This post was written back in December but I forgot to publish it ^_ ^;; So stuff that may be referred to as being future initiatives - such as MAGFest - may have already been done!
As is tradition now, it’s time to look back at 2019 and remember what all went down to the tune of the goals that I set at the end of last year!
THE HARD MODES
This year I decided to narrow my focus and really hone in on my work for The Hard Modes. Though I would still love to compose for games, for the moment I get the most satisfaction out of – and feel the most success developing – my work for my band.
The most obvious display of my commitment to the Modes is this website! In early November I realized that it didn’t make sense to continue for the site to be [Score.]-centric when I really hadn’t updated it with any of my original work despite having published music as early as last year.
From Level 2 to Free Play to being invited to perform at MAGFest, 2019 was a year to remember for the band.
Goal 1: Have a successful turnout for our February showcase at C’ville Coffee
Done! We had around 55 people in attendance this year, which was up from our last C’ville Coffee show. Thanks to all who made Level 2’s kickoff a success, and thanks, too, for all of the support for our videos from the show. Proud to say that our cut of “Radical Dreamers” from that show is nominated for “Best Live Performance” for G.A.N.G.’s Remix Competition at MAGFest this year!
Goal 2: Record a full-length album with the band
A swing an’ a miss! We did have plans to record in December but due to some unfortunate family circumstances we had to cancel our session. We’re committed to making this a reality in the first half of 2020!
Goal 3: Bolster our online presence—aim for 200 YouTube subscribers and 100 Twitter followers; regularly post videos on Instagram; and consider other formats such as Patreon.
Alright! Haha. We have 140 subscribers on YouTube, 103 followers on Twitter, and 202 followers on Instagram. Didn’t quite hit that YouTube goal but I’ll take it! As for Instagram, I really didn’t get into the video-posting swing that I wanted, but I’ll for sure keep working on it; and I didn’t do a Patreon but we did get our Twitch up and running in a big way, plus we’re now on Spotify!
Goal 4: Play another gig outside of C’ville and apply for MAGFest 2020
Crushed it! Not only are we playing at the Belvedere on Saturday night during MAGFest 2020, we played for an international audience for Free Play, our online VGM/jazz music festival. Read about that experience here! Still amped about how that all went down.
2020 Goals
2020 is going to be a brand new adventure for the band. Unfortunately our keyboardist, Nick, and our vibraphonist, Trevor, decided to retire. But, we have a new keyboardist, Gabe Planas, who will be bringing a new vibe to the music that we’re really excited about. We won’t be a sextet for the time being
+ Focus on mastering our current repertoire with our new lineup.
+ Flesh out our two trio “PvP” idea.
+ Build upon 2019’s successes by hosting Free Play 2
+ Record a full-length album
+ Play another gig outside of C’ville!
Composing / [Score.]
As previously mentioned, this year I took a step back from composing to focus on the Modes. Luckily, all of my 2019 goals were “bonus” ones, as I predicted that I wouldn’t have time for composing, so no loss there!
Performing / CJC
Goal 1: Practice my butt off and get better at the saxophone.
Goal 2: Establish a core group and grow together.
Goal 3: Expand our repertoire to include members’ original tunes/arrangements.
Although none of these goals were really accomplished this year, 2019 was far from a bust for CJC.
Practice-wise, I’ve been taking lessons with saxophone giant and sage Charles Owens, which has been fantastic, but I can’t say that I am practicing as much as I need to.
Repertoire and growth-wise, I’m not where I’d like to be but I’ve taken some steps in the right direction. We had more gigs than ever this year, and I’ve been trying to schedule mostly the same people for them so that we can incrementally build a quiver of tunes that defines us. I’ve introduced a couple of new standards into the fold, as well as have had us mix in some Hard Modes tunes. Playing Modes tunes has been especially delightful because the guys I call for a lot of CJC gigs bring a different vibe to the music, which is a lot of fun.
2020 goals are going to be the same as this past year. Let’s do it!
As always, thanks so much for your support. Really looking forward to bringing more music your way in 2020. Let’s make it a year to remember in all the right ways!
