Steel Drum Life: Island music bass for a highly respected city official’s memorial and then a surprise percussion request. Part 1 of 2.
I am a pinball poser and this post is my second best excuse for not posting about pinball.
Today, me and the guys in @steelparade's band are performing for a highly regarded city official's memorial reception.
The venue:
We are performing at a place called CRAFTED at the Port of Los Angeles. It looks like a place for a farmers market type of vibe, art and craft...
Oh! Wait, it's changing on us now.
Leadership for his even is mixed because the city officials are jumping in. Stuff gets moved around, but we're always prepared because we leave early so that we can get to the venue on time. Turns out, everyone was given the wrong address. The event we are looking for is across the street at the Cabrillo Way Marina.
WTF is Steel Parade?
We are the perfect band for civic events. We've done more than I can count in the last 10 year of performing with Steel Parade. We are experts at performing award shows, business meetings, conventions, and every version of the word, "private parties" you can come up with.
We've performed for many funeral receptions. Sometimes those of us left behind want to have a party to celebrate our departed loved ones. Sometimes we just want a ukulele and Steel Drum duo to mellow out the silence during burials.
Story:
It's true, they changed locations on us.
We're actually performing across the street at the marina. A place that looks like a much more appropriate venue.
We set up with plenty of time to spare and I broadcast the start of it on Periscope. I didn't have time to think of a title for the broadcast so it probably looks weird. I talk about it all down below.
Live Music:
Like usual, I broadcasted on Periscope instead of DLive. Im not happy about it though. Periscope hates everyone and therefore doesn't use Steem. Dtube and DLive have both been difficult for me to troubleshoot. I managed to get a video onto each of them, but only because I used DropBox.• Click the link below and it will take you to our first live broadcast for this event:
• Click the next link to see our second performance in my last broadcast of the event.
As soon as I started the broadcast they change plans on us. The first 8min we wait and I talk to a Steem neighbor I invited back in November-ish @cordelia is an acquaintance from BuskerApp. I gotta check on her to see how Steem is treating her.
Catering:
They were on time. They claimed to have lots of food yet acted extremely stingy with the meatballs. Why would one person be serving meatballs with a toothpick to every person standing in a buffet line. Just give them the fucking spoon and bring enough meatballs for the client's event!
The line was long, but we never feel entitled to food at gigs. Food and drinks do not pay the rent and my landlord loves me just the way I am.
☄️Steel Drum Art:
I'm still that guy who takes upside down steel drum pictures. I haven't stopped doing it, I just haven't been sharing them. Gonna change that starting now.This time I had a plan to make a variety of triangles and a collage. It kinda worked. Not bad for being in a rush.
These image titles below are dedicated to @mathowl. Are my labels correct?
Equal Lateral Triangle (almost): 
Scalene (fake right) Angel:
Square:
Cube Collage:
If you know me and my other social media platforms, you know that I take lots of pictures of @steelparade's upside down steel drum. Been doing it for a while and I probably should've been watermarking it...
More Live Music:
If you want to use one of those non-Steem friendly platforms, use your finger to poke yourself in the side of the head, make it hurt, and then take a look at this video: https://www.facebook.com/44627391081/videos/10155238966686082/Another front angle from the same performance and broadcasts: https://www.facebook.com/44627391081/videos/10155235541291082/
🐢
Steel Drum Facts:
• Steel Drums are not from Jamaica.• Steel Drums are not from Hawaii.
• Steel Drums come from Trinidad.
• A steel drum is also called a "steel pan."
• The Steel Drum featured in my post is known as a "Tenor" pan.
NEXT:
Steel Drum Life: Island music bass for a highly respected city official’s memorial and then a surprise percussion request. Part 2 of 2.
Thanks for reading, but did you learn anything?
Leave a comment or two if you have advice. I don't want to just be pushing this band all the time without it coming from service for Steem.
I hope this was more than just tits.
Please feel free to ask me questions about instruments, handling clients, stage setup, bassist stuff, how to spot a good or bad gig... whatever!
My Twitter:
I share lots of Steem stuff on Twitter. Twitter is the biggest "soapbox" I have ever seen. Love it or get left behind. Share the things you love most about your Steem neighbors. 
