had to clarify that because of all of the smutty people around here.

:F_05BL17blowkiss:

jmh was talking about 5 against 4 - yeah, I've always just called that 5 against 4, too. What I find even harder is playing one rhythm on the piano or keyboards, and singing a slightly different rhythm. Another difficult thing is to sing a slightly different harmony from what you're playing, when the music is written with a little dissonance. Makes me crazy, but I enjoy the challenge.

jmh also mentioned 5/4 time. A really good example of 5/4 time is in the Lord of the Rings soundtracks, in the music for the Orcs. It was a great 5/4 beat, with beats 1 and 4 accented, like this:

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

I believe in the third movie the accents were changed to beats 1 and 3. Once you learn how to play in 5/4, it's great fun.

No, I'm not nerdy at all!! Why do you ask? :eusa_whistle:

Just wanted to thank you guys--I'm loving this. You could go on all day and I'd be fine with it.

I studied piano through 1st yr. college and violin for a few years in jr. high, and sang in choirs and choruses throughout grade school, but it's been decades since i did any of that, and I'm not an expert at all--but I'm interested in listening to people getting into some depth about music.

BWAH, ldyj!!

Personally, I enjoy it even if we don't know what we're talking about. I like talking about Clay's music, and am happy to fumble along with it for the sake of learning more.

Speaking of which, Carolina Clay, when are you going to share your expertise on the orchestras and arrangements this tour??

Orchestra expertise in a nutshell -- some were better than others. Heat and humidity do a number on all instruments, make tuning a bitch, and play havoc with pitch. However, professionals learn to deal with it, some better than others. All of this is based on watching videos/listening to audio since I didn't actually attend a live performance this time around.

About the arrangements, I thought they kicked ass; and I read at least three blogs by tour musicians that said as much.

Thanks!! More more!! I promise to whomp anyone who expresses boredom. What would you suggest our listeners listen for as they evaluate?

I'm doing the cello, I mean LAA. There's something about that solo that makes it really hard. A lot of the cellists seemed to me to be off in their timing. What is it about that solo that makes it so challenging?

I LURVE all kinds of musician talk. So I'll join you in whomping whoever says they're bored!

And as far as some of the cellists having problems staying in time during LAA - it's probably because the vocal and piano parts have some syncopation. That's one of the many things I really like about this song.

Definition of syncopation - A shift of accent in a passage or composition that occurs when a normally weak beat is stressed.

It's not that difficult to play songs with syncopation if you count and if you're used to it, or if you practice. More than likely the cellists didn't have a chance to practice with Clay and Jesse much ahead of time.

So syncopation is the term--thanks! I always thought of syncopation as a fast music thing, but your definition fits the LAA solo to a tee.

There's also a thing, can't remember the term, but I had a piano piece where one hand is playing 4 beats to a measure, and the other three. Is that syncopation, or something else? And then there's another related thing where you have 5 beats in a 4 beat measure, e.g.. The Grateful Dead have a song called the Elevens where they do that.

The old guy in Chautauqua practiced and practiced and practiced every minute he was on stage during the warmups and even during the intermission. He was wonderful. He had played with the Israeli Philarmonic and other great orchestras in his time. I'm wondering if some of them were a little over confident?

Totally unscientific observation because I haven't really listened to all the audio with this in mind, but I thought the San Diego orchestra was one of the best.

Oh...loving the music talk. I took piano lessons for years, played organ for our church when I was a teen, played clarinet in the high school band... so love this kind of talk.

YAY--more, more!!!

Well I'm having issues with the piano intro to Sexy Tractor because they so varied from night to night ... sometimes its missing altogether, sometimes the rhythm seems off, sometimes the sound doesn't pick it up very well, and then there are times when it sounds mangled. I was thinking, "Wow some of these pianists were a lot better than others" ... then I remembered they are all Jesse!!!

That's really interesting. Hmmmm. Is it because sometimes he is otherwise occupied with conducting?

