Damien Masterson

Hey All!

It’s been a while since I’ve written… Once you don’t do it for a while, it seems like there has to be a pretty big event to justify it. Then pretty soon, nothing seems big enough! Music has come and gone, a million stories… But that was then.

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As many of you know, I travel quite a bit for business. Last year I was in Hong Kong twice, all over the US and wishing I was home more often. People who don’t travel too much often sound envious, but anyone who does it for a living knows it can get tiring after a while. Last Monday I got back from Hawaii for a bead show in Oahu, and this week fell apart! Between the jet lag, fatigue, and the follow up root canal appointment on Tuesday, I’ve been flaking on commitments left and right… Sometimes everything flows, sometimes it starts unraveling at the seams!Wendy and I will be in Hong Kong again from April 1 - 10th, for all my peeps out that way. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and playing some good music. If you don’t know, HK has a pretty amazing nightlife and lots of live music. If I weren’t so comfortable here in SF, I’m pretty sure I would have followed many friends and moved there. Musicians are like that, we don’t care where we live… can we actually make some bread and live a respectable life doing what we love?
REALLY? In Siberia? Call my f*%#$ng agent! And tell me where to buy a good down jacket! C’mon honey, we’re moving!————————————–

On all of those notes, I’ve made some adjustments, hopefully long term. If you’ll remember, I was teaching at the Jazzschool, and getting some momentum with my students. Due to scheduling problems, I wasn’t able to continue there, and had to take a break. In all fairness, it wasn’t like I gave them many choices, and there are a lot of classes at The Jazzschool. So I’ve delegated some responsibilities and decided to take another stab at music full time. Or, shall we say, fuller time.
With this come a few tidbits of good news:

Starting April 12, 2008, I’ll be offering 3 courses at the Jazzschool, all on Saturday. I told them that teaching
was my priority, and that I was available anytime. So now I am able to offer beginning, Intermediate/Advanced classes,
and it is my pleasure to announce: Harmonica Ensemble!

The first two classes are pretty self explanatory. They are open to all ages. The ensemble is an attempt to teach and recreate the vintage sound of the classic harmonica ensembles with a contemporary twist. Using bass and chord harmonicas and a variety of chromatic, diatonic and whatever other harmonicas arise for the occasion, I will arrange specifically for the talent that signs up for the group. It’s an amazing opportunity for intermediate/Advanced players to
perform harmonica in an ensemble, and play together with other instruments. Reading is a plus, but a fully chromatic instrument or
instruments and a good ear is all that is required. Let’s make it happen!

http://www.jazzschool.com/

The online calendar is not up and running yet, but you can download the .pdf version and find more info on page 22.

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DME Ensemble!

I’m happy to announce an exclusive representation with Prince/SF Productions, a local agency, for the Damien Masterson Ensemble. This came out of conversations with a dear old friend, Ken Malucelli, about how I was working on some classical pieces on the harmonica. A light bulb appeared over his head: Ken’s specialty has been in the Fine Arts market, and he said “Why don’t we put together a Classical Harmonica Concert”?!?! And so we have!

This is a “lite” classical presentation, also featuring some Brazilian choros and other world music, along with classics that you’re very familiar with.

To see/read/hear more about the project, go here:

http://www.princesf.com/damien/

There’s already a couple of concerts booked for this summer and fall, so stay tuned…
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DRUM ROLL……paradiddle….SNAP!

THE GIG UPDATE!
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Gem Faire, Inc., presents:

Mar. 14-16
San Francisco, CA
Fort Mason Center
Herbst Pavilion, Landmark Building A (In front)
San Francisco, CA 94123

Performance hours:

Typically 12 - 4 P.M. - just listen for sax & Harmonica, you’ll find me. Bring your ax down and sit in! IT’S FUN!
Most of these gigs are solo, so I take brakes when I want. If you’re planning on coming down, call my cell or email me before.
Gem Faire Charges a $5 entry fee, so if the music is inside, call me to get on “the list”…
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See you soon!

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Damien Masterson http://www.damienmasterson.com
or enter my name in any search engine
415 305 7138 dzm@damienmasterson.com
Damien Endorses Hohner Harmonicas and Audix Microphones

This was posted on Thursday, March 20th, 2008 at 2:33 pm and is filed under Damien's Thoughts, Upcoming Engagements. Comments are open.