#SoCalSteemit is building and supporting the Steemit community of Southern California. If you are from SoCal and are into creating quality content here on Steemit, we'd love for you to follow us @SoCalSteemit and join our group on Discord
Through the medium of a graphics editor:
Hehe
Btw Cool performance. I always like to learn new things so a while back I wanted to learn steel drum but they seemed to be quite expensive (so I bought a guitar). What is the cheapest you can go before it doesn't sound like a steel drum anymore?
I’m glad you like it, thanks. Lol, yeah that’s the spirit. Lots of almosts is there. Cool editing too @mathowl. What app was it?
I was thinking it’s just the corner of the square.
Oh and I probably should have called the last one rectangle, right?
That was fun. Part 2 will have another picture shape-photography-game, but with a Cajon this time.
Regarding your question... hmmm. I guess I would say a hand pan would kinda give you that fix. They are usually tuned to one scale, where as a steel drum is chromatic (all western notes) If a Steel Drum is 2k then it’s probably professional and more precise. It’s not easy to tune them.
Also look into the Jumby Pan. It’s kinda silly, but it’s really cheap.
If you live in Los Angeles, I can tell you of a cool place to play many typs of Steel Drums.
If you start looking for a Steel Drum again and find one, send me a video and I’ll give you my opinion. Not many people turn them properly, but it doesn’t matter if your just experimenting.
I used this vector graphics editor-> https://inkscape.org/en/ (it is free :D )
I live in the Netherlands. So that's the other of the world. I will have look into Jumpy pan. Thanks for the recommendation. I am still hoping to find to find a cheap drum/pan at a flea market but so far no luck. I will give you tweet when I find one :)
Yes, if you find one, the guy I worked for here in Lakewood California, might know a tuner in your area... You can probably get a hang easier than most... maybe... lol... if it's not too expensive, it might be too exclusive. https://g.co/kgs/Py4sp8 That is a type of hand pan. Probably the "original" design.
Defiantly not a steel drum. :)
If I were looking for a cheap steel drum (and i should) I would look for a tuner/maker and ask him if he has a steel drum that is tuned, but not chromed plated. Just rust proof and tuned. That might bring the price down. Some tuners do it. I'll ask my old boss if he knows anyone in Netherlands too.
This has to be the best post I have read in a few weeks. Very nice job BRO!
We love the music and will be excited for your bands album to come out.
You guys rock!
Thank you very much @iamstan, that means a lot to me.
I'll get part 2 posted real so. I'm way way way wayaw yaw way way way awwya... behind.
Thanks for the love and support Stan.
I didn't realize the first song, we were just enjoying the music. Then I realized it's Stand By Me and I had to re-play the first periscope LOL
EXCELLENT @steelparade @steemseph... thanks for the train teaser.
So was that the wife who hugged one of @steelparade in the middle of playing Can't Help Falling In Love?
Stand By Me was good for that event. I’m glad you were enjoying it. The camera was ontop of my bass amp. 😬 https://www.pscp.tv/w/bf6YnzFtTUtQdldZa3lnRUd8MVJER2xXRWduT2pLTOVtiUjw5ujOrAEAmLUfKFIv4rtxCfDLNoim1IjXEXnB?t=1s
Yeah the trains! I liked that train video @iamstan mentioned too. I think you missed that little party. I saw a truck load of cute kids looking at a big bulldozers.
I can’t tell who he went to see, if your talking about this part: https://www.pscp.tv/w/bf6UfTFtTUtQdldZa3lnRUd8MVlxS0RRUHFaalZHViozdyH58RajByHyHqkQnhHoaXH1dnFh0iT6IGOyBSvK?t=27m7s
There was a mixture of past clients, acquaintances, and family and sometimes both. It’s hard to tell the second time too. Maybe a cousin the second time. I just see a black dress. I kinda missed it... concentrating on being a groovy hypnotic bass n stuff. She came up to us later and hung out for a moment. Very sweet lady.
We did enjoy it a bunch. I like the older songs and your take on those songs are really unique.
Oh well, got lots of people you know at that event then. LOL on the meatballs, I don't know why they do that. Gotta have a bowl for those to scoop into then toothpick to eat them with if they don't want you to fork it.
Gotta go to a Fil-Am catering, they're definitely not that kind from the few I went to. Mostly scoop as many as you want hahaha. They should be all around SoCal, my relatives are mostly from Orange County.