I haven't started with the evaluation process yet, but during the tour one thing I noticed in West Wing is that some orchestras couldn't pull off those rising strings with increasing crescendo leading to the last lines. (How's that for a poor attempt at orchestra language?) It goes da da da, da da da, da da da, da da da, and then back to one last repeat (reprise?) of the theme. Each da da da is a little louder, building the sense of anticipation, except with some of the orchestras it was like a bunch of notes flying everywhere, fortunately not too loud, and then a sense of relief as they came back to the theme.

oops, I postwhored. Sue me. Heh.

OH FUCK_____!!! And I did it to myself too!

BWAH!!!

If she uses her mod powers to save herself from Top-of-the-Page hell I'm gonna complain. I wanna be a mod so my edit counter doesn't show. I promise to do next to nothing, like a true FCA mod oughta. Heh heh.

Jesse's arrangements kicked ass--I agree--what were some particularly kickass things? One that got me was the little violin interlude during the classics that Clay always mimicked a violin playing. I'd like to hear the classics without the vocals once just to hear what it sounds like.

That's why I'd LOVE to get my hands on that orchestra score being auctioned off for the benefit of the BAF. I know enough that I could study the thing and get a better flavor of what the orchestra was doing. I wish it could be scanned and sent to anyone who makes a donation to the BAF.

And yes, there were always things that the orchestra was doing that I didn't catch in my first few viewings of each classics clip.

OH me too me too. I hope the winner will scan it--I like your idea of a donation.

Speaking of which, Carolina Clay, when are you going to share your expertise on the orchestras and arrangements this tour??

Orchestra expertise in a nutshell -- some were better than others. Heat and humidity do a number on all instruments, make tuning a bitch, and play havoc with pitch. However, professionals learn to deal with it, some better than others. All of this is based on watching videos/listening to audio since I didn't actually attend a live performance this time around.

About the arrangements, I thought they kicked ass; and I read at least three blogs by tour musicians that said as much.

Thanks!! More more!! I promise to whomp anyone who expresses boredom. What would you suggest our listeners listen for as they evaluate?

I'm doing the cello, I mean LAA. There's something about that solo that makes it really hard. A lot of the cellists seemed to me to be off in their timing. What is it about that solo that makes it so challenging?

Jesse's arrangements kicked ass--I agree--what were some particularly kickass things? One that got me was the little violin interlude during the classics that Clay always mimicked a violin playing. I'd like to hear the classics without the vocals once just to hear what it sounds like.

I love Clay's ear for these things too, that he notices all the details. He can also sing "against" his accompaniment, both in terms of melody and timing. Not easy. Some of his fans just want him to rock out with some muddy guitar sound and someone pounding on a drum, and a catchy tune that anyone could sing, because they want him to be cool and on radio. I think it's a waste when you're a guy who can say, "I can't hear the flute." I get a little pissy when some fans (usually at OFC) claim Clay needs to be more of an artist like the people who make Top 40 music.

Question: Is this board analyzing videos or just audio?

Just audio.

Gibby, thank you for those caps. So near and yet so far, eh?

Hey just a quick suggestion for the new arrivals ... if you haven't already ... check out the Board Philosphy here

http://findingclayaiken.invisionzone.com/i...php?showtopic=3Board Philosophy

It's a great read ya'll.

It has the hottest line ever written in it, from Couchie: "He's a strong man in a man's world with all the facts at his disposal...."

I do understand that at times a member of this board may feel worried about somethign or angry or upset...I say go ahead and post..but I think most peole here will give you a hug...give their opinion...then move on.

We don;t like wallowing here....and NO LEMMINGS here...

Yup, wallowers will be mocked. And bringing crap here to wallow in might even make us pissy.

To everyone saying how much they loved certain performances!! Word!!!! I was crazy for "heartache and pain" - loved it - LAA - slayed me each and every time and BYLM made me a schmoopy mess.

I thought the medley's were sheer genius and would love to have been a fly on the wall watching the group together rehearsing for the first time!!! No wonder Clay spoke of being nervous of how they would go over before the tour - amazing concepts - but they worked so well and I just can't believe how much fun he makes his tours.

