[Scott F.]

Hiya Guys,

I was just thinking (dangerous I know). When we have our get-togethers, critically listening to gear is kinda fun but after a while it can get a little …. well…, much. How about if we spice things up a little, what if we were to do Theme gatherings. No I’m not talking about dressing up or anything silly like that, I’m talking about Music Theme Gatherings. What we could do is decide a Genre or Era of music, then everybody that shows up could bring some of their favorites. This way we all get to experience (hopefully) some new music in that genre.

Here’s a couple of possibilities;
60’s and 70’s R&B and Funk
50’s Acoustic Jazz
Big Hair Bands
Folk and Bluegrass music
Baroque Classical
KSHE Classics (the real ones, not just 38 Special and the Outlaws)
heck, anything you want them to be

You get the idea. There are dozens of different Themes that we could do. My thought was after a short while of playing our usual reference music we break into the Theme. We take turns playing DJ, each person getting to play three or so selections, then we rotate to the next DJ.

So waddia tink? If you like the idea, lets start compiling a master list for Themes. If not, that’s cools too.

Oh, I got a hold of Thom P, Mike Pranka and Tim at Best Sound today. Everybody is “in” so far. This could get really good if we aren’t careful.

[vpolineni]

Interesting idea scott... Steve and I were discussing themes in terms of audio gear to audition like the ny audio rave... it looks like we'll have some stuff to talk about friday.  That's cool that you got Tim at best sound on board... he's a great guy who helped me out when others wouldn't give me the time of day.

[sturgus]

Scott  I am all for it. I also would like to see us do some dyi things as a group such as ( power cords, speaker cables, room acoustics, etc. ). We may have enough people to do a group buy on some materials. Just a thought. Look forward to seeing everyone Fri.
Sturgus

[Scott F.]

The DIY thing would be cool. I think Vasu is bringing some 2" thick, 3# density fiberglass board that he is picking up from Brauer Supply (314-534-7250). He wanted me to show him how to make an absorber.

I'll see if I can't track down some 2"+ thick pipe insulation (about 8" diameter) and I can show everybody how to make bass trap that is much easier than Risch's version.

Power cords, cables and IC's are easy and cheap. I've got loads at the house. We could play with differenct geometries and see how it effects the sound (I've already got my opinions). I've got sources for wire that I can turn everybody onto.

I also found a local guy that does cryo treating. Maybe we can get a group thing going there too.

I see Tim (from Best Sound) registered yesterday. His handle is "electricbear".
Say Hi Tim!

[Mike D]

60’s and 70’s R&B and Funk
50’s Acoustic Jazz
Big Hair Bands
Folk and Bluegrass music
Baroque Classical
KSHE Classics

In my listening classes, we have theme days as well.  Here are some that we use:
New music day (anything that is new enough that others may not know it)
Closet music day (music that we love, but are not necessarily proud of)
Beatles week (Abbey Road side two and the White Album complete with discussions of multiple meanings for each song)
Music Critic week (We all bring in music and discuss its advancement of music in three categories: How many ways can we interpret the meanings both figuratively and literally?  How high is the quality of performance from the musicians on their given instruments?  How high is the production quality?)
Word Painting day (My students bring in songs that contain music that directly represents the words of the song and may even imply secondary or ironic meanings to the words.)

For us, I like the theme idea.  But I'd like to start with a theme of "Favorites"  or "Desert Island Recordings".  The desert islands theme would be one where we bring in music that we would want to have with us if we were trapped on a desert island and could only have a limited number of recordings.  Of course, this desert island just so happens to have a Hi-Fi made out of coconuts and rocks.  

[steve k]

All great ideas Mike. I suspect we'll be hearing some Desert Island favorites Friday. I'm anxious to hear your thoughts about jazz trumpeters and pianists as these are a favorite study of mine. We will no doubt be discussing themes then. Too bad you can't make it. I have 2 kids playing in solo and ensemble Friday as well--I know first hand what a major effort that is.
steve k.