Yeah, it's fun to do some of those older tunes our way. I usually have lots of creative freedom on the bass when we do, but I try to make my interpretation similar. Old and new people both like it. :)
Exactly! "Gotta have a bowl for those to scoop into then toothpick to eat them with if they don't want you to fork it."
We perform in Orange County a lot. Yup, SCOOPS of meatballs, I believe you. Our strangely inactive neighbor @steelparade, the steel drum singer guy, is a "Mestiso" (and a babo too, makes lots puets). He would say that ya'll might be cousins. He teaches me my spectacular tagalog skills. :)
Thanks for your comments.
Hahaha my youngest boy said give 'em an upvote. Tell Mestiso @steelparade we might be cousins! LOL
lol awesome youngest, thanks! yeah, we are all cousins!
Omg, I'm always intrigued with how steel drums sound.
Do you actually play or you just came across one?
I can play “lion sleeps tonight” and a few chord changes. I know the notes on it, chromatic scale, and I can play a few basic key scales. So, to answer your question, no, not really. I play bass for them. I maintain domain over the bass frequency range. I also lock-in with the other musicians and create a groovy check and balance on the song’s pulse.
I’m around them a lot, once sold them for a local tuner too. I should be better on one, but blah blah should should... I get lots of creative freedom/satisfaction as bass player.
For a memorial service, it seemed rather upbeat based on the video you uploaded.
The wife of the departed wanted it to be more of a celebration atmosphere for the public. She hired us and knows us from past celebrations. The burial, funeral, and viewing stuff was a separate event too.
Don't they do supper, happy, parade like celebrations for funerals in New Orleans?
I hope my funeral is at a pinball arcade that serves sushi. The entertainment would be Los Panchos and a cat petting zoo.
I wouldn't know, but I like the idea of celebrating the life that lived then moping about.
me too :)
I refuse to go to Cry parties. I just believe that we that are left behind don't understand that death is not what we think it is.
I believe that death is like when a acorn falls from an oak tree. It looks dead we think it is dead but it is full of life. Can we tell what the acorn will produce when it is "Planted" no we have no idea. I believe its the same with us when we are "Alive"we are just a seed fallen from the tree and until we are planted ( buried in the ground dead) we will never become what we really are.
I like that @iamstan. Nothing dies... just changes form.
was that video supposed to abruptly end after just 19secs?!
Yes, I was just trying to get any sized video i could on to Dtube. I've failed with large videos in that past, so I though I would start out small this time. It's a tease, I know... I should have added a disclaimer reading, "Caution: Nothing Googly Here."
I learned a little posting that little video.
I wish I could create little videos on Dtube without posting them to my blog. What if I wanted to have a blog post with multiple videos in it?
I would need to either create multiple short (sh!t) posts with for video, or multiple posts for each video containing elaboration upon the video... AS A BUILD UP TO THE GRAND FINALLY POST! I like that idea a lot now.
Hey, thanks for asking/inspiring. :)
Dude... you had me there... I was like "Woah no way, DTube has a working embed player now?!?"... but that video is on YouTube and that's why it's playing here in the post on steemit...
You know... I'm just such a DTube hater... That site just annoys me. I want to watch the video as part of a post and not go to some crappy mostly unfunctional portal. Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for all the decentralization but DTube is just not doing it for me.
And so I say. I'm glad you just embedded a YT vid here, because if it was on the DT, i'd probably not even have seen that 19sec clip :P
ha ha ha, i see what your saying, yes, I used Youtube for the embedededed vid preview.
I totally agree! "That site just annoys me. I want to watch the video as part of a post and not go to some crappy mostly unfunctional portal. Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for all the decentralization but DTube is just not doing it for me." I wasn't saying much because I thought I was lacking the patience. Nice to hear it's kinda wacky for other users too... better than nothing I guess.
Dlive is next. I'm gonna run this scenario again and use Dlive instead.
I know this too... "And so I say. I'm glad you just embedded a YT vid here, because if it was on the DT, i'd probably not even have seen that 19sec clip :P"
I don't think anyone wants to follow the Periscope links either. I've put links to my highlights in my Periscope broadcast before and I don't think anyone cares enough. (Periscope is a phone app too,lol... double deterrent pfff...)
I hate the idea of trying to send a user to a non-steem platform.