I love the medleys. Totally. Loved them in his season of AI (when they actually sang harmonies), loved them on the JBT, loved them this tour. Especially the classics. I think they're fun and entertaining, and I'm always fascinated by how they're put together.

Speaking of which, Carolina Clay, when are you going to share your expertise on the orchestras and arrangements this tour??

Suckah!

Beyotch!

Hee. I sure hope Faye isn't asking someone from her church to report the current state of Jamie's marriage to her son's fans via message board. Eeep!

You crack me up.

For sure... it's not the varying opinions as much as the arguments, judgements, dead-horse beatings, and side-taking that make an unhealthy environment, IMO. Especially for the horse... :laugh:

You totally crack me up.

WooT... both jmh and I posted and neither of us is at the top of a page! *herkie*

It's a fucking miracle.

ETA: shit, piss, fuck, crap, dammit

Just the fact they post information about people in Clay's inner circle on message boards is enough to make me skeptical.

But that's just me.

No, it isn't just you.

Like anyone in this fandom I've heard enough things over the years that the only thing I know is that I don't know anything, really, about Clay Aiken. So much of it, of the parts of which I've been aware, is little pieces of truth interspersed with filler provided from people's experiences, filters, and biases. The pieces don't mesh, "reliable" information contradicts equally "reliable" information, so I decided a long time ago I didn't want to know anything. And what I hear inadvertently I don't believe, just on principle. I think fans getting all up into his business or his personal life is squicky.

I've seen Jamie with a tall dark and handsome young man at several venues. Don't know what their relationship is either.

Nice to see people exercising their right to examine sources--that's what happens when you get a bunch of librarians together.

Here's the thread from the CB: Tampa DJ

So, I email Chadd (he is the father of the boy Clay talked to during the show) and ask his thoughts about Clay performance, he was very nice to e-mail me back, here are his comments:

Hi Carmen!

Did you go to the show?

We did talk about it Monday morning around 7:15. I will tell you, I thought it was very entertaining and the fact that Clay spotlighted our son during the show and had him stand up in his chair as he asked him a question was one of the coolest things ever.

But man, those Clay fans. We sat right in front of group of young girls who finished every sentence he said and screamed waaaaayyyy too many times. They said they had already been to like 10 shows this year. WOW.

All in all, we had a great time. And for the short amount of time that he has been touring and entertaining at this level he came across as very seasoned and witty.

Thanks for listening!

Chadd (and Kristi)

I'm suprised no one else heard Chad the DJ talk about the concert on Monday morning..my husband leaves for work around 6:45am and said that while driving in Chad was doing the morning show and did mentioned what a great time he and Brendan had at the concert..spoke of the ladies next to him as mentioned in his email..said he really enjoyed the evening and so did his son..also said he would definitely see Clay again in concert if he came this way again..so all things are good with 94.9 here in Tampa..no they don't play Clays songs here but if the day comes that RCA comes around to back Clay I know that Chad & Christy (the morning DJ's) love Clay so there won't be any snide remarks..my husband said you could tell in the tone of Chads voice he's a Clayfan..

FLOVE that picture of the toes in Frisco ...In fact, that may be my favorite thing about the Frisco concert! How about you, CG?

Well, the nachos weren't bad.....

ETA: OMG!! My first time at the top of the page! I feel so honored!!

It is an honor, right????

Oh yes, huge honor. In fact I think people should aim to be at the top. heh heh

Don't you love his tactile sensuality? Looks like he was needing to wrap those toes around something, and the bottom of the micstand was the best he had.

Love that way of putting it: "tactile sensuality". He always has to be touching something.

Love your siggie, Bookwhore.

So my mmmmmmth high school reunion is coming up, and I just got a photo in an e-mail because they are trying to identify someone. Apparently the female with her back to the picture is me! Good thing they didn't ask me who she was. The person they can't identify is the guy whose eyes are visible over the top of my head.

ETA: Well crap. Yippee.